DISCOURSES AND SAYINGS
OF
OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST,
ILLUSTRATED IN
A SERIES OF EXPOSITIONS.
BY JOHN BROWN, D. D.,
PROFESSOR OF EXEGETICAL THEOLOGY TO TIlE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, EDINBURGH.
AUTHOR OF; EXPOSITORY DISCOURSES ON FIRST PETER," " DISCOURSES
ON THE SUFFERINGS AND GLORIES OF THE MESSIAH"1 ETC.
AEI-MNHMONETEIN TQN AOrFlN TOY KYPIOY IHEOI.-HAYOX.
COMPLETE IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
NEW YORK:
ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS,
No. 285 BROADWAY.
1856.




STEREOTYPED BY                                          PRINTED BY
THOMAS B. SMITH,                        ]t. O. JENKINS,
216 William St.. N. Y.                                    14 Nassau St.




TO JAMES DOUGLAS, OF CAVERS, ESQUIRE.
My Dear Sir,
Your honored name is placed in the front of these volumes, not so
much to grace them (though, as Selden says, " bookes are most Jitly consecrated to true lovers of goodnesse and all good learning"), as to gratify
their author, by giving him an opportunity of expressing the deep conviction he has long felt, of the important and enduring service you have in
your writings done to the cause of christian truth and love; and of recording the pleasure and advantage. derived from  intercourse with you, for
nearly thirty years, and the ever-increasing cordial regard which has
grown out of that intercourse.
May God, " even our own God," who has blessed you and made you a
blessing to the church and to the world, bless you more and more, and more
and more make you a blessing.  lMay you long continue, Sir, to adorn
your station, to bless your family, to " devise liberal things," and to add to
those literary gifts by which, without impoverishing yourself, you are
" making many rich" on earth, and, I doubt not, " laying up for yourself
treasure in heaven."
I am, My Dear Sir,
Ever yours,
Most respectfully and affectionately,
JOHN BROWN.




" Jesus would not have been'Son of God,' and' Son of man,' had not his words,
like his works, with all their adaptation to the circumstances of the times, contained some things that are inexplicable, —had they not borne concealed within
them the germ of an infinite development, reserved for future ages to unfold. It
is this feature, —and all the evangelists concur in their representations of it,which distinguishes Christ from all other teachers of men. Advance as they may,
they can never reach him; their only task need be, by taking him more and more
into their life and thought, to learn better how to bring forth the treasures that
lie concealed in Hni." —NEANDE




PRE FACE.
IT is a growing conviction in my mind, that vital and
influential Christianity consists, much more than is ordinarily apprehended, in an intimate personal acquaintance
and friendship with our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the
great revealer of God; he is the revealed Divinity. The
man knows the Father who knows the Son-that man
alone knows the Father.  Christ is himself " the way, the
truth, and the life;" and it is only in so far as we really
know and love him, that we are in " the way," or that
" the truth" and " the life " are in us.
To be a Christian, it is not enough that we know and
acknowledge a system of doctrine and of law, deduced
from the sayings of our Lord and the writings of his
apostles. It is necessary that we be acquainted with his
person, his character, and his work; that we know the
doctrines of Christianity as his mind, the laws of Christianity as his will. The very life of Christianity consists
in loving, confiding in, obeying him, and God in him;
and he plainly can be loved, confided in, and obeyed,
only in the degree in which he is known. Speculation
about the person and work of Christ, however correct, is
not the " excellent knowledge" in comparison with which
the apostles counted all things loss;  assent to abstract
1 Phil. iii. 8.




vi                   PREFACE.
propositions, however true, is not Christian faith; conformity to ethical rules, however good, is not Christian
obedience.
Dr. OWEN did good service to the cause of Christianity,
two hundred years ago, by showing the pre-eminent place
the person of Christ holds in that religion, in opposition
to the British rationalists of that age, who had almost lost
sight of him in speculation about evidences, and dogmas,
and ethics; and SCHLEIERMACHER, and his noble followers,
NEANDER and THOLUCK, have done a similar service in
opposition to the German rationalists of our times. A
personal Deity is the soul of natural religion; a personal
Saviour —the real living Christ-is the soul of revealed
religion. IHow strange that it should not be impossible
-how sad that, through a perverted ingenuity, it should
not be uncommon, in reference to both of these-to convert that into a veil which was meant to be a revelation!
A firm belief of the real existence of Jesus Christ, that
is, the belief not merely that a person bearing that name
lived in a particular country and age, but that the Jesus
Christ of the New Testament really did and does exist,
that the strangest of all pictures-the gospel historyrepresents a reality; this living faith of a living Christ
(not by any means so common an acquirement as the
former) lies at the foundation of true Christianity; and
the superstructure is composed of that transforming
intimate acquaintance with him, with his person, his
character, his mind, his will, which is to be obtained by
a careful study of that " Scripture given by inspiration of
God," which is His word-he being at once its author
and its subject-under the promised influence of His
Spirit-the Spirit of truth and of holiness.
Every part of the inspired volume may be, and ought




PREFACE.                    Vii
to be, turned to account in the search after this " excellent knowledge." The study of no portion of Scripture
leads more directly to its attainment than that of the
gospel histories.  Were we carefully pondering these
wonderful records, supposing us in possession of the
fundamental faith just referred to, we might become better acquainted with our Lord, than any of us is with his
most intimate friend. His mind and will are there expressed on a great variety of subjects, with a surprising
union of clearness and depth; and we see him placed in
an endless variety of circumstances of the most trying
kind, which bring out in strong relief, all the features of
his character. We see him, indeed, in far more situations
fitted to test the character, and disclose its component
elements, than we ever have seen-ever can see any man.
And in his case we have this advantage-we are quite
sure of two things, of neither of which we can be perfectly certain where a mere man is the object of knowledge, and human testimony is the medium through which
our knowledge is obtained:  We know, and are sure,
that Jesus Christ was exactly what he appeared to be,
and that his biographers represent him exactly as he was.
In him there was nothing assumed-all was real; and
with them there is no misrepresentation.  They state
exactly what took place,-" what they saw and heard,
that they declare to us," without extenuation, without
exaggeration. He could make only a partial revelation
of himself-for the capacities of men enabled them to
receive only such a revelation, —but the revelation was
perfect so far as it went.  His biographers could tell us
only what they knew, but they tell us that to the life.
With these convictions, I have always held that the
study of the gospel history, and especially of " The Dis



Viii                 PREFACE.
courses and Sayings of our Lord Jesus Christ" —into
whose "lips grace was poured," —who had " the tongue
of the learned," and "spake as never man spake,"-is
one of the most probable means of promoting real vital
Christianity in ourselves, and that an exposition of these
is one of the most probable means of promoting it in
others. It is in the hope of, in some degree, contributing to these ends, that the following Expositions have
been prepared, and are now given to the public.
These remarks will be misunderstood, if they be considered as, in the slightest degree, disparaging the epistolary part of the New Testament. In some points of
view, that, as the completion of the code of divine doctrine and law, given by its Divine Author, not on earth,
but from heaven, is peculiarly valuable; but there is
comparatively little, if anything, in the apostolic epistles, of which the germ is not to be found in the gospels.
The declarations of the apostles are but the development
of their Master's thoughts,-a commentary-an infallible
one-on his sayings; and we do not rightly estimate
these divine writings, if we do not consider them as a
part of his word; nor rightly use them, if we do not
employ them for the purpose of better understanding his
mind and heart, and so bringing our minds and hearts
into conformity with his.
The general name of EXPOSITIONS has been given to
the discourses contained in these volumes, because no
other designation in common use could have accurately
described them all. There will be found among them
specimens of what are usually in Scotland called LECTURES, in all the forms which they ordinarily assumescholia, on particular words and phrases-continuous
comment, and illustrated analysis; and the illustrations




PREFACE.                    ix
of the " Sayings" of our Lord, as distinguished from his
" Discourses" generally, take the shape of the Expository
Sermon. But, in all the Discourses, Exposition will be
found to be the staple; whatever is doctrinal, experimental, or practical, being presented as the result of the
application of the principles of strict exposition to the
passage under consideration.
In preparing these volumes for the press, I have studied
the original text of their subjects with all the grammatical and lexical helps I possessed.  I have further availed
myself of every assistance within my reach, to be derived
from versions of, and commentaries on, the passages explained.  My aim was, not to produce an original work,
but a satisfactory exposition of an important portion of
Scripture; and if I shall be found in any measure to have
succeeded, it will not in any wise diminish my satisfaction, that my success be considered the result less of independent thinking or discovery on my part, than of having carefully consulted and deliberately weighed the
inquiries and conclusions of others. In every case, indeed,
I claim to have exercised my own judgment; but I have
always felt more satisfied when I found myself, as I have
usually done, following in the track of the learned and
pious of former generations, than when compelled, as I
have sometimes been, to walk alone.
It might wear the appearance of ostentation to present
a formal list of the works, in various languages, which
have been consulted. It is but an act of justice, however, to say that, besides the more ordinary commentaries,
ancient and modern, I have found advantage from the
works of the following authors: —CALVIN, CHEMNITZ,
CARTWRIGHT, RUS, PEARCE, SAURIN, MACKNIGHT CAMPBELL, BENNET, OLSHAUSENI and NEANDER, on the gospels




X                          PREFACE.
generally;  MELANOTHON, ROLLOCK, HUTCHESON, LAMPE,
MORUS, TITTMANN, and THOLUCK, on the gospel by John;
KNAPP, in his "Scripta Varii Argumenti," on the Gospel
of the Kingdom-John iii. 14-21; AUGUSTINE, EPISCOJPIUS, BLACKALL, BLAIR, VERNEDE, BREWSTER, THOLUCK,,and TRENCH, on the Sermon on the Mount; NORRIS and
GROVE, on the Beatitudes.  My obligations to the judicious work of BREWSTER are peculiarly numerous.
In illustrating the valedictory discourse, I have been
much indebted to GERHARD and to BENGEL,1 but still more
to the Lectures of my accomplished relative, the Rev.
JOHN BROWN PATTERSON,' whom the Disposer of all things,
whose judgments are a great deep, after having remarkably  prepared, both  intellectually  and  spiritually, for
eminent usefulness, withdrew so soon, and so suddenly,
from  the sphere of ministerial labor.   These Lectures,
viewed as the ordinary weekly preparations of a young
minister, are, for depth of thought and feeling, and for
beauty of expression, indeed wonderful.
The admirable illustrations of the fourteenth chapter of
the gospel by John, by my lamented friend, the Rev. Dr.
HEUGH, did not come into my hand till the Exposition of
ihat chapter had passed through the press. Had I seen
tliem before I composed it, I might probably have thought
such a work unnecessary; and even after it was prepared
" Pengelius magnam sagacitatem in rimandis ac presse explicandis sententiis
verborumque etiam minimorum significAtibus consumpsit."-WINER. I am glad
to learn that we are soon to have an English translation of that very remarkable
book, his "G rCnomon."
2 Late minister of Falkirk.  Ordained Feb. 26, 1830; died June 29, 1835.
IIis Prize Essay, "On the National Character of the Athenians,"-Additional
Notes to his grandfather's "Self-interpreting Bible,"-ann Introductory Essay to a
Selection from Jeremy Taylor's Works, his Remains, with a Memoir by his
Friend, G. G. Cunniinglhamn, Esq.,-and the Lectures referred to,-are permanent
memorials of his endowments and acquirements as a scholar, a theologian, and a
Christian minister.




PREFACE.                   Xi
for the press, the perusal of them might, perhaps, have
on the same ground shaken my determination to give it
to the world.  I do not, however, regret the circumstances in which I find myself placed. By the perusal of
Dr. HEUGH'S masterly lectures, as well as of the eloquent
discourses of my gifted kinsman, my impressions of the
transcendent excellence of our common theme have been
deepened; and in declaring the unsearchable riches of
our common Lord's wisdom and love, I have the solemn
delightful " fellowship of the spirit" with those two very
dear friends, who, "being dead, yet speak."  Their expositions will come into many hands into which mine will
not; —mine may come into some hands into which theirs
may not; and should they all come into the same hands,
I am persuaded our occasional diversity, and our general
agreement, will, each in its own way, conduce to stir and
to satisfy the minds of our readers.
Specific obligations to the authors consulted have generally been acknowledged in the margin, and would have
been so uniformly, but for the fact that most of the discourses were written without the press being seen even
dimly in the distance; and therefore, except where not
merely thoughts and expressions, but sentences, had been
borrowed, the marks of reference were not very scrupulously appended to the original manuscript.
As the Work was intended for the edification of Christians in general, whatever could be interesting or useful
only to the scholar has, as in my Exposition of the First
Epistle of Peter, been cast into the notes in the margin,
or at the end, of the several Expositions. More time and
attention have been bestowed on the collection and preparation of these notes, than, from their comparative fewness and brevity, might perhaps be supposed; and to my




:i2i                   PREFACE.
brethren in the ministry, I am persuaded, they will not
be the least acceptable and useful part of the Work.
In conducting the Work through the press, I have had
the kind assistance of several friends. To the Rev. Dr.
JOHN TAYLOR of Auchtermuchty, for the careful revision
of the corrected proofs, and to my brother-in-law, the
Rev. Dr. SMITH of Biggar, for the preparation of the indices,
I think it but due to make this public acknowledgment.
ARTmUR'S LODGE, NEWINGTON,
July 1850.




ADVERTISEMENT TO SECOND EDITION.
As the most appropriate way of showing the sense felt of
the public favor so distinctly expressed for this Work,
by the disposal of an edition of so large a book in so,
comparatively, short a period, I have endeavored to do
what I could for correcting its mistakes and supplying
its deficiencies in this re-impression.  To secure these
objects, it has undergone a thorough revision both by
myself and some of my literary friends; and though no
material change, or even important modification, of plan
or sentiment has been thought necessary, numerous alterations of expression have been made, and many additional
illustrations inserted.
The most important difference between this edition and
its predecessor, consists in its containing three additional
expositions —" On the Christian ministry, and the character and destiny of its occupants, worthy and unworthy;"'
"On the ministry of our Lord —its details and its results;,,2
and " On the Son of man, and his going."3 It is hoped
that by the insertion of these discourses, some addition is
made to the value of the Work, while, at the same time,
though the matter introduced occupies considerably more
than one hundred pages, by adopting a fuller page, with-'Exp. VI.      2 Exp. XX.      3 Exp. XXIIL




XiV        ADVERTISEMENT TO SECOND EDITION.
out diminishing the type, the size of the volumes has not
been inconveniently enlarged, and the price has not been
at all increased.
It has been my wish to present the work in this new
impression as free as may be from those mistakes in words,
collocation of clauses, and punctuation, which all who are
conversant with such undertakings knorr it to be so difficult to avoid; and, from the care of the printers, and the
valuable assistance derived from the just judgment and
observant eye of my much-esteemed friend, the Reverend
PETER DAVIDSON, of this city, I cherish the hope of having,
in a good measure, succeeded in this object.
I cannot conclude this notice without expressing satisfaction at the fact, that, in consequence of the kind reception of the "Exposition of the First Epistle of Peter " in
the United States of America, a considerable proportion
of the present edition appears with the well-known and
respected names of "Robert Carter and Brothers, New
York," on the title.  It is pleasant to think of contributing, in any degree, to the increase and permanence of
that union of mind and heart between the Christians of
America and of Great Britain, on which the well-being of
the world's future so much depends.
A.RTHUR'S LODGE, NEWINGTON,
March 1852.




CONTENTS OF VOL. I.
EXPOSITION I.
THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM.
JOHN m. 14-21. —"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so
must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but
that the world through him might be saved. IIe that believeth on him is not
condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condem
nation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than
light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the
light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that
doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they
are wrought in God."
INTRODUCTION, p. 23.-PART I. OF the MESSIAH, P. 32. ~ 1. The Son of God, p. 32.
~ 2. The Son of Man, p. 33. ~ 3. Sent bZ the Father, p. 34.-PART II. OF THE
DESIGN OF THE MESSIAH'S MISSION, P. 34. ~ 1. Negatively, "not to condemn the
world," p. 35. ~ 2. Positively, " to save the world," p. 35. (1.) That the world
"might not perish," p. 35. (2.) That the world "might have eternal life," p. 36.
-PART III. OF THE MEANS BY WHIIICH THE DESIGN OF THE MESSIAH'S MISSION WAS TO
BE ACCOMPLISHED, P. 37. Figuratively, by his being "lifted up, as Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness," p. 37. Literally, by his being "given" by
God for and to mankind, p. 39.-PART IV. OF THE MANNER OF OBTAINING THE
BLESSINGS PROCURED BY THE MESSIAH, p. 40. Figuratively, by " looking" at him,
p. 40. Literally, by "believing in him," p. 43.-PART V. OF THE PRIMARY
SOURCE OF THIS ECONOMY OF SALVATION-THE LOVE OF GOD TO THE WORLD, p. 44. Tilhe
love of, God not the result of the economy, but its cause, p. 45. ~ 1. The love
of God the origin of the plan of salvation, p. 47. ~ 2. The love of God to trhe
world the origin of the plan of salvation, p. 49.-PART VI. OF THE GUILT ANI)
DANGER OF THOSE WHO DO NOT AVAIL THEMSELVES OF THIS ECONOMY OF SALVATION,
p. 51.-NOTES-NOTE A, "The kingdom of God," Tholuck, p. 60.  NOTE B,
" Born of water and of the Spirit," Tholuck, p. 61. NOTE C, " Born of the flesh
-flesh; born of the Spirit-spirit," Tittmann, p. 62.  NOTE D, "Earthly
things," —" heavenly things," Tittmann, p. 62. NOTE E, " The Son of Man is in
heaven," Knapp, p. 63.
EXPOSITION II.
OUR LORD'S CONVERSATION WITH THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA.
JOHN IV. 4-42-p. 64.
Occasion and circumstances of the conversation, p. 64. The conversation itself,
p. 67. The living water the gift of God, p. 69. The nature of acceptable
worship, p. 71. The spiritual harvest, p. 76.




xvi                             CONTENTS.
EXPOSITION III.
OUR LORD'S DEFENCE OF HIS WORKING MIRACLES \)N THE
SABBATH-DAY.
JOHN V. 17-47 —p. 78.
INTRODUCTION, P. 78.-PART I. THE DOCTRINE, p. 81. —PART II. THE EVIDENCE, P. 95
-PART III. THE APPLICATION, P. 101.-NOTES-NOTE A. Meaning of /seraffr#inK
-John v. 24, p. 107. NOTE B, Reasons for translating John v. 37 interrog
atively, Campbell, p. 108.
EXPOSITION IV.
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
MATTH. V., VI., VII.-P. 110.
INTRODUCTION, p. 110. —PART I. THE DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERS AND PRIVILEGES O0
THE DISCIPLES OF CHRIST-Matth. v. 3-12, p. 113. ~ 1. The poor in spirit —possessors of the kingdom of heaven, Matth. v. 3, p. 113. ~ 2. They that mournthey shall be comforted, Matth. v. 4, p. 115. ~ 3. The meek-they shall inherit
the earth, Matth. v. 5, p. 116. ~ 4. They that hunger and thirst after righteousness-they shall be filled, Matth. v. 6, p. 120.  ~5. The mefciful-they shall
obtain mercy, Matth. v. 7, p. 122. ~ 6. The pure in heart-they shall see God,
AMatth. v. 8, p. 129. ~ 7. The peace-makers-they shall be called the children
of God, Matth. v. 9, p. 131.  8. Appendix-Persecuted, yet blessed, notwithstanding, and therefore, Matth. v. 10-12, p. 135.-PART II. THE POSITIONS AND
DUTIES OF CHRISTIANS IN REFERENCE TO THE WORLD.-Matth. v. 13-16, p. 141.  ~ 1.
"The salt of the earth," Matth. v. 13, p. 141. ~ 2. "The light of the world,"
Matth. v. 14-16, p. 149.-PART III. THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO THE ANCIENT
REVELATIONS.-Matth. V. 17-19, p. 153. ~ 1. Negative-not destructive, Mattlh.
v. 17, p. 154.  ~ 2. Positive-completive, Matth. v. 17, p. 155.-PART IV. THE
RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRISTIANS SUPERIOR TO THIE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE SCRIBES AND
PHARIsEES.-Matth v. 20; vi. 18, p. 160.  ~ 1. Introductory statement, Mattih.
v. 20, p. 160. ~ 2. The righteousness of Christians and that of the Scribes and
Pharisees, compared in reference to the life and happiness of others, Matth. v.
21-26, p. 165. ~ 3. The righteousness of Christians and that of the Scribes and
Pharisees, compared in reference to chastity, Matth. v. 27-30, p. 173. ~ 4. The
righteousness of Christians, and that of the Scribes and Pharisees, compared in
reference to divorce, Matth. v. 31, 32, p. 178. ~ 5. The righteousness of Christians, and that of the Scribes and Pharisees, compared in reference to oaths,
Matth. v. 33-37, p. 180. ~ 6. The righteousness of Christians, and that of the
Scribes and Pharisees, compared in reference to retaliation, Matth. v. 38-42, p.
185. ~ 7. The righteousness of Christians, and that of the Scribes and Pharisees, compared in reference to regard and treatment of enemies, Matth. v.
43-48, p. 189. ~ 8. The righteousness of Christians, and that of the Scribes
and Pharisees, compared in reference to the duties of beneficence and piety,
Matth. vi. 1-18, p. 195. (1.) Alms, Matth. vi. 2, 3, p. 199. (2.) Prayer, Matth.
vi. 5-15, p. 203. 1. General directions about prayer, Matth. vi. 5-8, p. 203.
2. Pattern of prayer, Matth. vi. 9-13, p. 210. (3.) Fasting, Matth. vi. 16-18, p.
223.-PART V. THE OBJECT OF SUPREME DESIRE TO CHRISTIANS, AND THE MEANS OF
OBTAINING IT.-Matth. vi. 19-34, p. 229.-PART VI. DETACHED EXHORTATIONS.Matth. vii. 1-12, p. 249. ~ 1. With respect to judging others, Matth. vii. 1-5, p.
250. ~ 2. With regard to instruction and reproof, Matth. vii. 6, p. 255. ~ 3.
With regard to prayer as the means of obtaining blessings, Matth. vii. 7-11, p.
257.  ~ 4. Comprehensive rule for relative duties, illustrative of the difference
between the righteousness of Christians and that of the Scribes and Pharisees,
Matth. vii. 12, p. 265.-PART VII. APPLICATION OF THE DISCOURSE.-Matth. vii.
13-23, p. 271.  ~ 1. This is the only way of escaping perdition, and securing




CONTENTS.                             XVii,
salvation, Matth. vii. 13, 14, p. 272. ~ 2. Caution against false teachers, and
the means of discovering them, Matth. vii. 15-20, p. 275. ~ 3. Caution against
self-deception, Matth. vii, 21-23, p. 278.-PART VIII. PERORATIo N. —Matth. vii.
24-27, p. 285. ~ 1. General illustration, p. 285. ~ 2. AMore particular illustration, p. 288.  (1.) The wise builder and his fate, Matth. vii. 2-, 25, p. 288.
(2.) The foolish builder and his fate, Matth. vii. 26, 27, p. 289.-CoNcLUSrox.Matth. vii. 28, 29, p. 290.-NOTES-NOTE A, " The kingdom of heaven," TSilucl,
p. 292.  NOTE B, The Beautitudes, Knox, p. 296.  NOTE C, "Raka"' anil
" Moreh," meaning of these terms, p. 297. NOTE C2, Swear not at all, laulric'.
p. 297. NOTE D, Illustration of the prohibition to retaliate, Tiholuck, p. 298.
NOTE F, Chrysostom.'s illustration of the christian law in reference to enemies, Pi.
299. NOTE G, Remarks on the Lord's prayer: its order, origin, and interpreters, p. 299. NOTE H, On the genuineness of the doxology annexed to the
Lord's prayer, Tholuck, p. 302. NOTE I, Reference of the word 7rovylpoi, Matthl.
vii. 11, Trench, p. 305.
EXPOSITION V.
FAITHFUL DENUNCIATIONS.
LUKE XI. 37-54-p. 306.
INTRODUCTION-Luke xi. 371, 38, p. 306.-PART I. THE PIIARISEES CONDEMNED.-Luke
xi. 39-44, p. 310.-PART II. THE LAWYERS CONDErMNND.-Luke xi. 45-52, p. 317.CoNoLvsIoN.-Luke xi. 53, 54, p. 326.-NOTE-On Christians associating with
men of the world, Alexander Knox, p. 326.
EXPOSITION VI.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY; AND THE CHARACTER AND DESTINY
OF ITS OCCUPANTS-WORTHY AND UNWORTHY.
LUKE XIL 35-37, 41-47.-" Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will
return from the wedding; that, when he cometh and knocketh, they may open
unto him immediately.  Blessed are those servants, whom the lord, when he
cometh, shall find watching: verily I say unto you, That he shall gird himself,
a:nd make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them."  -
e           *           "Thei Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this
parable unto us, or even to all? And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful
and wise steward, whom his lord- shall make ruler over his household, to give
them their portion of meat in due season?  Blessed is that servant, whom his
lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, That he
will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his
heart, lMy lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the men-servants
and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; the lord of that servant
will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not
aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes."
INTRoDUCTION, p. 328.-PART I. THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY, p. 330. —PART II. Tasu
CHARACTER OF THE OCCUPANTS OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY, p. 331. ~ 1. Worthy,
p. 332.  ~ 2. Unworthy, p. 333.-PART III. THE DESTINY OF THE OCCUPANTS OF
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY, p. 339. ~ 1. Worthy, p. 340. ~ 2. Unworthy, pi 342.CONCLUSION, p. 343.
VOL. I.                           2.




xVi.fi                        CONTENTS.
EXPOSITION VII.
FIGURATIVE VIEWS OF THE PURPOSE OF OUR LORD'S MISSION; OF
THE MEANS OF GAINING IT; AND  OF HIS FEELINGS IN REFERENCE TO BOTH.
LCKE xn. 49, 50.-" I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I if it
be already kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I
straitened till it be accomplished?" p. 347.
INTRODUCTION, P. 347.-PART I. OF THE DESIGN OF OUR LORD's MISSION-" To send
fire on the earth," p. 348; AND HIS FEELINGS IN REFERENCE TO THIS-" What will I
if it be already kindled?" p. 351.-PART II. OF THE MEANS OF GAINING THE DESIGN OF OUR LORD'S MISSION —" The baptism he must be baptized with," p. 352;
AND HIS FEELINGS WITH REGARD TO THIS-" HOW am I straitened till it be accomplished?" p. 354.-Conclusion, p. 356.
EXPOSITION VIII.
TRUE HAPPINESS, AND THE WAY OF SECURING IT.
JOHN VI. p. 359.
PART I. INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE-John vi. 1-25, p. 359.-PART II. CONVERSATIONAL,
DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS-John vi. 26-65, p. 362. ~ 1. Misconceptions corrected,
John vi. 26-32, p. 362. ~ 2. The true spiritual provision, and the mode of obtaining it, John vi. 32-58, p. 369.-PART III. THE EFFECTS OF THIS DISCOURSE ON HIS
DISCIPLES IN WORD, AND ON HIS DISCIPLES IN DEED-John vi. 60-71, p. 404. ~ 1. On
his professed disciples, John vi. 60-66, p. 404. ~ 2. On his disciples in deed,
John vi. 67-69, p. 408.-CONCLUSION, p. 409.
EXPOSITION IX.
HUMAN/ AUTHORITY IN RELIGION CONDEMNED.
MATTHEW XV. 1-20; MARKX vI. 1-23 —p. 411.
Jewish custom of washing hands before meat as a religious rite, p. 412. Our
Lord's condemnation of the practice, and of all unauthorized religious observances, as useless, p. 412. As mischievous, p. 413.  Illustration of their mischievousness, p. 414. Jewish doctrine of vows, p. 415. Application to our
circumstances, p. 416.  What really defiles a man, p. 416.  All doctrines and
usages in religion, unauthorized by God, doomed to extirpation, p. 417.-NOTE
-Impurity and sectarianism the master maladies of christian churches, and
closely connected, p. 423.
EXPOSITION X.
UNLIMITED INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BLESSINGS
OF SALVATION.
JOHN VII. 37, 38.-" In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jebu,, stood and
cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of
living water," p. 424.
INTRODUCTION, p. 424.-PART I. THE INVITATION, p. 427.: 1. The persons invited —




CONTEiNTS.                            xix
"the thirsty," p. 427. ~ 2. The fountain to which they are invited-ME, p.
428. ~ 3. The double call, p. 429. (1.) "Come," p. 429. (2.) "Drink," p. 430.
~ 4. The unlimited extent of the invitation-" If any man," 430.-PART II. THE
CONSEQUENCES OF ACCEPTING THE INVITATION, p. 431. Introductory explicatory remarks, p. 432. ~ 1. He who accepts the invitation obtains abundant permanent
happiness, p. 434. ~ 2. He who accepts the invitation manifests his happiness,
p. 435. ~ 3. He who accepts the invitation becomes the means of communicating happiness to others, p. 485.  APPENDIX;-Expository note of the
evangelist. John vii. 39: —" But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that
believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because
that Jesus was not yet glorified." Connection between the giving of the Spirit
and the glorification of Christ, p. 437.
EXPOSITION XI.
MISCELLANEOUS.
CHRIST THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.-TRUE LIBERTY. —EAL SLAVERY.-SPIRITUAL
PATERNITY OF THE JEWS.-PRE-EXISTENCE AND DIVINITY OF CHRIST.
JOHN vm. 12, 59-p. 442.
INTRODUCTION, p. 442.-PART I. CHRIST THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD, John viii. 12, p.
444. ~ 1. The claim, John viii. 12, p. 445. ~ 2. The claim vindicated, John
viii. 13-19, p. 446.-PART II. TRUE LIBERTY.-REAL SLAVERY, John viii. 30-36,.p.
455.-PART III. THE SPIRITUAL PATERNITY OF THE UNBELIEVING JEws, John viii.
37-55, p. 464.  ~ 1. Not the spiritual children of Abraham, John viii. 37-40, p.
464. ~ 2. Not the spiritual children of God, John viii. 41-43, p. 465. ~ 3. The
children of the devil, John viii. 44-55, p. 467.-PART IV. THE PRE-EXISTENCE AND
DIVINITY OF CHRIST, John viii. 56-59.-CONCLUSION, p. 478.-NOTES-N-OTE A.
Peculiarity of our Lord's mode of teaching, Townson, p. 488. NOTE B. Meaning
and reference of dpxjv, John viii. 25, Tholuck, p. 490.  NOTE C. The devil the
father of the Jews, Tholuck, p. 491.
EXPOSITION XII.
THE CHURCH AND ITS OFFICE-BEARERS-TRUE AND FALSE.
JOHN X. 1-9-p. 494.
INTRODUCTION, p. 494.-PART I. OF THE FOLDED SHEEP, p. 496.-PART II. OF THE DOOR
OF THE FOLD, p. 497.-PART III. ~ OF THE TRUE SHEPHERDS WHO ENTER IN BY THE
DOOR, p. 498.-PART IV. OF THE FALSE SHEPHERDS WHO DO NOT ENTER IN BY THE
DOOR, p. 502.-CONCLUSION, p. 505.
EXPOSITION XIII.
THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
JOHN X. 11.-" I am the good Shepherd." —p. 508.
INTRODUCTION, p. 508.-PART 1. JESUS CHRIST, AS THE GOOD SHEPHERD, SECURES FOR
HIS PECULIAR PEOPLE ALL THE BLESSINGS THEY STAND IN NEED OF, p. 512.-PART II.
JESUS CHRIST, AS THE GOOD SHEPHERD, SECURES BLESSINGS FOR HIS PEOPLE AT THE
GREATEST CONCEIVABLE EXPENSE TO HIMSELF, P. 513.-PART III. THERE SUBSISTS THE
MOST INTIMATrE AND ENDEARING MUTrUAL ACQUAINTANCE AND INTERCOURSE BETWEEN
JESUS CHRIST, AS THE GOOD SHEPHERD, AND HIS PEOPLE, p. 516.-PART IV. JEsUS
CHRIST, AS THE GOOD SHEPHERD, CARES FOR ALL HIS PEOPLE, P. 519.




XX                            CONTENTS.
EXPOSITION XIV.
THE SON, IN ACCOMPLISHING THE WORK COMMITTED TO HIM,
THE OBJECT OF THE FATHER'S DELIGHT.
JOHN x. 17, 18.-" Therefore doth my Father love me, beeause I lay down m
life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of
myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This
commandment have I received of my Father."-p. 523.
INTRODUCTION, p. 623.-rPART I. THE GREAT WORK IN WHICH THE SON IS ENGAGED, p.
526.-PART II. THE APPOINTMENT OF THE SON TO HIS GREAT WORK BY THE FATHER,
p. 529.-PART III. THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THE SON FOR HIS GREAT WORK, P. 532.
-PART IV. THE SON'S ACCOMPLISHMENT OF HIS GREAT WORK, p. 536.-PART V. THE
COMPLACENCY MANIFESTED BY THE FATHER TO THE SON IN THE ACCOMPLISHMENT, AND FOR
THE ACCOMPLISHMENT, OF HIS GREAT WORK, 537.-CONCLUSION, P. 540.-NOTE. Connection and meaning of iva cifo.- Tholuck, p. 541.
EXPOSITION XV.
CONVERSATION WITH THE JEWS AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.
JOHN X. 22-42-p. 542.
INTRODUCTION, P. 542.-Feast of dedication-what? p. 543. The Jews' complaint,
p. 547. Our Lord's reply, p. 549. His account of their unbelief, p. 557. The
absolute security of "his sheep," p. 561. Our Lord's unity with the Father asserted, p. 562. Exasperation of the Jews at this, p. 563. They charge him with
blasphemy, p. 563. His defence, p. 564.
EXPOSITION XVI.
INTERVIEW  WITH THE GREEKS.
JOHN xi. 20-26-p. 574.
Who were these " Greeks " e p. 575. The " hour " of the glorification of the Son
of man, p. 580. The corn of wheat dying and falling into the earth, p. 581.
Loving life, the way to lose it; hating it, the way to " keep it unto life eternal."
p. 584. The duty and reward of the true disciple, p. 585.
EXPOSITION XVII.
INTERNAL SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
JOAN XL. 27, 28. —" Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father,
save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father glorify
thy name.'ten came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorifie'd
it, and will glorify it again."-p. 588.
INTRODUCTION, P. 588.-PART I. OUR SAVIOUR'S INTERNAL SUFFERINGS, p. 589.-PART
II. THE EXERCISE OF OUR LORD'S MIND UNDER HIS INTERNAL SUFFERINGS, P. 594.PART III. THE FATHER'S APPROBATION OF THE SAVIOUR'S EXERCISE OF MIND UNDER HIS
INTERNAL SUFFERINGS, p. 597.-CONCLUSION, P. 599.




CONTENTS.                              XXi
EXPOSITION XVIII.
THE DEATH OF CHRIST AND ITS RESULTS.
JOHN xni. 31-33. —" Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince
of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all
men unto me. (This he said, signifying what death he should die.")-p. 601.
INTRODUCTION, p. 601.-PART I. THE DEATH OF CHRIST, p. 603. ~ 1. The fact of his
death predicted, p. 604. ~ 2. The manner of his death described, p. 605.
~ 3. The nature of his death unfolded, p. 608.-PART II. THE RESULTS OF THE
DEATH OF CHRIST, P. 611. ~ 1. The judgment of this world, p. 614.. (1.) What
is meant by the judgment of this world? p. 614. (2.) How is the judgment of
this world the result of the death of Christ?  p. 620. ~ 2. The expulsion of " the
prince of this world," p. 622. (1.) "The prince of this world "-who is he 
p. 622. (2.) The casting out of the prince of this world —what is it? p. 627.
(3.) The casting out of the prince of this world the result of Christ's deathhow? p. 630.  ~ 3. The drawing all men to Christ, p. 634. 1. What is this
drawing of all men to Christ? p. 636. (1.) All men, without exception, become the subjects of his mediatorial government, p. 636. (2.) All men, without distinction, become the objects of the invitations of his Gospel, p. 637.
(3.) All whom the Father has given him, " an innumerable company out of
every kindred, tongue, and nation," are put in possession of the blessings of
his salvation, p. 638. 2. What is the connection between this drawing all to
him, and his being "lifted up from the earth"? p. 640.-CoNcLusION, p. 643.








DISCOURSES AND SAYINGS
OF
OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.
EXPOSITION I.
THE GOSPEL OF TIIE KINGDOM,
JORN iii. 14-21. —And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so
must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth on him should not
perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but
that the world through him might be saved. lie that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light,
neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth
truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are
wrought in God.
INTRODUCTION.
THESE " golden sentences" occur in the narrative of a conversation between our Lord Jesus Christ, and Nicodemus a ruler of
the Jews. To understand the record of any conversation aright,
it is of great importance to know its occasion-the characters of
those engaged in it, and the circumstances in which it took place.
These, in the case before us, are but imperfectly known to us:
but we shall find that even the very partial notices we have of
them, cast much light on what would otherwise be very obscure,
if not altogether unintelligible.
Jesus Christ, attended  by his five disciples, Peter, and Andrew, and John, and Philip, and Nathaniel,' had come up from
Galilee to Jerusalem.2  His external appearance was that of a
Jew of humble rank, and his followers were men belonging to'John i. 40-49.                2 John ii. 13.




24            THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM.           [EXP. L.
the same class in society as himself. His expulsion of those
traffickers who had desecrated the temple by making one of its
courts the scene of their secular commerce, and his performance
of a number of miracles, had, however, drawn on him a considerable share of public attention;3 and many had been induced
to regard him as a divine messenger or prophet: though the rnajority of those who had formed this opinion were persons entirely
under the influence of the sentiments almost universally prevalent among the Jews respecting the design of the Messiah's mis.
sion, and the nature of the kingdom which he was to establish in
the world.
Among these individuals was Nicodemus, a member of the
sect of the Pharisees, which embraced in it the great body of the
apparently pious of the Jews; a man of high rank and respectable character; a ruler of the Jews;4 a "councillor," or member of the Sanhedrim,~ the highest court of judicature among the
Jews; and a " master in Israel," or expositor of the Jewish law.
This man-though he appears at this period to have been entirely
secular in his opinions and expectations respecting the Messiah,
one of those who were looking, not for a spiritual saviour, but for
a temporal deliverer; not for a personal salvation from guilt and
depravity and endless ruin, but for a national deliverance from
the foreign yoke of the Romans —seems to have been a person
of an inquisitive and candid mind.
It is not at all likely that he thought that this worker of
miracles was, or even supposed that he might be, the Messiah,
the promised deliverer, with regard to whose appearance all
men's minds were in a state of excited expectation. He must
have looked for the Messiah, not from Nazareth, but from Bethlehem; not in the person of an obscure Galilean stranger, but
in an acknowledged descendant of the ancient royal house of
David.
But he had come to the conclusion that this young Nazarene
was a divinely-commissioned messenger, and he wished to have
some private conversation with him; no doubt, respecting that
" kingdom of God," or " of heaven," which both John the Baptist and Jesus had declared to be " at hand," just about to be
established. Probably from a fear of involving himself in danger, either from his colleagues in the Sanhedrim, or from the
Roman government, he seems to have wished that the interview
should be as private as possible, and accordingly he "came to
Jesus by night."
He introduced himself by declaring his conviction, founded on
the miracles which he had witnessed, that Jesus was a divine
messenger:-" Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come
from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest,
except God be with him."' Instead of permitting him to unfold
3 John ii. 14 —23.           4 John iii. 1.' "Hi t:r sive apxovref appellantur. Neh. xi. 1. John vii. 50."-CoccuIs.
6 John iii. 2.




EXP. I.]                 INTRODUCTION.                          25
the purpose of his visit, Jesus, who " knew what was in man,"
and often answered men's thoughts rather than their words,7 replied in a manner which showed that he was acquainted with
what was passing in his visitor's mind.  Instead of showing himself flattered by the recognition of his divine mission by a man of
such high rank and extensive influence, and endeavoring to
secure his assistance in establishing his claims, he in effect states,
that Nicodemus was completely mistaken on the subject about
which he had come to converse, and that without an entire
change in his mode of thinking, and in his mode of feeling too,
he could never become a partaker of the privileges of the new
order of things to be established by the Messiah, nor even distinctly apprehend their nature. "Except a man," any man,
every man, Jew as well as Gentile, undergo a change not less
extensive and thorough than that which a heathen does when he
becomes a Jew, and which the Jews were accustomed to call a
new birth-" except a man be born again, he cannot see' the
kingdom of God."9
Nicodemus, if, as is not improbable, he had heard the preaching of John, and even submitted to his baptism, had not complied with the injunction " repent"-" change your views and expectations respecting the kingdom  of God;" and therefore our
Lord thus turns his attention to the nature and necessity of this
"repentance,"'0 this thorough inward change, under another, and
still more impressive representation.
" The kingdom of God"-a phrase derived from a remarkable
prediction of the prophet Daniel,"' a — denotes the order of things
to be established by the Messiah, an order of things rich in blessings to his subjects, both in this life and in that which is to
come-both on earth and in heaven.
To "see" the kingdom of heaven, may signify either to apprehend the truth with respect to this order of things, or to enjoy
its peculiar privileges. Both ideas may be included, as it is
through apprehending the truth respecting the kingdom that
men become partakers of its privileges. It is a phrase of similar
import as to "see good," to "see death," to "see God," to "see
of the travail of his soul."'2
To be  "born again," is equivalent to the undergoing of a
thorough change, beneficial in its character, and the cause of
which is not in the individual who undergoes it. ~
7 John viii. 7; vi. 26, 61, 64, 65.
o Dr. Campbell's notes deserves to be carefully perused.
9 John iii. 3. "' Regnum Dei' dicitur is status ecclesie, in quo ea soli Deo, ut
regi, subjicitur."-CoccEWus.
10 tercavota.                                     i Dan. ii. 44.
2 Ps. xxxiv. 12. John viii. 51. Matth. v. 8. Isa. liii. 11.
"3 Erasmus Cyrilli opinionem sequutus adverbium ivwoeev male transtulit'e
supernis:' Ambigua est, fateor, ilius significatio apud Grwecos, sed Christum Hebraic6 cum Nicodemo loquutum esse scimus. Porro illic amphibologiT locus non
fuisset, qua deceptus Nicodemus in secunda carnis nativitate pueriliter haesitat." —— CALvIN in loc.
See Note A.




26              THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM.              [EXP. I.
Nicodemus, who thought that the Jews, because descendants
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were to be the subjects of the
Messiah, "the children of the kingdom," declared that this statement of Jesus seemed as strange to him as if he had said that a
man of mature age must, in the literal sense of the terms, be
born again.  "Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be
born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his
mother's womb, and be born?"'"
It is not at all necessary that we should suppose Nicodemus to
have been so stupid as to apprehend our Lord's obviously figurative language literally, or so profane as to attempt to turn into
ridicule the words of one whom  he acknowledged to be "a
teacher come from God." It was customary among the Jews,
as has been already hinted, when a heathen proselyte was admitted into "the commonwealth of Israel," to term the change
he underwent a new birth. In Nicodemus' estimation, he and
all Israelites, being the children of Abraham, were also " chil.
dren of the kingdom." " The kingdom of heaven" was, in their
reckoning, merely the more complete development of the theocratic system under which they already were; and he could not
conceive what change was necessary to pass on them, to secure
their sharing in its immunities and privileges. Had Jesus said,
unless a Gentile be born again, " he cannot see the kingdom of
heaven," this could have been understood. But the general declaration, "except a man," very probably so uttered as to convey the idea, except you, be born again (for it is plainly to this
saying, and the equally indefinite one in the 7th verse, that our
Lord refers, when he says, "marvel not that I said to thee" a
councillor, a master in Israel, "ye" Jews "must be born again")
was so utterly incongruous to all his notions, that he in effect
says, " This new birth on the part of Jews, in order to their becoming participants of the honors and blessings of the MAessiah's
reign, seems to me as strange, and incredible, and useless a thing,
as that a grown up-man should be again born of his mother."
Jesus repeated the statement, adding some circumstances fitted
to lead Nicodemus into correct views with regard to the nature
of that change which he had represented as necessary for the
enjoyment of the advantages of the Messiah's reign:-" Verily,
verily, I say into thee, except a man be born of water,'5 and of
the Spirit, he cannot enter'6 into the kingdom  of God.  That
which is born of the flesh is flesh;"7 and that which is born of
the Spirit is spirit.  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be
born again.   The wind"8 bloweth where it listeth, and thou
14 John iii. 4.
15 "Aqua denotat Baptismum Joannis in Christum Jesum, v. 23, 24."-BENGEL.
16,,Crescit severitas. Non potest intrare, nedum videre. Quod non natum est
neque oculis, neque pedibus utitur."-B:ENGEL.
"7,, Caro vera, sed et caro mera, spiritus expers, spiritui adversa."-BEN-GEL.
18 "4 Spiritus, proprie, nam huic non vento voluntas et vox est; et ex hoc nasclmur, et qui ex hoc nascitur est, ut hic. Cum vento non immediate compararetur
renatus, sed spiritus ipse."-BENGEL.




EXP. I.]                INTRODUCTION.                        27
hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh,
and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the
Spirit."'9 This is equivalent to,'Strange as my statement may
appear to you, it is indubitably true. The change I refer to is
not one of external profession merely, but of inward character.
Except a man not only make a profession of a change of mind,
such as that made by those who submitted to John's baptism;
but actually undergo that change of mind which is produced by
the operation of the Holy Ghost, he cannot be a participant of
the blessings of the Messiah's reign.'2 b
"That which is. born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is
born of the Spirit is spirit." " Flesh" may here mean,' human
nature as depraved,' or'human nature apart from supernatural
influence.' In the first place it is equivalent to,'Depraved man
can have a son only in his own likeness. Man must become
God's son to become fit for His holy kingdom.' In the second
case it is equivalent to,' As the natural descendants of Abraham,
you may be, you are, possessors of external privileges; but you
must be spiritually born, that is, in your inward views and feelings you must be radically changed, in order to your being fitted
to enjoy spiritual privileges.  The Jewish people are born of the
flesh,-" of blood, of the will of the flesh, of the will of man,"2
they are men, and may enjoy these external privileges, which it
is competent for you as men to enjoy; but the kingdom of God
is a spiritual kingdom; none but those who are spiritual can
enjoy its privileges, and none can be spiritual without a thorough
change being produced on their spiritual nature by " the Spirit,"
plainly the Spirit of God.c This seems wonderful to you; but
that is no reason why you should not believe it.'
The words that follow have been usually thus interpreted:-'You have had no experience of this spiritual change, and you
have no distinct notion of the manner in which it is to be produced, or why it is necessary; but you never think of denying
the existence of wind, which indeed proves itself by its effects,
though it is invisible, and though its movements are regulated
by laws over which you have no control, and of which you have
little knowledge.'
This interpretation does not seem to be satisfactory, as it
obliges us to give to the word which occurs so often in the
passage, properly rendered " Spirit,"22 an unusual sense, that of
"wind." I am therefore inclined to keep to the ordinary sense
of the word, Spirit, retaining the same meaning throughout, and
to consider our Lord as saying,' This spiritual new birth, which
you find it so difficult to understand and believe, has the common
character of spiritual operations.  For example, in inspiration
19 John iii. 5-8.
20," From the fact that Jesus says nothing more of the water, but proceeds to
explain the operation of the Spirit, it is plain that the former was merely a point
of departure to lead to the latter." —NEANDER.
1 John i. 13.      2 irvebiua.   b See Note B.   c See Note C.




28                THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM.                   [EXP. I.
(with the idea of which the Jews were familiar), " The Spirit
breathes where he pleases:"  you do not know  the reason or
manner of his commencing, or the reason or manner of his terminating, his operations on the inspired person, but you observe
its effects, "you hear his voice," you have the revelation.  "Thus
it is with every one born of the Spirit."' It is not a comparison
of the operation of the wind and that of the Spirit. It is not a
comparison at all.  It is the statement of a general law, and an
assertion that the case referred to is an exemplification of it.
The change is an internal spiritual change. It is the work of
the Spirit, who in this case, as usually, does not unfold the reason
and manner of his operations, but manifests their effects.'2
Nicodemus, more and more perplexed, utterly incapable of
reconciling these statements, as to complete internal change
being necessary even on a Jew, in order to being a sharer of
the privileges of the Messiah's kingdom, with the notions he had
from his infancy entertained respecting the design of the appearance of that long-promised Prince, exclaimed, " How can these
things be?"24  "And no wonder," as Neander says, "a  dead,
contracted, arrogant, scribe-theology, is always amazed at the
mysteries of inward spiritual experience."   Our Lord replied,
"Art thou a master in Israel,25 and knowest not these"2 things?""'
These words seem to imply, that if he had studied the Old
Testament Scriptures he might have known, that an internal
change was necessary for enjoying the blessings of the Messiah's
kingdom.' Had you understood  those Scriptures, with  the
letter of which, as "a master in Israel," you are so familiar, you
must have known that that kingdom is to be spiritual in its
nature, and that no man with the carnal conceptions common
among the Jews, can understand its nature or enjoy its blessings.'
Our Lord probably refers to such passages as the following:
"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be
clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I
cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit
will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out
of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.  And I will
put my spirit within you."  "Behold, the days come, saith the
23 This is the view taken by Bengel and Schoettgen, among others. Jansenius'
I Ate deserves to be quoted:-"'Spiritus ubi vult spirat.' Quod Cyrill, Chrysost.
et Theophylact. intelligunt de vento, Ambros. vero et August. hic rectius de
spiritu sanceto, quem Greg. Bern. aliique multi Latini secuti sunt, multi etiam
Graci prmecessere. Ventus enim nee vult, nee ignoratur, unde veniat, aut quo
vadat. Itaque Spiritus nempe Sanctus de quo praecesserat ubi vult spirat, id est
afflat quos voluerit,' dividens singulis prout vult' ut apostolus loquitur, variisque
donis imbuens. Alludere enim videtur ad eos qui in veteri testamento variis
modis acti sunt, sicut induit Gedeonem, Samsonem, Saulem, Prophetas.'Et vocem
ejus audis,' id est, ejus effecta percipis exteriora. dum loquitur futura per prophetas, mysteria per sapientes, operatur mira par sanctos.'Sed nescis unde veniat
aut quo vadat,' id est interiorem accessum recessumque spiritus dum hominem vel
contigit vel deserit, non intelligunt homines.'Sic *est omnis qui natus est ex
spiritu,' id est sic agitur cum eo qui renascitur ex Spiritu Sancto et aqua."
24 John iii. 9.                  25 "The teacher of Israel."-CAMPBELL26 "Est emphasis in voce rahra. "-CALVIN.             27 John iii. 10.




EXP. I.]              INTRODUCTION.                     29
Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel,
and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant
that I made with their fathers: But this shall be the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days,
saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write
it in their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my
people."28
Our Lord proceeded to assert the truth and importance of the
statement he had made; "Verily, verily, I say unto you, We
speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and ye receive not our witness."29  " We'" not improbably includes John
the Baptist, whose doctrine of repentance or change of mind, is
entirely coincident with our Lord's doctrine of the new birth.
Our Lord thus gently, but powerfully, exposed Nicodemus' inconsistency, q. d.,'You say that you know that I am a teacher
sent from God, and you admit John to be a prophet; and yet
when we tell you what we know to be true, instead of readily
receiving it, you doubt, and hesitate, and object, and cavil.
You are come to inquire of me concerning the nature of the
Messiah's kingdom, but how will you ever receive the truth
respecting it, so widely different from what you as a Jew expect,
when you discover so much backwardness to receive the doctrine,
comparatively level to your comprehension, that a great inward
change, to be effected by the Spirit of God, is necessary to the
enjoyment of its blessing, and indeed to the understanding of its
nature?'
" If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how
shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things?""0 q. d.,'Your
behavior gives me little encouragement to go forward and unfold to you the truth about that kingdom of God, to inquire
about which was the greatest purpose of your visit. For if you
find so much difficulty in receiving what is comparatively an
earthly thing, a doctrine respecting things level to ordinary
apprehensions-the doctrine'that carnal men, men occupied
with sensible and present things, must undergo an inward change,
a change of mind and heart, of conviction and feeling, —must
become spiritual men to fit them for the reception of a spiritual
Saviour, and the possession of a spiritual salvation,'-how shall
you ever be brought to believe " the heavenly things," the doctrine of the kingdom of heaven, which is as remote, as heaven is
from earth, from anything which could have entered into the
mind of man; the doctrine of the manner in which spiritual
blessings are to be obtained by the Messiah, the persons for whom
they are to be obtained, and the manner in which they are to be
invested with them?' d
The doctrine of our Lord here is that so plainly taught by his
Apostles, that to the understanding and enjoyment of the blessings of the Christian salvation, a thoyCugh change of nature, of
28 Ezek. xxxvi. 25-27 Jer. xxxi. 31-33.'J John iii. 11.
30 John iii. 12.                 d See Note D.




30             THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM.            [EXP. L
mind and heart, is necessary. " If any man be in Christ Jesus,
he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold all
things are become new." " The natural man receiveth not the
things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him;
neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned."
As Christians, "we are God's workmanship, created anew in
Christ Jesus to good works.""'
" And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came
down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven,"32
q. d.,' These heavenly things have never yet been clearly unfolded to men. No man has been in heaven to penetrate into
these yet hidden counsels of God. " The Son of Man " (a name
borrowed from the Old Testament Scriptures, by which the
Messiah was indicated),-the Son of Man who had been in
heaven "with God,"23 ay, whose residence as to his higher
nature is even now in heaven, he alone can reveal them.'34 Our
Lord does not here say in direct terms that HE was this Son of
Man, though the words, and probably the manner, seem to have
been intended to suggest this idea.
All this statement, infinitely important as it is, is properly
speaking preliminary, and it is at the 12th verse that our Lord
proceeds to tell of " heavenly things;" to reveal the doctrine of
the kingdom. To understand our Lord's words aright, we must
never forget that he was teaching the true doctrine of the kingdom of heaven, of the deliverance to be accomplished by the
Messiah, to a pharisaic Jew, who labored under the false notions
common to his nation and sect.
Had Nicodemus been called on to state his opinion about the
kingdom of heaven, he probably would have done it in some
such terms as these:-' Like David the king of Israel, the Son
of Man, Messiah the Prince, shall be lifted up, exalted, to a
glorious throne, that all the Jewish people may be delivered
from degradation and slavery, and raised to dignity, wealth, and
power: For Jehovah loves his peculiar people, and gives them
that illustrious person, called in the prophets his own, his be.
gotten, Son, to be their deliverer and ruler; and while he sends
him to deliver Israel, he sends him also to punish and destroy
the Gentile nations, and all Israelites shall enjoy the blessings of
his reign, while all the Gentiles who do not submit to him, and
become tributaries to the. holy nation, shall fall before his triumphant arms.'
Hear, however, the true doctrine of the kingdom of God from
him who comes to establish it.' Messiah shall indeed be lifted
" 2 Cor. v. 17. 1. Cor. ii. 14. Eph. ii. 10.   John iii. 13.
3 John i. 1; vi. 62.
34 iI jv has generally (e. g., by Erasm. Ernesti, &c.) been regarded as the participle of the imperfect-the same with of'v. Now, although this is admissible,
the connection here rather indicates the proper meaning of the present."-TnoLUCK. Dr. Campbell translates it " whose abode is in heaven."
e See Note E.




EXP. 1.]              INTRODUCTION.                     31
up,"5 not however as David was exalted to the throne, but as the
brazen serpent was elevated on a pole; and the purpose of his
being thus lifted up is not Israel's temporal deliverance, but men's
spiritual and everlasting salvation, that men might not perish but
have eternal life; and the manner in which men are to obtain
possession of this salvation, is not by being born Jews, or by
submitting, if Gentiles, to the resistless arms of an earthly conqueror; it is by believing the truth about this deliverance.
Whosoever believeth shall not perish, but have eternal life: For
God so loved, not Israel merely, but the world, that he gave-devoted to death as a victim-his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but have everlasting
life: For God sent not his Son to destroy the Gentile nations, but
to be the Saviour of men, without reference to their national
descent; and all who believe the truth with respect to this spiritual Deliverer, shall be made partakers of his spiritual salvation,
whether they be Jews or Gentiles; while all who do not believe
the truth, whether they be Jews or Gentiles, shall be excluded
from the blessings of his salvation, and be punished for their
rejection of the heavenly messenger, and his heavenly message.'
Such, in substance, is our Lord's statement; and if Nicodemus
in any good measure apprehended its meaning, he must have
been persuaded now of the truth of our Lord's statement, " that
a man must indeed be born again," that even a Jew must undergo
a very thorough change of mind and heart, to see, or to enter
into, this kingdom.
Let us now examine our Lord's doctrine of the kingdom of
the Messiah somewhat more particularly. Let us attend to the
account contained in the words before us,I. Of the Messiah-the only begotten Son of God —the Son of
Man-sent by the Father.
II. Of the design of the Messiah's mission: negatively, not
to condemn the world; positively, that the world through him
might be saved-that they should not perish, but have everlasting life.
III. Of the grand means by which this design was to be accomplished-by the Messiah's being lifted up as the brazen
serpent was lifted up in the wilderness-by God's giving him.
1V. Of the manner of obtaining a personal interest in the
blessings thus procured-believing the Divine revelation respecting the Messiah.
V. Of the origin of this economy of mercy-the love of God
to the world
VI. Of the guilt and punishment of those who refuse to
avail themselves of this method of salvation.
Let us turn our attention to these most important topics in
their order.
35 " Lifted up" is a feeble rendering for Vtpwae; Campbell's version is prefer.
able-" placed on high."




32           THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM.             [EXP. I.
I.-OF THIE MESSIAH.
Let us consider the account here given of the Messiah. He
is described as the only begotten Son of God-as the son of
Man-and as, Sent by the Father.
~ 1. The Son of God.
The Messiah is described as "the only begotten Son of God.""8
This is an appellation of the Messiah borrowed from the 2d
Psalm, which is obviously prophetic and Messianic. "I will declare the decree; the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my
Son; this day have I begotten thee."'It must be plain to every
reflecting mind, that such terms as those now under consideration, when applied to denote the relation subsisting between our
Lord and his divine Father, must be understood in a figurative,
or, more properly speaking, perhaps, an analogical sense. The
principle of interpreting such phrases is a plain one. It is this,' That the terms are to be understood in their ordinary meaning
as far as, and no farther than, we know from satisfactory sources
they are not inapplicable to the subject in reference to which
they are employed."  "Son" is a word descriptive of a human
relation with which we are familiar, and in its proper literal
meaning suggests the following ideas:-Identity of nature-derivation of being-posteriority-inferiority-similarity-mutual
affection. "Only begotten Son" suggests the idea of the individual being the only person standing in that relation to him who
is termed the Father; and the idea also of that concentration of
affection which naturally originates in this circumstance.
Now, what are we taught in reference to the Messiah, when
he is called "the only begotten Son of God "?  We are taught,
in the first place, that he is of the same nature with his Fatherthat is, that he is God. The word Son suggests this idea, and
much more strongly, when it has the epithet "only begotten"
prefixed to it, or when he is called God's " own Son" —"the
Son of himself " —" his proper Son," in contradistinction to those
who receive this appellation merely from their being brought
into a peculiar relation, formed to a peculiar character, and
being the objects of a peculiar affection on the part of God, while
God is the object of a peculiar affection on their part. When
the Messiah is termed the only begotten Son of God, his proper
divinity is asserted. He who is our Saviour is " the great God."
The ideas of derivation of being, posteriority, and inferiority,
though naturally suggested by the name Son, are not to be considered as intended to be conveyed by that term when applied to
the Messiah; for this plain reason, that these ideas are incompatible with tha identity of nature which is the very first idea
38 John iii. 16.




PART I.]     THE MESSIAH —THE SON OF MAN.              33
suggested by the term, and which, from innumerable passages of
Scripture, we know does belong to him.
A second truth in reference to the Messiah, suggested by his
being called " the only begotten Son," is, that while He is of the
same nature with the Father, He and the Father are in some respects distinct from each other. The Father is not the Son, nor
is the Son the Father; though in reference to the possession of
the one divine nature the Father and the Son are one.
A third important truth taught us by the Messiah being
termed the Only-begotten of God, is, that he is the object of the
supreme love of the Father. A father loves his son, especially
his only son. The love of the First person of the Godhead to
the Second is expressed by the love which a father has for his son,
his only son. "The Father loves the Son."37 He knows his
infinite excellence; and, if I may use the expression, which seems
to imply a solecism, up to the infinite measure of his knowledge
he loves him. This last idea seems obviously to have been intended to be brought before the mind in the passage under consideration, as what chiefly commends the love of God to the
world, is that he gave his only Son to be their Saviour. These,
then, are the truths respecting the Messiah taught us by his being termed "the only begotten Son of God."
~ 2. The Son of Man.
The Messiah is described as " the Son of Man."38 This is an
appellation which our Lord employs more frequently than any
other in speaking of himself, whether in private or p.ublic, in the
midst of his friends or of his enemies. The phrase, taken by
itself, seems just a Hebraism for " man:"-as in the 4th verse of
the 8th Psalm, "What is man that thou art mindful of him?
and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" Every one at all
acquainted with the use of parallelism in Hebrew composition
generally, and especially in Hebrew poetry, must see that " man,"
and "the son of man," are here equivalent expressions.
To, understand its meaning, when used as an appellation of
the Messiah, we must turn to a passage in the 80th Psalm, v.
17. "Let thy hand be upon the Man of thy right hand, upon
the Son of Man whom thou madest strong for thyself;" the
same person who is spoken of in the 15th verse under another of
the figurative prophetical appellations of the Messiah —" the
branch" which Jehovah had made strong for himself In the
passage generally referred to as the origin of the appellation,
Daniel vii. 13, the reference, no doubt, is to the Messiah; but
he is there spoken of, not as the Son of Man, but as " one like
unto the Son of Man," or having the appearance of a man.
While the expression, a son of man, as we have already remarked, is in itself just equivalent to man; the designation,
87 John v. 20.          98 John iii. 13, 14.
VOL. L.                   3




34             THE 5rOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM.            [EXP. I.
"the Son of Man," at once marks the Messiah, as truly a man,
and at the same time, as distinguished from all other men. He
is so distinguished in a variety of ways: as the perfect, the
moral man-the  representative man, the second Adam-the
God-man, God manifest in the flesh —and the predibted man,
the great subject of Old Testament prophecy.39'
~ 3. Sent by the Father.
The Messiah is farther described as "sent by the Father"49
-" God sent his Son."  In the economy of human redemption,
the Father sustains the majesty of the Divinity.  He is the
fountain of authority, the source of judgment and of mercy. He
vindicates the honors of the Divine character, and asserts the
rights of the Divine government; and he, too, dispenses pardon
and salvation in a way consistent with the illustration of these
honors, and the maintenance of these rights.  While essentially
the Father and the Son are one, in the economy of grace the
Father is greater than the Son.  He invests him  with the
character of Mediator and Saviour; he qualifies him for the
discharge of its duties; he supports him under its labors and
difficulties; and he rewards him for the accomplishment of the
work given him to do.
When the Father is said to have sent the Son, the meaning is,
that Jesus Christ was divinely authorized and commissioned to
act as the Saviour of the world; to do and suffer all that was
necessary for the attainment of the salvation of man, in accordance with the perfections of the Divine character, and the principles of the Divine government. Such is the view given us of
the Messiah in these words of our Lord-a person uniting in
himself the natures of God and man, and divinely appointed to
effect the salvation of mankind.
II.-OF THE DESIGN OF THE MESSIAH'S MISSION.
The next topic to which our attention must be directed, is the
design of the Messiah's mission. That is described in various
ways, all of them having a reference to the false views of the
design of Messiah's mission entertained by the Jews. It is de
scribed negatively: He was sent "not to condemn the world."
Then it is described positively: First generally-" to save the
world;"74 and then more particularly, to deliver them from the
greatest possible evil-" that they might not perish;" and to
raise them to the enjoyment of the greatest good-" that they
might have everlasting lile. "42 Let us shortly consider the meanilng of these various descriptions of the design of the Messiah's
mission.
S9 For a full illustration of this descriptive appellation, vide Exposition XXIL
40 John iii. 17.
"1 John iii. 17.                    42 John iii. 15, 17.




PART II.]  THE DESIGN OF THE MESSIAH'S MISSION.         35
~ 1. Negatively-not to condemn the world.
The design of the Messiah's mission was not to condemn or
punish "the world." "The world" here is obviously to be
understood, as the Jews used the term, of all mankind, with the
exception of themselves-the holy nation. They expected that
the Messiah was to deliver the people of Israel, and to punish
and destroy the Gentile nations. The deliverance of Israel, and
the punishment of the nations, were in their minds closely connected, and both were to be the work of the Messiah. One of
their principal doctors, explaining the illustrious prophecy in the
49th chapter of Genesis, " The sceptre shall not depart from
Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come;
and to him shall the gathering of the people be," says,'The
sense seems to me to be-" The rod of the oppressor shall not
departfrom Judah, till his Son come, who shall overthrow the
nations, and break them in pieces, and make war on them all
with the edge of the sword."' Another Rabbi says, "When
the Messiah comes, he shall be as the morning light to Israel,
but he shall be as night to the nations of the earth."  Such
views seem to have been universal among the Jews at the time
of our Lord's appearance, as they are still among their unbelieving descendants.
~ 2. Positively-to save the world.
Now, says our Lord, the design of the Messiah's mission is not
the punishment of the Gentile nations —it is not the punishment
of men at all. HIe comes not to punish, but to save; and to
save, not Israelites merely, but men of every country, and people,
and tongue, and nation. He is sent "to save the world;" to deliver mankind, Gentiles as well as Jews, from the evils under
which they are groaning. He comes, not to bring evils on men,
but to remove evils from them-to deliver them from ignorance,
and error, and guilt, and depravity, and wretchedness, in all their
various forms.
(1.) That the world may not perish.
But the design of the Messiah's mission is more particularly
described: he comes that mankind "may not perish,"-that they
may be delivered from the greatest of all evils. The evils, the
removal of which his mission contemplated, are not the external
and temporary evils which press on one nation, or even on the
whole race, but the spiritual and eternal, and therefore otherwise
irreparable, evils, to which all mankind are liable. Man, whether
Jew or Gentile, is a sinner. He has broken God's law. He has
incurred God's displeasure. He is a depraved as well as a guilty
creature; " alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance




86            THE GOSPEL OF THIE KINGDOM.          [EXP. I.
that is in him," sunk in ignorance and error, and moral pollution
of every description; and because he is guilty and depraved, he
is miserable, exposed to numerous external evils, and destitute
of all real inward happiness. And this state of things, so far as
man's own exertions are concerned, so far as the exertions of the
whole created universe are concerned, is irreparable. He must
sink deeper and deeper in guilt, and depravity, and misery. If
the ordinary course of the divine government be maintained, he
must be "punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power."43 His immortality of being must be an immortality of unmixed, intolerable
wretchedness. To deliver men-not men of one particular nation,
but men of every nation-from this tremendous aggregation of
evils, this state of perdition, was the design of the Messiah's
mission.
(2.) That the world may have eternal life.
But mere deliverance does not form the sole purpose of the
mission of the Son of God. He comes that men might have
everlasting life.  "Life," though not directly signifying enjoyment, according to the Hebrew idiom conveys more strongly
than any other word the idea of happiness, as " death" does that
of misery. Everlasting life is of course ever-during happiness.
The happiness of a being like man, consists in the Divine favor,
and image, and fellowship; in knowing God, in loving God, in
being loved by God, in knowing that we are loved by God; in
venerating God, trusting in God; having our mind confirmed to
his mind, our wishes subjected to his pleasure, thinking along
with him, willing along with him, choosing what he chooses,
seeking and finding enjoyment in what he finds enjoyment. This
is life. This is happiness. And the never-ending continuance
of this is everlasting life. To obtain this kind of happiness for
men, for men of every nation under heaven, and to secure the
permanent enjoyment of it during the whole eternity of their
being,-this is the great and glorious object of the divinely-commissioned God-man —the Messiah.
In three most important points, this design differed from what
the Jews considered as the design of the Messiah's mission. Punishment was not at all the object of the Messiah's coming. The
deliverance which he came to effect was not secular, but spiritual;
and it was intended, not for the nation of the Jews exclusively,
but for mankind generally. The object of his mission was purely
merciful. His salvation had a direct reference to the soul and
eternity; and as this salvation was universally needed, so it
was intended for mankind of " every kindred, and people, and
tongue, and nation."
3 2 Thess. i. 9.




PART III.]  THE MESSIAH LIFTED UP-GIVEN BY GOD.          37
III.-OF THE MEANS BY WHICH THE DESIGN OF THE MESSIAH'S
MISSION WAS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED:-FIGURATIVELY, BY HIS
BEING LIFTED UP AS MOSES LIFTED UP THE SERPENT IN THE
WILDERNESS; LITERALLY, BY HIS BEING GIVEN BY GOD FOR
AND TO MANKIND.
We now proceed to attend to the grand means by which this
benevolent design of the Messiah's mission was to be accomplished. The Son of man was " to be lifted up, as Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness.""  " God gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth on him might not perish, but have
everlasting life."4"
Here, as in the former case, the truth is exhibited in opposition to the false views generally entertained by the Jews. They
expected that the Messiah was to accomplish the deliverance of
Israel, and the destruction of the nations, by being exalted or
"lifted up:" elevated first to the throne of David his father,
and then to the throne of the world.'Now,' says our Lord,'Messiah shall be lifted up; but he shall be lifted up in a very
different way from what you expect. He shall be lifted up, not
as David or Solomon was, to the throne of Israel, but " as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness."' There is a striking
analogy between the way in which the Messiah shall obtain spiritual and eternal salvation for mankind, and the way in which
the serpent-stung Israelites in the wilderness were cured of the
otherwise incurable distemper which they had brought on themselves by their unbelief and disobedience."'"
What we are to understand by the Messiah's being " lifted up
as the brazen serpent in the wilderness,"' we need be at no loss to
discover. "And I," said our Lord on another occasion, "and
I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."
"This," says the evangelist, in an explanatory note, "This he
said, signifying what death he should die.""'The salvation of
mankind is to be obtained by the Messiah's dying an accursed
death, dying as the victim for human transgressions; and by his
being exhibited, held up, as the slain victim for human transgressions: that is, by the truth respecting his vicarious and expiatory sufferings being made known to men.  Oh, how different
was this from anything Nicodemus looked for! He probably
expected, with most of his countrymen, that the Messiah was to
"abide for ever," —was not to die at all. How must he have
been astonished, if he understood our Lord's words, to be told
that the Messiah was not only to die, but to die the death of a
felonious slave!
44 John iii. 14, 16.
4' Neander, and many other good interpreters, think that Christ's words end at
verse 16, and that what follows is the illustrative statement of the evangelist. The
decision of this question has no bearing on the interpretation of the passage.
46 Numb. xxi 4-9,                      47 John xii 32, 33.




38            THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM.           [EXP. I.
Let us, however, look a little more closely into the mystery of
Divine wisdom and mercy: Mankind are to be saved by the
divine incarnate Saviour, suffering and dying as a victim for sin
-dying on the cross. The same idea that is suggested by the
expression, " The Son of man must be lifted up as Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness," is conveyed by the words,
" God gave his Son." Some interpreters consider these words as
equivalent to, " God graciously appointed his Son to be the saviour of the world.' In that case, however, it would have been
said that he gave him to the world, not merely he gave him. It
is plainly parallel to, " The Son of man must be lifted up;" the
lifting up of the Son of man, and the giving of the Son of God,
being but different descriptions of the same great event.
The meaning of the phrase is best illustrated by parallel passages:-" I am the living bread which came down from heaven.
If any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever: and the bread
that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the
world."'8 " And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it,
and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for
you: this do in remembrance of me."9 "  Who gave himself for
our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world,
according to the will of God and our Father."0  " If we believe
on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was
delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification."6' "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up
for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all
things?""' "Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified
in due time.""3  " Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem
us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works.""4
The meaning of the words, God gave his Son, then, is,'God
devoted his Son to death, as a victim for the sins of men,' and
the first truth with regard to the manner in which the benevolent design of the Messiah's mission was to be gained, taught us
here by our Lord, is, that it was to be the result of his submitting to death, as the victim for the sins of mankind.
This, though not revealed so as to be generally, if at all, understood till the prediction was accomplished, is, now that the light
of fulfilment has shone upon them, the obvious meaning of the
following ancient oracles, which must have been very mysterious
to the saints under a former dispensation, and into the meaning
of which, even the prophets themselves would find it necessary
to " search diligently."  " God made to meet on the head of his
righteous servant the iniquities of us all, and exaction was made,
and he became answerable; and he was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities; and the chastisement of
our peace was on him, and he made his soul an offering for sin:
48 John vi. 51.       49 Luke xxii. 19.     00 Gal. i. 4.
5' Rom. iv. 24, 25.' E Rom. viii. A2.    "1 Tim. ii. 6.




PART III.]  THE MESSIAH LIFTED UP-GIVEN BY GOD.             39
and he bare the sins of many." "The Messiah shall be cut off,
but not for himself."""
The same doctrine is often taught by our Lord's apostles, and
is, indeed, the grand peculiarity of the Christian faith:-m" Christ
died for our sins according to the Scriptures."  " He reederleed us
from the curse of the law, having become a curse in our room,
as it is written,'cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.'"
" He bare our sins in his own body on the tree."   "He gave
himself for us a sacrifice and an offering, that he might bring
us to God." "In him we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of God's grace."
"He hath reconciled us in the body of his flesh through death.'""
There is another important truth respecting the means by
which the benevolent design of the Messiah's mission was to be
accomplished, conveyed by the words of our Lord:-" The Son
of Man must be lifted up, as the serpent was lifted up in the
wilderness."  The brazen serpent was not only lifted up on a
pole, but exhibited, that all the Israelites might look at it and be
healed. In like manner the Son of Man must not only be lifted
up on the cross, but he must be exhibited, as lifted up on the
cross, that all men may believe in him  and be saved."7  The
knowledge and belief of the truth, with respect to the atonement,
is in ordinary circumstances as necessary to the accomplishment
of the design of the Messiah's mission, in the case of individuals,
as the atonement itself, and hence the truth about the atonement
must be published to all nations.
Here, as in the former case, "The testimony of Jesus is the
spirit of prophecy."  "By his knowledge, shall my righteous
servant justify many."  "Look unto me all ye ends of the earth,
and be ye saved." "They shall look upon me whom they have
pierced."8
Here, too, the apostolic testimony concurs with the declaration
of the ancient prophets:-" The Gospel is the power of God
unto salvation."  "We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a
stumbling-block, to the Greeks foolishness; but unto them who
are called, whether Jew or Greek, the power of God, and the
wisdom of God."  "I determined to know nothing among you,
save Jesus Christ and him  crucified."  "God forbid that I
should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by
which the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.""
These are the grand means by which the benevolent design
of our Lord's mission, the salvation of mankind, was to be accomplished.
There is a peculiarity in our Lord's language on this subject,
that deserves to be noticed before we conclude.  He does not
55 Isa. liii. 5, 6. Dan. ix. 26.
56 1 Cor. xv. 3. Gal. iii. 13. 1. Pet. ii. 24. Eph. v. 2; i. 7. Col. i. 21, 22.
57 "' Exaltari,' significat collocari in loco edito et excelso, ut omnium aspectui
pateat: id factum est Evangelii priedicatione." —CALvIN in loc.
8 Rev. xix. 10. Isa. liii. 11; xlv. 22. Zech. xii. 10.
69Rom. i. 16. 1 Cor. i. 23; ii. 2. Gal. vi. 14.




40               THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM.                   [EXP. I.
say the Son of Man shall be lifted up, but " the Son of Man
must be lifted up." It is becoming or necessary that the Son of
Man be lifted up in order to the gaining of these ends.  Some
would refer this to the necessity of the death of Christ for the
fulfilment of Old Testament predictions. But there is certainly
more in it than  this.   The expiation of sin was necessary in
order to its pardon; the death of the incarnate Son was necessary
in order to this expiation; the faith of the truth with regard to
this expiatory death is necessary, in order to our participation in
the salvation procured by it; and the exhibition of Christ crucified, —in other words, the preaching of the Gospel, —is necessary
in order to this faith. This we shall have an opportunity of showing more at length by and by.
IV. —OF THE MANNER OF OBTAINING THE BLESSINGS PROCURED
BY THE MESSIAH: FIGURATIVELY, BY LOOKING AT IIM; LITERALLY, BY BELIEVING IN HIM.
Let us proceed, now, to consider our Lord's statement, respecting the manner in which individuals are to obtain a personal interest in the blessings procured by the Messiah. That is
contained in these words, "Whosoever believeth in him6" shall
not perish, but shall have everlasting life. He that believeth is
not condemned."6'
The Jews expected that, on the part of their nation, nothing was
to be necessary to secure a share in the blessings of the Messiah's
kingdom, beyond their descent from  Abraham; and that in
order to any of the Gentiles participating with them in these
blessings, they must submit to the Messiah's conquering arms,
and become proselytes to the Jewish religion. In opposition to
these false views, our Lord states, that it was only by believing
in him, the Messiah, as " lifted up," as " given by the Father,"
that any Jew could become a partaker of the blessings of his
salvation, and that every Gentile who should thus believe in him,
should become a partaker of these blessings.
The allusion to the lifting up of the serpent in the wilderness,
seems intended to illustrate not only the means by which the
60 ", Diserte exprimere voluit, quamvis ad mortem videamur nati, certamin tamen
offerri liberationem in Christi fide, ita mortem quae alioqui nobis imminet minime
timendam esse. Et universalem notam apposuit, tum ut promiscue omnes at vitae
participationem invitet, tum ut praecidat excusationein incredulis. Eodem etiam
pertinet nomen MUNWI quo prius usus est. Tametsi enim in mundo nihil reperietur
Dei favore dignum, se tamen toti mundo propitium ostendit, quum sine exceptione
omnes ad fidem Christi vocat, quaa nihil aliud est quam ingressus in vitam."CALVIN in loc. " He intended expressly to state, that though we appear to have
been born to death, undoubted deliverance is offered to us by the faith of Christ;
and, therefore, that we ought not to fear death, which otherwise hangs over us. And
he has employed the universal term'whatsoever,' both to invite all indiscriminately
to partake of life, and to cut off every excuse from unbelievers. Such is also the
import of the word'world,' which he formerly used; for, though nothing will be
found in' the world,' that is worthy of the favor of God, yet he shows himnself to
be reconciled to the whole world, when he invites all men, without exception, to
the faith of Christ, which is nothing else than an entrance into life."-Rev. W.
Pringle's Translation.                            61 John iii. 15, 16, 18.




PART IV.]  LOOKING AT, BELIEVING IN, THE MESSIAH.         41
Messiah was to obtain salvation for men; but also the manner in
which men, as individuals, were to be interested in that salvation. The analogical illustration, when fully brought out, seems
to be this: " As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
that whosoever of the diseased Israelites looked at it might not
die but live, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever of the ruined race of man believeth in him, should not
perish but have everlasting life."  Looking at the brazen serpent,
may have appeared to the Israelites a paradoxical cure for the
serpent's bite, and such a paradox does the salvation of men,
through faith in a suffering Messiah, appear even to the wisest of
men untaught by the Spirit.
There is no difficulty in apprehending the meaning of the
statement, "Every serpent-stung Israelite, who looked on the
elevated brazen serpent, was healed;" and there should be as
little difficulty in apprehending the meaning of the statement,
" Every sinner who believes in the Messiah, as lifted up, shall be
saved." We all know what it is to look; and we all know, at
least we all may know, what it is to believe.
"To believe," when used in reference to a person, is to
give credit to him, to count true what he says. To believe,
when used in reference to a statement, is to give credit to
it, to reckon it true. It has been supposed by some, that
there is an important distinction between believing a person,
and believing in a person-believing a thing, and believing
in that thing; but a careful attention to the use of the
phrases in Scripture, will lead to a different conclusion. To
believe in Moses, is either to believe that there was such a
person as Moses, and that what is recorded of him in the Bible
is true; or to believe what Moses, as a divine messenger, has
revealed. To believe in a future state, is just to believe that
there is a future state. To believe in the Son of Man lifted up,
to believe in the only begotten Son of God sent and given by the
Father, is just to count true what is stated to us in the Gospel, respecting the Only-begotten of God being devoted to death as a
victim for the transgressions of men, according to the most benignant appointment of his divine Father.62
The statement of our Lord, then, is, " That it is by believing
the truth on this subject that men obtain the blessings of his
salvation." This is one of the grand peculiarities of the christian
method of salvation, and it is very frequently brought before our
minds in the New Testament. I will quote a few passages
where it is very distinctly taught, that it is by believing that
men obtain possession of the blessings of the christian salvation.
"He that believeth on the Son"-that is, who has received his
testimony-" hath  everlasting life."63   "He that heareth my
word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life,
and shall not come into condemnation."6   " I am the bread of
62 See Dr. Stewart's "Hints on the Nature and Influence of Faith."
"3 John iii. 36.                             64 John v. 24.




42              THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM.              [EXP. I.
life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; he that believeth
on me shall never thirst.""  "It is the will of him that sent me,
that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may
have everlasting life."6" "These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and that believing ye might have life through his name.""'  "Be it known unto
you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is
preached unto you the forgiveness of sin: and by him all that
believe are justified from all things, from which they could not
have been justified by the law of Moses."   " To him  gave all
the prophets witness, that, through his name, whosoever believeth
in him  should receive the remission of sins.""   " What must I
do to be saved? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt be saved.""  "The righteousness of God"-that is, the
Divine method of justification-" is upon," takes effect on, " all
them that believe.""  " By grace are ye saved through faith."72
Every one, then, who believes the truth respecting Jesus
Christ, God's Son, dying as a victim for the sins of mankind, is
interested in the salvation which he has procured for men. He
is no longer in a state of condemnation; he receives the remission
of his sins; he shall never come into condemnation; he has
peace and joy in believing; his heart is purified by believing;
he is sanctified by faith which is in Christ; and not turning
back by unbelief unto perdition, he believes to the salvation of the
soul, which he in due time receives as the end of his believing.
The connection between the faith of the Gospel, and the enjoyment of the christian salvation, is thus very clearly stated in
Scripture; but clearly as it is stated, it is very generally misapprehended. Men think of this faith of the Gospel as some
difficult work which must be performed by them, to give them a
claim on God for the blessings of salvation, instead of thinking
of it as that which, in the very nature of things, is necessary in
order to their possessing these blessings.  That conformity of
mind and heart to God; that inward peace and joyful hope, in
which the christian salvation, so far as it can be enjoyed in the
present world, chiefly consists, cannot, from the very nature of
the case, be obtained, but by the faith of the Gospel; and, on
the other hand, the faith of the Gospel cannot exist without conveying these blessings into the heart.
It is not on account of our faith that Godl saves us: it is
through means of our faith.  Our believing, and our being saved,
are not to be considered so distinct, as that the first must be
finished before the other can be enjoyed. It is in believing that
we are saved; and the measure of our enjoyment of the christian
salvation depends on the extent of our knowledge, and the firmness of our faith of the Gospel.
The blessings of salvation are thus freely presented to all to
"6 John vi. 35.       66 John vi. 40.        67 John xx. 31.
68 Acts xiii. 38, 39.  6 Acts x. 43.         70 Acts xvi. 30, 31.
R1 Rom. iii. 22.        Rom. x. 6 —9. Eph. ii. 8.




PART IV.]  LOOKING AT, BELIEVING IN, THE MESSIAH.         43
whom the Gospel comes; and nothing is necessary to secure
participation in these blessings, but the faith of the truth; and
that is necessary, not as a meritorious condition, but as an indispensable means. It is just as if a rich feast were presented to
a famishing multitude, and it were said,' He that eats of this feast
shall be relieved from the pangs of hunger, and shall be refreshed
and strengthened.'  The eating is obviously not the meritorious
condition; but it is, from the nature of things, the indispensable
means of relief from hunger and exhaustion, and of the enjoyment of the refreshing and invigorating effects of the prepared
viands. Many seem to think that the declaration, that whosoever believes shall be saved, is a kind of limitation of the Gospel
offer. But it is just such a limitation as that which we have referred to,' Whosoever eats shall be satisfied.'  To say, that
whosoever believeth shall be saved, is just to say, that the guiltiest
of the guilty, and the vilest of the vile, is welcome to salvation,
and shall assuredly obtain salvation, if he will but receive it in
the only way in which, from the nature of the case, it can be received-in the faith of the truth respecting Jesus Christ, the incarnate only begotten Son of God, as the Saviour, the only
Saviour, the all-sufficient Saviour.
This is a most important truth; and it derives striking illustration from the comparison between the manner in which the
serpent-stung Israelites were cured, and the way in which sinruined men are saved.  "Every one bitten," says Jehovah,' Every one bitten, who looks on the brazen serpent, shall live;"
and the sacred historian informs us, that " if a serpent had bitten
any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived."  However frequently he had been bitten by the serpents, however far
advanced the disease was in its progress towards a fatal issue, if
he looked to the brazen serpent he recovered. In like manner,
however guilty, however depraved, however wretched-however
numerous, however aggravated, may have been his violations of
the Divine law —whosoever believes the plain, well-accredited
testimony of God respecting full salvation through the death of
the Just One in the room of the unjust, " shall not perish, but
have everlasting life." There is no exception. The vilest miscreant on the face of the earth, the most degraded, and despised,
and miserable of mankind, believing in Christ, shall be " saved
in Him with an everlasting salvation."
No holy qualification is required to warrant the sinner to apply
to the Saviour. It is because he is guilty and miserable, that
the salvation is provided. The more guilty, the more miserable,
he is obviously the more necessitous; and be is assuredly not the
less welcome. Desert of anything but destruction is here out of
thie question altogether.  He who understands and believes the
Gospel, must see with equal clearness, that any just claim of
merit to the blessings of salvation, on the part of the sinner, is
impossible, and that it is unnecessary,  The invitation is,
"Whosoever will, let him  take of the water of life freely."




44             THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM.             [EXP. I.
The promise, " Him that cometh to m%, I will in no wise cast
out."T3
No sin but the sin of unbelief bars the sinner's way to the
Saviour. Even the sin against the Holy Ghost is rather an apparent than a real exception. If the sinner who hears the Gospel
is cendemned, it is " because he will not believe on the name of
the only begotten Son of God."
The efficacy of this method of obtaining a personal interest in
the blessings of tLe christian salvation, has been tried in apparently very desperate cases. Paul was a blasphemer, a persecutor, a first-rate'4 sinner; but through the belief of the faithful
saying, Paul obtained salvation.'5 The Corinthian Christians had
some of them been absolute monsters of wickedness; but they
were " washed, they were sanctified, they were justified through
the name of our Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." Instances of the efficacy of the faith of the truth in saving sinners,
happily are not wanting in our own day; and it will, till the
conclusion of the present order of things, be a glorious truth, receiving constantly new accessions of illustration and evidence,
that whosoever believeth in Christ Jesus crucified, shall not perish,
but have everlasting life.
The having long-neglected, or even the having despised, this
only means of salvation, does not bar the ungrateful criminal
from now obtaining the saving of his soul through believing. It
is possible, that some of the Israelites, whenA they heard of the
plan of cure, through the elevation of the brazen serpent, made
light of it, hoping for a recovery by the use of ordinary means,
and cherishing infidel doubts as to the possibility of their obtaining any good from looking at a brazen serpent; if any of these,
finding the disease gaining on them, raised a believing eye to
the divinely-erected standard of salvation, as the only means of
escaping death, we have no reason to doubt but that the ordinary
healing influence would have gone forth. And so it is here.
However long men have continued in unbelief, and impenitence,
and sin, however "stout-hearted" they are, and however "far
from righteousness," still it is " the accepted time," still it is "the
day of salvation;" and we proclaim to him who has oftenest
turned a deaf ear to the voice of mercy, " to-day, after so long a
time, if thou wilt hear his voice, harden not thy heart."  "Believe " now "in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved."  For
it is still true, " Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but
have everlasting life.""7
V. —-OF THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF THIS ECONOMY OF SALVATION,
THE LOVE OF GOD TO THE WORLD.
Let us now proceed to consider the primary source of this
economy of salvation, as stated by our Lord. The love of
"7 Rev. xxii. 17. John vi. 37.
74 7Wro06T,'* 1 Tim. 1. 13-16. 1 Cor. vi. 9-11. 76 Heb. iv. 7. Acts xvi. 31.




PART V.] THE LOVE OF GOD THE ORIGIN OF SALVATION.     45
God-the love of God to the world.  "God so loved the
world."77
The advsocates for the doctrine of the atonement-the doctrine
that the death of the incarnate Only-begotten of God, as the
victim for the sins of men, was necessary in order to the Divine
mercy manifesting itself to sinners in the communication of pardon and salvation, consistently with the righteousness of his
character and law; the advocates of this doctrine, have often
been accused of holding that the interposition of the divine Son
was necessary to produce in the bosom of his divine Father, a
disposition to pity, and to save, man; and, as it has been forcibly
put, "' that the compassion of God rather than the souls of men,
was the purchase made by the incarnate Son, when he laid down
his life as a ransom." It has been said that they represent the
Divinity, as a being of resentments so fierce that nothing could
mitigate them, but the tears and prayers, the blood and death, of
his own Son.
It must be acknowledged, that the doctrine of the atonement
has not always been taught in " the words which become sound
doctrine," and that language has sometimes been employed on
the subject, by good men, which seemed to intimate rather that
Christ died, in order that God might be induced to pity and save
man, than that he died, because God pitied- man, and was deter
mined to save him.
The doctrine of the atonement, as taught in Scripture, however, lays no foundation for such conclusions. " God," according to its declarations, "is love," perfect in benignity, " rich in
mercy." In forming conceptions on this subject, when we err,
it is by defect, not by excess. Our ideas fall beneath, instead of
rising above, the truth.
There was, there could be, no discordance among the persons
of the Godhead, in reference to the salvation of man. The will
of the Godhead is, and necessarily must be, one. We are not
for a moment to suppose, that the Father and the Spirit were
disinclined to the salvation of man; and that the Son became
incarnate, and suffered, and died, to induce them to comply with
his disposition to show favor to the guilty and ruined race.
The wondrous economy of redemption is the fruit of that sovereign benignity which equally belongs to the Father, and to the
Son, and to the Holy Ghost. In that economy, the Father
sustains the majesty of Divinity. All is represented as originating in him. But his holiness is the holiness of the Divinity; his
justice, the justice of the Divinity; his love, the love of the
Divinity.
Christ did not die that God might love man; he died because
God loved man. "God commendeth his love to us in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." "In this was
manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his
"7 John iii. 16.-" Primam salutis nostree causam et quasi fontem aperit ChristU. "-CALVIN.




46           THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM.             [EXP. r.
only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through
him. Herein is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved
us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."78 The
atonement is thus not the cause, but the effect, of the love of
God. It is the wonderful expedient devised by infinite wisdom,
to render the manifestation of sovereign kindness to a guilty
race, not merely consistent with, but glorioluly illustrative of,
the righteousness of the Divine character, as displayed both in
the requisitions and sanctions of that holy law which man had
violated.
That law is not an arbitrary institution. It is simply the embodiment of those principles which are necessary to the happiness
of intelligent, responsible beings, while they continue what they
are, and God continues what he is. That law originates not in
sovereignty, but in that union of perfect wisdom, holiness, and
benignity, which forms the moral character of God; and to
uphold that law is a necessity of his nature; he cannot but
require truth, righteousness, and benignity of man. This law
had been violated by man. The consequence was, man became
liable to the dreadful consequences of transgression.  He had
sinned, and he deserved to die. The hopeless, the everlasting
destruction of the sinner, must have seemed to every created
mind the necessary result of this state of things. But "God
who is rich in mercy," and infinite in wisdom, devised and
executed a plan, by which the honor of the law might be vindicated, and yet the violators of that law pardoned and saved; by
which the evil of sin might be exhibited to the intelligent universe in a light far stronger than if the whole race of man had
perished for ever, and yet an innumerable multitude of that selfruined race be rescued from  destruction, and "saved with an
everlasting salvation."
The only begotten Son, in glad compliance with the merciful
appointment of his Father, having taken the place of the guilty;
and in their nature, and in their room, yielded a perfect obedience, in circumstances of the greatest temptation and difficulty,
to that law which they had violated, thus showing the reasonableness and excellence of all its requisitions; and submitted in
their room to such sufferings as, in the estimation of infinite
wisdom and righteousness, more signally honored the sanctionary part of the Divine law, than the everlasting punishment of
sinful me-a could have done; —" God hath set forth his Son to be
a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins, that he might be just, and the
justifier of him that believes in Jesus;" "a just God, and a
Saviour."79
Having thus endeavored to show that the atonement of Christ
is not the procuring cause of God's love to sinners, but the means
which God in his wisdom devised for rendering the display of
his love consistent with his righteousness, I go on to illustrate
78 Rom. v. 8. 1 John iv. 9, 10.    79 Rom. iii. 25, 26. Isa. xlv. 21.




PART V.j  THE LOVE OF GOD THE ORIGIN OF SALVATION.       47
somewhat more particularly, the great truth upon which, in this
part of the subject, I wish to fix your attention: that the whole
of fhat wondrous economy of salvation unfolded by our Lord,
proceeds from the love of God, from the love of God to the
world.
~ 1. The love of God, the origin of the plan of salvation.
We may begin with asking in what could the plan of salvation
originate but in love,-pure sovereign benignity? Contemplate
the attributes and relations of God, and then contemplate the
character and circumstances of man. Look first at the bestower,
and then look at the recipients of salvation, and say, from what
it could flow but from spontaneous kindness?
Look upwards to Divinity and say, if anything but sovereign
kindness could have actuated him in devising and executing the
plan of human salvation?  It could not be strict justice that influenced him: that would have led to the infliction of punishment, not the conferring of benefits; that would have led to
man's destruction, not his salvation. Selfish considerations are,
from the absolute independence of the Divine Being, entirely out
of the question. The sources of the Divine happiness, like the
sources of the Divine excellence, are in the Divine nature. No
creature can either advance or diminish the happiness of God.
Our gratitude, obedience, and praise for the benefits of salvation,
cannot increase his felicity.  "Our goodness extendeth not to
him." " Can a man be profitable to God, as he who is wise is
profitable to himself? Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that
thou art righteous; or is it gain to him  that thou makest thy
way perfect?""0 And if this wondrous plan of salvation could
not originate in a selfish desire for our services and praises, it
could as little originate in a selfish fear of our enmity, reproaches,
or rebellious attempts against his government. The very idea is
as absurd as it is blasphemous.  "Will he reprove thee, for fear
of thee? Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; but if
thou sinnest what doest thou against him; or if thy transgressions
be multiplied, what doest thou to him?""' He can easily render
all the attempts which men and devils can make against his government, but so many occasions for the display of his wisdom,
his power, and his righteousness. Had the whole sinning race
of man been consigned to endless perdition, would he not have
gathered through eternity a revenue of praise from their sufferings, as illustrations of his immaculate holiness, his in.1exible
justice, his inviolable faithfulness, without any disparagement
of his benignity, which would indeed have been manifested in
their interminable sufferings, as in those of the " angels who kept
not their first estate;"82 such inflictions being direct means of upholding that law, which is as necessary to the happiness of his
Ps. xvi. 21, Job xxii. 2, 3.'. Job xxxv. 6, 8.    ~ Jude 6.




48             THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM.           [EXP. I.
intelligent creatures, as it is to the honor of his character, or the
stability of his throne?
When we thus look upward to God, the giver of the blessings
of the christian salvation, we are constrained to sav,'Nothing
but love could influence him in bestowing them.' And when we
direct our thoughts to the recipients of these benefits, we are
conducted by a very short process of reasoning to the same conclusion. There is nothing in the situation or character of man
which can lead us to trace blessings conferred on him to anything
but pure benignity.
He is a creature, and therefore, strictly speaking, he can have
no claim on God. It was of God's free sovereign pleasure to
create him, or not to create him; and when he created him, it
was of his sovereign pleasure that he made him a living, thinking, immortal being, rather than an irrational brute, or an inanimate clod. As a creature, man, in common with all creatures,
must be a pensioner on Divine bounty for every blessing. But
though in no case could man have had a claim on God, had he
continued what God made him, an innocent, a holy being, we
may safely affirm that the equity as well as the benignity of God,
would have secured for him everything necessary to true and
permanent happiness.
But man is a sinner. He is guilty of innumerable violations
of that holy law, one transgression of which deserves everlasting
destruction; and he is not, as the economy of grace finds him, a
penitent sinner. No, he is a hardened rebel, " going on in his
trespasses," receding farther and farther from God. When God
looks down from heaven on the children of men, what does he
see?  "They have all gone aside, they have altogether become
filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."83
What could induce God to spare, what could induce him to
save such beings? Holiness, justice, wisdom, had they not in
the Divine nature been conjoined with infinite benignity, would
have suggested anything rather than " thoughts of good" towards
such a polluted, rebellious, worse than useless, mischievous, class
of creatures; a set of beings whom a mere act of will could have
annihilated, or punished with "everlasting destruction."  What
but love, pure sovereign compassion, could have said, " Deliver
these from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom."8'
As it is thus plain, that nothing but love could have been the
source of the economy of human salvation, so it is equally evident, that that love must have had " a height and a depth, a length
and a breadth," that exceeds the computing powers of created
intelligences. Well may we with the apostle stand in adoring
wonder and exclaim, "Behold what manner of love i" "Herein,"
-" herein" indeed-" is love;"" as if all the other displays of
Divine benignity were unworthy of regard when compared with
this
There are two ways by which we naturally measure the strength
3 Psal. xiv. 2, 3.    84 Job xxxiii. 24.    85 1 John iii. 1; iv. 10.




PART V.]  THE LOVE OF GOD THE ORIGIN OF SALVATION.    49
of a benevolent affection: the intrinsic value of the benefits bestowed on the objects of it; and the expense, labor, and suffering,
at which these benefits are obtained for them. Let us apply, or
rather attempt to apply, these measures to the case before us, and
we shall be obliged to confess, that this love " passes knowledge."
The salvation which is by Christ, includes deliverance from
numerous, varied, immense, unending evils. It is deliverance
from "perishing."  It includes also restoration to numerous, varied, immense, unending blessings. It is the enjoyment of " eternal life."  It is deliverance from evil, moral and physical, in all
its forms, and in all its degrees, for ever and ever; and the possession of a happiness suited to, and filling to an overflow, all our
capacities of enjoyment during the whole eternity of our being.
When we think of the number, and variety, and value of the
heavenly and spiritual blessings bestowed on us, we must acknowledge that it is "great love" wherewith God loves us; when we
reflect on the inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadetl
not away, we are constrained to say, the mercy which bequeathes
it, "is abundant mercy." This measure we can but very inadequately apply. Only the hopelessly lost know what the salvation,of Christ delivers from. Only the blessed in heaven know what
the salvation of Christ exalts to. Even they know these things
imperfectly. Eternity will be ever disclosing new horrors in the
one, new glories in the other.
If we attempt to apply the second principle, we soon arrive at
the same result. To obtain these blessings, the Son of God must
become incarnate, and obey, and suffer, and die.  "God spared
not his own Son, but delivered him up in our room as the victim
for our transgressions. He made him who knew no sin, a sinoffering in our room. Ile made to meet on him the iniquities of
us all. It pleased the Lord to bruise him; and he was wounded
for our iniquities, bruised for our transgressions, and the chastisement of our peace was on him. He who was in the form of God,
and who thought it no robbery to be equal with God; made himself of no reputation, took on him the form of a servant, and
humbled himself and became obedient to death, even the death
of the cross.T"" If it was a strong proof of the regard of Abraham to God, that he did not withhold his son, his only son, from
him, how shall we estimate the love of God to a lost world, which
led him to give his own, his only begotten, his beloved Son, that
he might give himself; a sacrifice and an offering for man's salvation!
~ 2. The love of God to the world the origin of the plan of salvation.
There is another idea to which I wish for a little to turn your
attention on this part of the subject. The love in which the
economy of salvation originates, is love to the world. "God so
loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son."  The term
86 Rom. viii. 32.  2 Cor. v. 21.  Isa. liii. 5, 6.  Phil. ii. 6-8.
70L. I.                   4




50            THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM.           [EXP. I.
"world," is here just equivalent to mankind. It seems to be used
by our Lord with a reference to the very limited and exclusive
views of the Jews. They thought God loved them, and hated all
the other nations of mankind. These were their own feelings,
and they foolishly thought that God was altogether such an one
as themselves. They accordingly expected that the Messiah was
to come to deliver Israel, and to punish and destroy the other nations of the earth. But " God's ways were not their ways, nor
his thoughts their thoughts. As the heavens are high above the
earth, so were his ways above their ways, and his thoughts above
their thoughts."87
Some have supposed that the word "world" here, is descriptive,
not of mankind generally, but of the whole of a particular class,
that portion of mankind who, according to the Divine purpose of
mercy, shall ultimately become partakers of the salvation of
Christ. But this is to give to the term a meaning altogether unwarranted by the usage of Scripture. There can be no doubt in
the mind of a person who understands the doctrine of personal
election, that those who are actually saved are the objects of a
special love on the part of God; and that the oblation of the
Saviour had a special design in reference to them. But there can
be as little doubt, that the atonement of Christ has a general
reference to mankind at large; and that it was intended as a display of love on the part of God to our guilty race. Not merely
was the atonement offered by Christ Jesus sufficient for the salvation of the whole world, but it was intended and fitted to remove
out of the way of the salvation of sinners generally, every bar
which the perfections of the Divine moral character, and the
principles of the Divine moral government, presented. Without
that atonement, no sinner could have been pardoned in consistency with justice. In consequence of that atonement, every sin.
ner may be, and if he believe in Jesus certainly shall be, pardoned
and saved. Through the medium of this atonement, the Divine
Being is revealed to sinners, indiscriminately, as gracious and
ready to forgive; and the invitations and promises warranting
men to confide in Christ for salvation, are addressed to all, and
are true and applicable to all without exception or restriction.
The revelation of mercy made in the Gospel, refers to men as
sinners. not as elect sinners. Their election, or their non-election,
is something of which, when called on to believe the Gospel, they
are necessarily entirely ignorant, and with which they have nothing
to do. "The kindness and love of God toward man," the Divine
philanthropy, is revealed. "God was in Christ reconciling the
world to himself." He appears in the revelation of mercy as the
God who "has no pleasure in the death of the wicked; who
willeth all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the
truth."  "The grace of God" revealed in the Gospel "brings sal87 Isa. Iv. 8, 9.




PART V.]  THE LOVE OF GOD THE ORIGIN OF SALVATION.    51
vation to all," without exception, who in the faith of the truth
will receive it."8
I am persuaded that the doctrine of personal election is very
plainly taught in Scripture; but I am equally persuaded that the
minister misunderstands that doctrine who finds it, in the least
degree, hampering him in presenting a full and a free salvation as
the gift of God to every one who hears the Gospel; and that the
man abuses the doctrine who finds in it anything which operates
as a barrier in the way of his receiving, as a sinner, all the blessings of the christian salvation, in the belief of the truth. Indeed,
when rightly understood, it can have no such effect. For what
is that doctrine, but just this, in other words,-' It is absolutely
certain that a vast multitude of the race of man shall be saved
through Christ?' And it is as certain, that if any one of those
to whom that salvation is offered, remains destitute of it, and
perishes eternally, it is entirely owing to his own obstinate refusal
of what is freely, honestly, presented to him. The kindness of
God, as manifested in the gift of his Son, is kindness to the race
of man; and when, as an individual, I credit the kindness of God
to man, so strangely displayed, so abundantly proved, I cannot
find any reason why I should not depend on this kindness, and
expect to be saved even as others.
Whenever a man hesitates about placing his dependence on the
mercy of God, because he is not sure whether he be elected or
not, he gives clear evidence that he does not yet understand the
Gospel. He does not apprehend "the manifestation of the love
of God to man."  When he sees God in Christ reconciling the
world to himself, " he does not need to ask, Is the plan of mercy
such as I am warranted to embrace? may I not somehow be excluded from availing myself of it? These, and similar suggestions, which draw away his mind from the voice of God to the
speculations of his own mind, are no more regarded."  He sees
God rich in mercy, ready to forgive; just, and the justifier of the
ungodly. He cannot but place his confidence in him. " Jehovah,"
as it has been happily said, "by the manifestation of what he has
done, especially in sending Christ, and delivering him up, the just
in the room of the unjust, pleads his own cause with such subduing pathos, that there is no more power of resistance; but the
person, who is the object of the demonstration, yields himself up
to the authority and glory of the truth."" The sinner, thus cordially believing the Gospel, gladly and gratefully receives "the
Saviour of the world" as his Saviour, and trusts that by the grace
of God he shall partake of "the common salvation."
VI.-OF THE GUILT AND DANGER OF THOSE WHO DO NOT AVAIL
THEMSELVES OF THIS ECONOMY OF SALVATION.
Let us now consider the statement in the text respecting the
guilt and the danger of those who will not, by. believing the word,
8& Tit. iii. 4. 2 Cor. v. 19. Ezek. xxxiii. 11. 1 Tim. ii. 3, 4. Tit. ii 11.
89 Hogg of Alyth-View of the Economrv "f Grace, pp. 14, 15.




52             THE GOSPEL OF TLIE KINGDOM.          [EXP. I.
of the truth of the Gospel, receive the salvation which it reveals
and conveys. These are very strikingly stated in the verses now
before us:-" He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son
of God. And this is the condemnation, that light has come into
the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because
their deeds are evil."90
" He that believeth not," is a general description which applies
to all who, while they have an opportunity of becoming acquainted
with the meaning and evidence of the revelation of mercy, do
not give credit to its declarations, whether this originates in profligacy, inconsideration, or pride, in any of its varieties; whether
it take the negative form of merely not believing, or the positive
form of discrediting and denying, the Divine testimony. The
infidel-the person who rejects the divine authority of the christian revelation-is no doubt an unbeliever; and the person, too,
who, while he admits that the New Testament is a divine revelation, yet denies its most characteristic doctrines, such as the divinity
and atonement of Jesus Christ, and the radical depravity of human
nature, and the necessity of divine influence, in order to the production, and maintenance, and progress of true holiness in the
human heart, is also an unbeliever. But, besides these, there are
multitudes who would resent keenly any attempt to class themn
with infidels and heretics, who yet are, in the Scripture sense of the
word, unbelievers. Every man to whom " the word of this salvation" comes, who does not really believe, because God has said it,
that " He has given to us eternal life, and that life is In his Son;"
that the "wages of sin is death, and the gift of God eternal life,
through Jesus Christ our Lord;" he who does not so count this
" a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation," as to place his
own individual hope of final happiness on the free grace of God
thus revealed, and as, under the influence of " the love of God
shed abroad in the heart" by the faith of the Gospel, to " present
himself to God a living sacrifice;" that person, however correct
his speculative views may be as to the evidence, and even as to
the substance, of christian truth, is an unbeliever; and with regard
to all to whom the appellation unbeliever can with propriety be
applied, it is the declaration of our Lord that they are " condemned
already."
These words of our Lord admit of two modes of interpretation,
according to the meaning which is considered as belonging to the
principal word in the declaration, "condemned."  The primary
meaning is, to be sentenced to punishment, in opposition to being
acquitted or pardoned. Supposing this to be its meaning in the
passage before us, our Lord's words convey this important truth,' While he who believes the testimony of God concerning his love
to mankind, manifested in his devoting his Son as a victim for
their transgressions, "is not condemned," but pardoned and accepted as righteous-justified through believing; he that does not
90 John iii. 18-21.




PART VI.]    SIN AND DANGER OF UNBELIEVERS.                   58
believe is " already," even now, condemned-sentenced to punishment-doomed to destruction.' This proposition may be understood as conveying one or other of two closely-connected, yet
still distinct ideas: either the unbeliever continues to lie under
the sentence of condemnation which he had previously incurred
as a violator of the Divine law, or the unbeliever subjects himself,
by the very act of unbelief, to a new sentence of condemnation.
Both these propositions are truths, and important ones.
When the Gospel comes to a man, it finds him already a sinner,
doomed by the holy law of God to that death which, under his
government, is the "wages of sin."  The Gospel presents to the
man a full and free pardon; that pardon can, from the nature of
the case, be received only in the faith of the truth; and, as a
matter of course, the unbeliever continues without it; he remains
as he was before it came to him-a condemned sinner.
From what follows, however, we are strongly disposed to think,
that, supposing the word " condemn" to refer here to the sentence
of condemnation, the reference is not so much to the old condemnation which remains, as to the new condemnation which is
incurred. The unbeliever is condemned, not only for what he
had done previously to the revelation of mercy being made
known to him, but he is emphatically condemned, because he has
rejected this revelation of mercy; "because he has not believed
on the name of the only begotten Son of God;" trampling, as he
does, at once on the authority of God, as manifested in the commandment which he has given to believe on his Son, and on the
grace of God, as manifested in his "not sparing his Son," but
giving him for us on the cross, and to us in the Gospel; not only
is he condemned, inasmuch as he continues in condemnation in
consequence of his unbelief, but he is condemned, inasmuch as he
incurs a new condemnation on account of it."
He is condemned "already."92  That may signify, either' He
is even now condemned; in not believing, he contracts guilt; he
subjects himself to punishment;'-ol,'He is already sentenced
to punishment. Not only will he be condemned at last, but the
sentence of condemnation is already passed; and if it be not reversed, the judgment of the last day will only confirm that sentence.' It may be said, where is the doom of the unbeliever to
be found? we reply, it is to be found in that book, according to
which the sentences of the great day will be regulated.  "He that
believeth not shall be damned."9'
91 " Henceforward, he who is condemned must not complain of Adam and his
inborn sin;'the seed of the woman,' promised by God to'bruise the head of
the serpent,' is now come, and has atoned for sin, and taken away condemnation;
but he must cry out against himself, for not having accepted and believed in this
Christ, the devil's head-bruiser and sin-strangler. If I do not believe the same,
sin and condemnation must continue; because he who is to deliver me from it is
not taken hold of; nay, it will be a doubly great and heavy sin and condemnation that I will not believe in the dear Saviour by whom I might be helped, ror
accept his redemption."-LuTnER.
92 " Proeteritum verbi tempus,uya,-ucaK posuit, quo melius exprimeret de omnibus incredulis actun essC."-CALvLN.               "a Mark xvi. 16.




54             THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM.             [EXP. 1.
Proceeding still on the principle that "condemn" means here
sentenced to punishment, the 19th verse must be considered as
explanatory of the Divine judicial sentence announced in the 18th
verse, and as a vindication of it from every imputation of undue
severity or injustice. " And this is the condemnation, that light
has come into the world, and that men have loved darkness rather
than light, because their deeds are evil.' According to this mode
of interpretation, " condemnation" is equivalent to'the cause of
condemnation:' this is the reason why the unbeliever is condemned.  "Light" —that is, truth, and its evidence-holy benignant truth, calculated to make men wise, and good, and happythis " has come into the world;" a plain and well-accredited revelation has been made of it. It appeared, embodied in the person
of the incarnate Son, " God manifested in flesh," the revealer of
truth, the author of salvation; and of him as the image of God,
we have an accurate representation "in the word of the truth of
the Gospel."
If men, to whom this revelation comes, continue in ignorance,
and guilt, and depravity, and misery, it is not because they have
not the means of obtaining the knowledge, the favor, the image,
and the fellowship of God. These are brought very near them,
and pressed on their acceptance. The true account of their conduct is, " they love darkness rather than light;" and it shows that,
however miserable they are, and are likely to be, they themselves
are the authors of all that misery, by obstinately refusing what
the Divine kindness has provided for them; they prefer ignorance to knowledge, error to truth, sin to holiness; and, in effect,
misery to happiness.
It is added, as the reason why they act so irrational as well as
wicked a part, "because their deeds are evil."  "Deeds" here
are not to be restricted to external actions, nor are we to suppose
that the persons referred to by our Lord are exclusively the
openly wicked and notoriously profligate. The word " deeds" is
to be interpreted with a reference to that law to which man is subject, which is spiritual, " a discerner of the thoughts and intents
of the heart;" and includes evil desires and affections, as well as
what are more properly denominated " deeds." Paul enumerates,
among the "works"94 or deeds of the flesh, "hatred, wrath,
envy."  " The old man and his deeds" is descriptive of the whole
frame of habits, whether internal or external, which characterize
our fallen unchanged nature. When our Lord says " their deeds
are evil," it is equivalent to,'they are depraved and unholy;' and,
consequently, the words are a declaration that all unbelief of the
Gospel has a moral cause, and that that cause is evil; that, if nen
do not believe it, it is not at all because the statements it contains
are unintelligible, or the evidence on which they rest defective,
but it is because they love sin, and are determined to live in it."6
94 Epya'
95 I earnestly recommend to the reader's perusal Dr. Wardlaw's illustration of
these verses, in his able little work, entitled "Man Responsible for his belief."




PART VI.]   SIN' AND DANGER OF UNBELIEVERS.              55
Such is the mode in which these words have been ordinarily
interpreted, and it must be admitted that the sense thus brought
out is coherent and important, perfectly harmonious with the
general scheme of doctrine taught in the New Testament, and
well fitted to serve the purpose which our Lord had in view in
his discourse to Nicodemus.
At the same time, I am inclined to think that it does not exactly express our Lord's meaning. I apprehend that, throughout
the whole discourse, our Lord uses the word " condemn" as equivalent to' punish.' HIe employs it as an antithesis, not to' pardon'
or'acquit,' but to "save."  "For God sent his Son into the
world, not to condemn," that is, not to punish, "the world, but to
save the world;" not to inflict evil, but to confer happiness. In
the 36th verse, "to be saved," as the certain effect of believing
in Christ, is described as "having everlasting life;" and what is
here called "judgment" or "condemnation," the effect of unbelief, is described as " having the wrath of God abiding on a person."  This variety of signification not unfrequently belongs to
the word as employed in the New Testament.96  On this principle
of interpretation, which, upon the whole, we prefer, our Lord's
meaning may be thus expressed:' Ile that believeth is not punished; he does not perish; no: he is " saved," " he has everlasting life." By his faith he enters on the enjoyment of the salvation which the Gospel announces. But he who does not believe,
he is " punished," " already punished."'
Some would interpret the word "already" as equivalent to'he is as sure of punishment as if he were already punished;' as
we say of a man condemned to death, or laboring under an incurable disease,'he is a dead man.' I rather think the meaning
is,' in not believing the Gospel, he punishes himself.' A state
of unbelief is necessarily a state of perdition. He shuts himself
out from the enjoyment of true happiness, which is to be obtained
by man only in the faith of the truth. It is true that he will be
punished more severely by and by; but he is even now punished,
"because he does not believe on the name of the only begotten
Son of God."
"And this is the condemnation," or rather'punishment.' In
this consists the misery, "Light has come into the world."
Light is the emblem of knowledge in opposition to ignorance; of
truth in opposition to error; of holiness in opposition to depravity;
of happiness in opposition to misery. "Light has come into the
world," is just equivalent to,' The means of obtaining knowledge,
wisdom, pardon, holiness, and happiness, have been furnished to
men.' But " men loved darkness rather than the light." The unbeliever obstinately refuses to avail himself of these, and punishes
himself by excluding himself from the enjoyment of all these
blessings. He prefers ignorance to knowledge, error to truth, sin
to holiness; and thus, in effect, misery to happiness. Is not such
a person "punished already" in the necessary consequences of.6 Acts vii. 7.  2 Thess. ii. 12.  IIeb. xiii. 4.  Rev. xvi. 5.




56            THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM.           [EXP. I.
his wilful unbelief? For it is wilful. The cause is not, that the
revelation is too obscure to be understood, too weakly supported
to be credited; it is, that " their deeds are evil," the whole frame
of their sentiments, and dispositions, and habits, is depraved.
How this operates in preventing men from believing the
Gospel is explained by our Lord in the 20th and 21st verses.;For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh
to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that
doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made
manifest that they are wrought in God."
In these verses, our Lord refers, I apprehend, directly to the
different reception his Gospel was to meet with from different
classes of his countrymen. Such of them as were entirely carnal in their desires and expectations in reference to the Messiah,
would reject him and his doctrine. They would not': come to
the light lest their deeds should be reproved" or exposed. They
would not embrace —nay, they would not even examine-a system which, instead of promising to gratify their fond carnal expectations, required them to relinquish them; and which offered
only a holy spiritual happiness, for which they had no relish.
They had no desire to be awakened from their dreams; and
therefore, they tried to extinguish the light which threatened to
break their repose. On the other hand, those among the Jews
who "did truth," that is, whose characters were formed, and
whose conduct was guided, by that comparatively obscure revelation of.truth which they had received; such men as the apostles,
who with the exception of Judas, seem all, however imperfect and incorrect their notions might be, to have been looking
for something more in the Messiah than a merely temporal deliverer; who were "Israelites indeed, in whom there was no
guile;" men, whose knowledge and faith were very limited, but
who lived under the influence of the will of God, so far as they
knew it; such men would gladly hail "the day-spring from on
high visiting them," and " come unto the light, that their deeds
might be made manifest, that they were wrought in God,"97 that
is, in conformity to God's will. They would readily avail themselves of the means of discovering how far they were right, and
of having their whole frame of sentiments and affections brought
into a more complete conformity to the Divine will. Such appears to me the meaning and reference of this portion of our Saviour's discourse.
Before concluding, it may serve a good purpose to bring together, in a brief statement, the great truths whether taught in
this passage or elsewhere, respecting the fatal consequences of
refusing or neglecting to avail ourselves of the merciful provisions of the Divine economy of salvation. They may be all reduced, I think, to the three following: 1st, The unbeliever continues under the sentence of condemnation which he has already
97 It is an ingenious thought of Campbell, that these words were intended as a
mild rebuke to i'icodemus for coming " by night."




PART NvI.]    SIN AND DANGER OF UNBELIEVERS.              57
incurred by his other violations of the Divine law; 2d, He excludes himself from the enjoyment of those benefits which can
be obtained only by the faith of the truth; and 3d, He exposes
himself to a new and heavier sentence of condemnation on account of his unbelief, which is disobedience to the great commandment of God under the new economy, direct opposition to
the favorite purpose of God, if I may use the expression, the
salvation of sinners through the mediation of his Son. Let us
very briefly illustrate these three remarks:1st, The unbeliever continues under the sentence of condemnation which 1e has already incurred by his other violations of
the Divine law. The man called to believe the Gospel is already
a sinner. " For all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God," i. e.'have lost the Divine approbation.'98 The notion of
a universal pardon-if, by this, anything else is meant than that,
by the atonement of Christ, all bars in the way of the salvation
of men, arising from the law or justice of God, are removed, and
pardon freely offered to all-it is a baseless, and delusive, and ruinous dream.." Whatsoever things the law says, it says to them
under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole
world be brought in guilty before God."99 There is but one way
of obtaining deliverance from this burden of guilt. Men must
believe in Jesus, that they may obtain the forgiveness of sin;"0'
if thev do not, their guilt remains. There is no expiation for sin
but the atonement of Christ, no saving interest in that atonement but through believing.  The unbeliever must continue
under the power of guilt, just as the patient, under the influence
of disease, who refuses to use the only and the effectual remedy.
But this is not all.
2d, The unbeliever excludes himself from those benefits which
can be obtained only through the atonement of Christ, and can
be enjoyed only in the belief of the truth. The believer, " being
justified by faith, has peace with God, through our Lord Jesus
Christ; by whom also, he has access by faith into this grace
wherein he stands, and rejoices in hope of the glory of God; and
joys in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." His heart is purified through believing.  "This is the victory which overcometh
the world, even his faith," and he has "joy and peace in believing."' Through the faith of the truth he is conformed to the
Divine image, made to think along with God, and will along,vith God. He thus obtains a permanent source of powerful
motive to duty, and of abundant consolation and suffering. In
the faith of the truth, "he has in him  a well of living water
springing up into everlasting life."  Now, from all this, the unbeliever wilfully excludes himself. He cannot, just because he
is an unbeliever, participate in these exalted blessings; and he
must, just because he is an unbeliever, continue under the pressure of the corresponding evils. Fear, remorse, and all the misery
98 Rom. iii. 23.  99 Rom. iii. 19.  l00 Gal. ii. 16.
Rom. v. 1, 11. Acts xv. 9. 1 John v. 4. Rom. xv. 13.




58            THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM.           [EXP. I.
of untamed passions, and unsatisfied desires-those vultures of
the mind —must be his portion. But even this is not all.
3d, The unbeliever exposes himself to a new and heavier sentence of condemnation on account of his unbelief. That not to
believe a Divine revelation-the terms of which are level to our
apprehension, and the evidence of which would be satisfactory to
our reason, were it carefully and candidly weighed, is criminal,
and criminal in a high degree, is just about as evident as any
principle in morals can be. That unbelief is a sin, and a great
one, involving deep guilt, and exposing to correspondingly severe
punishment, is very obviously the doctrine of Scripture. To despise the Divine invitation, to disobey the Divine cdommand, cannot surely be innocent or safe. The following passages of Scripture place in a very strong light the sinfulness of unbelief, and
the awful responsibility which it involves.'And when he is
come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and
of judgment; of sin, because they believe not on me."' " And
he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the
Gospel to every creature. He that believeth, and is baptized,
shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."3
" He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that
believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God
abideth on him."' " He that believeth on the Son of God hath
the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him
a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his
Son."  " The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his
mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that
know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from
the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when
he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in
all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed), in that day."'
There is no part of the christian system more unpalatable to
worldly men than this,-' That if a man, however correct in his
manners, however amiable in his temper and character,-do not
believe the Gospel, he must perish everlastingly.' It seems to
them a hard saying, and they cannot receive it. But let us look
at the case as it really is, and we must be persuaded, that this
Divine appointment is in the highest degree reasonable and right.
We may borrow an illustration from the case of the Israelites.
I can suppose that, among the murmurers against Moses and God,
there was a man, very respectable in the ordinary sense of the
term, who, on being stung by a serpent, concluded that' a chance
had happened him,' and used the ordinary means of cure; and on
hearing what Moses had done and proclaimed, smiled inwardly
at the folly of those who could expect to be cured by looking at
a brazen serpent; and determined that he should die sooner than
2 John xvi. 8, 9.  S Mark xvi. 15, 16.  4 John iii. 36.
5  John v. 10.   0 2 Thess. i. 7-10.




PART VI.]    SIN AND DANGER OF UNBELIEVERS.            59
degrade himself by fanatical folly. Would there have been anything hard in allowing this man to suffer the natural results of
his ungodly pride? And yet, if that man had been left to die,
it would have been just, because he wanted faith. All have
sinned. The most amiable and useful man in the world is a sinner. The interests of intelligent creatures, equally with the honor
of God, require that sin should not go without a distinct mark of
Divine disapprobation. Every sinner deserves to be punished.
God has provided, at immense cost, a method for saving sinners.
He has given a plain account of this to men, accompanied with
satisfactory evidence that that account comes from him. He has
so arranged it, as that without the belief of this account, the. individual sinner cannot obtain the advantage of this only method
of salvation. Is there anything wrong, anything hard in this?
And if, as very often happens, amiable, respectable, worldly men,
because in this method of salvation there is something that shocks
their prejudices, and is at war with their pride and other propensities, choose to remain ignorant amid the means of information,
and harden themselves in unbelief, in the face of evidence,-are
they not guilty of impiety in one of its worst forms? and if there
is power in the arm of God, can it be more appropriately put forth
than against men, who treat the God of truth as if he were a liar
-the all-wise God as if he were a fool, —who trample on Divine
condescension, and defy Divine vengeance?
We conclude with again proclaiming the glad tidings, and, in
the name of God, calling on all to believe them. "Hear and your
souls shall live." "All things are of God, who hath reconciled us
to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of
reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the
world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and
hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then
we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you
by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him."  "We
then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. For he saith, I have heard
thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is
the day of salvation." "Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth
her voice in the streets: she crieth in the chief place of concourse,
in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words,
saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and
the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto
you, I will make known my words unto you. Because I have
called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no
man regarded: but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and
would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I
will mock when your fear cometh; when your %ar cometh as




60                           NOTES.                       [EXP. I.
desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when
distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call
upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but
they shall not find me; for that they hated knowledge, and did
not choose the fear of the Lord: they would none of my counsel;
they despised all my reproof: therefore shall they eat of the fruit
of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.  For the
turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity
of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me
shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil."'
NOTE A, p. 25.
"'HI Borxat&llx ToD Oso.-O —"'Av'awe. The meaning of Baa. r. Osoi5,
kinzgdooz of God, must here be explained.  The Jewish theologians regarded the heavenly world of spirits either under the image of a family
of God, "B,-:~rq., or they considered it under the image of a state;
-the angels as princes and citizens, God as the king. Again, the
Jewish theologians knew that their external theocracy was designed to
represent a royal priesthood, and people consecrated to God, Exod. xix.
6. Now, on account of this destination, they regarded their theocracy
as an earthly image of that heavenly realm of spirits, and named it
mc: nm:, heavenly state.  But as it was obvious that the ancient
theocracy did not fully realize this elevatedI destination, and as the prophets had pointed to the Messianic time as that in which the theocracy
should be glorified, and brought nearer to its true state, the Messianic
kingdom received, sensu eminentiori, the name of:    r.hin'm.  So it is
already in Daniel vii. in the Chald. Targum on Isa. xl. 9, in the Medrasch
on Schir Ilasehirim, and in many other places. Synonymous with this
term  were also the expressions, xbs,.,gwg, higher world,.n, tbin:,
ficture world,:n.5.'?s   sirn,., the Jerusalem above. All that the Christian doctrine permits the Christian to hope concerning his fellowship with
Christ in a future life, the Israelite expected from the Messianic kingdom  In this the idea of an hereafter was disclosed to them; for the dead
were then to rise, in order to participate in it. This meaning of the
word, peculiar to the Old Testament, now passed over into the writings
of the New Testament; only with such modifications as were consistent
with the fact, that the Messianic period had actually commenced with
Christ. According to the revelation of the New Testament, we must
now distinguish two divisions of the Messianic period; the one, in which
it is something that develops itself internally, and the other when it will
appear externally visible and glorified, at the end of time. In the one
point of view, then iauu.. 0. is something internally present; in the other
aspect, it is something externallyfuture, though both are essentially the
same, and the latter is only the highest completion of the former. Among
the recent writers, Olshausen has apprehended the conception of uaor. ir.
7 2 Cor. v. 18-21; vi. 1, 2. Prov. i. 20-33.




EXP. I.]                      NOTES.                             61
oi'Q. in the most spiritual manner, Comm. zum. N. T. Th. 1. s. 150.  In
the most general sense, we should translate: The Messianic kingdom;
but, at the same time, it will be necessary to keep in view the development given above, in order to be reminded of the different references
involved in the expression.'ISchlr, according to the I-ebrew idiom, as
well as l'sEO(OtL, means to experience, Psal. lxxxix, 49: xvi. 10; infra iii.
36; viii. 51, 52, &c. "'Av0a, O  may be the same with oVa6)OEYv, from
heaven, v. 31; xix. 11.; James i. 17.  So Orig., Theophyl., Erasm.
Philo also, de Gig. ed. Fr. p. 285, uses the expression dv'a,0ev (ploaoepe!v
to designate a heavenly mode of thought, for which Mangey unnecessarily
wishes to substitute a,;o,;s.  The.x 0~eo, 7v'p., i. 13, might then be compared with it.  But it is better in the sense of ndhrr, for so Nicodemus
understood it, v. 4, since  ehrseQov stands there in the place of it; and in
regard to this point simply, Christ could not have been misunderstood
by Nicodemus, for the conversation was carried on in the Aramaean language, in which there could be no word of a double meaning used; this
manner of apprehending it is also confirmed by the Syriac and Coptic
translations, by the Vulgate, and by almost all modern interpreters.
The phrase, then, corresponds to   aTuyE'rrvrlt; and nltyyespsUtr, 1 Pet.
i. 3; Tit. iii. 5.  Birth gives a new existence.  Christ therefore means to
say: He who wishes to enter into the spiritual kingdom of the Messiah,
must receive a new existence, a new principle of life." —THOLUCK.
NOTE B, p. 27.
"Many, like Calvin, take spirit as epexegetical of water: aquae
spirituales non fluviales, and appeal to the hendiadys, Matt. iii. 11. So
also in Winer, Ex. Stud. p. 140. Others, like Grot. and Teller, understand a hendiadys reversed: spiritus aquae instar emundans. Some, as
Cocc. and Lampe, understand by V>w, the obedienta pura of Christ.
Zuinglius' intelligit per spiritum coelestem operationem spiritus Dei; per
aquam  cognitionem, claritatem, lucem  coelestem.  Others, like Beza,
Beausobre, and Herder, supposed that Christ referred to the then wellknown rite of John's baptism, or that of proselytes; and, as Beaus. says,
it may be translated without hesitation: Si quelq'un n'est ne non seulement de l'eau, mais aussi de l'esprit,' If any one is not born, not only of
water, but also of the Spirit.' Some also think of a mystical, ethereal
element-the higher water-out of which the spiritual body of man is
formed; so Schubert (in v. Meyer Blatter fur h. Wahrh. II. 76. Ueber
einige Bed. des Wortes Wasser in der Schrift,) and also the Ev. Schullehrerb. Heisen in a Dissert. von 1727, shows that the Rabbins spoke of
a heavenly water in a mystical sense, and he believes that allusion is
here made to the history of creation, where The Spirit moved upon the
face of the waters.  Finally, according to Erasm. nv.Eriea is to be understood of the air; Christ places figuratively the two purest spiritual
elements in opposition to the gross earthly birth. The view of Olshausen
is peculiar:' The ideas of birth and creation are very nearly allied; as in
the creation water appears as the passive material, and Spirit as the form:
ing power, so also in the 7Eir' O]J'mv1  i'  3ToT X. nv., being born of water,
the Spirit is the creative power of regeneration, whilst water is the feminine principle, in repentance the purified element of the soul, which
becomes, as it were, the mother of the new man..         The interpretation, then, which refers this to baptism, is entirely correct, only it




62                            NOTES.                        [EXP. I.
must be understood as intimating, not the sacrament but the idea of baptism.' "-THoLucK. This view of Olshausen is strangely mystical.
NOTE C, p. 27.
"This passage is not without difficulty, and different interpretations of
it have been given, which I shall briefly notice. They are principally
three. By'flesh,' most interpreters understand natural depravity; and
by' spirit,' the Holy Spirit in the first place; and in the second place,
that gracious disposition of mind which is implanted by the Spirit. According to this view, the meaning is as follows: He that is born of
depraved men is himself depraved; but he that is born of the Divine
Spirit, is of a divine disposition; as if the sentence had run thus:
6yeyEvrIVUEvog ix; T a x4;, acueXtx6; Eat'aXr L  y0 tes iUsvog mX i0oU'rve6/u"to;, -vxvVuaTx0S EuartL.' He that is born of the flesh is fleshly; and he
that is born of the Spirit is spiritual.' This interpretation is quite agreeable to the usage of the Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testament.
Others, however, suppose that our Lord, in these words, has a reference to
the opinion entertained by the Jews, that they, in consequence of their
descent from Abraham, were the objects of God's distinguished love and
favor, and were the only heirs of the kingdom of heaven; that by'flesh,'
therefore, we are to understand the nature of man simply, or natural
nativity, and by' spirit,' spiritual nativity; and that, therefore, our Lord's
meaning is this: He who is born of men is a man,-that is, by the mere
privilege of birth, a man has nothing peculiar, besides human nature and
the external rights of kinsmanship; but he who is born and changed by
the Divine Spirit has a divine disposition of mind, which is necessary in
order to entering into the divine kingdom. Our Lord added these words,
to show that no one by birth has the right of citizenship in the Messiah's
kingdom, but that this is received only by those divine dispositions implanted by the Holy Spirit, and that, therefore, regeneration was necessary to the Jews. This interpretation is not inconsistent with Scripture
usage, and it is by far the most agreeable to the context and the subject
matter; it is approved by Semler, and greatly commended by J. F.
Bahrdt, a Leipsic divine.'  Once more, others suppose that by'Spirit'
we are to understand spirit in general, therefore, according to the law
of disjunctives, by the word'flesh' we are to understand body, and that
in these words our Lord meant to give an example, to show what kind
of generation he intended, namely, not natural, but spiritual generation,
productive of spiritual effects, not the propagation of bodies, but the
transformation of souls; and that his meaning was this: Like is born
of like, of flesh is born flesh, of body that which is corporeal, of spirit
that which is spiritual; that generation is not by body, therefore it is
not corporeal, but by spirit, therefore it is spiritual. Erasmus interpreted the passage in this way, and the interpretation of Chrysostom is
much the same.2 But interpret it how you may, it stands true; that a
transformation of the human spirit may be effected, and really is effected,
by the Divine Spirit."-TITTMANN.
NOTE D, P. 29.
"'Earthly things,' -&d br'ewta, denote things that are well known, and' Prol. Fest. Nat. Chr. a 1773, publice proposita.
Hornom. xxv. in Jo. Tom. viii. Opp. p. 144.




EXP. I.]                      NOTES.                             63
more easy to be understood:'Heavenly things,' Ti&,-ovu4rtu, are things
of a more abtruse nature, less known, and more difficult to be understood. The latter, indeed, are generally explained of things pertaining
to the kingdom of grace and glory; the former, of worldly things; the
connection, however, seems opposed to this interpretation.'Earthly
things, are things which occur on earth and before our eyes; and again,
things which may be easily known and understood by all; they are such
things as those which our Lord had hitherto communicated to Nicodemus; such as: The necessity of a change of mind on the part of the
Jews, and of their learning to see, and think, and act differently, if they
would enter into the kingdom of the Messiah; these things every one
could easily understand who was acquainted with the perverse opinions
and manners of the Jews; and therefore they are called' earthly things.'
Heavenly things, therefore, are properly things which are done in heaven,
and again, things which are secret, and, even if revealed, difflcult to be understood. Of this nature are the things which our Lord immediately proceeds
to inculcate; such as: The Messiah is the Son of God; the Messiah shall die
upon the cross; and by his death shall procure redemption, not for the Jewish nation only, but for the Gentiles likewise, and for the whole human race;
these things were Enovqot;vrw to the Jews of that period, that is, they were
high and mysterious doctrines; Paul several times culls them'mysteries,' Yvouut1(X, and Peter' calls them'things hard to be understood,'
SucJvO6ra, things which they could not digest, and which were altogether
contrary to their opinion and expectation; since they seem at that time
to have had little or no understanding of the divine nature of the Messiah,
of his death, and of a salvation extending to the whole human race; they
supposed, rather, that he would be a most illustrious secular prince, that
he would never die, but would reign for ever, conferring happiness on
the Jewish nation only, but destroying the other nations." —TITTMAN.
NOTE E, P. 30.
"Illa quidem Christi cum Deo Patre conjunctio omnino perpetua fuit,
semperque continuata est, posteaquam is ex caelo descendit et versari in
terra coepit; ut, quamvis in terra habitaret, tamen etiamnunc in caelo
esse iure diceretur, tamquam in domicilio proprio et suo. c. viii. 29; x.
38; xiv, 9-11; xvi. 15; xvii.  Verumtamen hoc loco in verbis,'O 6r iv
i& o6uxvD, proprietatem  participii praesentis temporis morosius urgere
nolim. -Qui enim cum CAMERARIO, ERASMO, RAPHELIO, BENGELIO, ERNESTIO,
multisque aliis, 6?bv pro J;'v positum  putant, et sic interpretantur:' Qui erat in caelo, antequam ad terram, descenderet,' ii sane nihil faciunt,
quod usui loquendi repugnet; (Graeci enim hoc participio saepe sic utuntur, ut vimn habeat impeofecti cf. etiam Io. ix. 25; xix. 38; Luc. xxiv.
44; 2 Cor. viii. 9.) nec leve huic sententiae praesidium parant e verbis
ipsius Christi Io. VI. 62; Si videritis homine naturn eo adscendentem, ubi
ille ERA T antea (oorv   -rb iaodrseoo,).  Ac de pondere quod in Christi
verbis inest, haec interpretatio nihil detrahit. Idem enim ille, qui iam
ad terram descenderat, erat in principio, et erat apud Deum; (Io. i. 1, 2.)
eratque gloria praeditus apud Patrem  ante mundum  conditum, h. e. ab
aeterno, c. xvii. 5." —KNAPPUS.  Dr. Pye Smith's Dissertation on this
verse, in his Scripture Testimony, book iv., chap. iii., sect. i., is deserving
of careful perusal.
32 Peter iii. 16.




EXPOSITION II.
OUR LORD'S CONVERSATION WITH THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA.
JOHN iv. 4-42.
"I AM found of them who sought me not," is the language of
the Messiah in the prophetic word, many ages before he made
his appearance among mankind; and the oracle has been frequently verified. His saving blessings are not only always uinmerited by those on whom they are conferred, but they are often
unsought; and of all who form a part of his peculiar people, it
may be as truly said as of his apostles, " It was not they who
chose him, it was he who chose them."   When they were going
on in their folly and sin-when they were alike ignorant of, and
careless about, him and his salvation, HE, to use the apostle's
peculiarly appropriate word, " apprehended"" them, aroused their
attention, poured light into their darkened minds, opened their
understandings to understand the truth, and their hearts to receive the love of that truth, so as to be saved by it. We have a
beautiful illustration of these remarks in that part of the Lord's
history, on the consideration of which we are about to enter.
We were lately engaged in illustrating the remarkable conversation which took place between our Lord and Nicodemus, a
ruler of the Jews. The course of our expositions calls us now
to turn your attention to a not less interesting conversation between the same illustrious person and a Samaritan woman.
There is a striking contrast between the characters and the circumstances of the two individuals with whom our Lord conversed; the one a Jew-a man of rank, a senator, a man of
learning, a doctor of the law, and apparently a man of unblemished reputation; the other a Samaritan-a woman of the lower
ranks, for she came to draw water-a woman of very limited
information, and apparently of loose habits, or, to say the least,
of doubtful character. But the Samaritan woman does not seem
to be farther from the kingdom of God than the Jewish senator;
and the Saviour's " meekness of wisdom" is equally displayed in
his treatment of both.
The general interest which the preaching of Jesus had excited
in Judea, and especially the circumstance of his baptizing great
John, xv. 16. Oix i/ued liue UEeFaa0e, daX' iya Ce'IeejuYv virt Z.
2 KaTnrAaPe. PhiL iii. 12.




EXP. II.]  CONVERSATION WITH WOMAN OF SAMARIA.            65
multitudes, through the instrumentality of his disciples, attracted
the notice of the Jewish rulers, who are called " the Pharisees"
here and in some other places in the gospels, probably because
the majority, and the most influential part of the Sanhedrim,
belonged to that sect; and seems to have suggested to them the
necessity of taking some steps to prevent the progress of one
whose views plainly were very different from theirs, and whose
growing influence over the minds of the people might be dangerous to their authority.!
Our Lord being aware of this, knowing that his hour was not
yet come, and that much was yet to be done, before he closed his
work on earth by his expiatory death, instead of waiting till he
should be driven out of Judea, left that district of his own accord,
and retired into Galilee, which, being remote from Jerusalem, and
under the government of Herod the Tetrarch, was less immediately under the eye, and less directly subject to the power, of the
Sanhedrim. In going from Judea into Galilee, our Lord's most
direct route lay through Samaria-not the city of that name,
which was then known by another name, Sebaste, but the province of which that city was once the capital, and which still retained the name-a district of Palestine, bounded on the south
by Judea, and on the north by Galilee, on the west by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the east by the river Jordan. It was possible to go from Judea into Galilee, by crossing the Jordan, and
passing through Perea; but this was a very circuitous route,
though some of the stricter Jews seem to have been in the habit
of taking it, to avoid intercourse with the Samaritans. The
direct road lay through Samaria.4
This region, at the original settlement of the Jews in Canaan,
had been allotted to Ephraim and the half tribe of Manasseh.'
From the time of the revolt of the ten tribes, its inhabitants had
generally ceased to worship at the temple of Jerusalem, and followed first the corrupted form of religion established by Jeroboam,
the son of Nebat;~ and then the Gentile idolatries introduced by
his successors. After the great body of the ten tribes had been
carried captive, and these regions left almost uninhabited, the
king of Assyria planted in them a colony of various nations from
the eastern part of his empire, who, mingling with the few original inhabitants, formed to themselves a strange medley of a
religion, by mixing together the principles and rites of Judaism
and those of oriental idolatries —"fearing Jehovah," as the inspired historian remarks, "and serving their graven images."'
At the time of the return from the Babylonian captivity, the
Samaritans, after having their alliance refused by the Jews, became their bitterest enemies, and the most active opposers of the
re-building of their temple and capital.8 At a subsequent period,
Manasseh, the son of Jaddua, the high priest, contrary to the
law, married the daughter of Sanballat, the chief of the Samar3 John iv. 1, 2.    4 John iv. 3, 4.    5 Josh. xvi., xvii.
6 1 Kings xii. 25-33.    7 2 Kings xvii 24-41.   8 Ezra iv. Neh. iv., vi.
VOL. I.                 5




66         CONVERSATION WITH WOMAN OF SAMARIA.  [EXP. II.
itans, and when the Jews insisted on his repudiating his wife, or
renouncing the sacred office, he fled to his father-in-law, who gave
him an honorable reception; and, by the permission of Alexander the Great, built a temple to Jehovah, ii which Manasseh
and his posterity officiated as high priests, in rivalry to the
divinely-instituted ritual at Jerusalem.9
The Samaritans received as divine the five books of Moses,
and probably, also, some at least of the prophetic oracles; but
they did not acknowledge the authority of the historical books,
as written by the Jews, whom they regarded as their worst enemies. The natural consequence of all these circumstances was,
that the Jews and the Samaritans regarded each other with a
much more rancorous dislike than either of them did the idolatrous nations by which they were surrounded."~
In passing through this region, our Lord and his disciples
arrived in the neighborhood of one of its towns one day about
noon, which in that country is intensely hot, and weary with his
journey he sat down, "thus"" —that is, like a fatigued person as
he was, near a celebrated well, which took its name from the
Patriarch Jacob-iwhile his disciples went into the town to buy
provisions.  The proper name of the town seems to have been
Shechem, or Sychem, but it was commonly called Sychar by the
Jews-which appears to have been a species of reproachful nickname-the word signifying "idolatrous," or "'drunken."  The
town is still in existence, and is now called Nablufs, a corruption
of Neapolis.12
This town was remarkable for being in the neighborhood of
that piece of ground which Jacob seems first to have purchased
from  the descendants of Hamor, and afterwards, when some
Amorites had taken possession of it, to have recovered as his
right by a successful appeal to arms-and which he lift as a
legacy to his favorite son Joseph.'3 We have no reason to doubt
that the well which bore his name, was indeed dug by his orders,
and that out of it he and his family drank while residing in this
neighborhood.
While our Lord was sitting alone, and worn out with fatigue,
by Jacob's well, under the burning heat of an almost vertical
sun, "a woman of Samaria,"-that is, not a native of the city of
Samaria, but an inhabitant of the Samaritan region, and a professor of the Samaritan religion,-came out from the neighboring
town to draw water. Jacob's well, which still exists, is about a
mile from Naplouse, but it is not unlikely that the ancient town
extended further in the direction of the well than the modern
one.
9 1 Mac. iii. 10; Jos. Antiq. xii. 5, 5.'0 Vide Relandi Dissert. Miscell. Diss. iii. and vii.
" Ovruf. Rev. iii. 16; orig. "Sic uti qualiscunque loci opportunitas ferebat,
sine pompa, solus, et qui non proe se ferret expectationem Samaritidis, sed merm
lassitudinis causa quietem vellet capere."-BENGEL.
12 Relandi Palestina, p. 1,009. Robinson's Researches, iii. 96.
13 Gen. xxxiii. 19; xlviii. 22'. Jos. xxiv. 32.




-EXP. II.]  CONVERSATION WITH WOMAN OF SAMARIA.             67
On this woman, bearing her pitcher, approaching the well, our
Lord requested of her a draught of water:-lHe said to her,
" Give me to drink."'4  The request, though it seems to us a very
natural one, appears to have struck her with surprise. She knew
the extreme dislike which Jews cherished towards Samaritans;
she knew that, though they would buy and sell with Samaritans,
it was accounted a sin by them to have any friendly intercourse
with that people.  "The Jews," says the evangelist,-for the
words are plainly an explanatory note introduced by him,-" The
Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.""
The general tone of feeling on this subject may be judged of
by the following extracts from  the Jewish Rabbins:-" It is
prohibited to eat the bread, and to drink the wine, of a Samaritan.
If any one receive a Samaritan into his house, and minister
to him, he will cause his children to be carried into captivity.
He who eats the bread of a Samaritan  is as if he ate swine's
flesh."',1
Aware of this extreme antipathy, the Samaritan woman expresses her amazement that a person, whom, from his dress and
dialect, she perceived to be a Jew, should deign to ask, or even
receive, a favor from a Samaritan.  "How is it, that thou being
a Jew, askest drink of me, which am  a woman of Samaria?""
It is impossible for us to say precisely what was the temper in
which these words were spoken. It depends very much on the
tone and manner in which they were uttered, whether they were
the expression of simple surprise, or malignant exultation.
Whatever were the woman's feelings towards the Saviour, his
feelings towards her were those of compassion and kindness.
His thoughts were " thoughts of good, and not of evil."  " If
thou knewest," said he meekly; "if thou knewest the gift of
God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou
wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee
living water."'8
By "the gift of God,"" that which God gives freely, we apprehend we are to understand the blessings of the Christian salvation-the knowledge of the true character of God-the pardon
of sin-genuine holiness-conformity of mind and will to Godreal happiness, suited to our various capacities of enjoyment, and
enduring throughout the eternity of our being: in one word,
that " eternal life," through Christ Jesus, which is "the gift of
God.""  If, then, the Samaritan woman had known the nature
14 John iv. 7.                   15 John iv. 8.
16 See Lightfoot, Schdttgen, and Lampe. The general dislike to strangers,
which was a proverbial characteristic of the Jews, is strikingly portrayed in the
words of the Roman poet"Non monstrare vias, eadem nisi sacra colenti,
Qutesitum ad fontem, solos deducere verpos." —JuVENAL.
This general dislike was sharpened in the case of the Samaritans, by the peculiar
relations of the two nations.' John iv. 9.           l" John iv. 10.    "9 T'v d&pedv roet Oe,.
20 Rom. vi. 23.




68        CONVERSATION WITH WOMAN OF SAMARIA.  [EXP. II.
and excellence of this gift of God, and if she had known that he
who had requested her to give him a draught of water was indeed the Messiah-the promised Saviour-the author of this salvation-the person by whom God was to bestow this gift on mankind-instead of hesitating about complying with his request,
she would immediately, in her turn, have become a petitioner;
and, in answer to her petition, she would have found no hesitating delay, but would have received from him, what well deserves
the name of " living water," as calculated to quench, and satisfy
completely, the thirst for happiness.
This is plainly our Lord's meaning; but it was not apprehended by the Samaritan woman.  " Little did she think"-to borrow
the words of an old divine-" little did she think of the glories
of him who stood right against her. He who sate on the well
had a throne placed above the head of the cherubim; in his
arms, who then rested himself, was the sanctuary of peace, where
wearied souls were to lay their heads, and dispose their cares, and
then turn them to joys, and to gild their thorns with glory; and
that holy tongue, which was parched with heat, streamed forth
rivulets of holy doctrine, which were to water all the world-to
turn our deserts into paradise."2'
The woman replied, "Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with,2
and the well is deep; from whence, then, hast thou this living
water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us
the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his
cattle?7" The phrase "living wh~ater" literally signifies water
issuing fresh from the fountain, as contrasted with water stagnant,
and as it were dead, in a reservoir. Understanding the word in
this sense, the woman's meaning may be thus brought out-'Spring water must be got either here, or somewhere else in the
neighborhood. You cannot get it here, for the well is deep,"
and you have no means of drawing water; and it is not probable
that you are in this respect greater than Jacob, whom we, as well
as you Jews, claim for our ancestor,-that you are better acquainted with the vicinity than he was, so as to know of a better
fountain of spring water than that which he bequeathed to us,
and out of which he and his family were accustomed to drink.'
Or, as the practice of figurative speech is common among the
Orientals, perhaps the force of her reply may be-' You make
great promises, but I see no evidence that you can perform them.
If you can give me what will in any respect answer to your
words, you must be a greater personage than Jacob-which I
much doubt.'
Our Lord proceeds to make a statement, fitted and intended to
render it still more plain that he was speaking figuratively.
1 Jeremy Taylor.    22 "Thou hast no bucket."-(vr72,ua.-CA.rMPBELL.
23 John iv. 11, 12. Opeppara. Hesychius explains it thus; poKijpa0(a, -Trp6[ara,
rcva. Kypke renders it domesticos. It is one of the dwaa Xe'/u~eva.
24 Travellers tell us the well is 105 feet deep, containing at different seasons
more or less water. Maundrell, in March, found 15 feet of water in it; Robinson,
in June, found it dry.




EXP. II.]  CONVERSATION WITH WOIMAN OF SAMARIA.              69
" Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never
thirst; but the water that I shall give him  shall be in him a well
of water springing up into everlasting life."'2   The "water"
spoken of by our Lord has been explained by some of his doctrine; and by others of the influences of the Holy Spirit. We
think it far more natural to understand it as coincident in meaning with the "gift of God," as equally with that phrase referring
to the christian salvation in all its extent. This salvation is of
such a nature, as not only to give immediate relief to him who
receives it, but to satisfy him permanently. Howsoever his capacities of enjoyment may be enlarged, there is in this salvation
what will fill these capacities to an overflow for ever. This is the
idea so beautifully expressed by this living water being, in the
person who had drank it, "a well of water springing up into everlasting life."
It may be said figuratively of all earthly sources of enjoyment,
as well as literally of Jacob's well, " He that drinketh of this
water shall thirst again."  It is the living waters of "the salvation that is in Christ with eternal glory," which alone can quench
for ever the thirst for happiness. To borrow again the language
of the eloquent theologian formerly quoted —" Here we labor,
but receive no benefit; we sow many times, and reap not; or
reap, and do not gather in; or gather in, and do not possess; or
possess, and do not enjoy; or if we enjoy, we are still unsatisfied:
it is with anguish of spirit, and circumstances of vexation.  A
great heap of riches makes neither our clothes more warm, our
meat more nutritive, nor our beverage more pleasant.  It feeds
the eye, but never fills it. Like drink to a hydropick person, it
increases the thirst and promotes the torment. But the grace of
God fills the furrows of the heart; and, as the capacity increases,
it grows itself in equal degrees, and never suffers any emptiness
or dissatisfaction, but carries content and fulness all the way;
and the degrees of augmentation are not steps and near approaches to satisfaction, but increasings of the capacity. The soul is
satisfied all the way, and receives more, not because it wanted
any, but that it can now hold more, being become more receptive
of felicity; and in every minute of sanctification, there is so excellent a condition of joy, that the very calamities, afflictions, and
persecutions of the world, are turned into felicities, by the activity of the prevailing ingredient: like a drop of water falling into
a tun of wine, it is ascribed into a new family, losing its own nature by a conversion into the more noble. For, now that all passionate desires are dead, and there is nothing remanent that is
vexatious, the peace, the serenity, the quiet sleeps, the evenness
of spirit, and contempt of things below, remove the soul from all
neighborhood of displeasure, and place it at the foot of the
throne, whither, when it is ascended, it is possessed of felicities
eternal. These were the waters which were given us to drink,
"5 John iv. 13, 14.




70          CONVERSATION WITH WOMAN OF SAMARIA.   [EXP. 11.
when, with the rod of God, the rock, Christ Jesus, was smitten.
The Spirit of God moves forever upon these waters; and, when
the angel of the covenant had stirred the pool, whosoever descends hither shall find health and peace, joys spiritual, and the
satisfaction of eternity."2
We can scarcely believe that the woman still thought our
Lord was speaking literally. She must have seen that he was
using figurative language, and that the living water he spoke of,
was something else than water fresh from  the spring.  But she
seems to have considered him as a person who was amusing himself, by attempting to awaken in her expectations he could not
gratify, and therefore she replies to him in a sarcastic jest:-" Sir,
give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to
draw."27
It was the purpose of our Lord " to manifest himself to this
woman in another way than he does to the world." It was his
determination to make her acquainted with his true character,
and to put her in possession of the blessings of his salvation.
Instead of replying to her jesting request, he bids her " go and
call her husband.""  This led her to state that she' had no husband;'29 and this statement drew from our Lord a declaration,
which must have overwhelmed the woman with astonishment and
shame, as it showed that this mysterious stranger was intimately
acquainted with all the circumstances of her history, which had
not been a very honorable one. "Thou has well said, I have
no husband: for thou hast had five husbands; and he whom
thou now hast is not thy husband: in that sayest thou truly."S
Whether these five husbands, whom  this woman had had in successsion, had all died, or whether one or more of these marriages
had been dissolved by divorce, it is needless to inquire, for it is
impossible to know. It seems plain, from the circumstance of
her living in concubinage with a man to whom she was not married, which is the most obvious meaning of the words, " He whom
26 Jeremy Taylor.                               27 John iv. 15.
28 John iv. 16.                                  29 John iv. 17.
30 John iv. 18. What strange dreams learned men pass off for interpretations
of Scripture, was perhaps never more strikingly manifested than in the following
remarks of the erudite, acute, pious, and generally judicious Hengstenberg (Diss.
on the Authenticity of the Pentateuch, Dis. I.): —" By the divine guidance, the
higher relations of this woman's people are portrayed in her inferior relations,
and on this very account she is chosen by Christ as the national representative.
She had had five husbands, and he whom she now had was not her husband. He
had not thought her -vorthy to be united to him in wedlock. And thus also her
people. They had, in earlier times, entered into a five-fold spiritual marriage
with their idols; this marriage was dissolved; the people sought for a marriage
with Jehovah, but this was refused, because they did not belong to Israel. The
King of Assyria (2 Kings xvii. 24) brought colonists from exactly five nationsfrom Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, IIamath, and Sepharvaim-and each of these nations
had their peculiar deity, or, according to the language of the ancient East, their
husband."  " This similarity," says the learned German, with great gravity, " of
the relations of the people and of the woman, is, indeed, too remarkable altogether to be disregarded without levity." Notwithstanding, we do feel it impossible to repress a smile. It would be difficult to find, even in Origen or Cocceius,
anything more fanciful than this




EXP. II.]  CONVERSATION WITH WOMAN OF SAMAREA.          71
thou now hast is not thy husband," that she was a person of
loose morals, and disreputable character.
Self-knowledge is necessary to prepare for the right apprehen
sion of divine things. The knowledge which our Lord discovered of this woman's character and history, persuaded her that
he must have supernatural means of information, and accordinglf
she said to him:-" Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet;,'3'
and, not improbably, glad of an opportunity of shifting the discourse from a subject so painful and discreditable to her, she introduces the great point of controversy between the Jews and
the Samaritans, that she might hear his opinion respecting it.
It is no uncommon thing for persons living in sin, not merely to
pretend, but really to have, an interest in, and a zeal for, what
they call their religion. Speculation about theological doctrine
is often found in unnatural union with habitual neglect of moral
duty; and among the endless tortuosities of the depraved human
heart, this is one, to seek in polemical discussions respecting
orthodoxy and heterodoxy, protection from the shafts of conviction, for plain violation of the law of God. " Who can understand the errors" of that "deceitful and desperately wicked"
thing, the human heart?
Anxious as it were to get rid of so uncomfortable a theme, she
proposes to Jesus, as a prophet, the great question between the
Jews and the Samaritans, respecting the proper place of performing public worship to Jehovah. We have no reason to think
that this woman had any conscientious anxiety as to the resolution of this question.  The subject seems introduced by her
merely for the purpose of turning aside a conversation which was
likely to lead into details in no way agreeable or creditable to
her: —" Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say,
that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.""
To " worship" plainly means here'to perform the solemn
rites of public worship.' In the laws of Moses, which the Jews
and Samaritans equally acknowledged as divine, it was distinctly
stated that after Israel had entered into Canaan, there should be
a particular place appropriated for this purpose, where alone
public worship could be lawfully celebrated." So far both parties
were agreed; but the Jews insisted that Jerusalem was the proper
place for this purpose, while the Samaritans obstinately stood up
for Gerizim.
"Our fathers," says the Samaritan woman, "worshipped in this
mountain."  It is not easy to say exactly who those fathers are,
to whom she refers. It is possible she refers to those remote ancestors, Abraham and Jacob, who erected altars at Shechem,
on or near Mount Gerizim; or to the Israelites, who, immediately after their coming into Canaan, had the Divine blessing
pronounced on them from that mountain, and for 300 years were
accustomed to worship in that neighborhood, at Shiloh; or to
their more immediate ancestors, who had built a temple on
"3 John iv. 19.    32 Joln iv. 20.    33 Deut. il. A-14.




72        CONVERSATION WITH WOMAN OF SAMARIA.  [EXP. II.
Mount Gerizim, where services, similar to those of the Jewish
temple at Jerusalem, were performed. That temple had indeed
been destroyed by John IIyrcanus, about 160 years before this,
but it is not improbable that it had been rebuilt, though with less
magnificence; at any rate, public Divine worship appears to have
been still performed there.
The Jews, on the other hand, held that " Jerusalem was the
place where men ought to worship," and they had good ground
for so holding. David, by whose direction the ark of the covenant, the symbol of the Divine presence, was brought to Jerusalem, was a prophet, and acted under Divine direction. The
particular site of the temple was fixed by a miraculous sign."3
The temple was thus built in strict accordance with Divine revelation.  Jehovah solemnly declared to Solomon:-" I have
hallowed this house which thou hast built, to put my name
there for ever;" " I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name may
be there."3" The Psalmist says, " He chose the tribe of Judah,
the Mount Zion which he loved. And he built his sanctuary
like high palaces, like the earth which he had established for
ever."38  " The Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for
his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for
I have desired it.""37
Such were the opinions of the Samaritans and Jews, respecting the proper place of worship, and such were the grounds on
which their respective opinions were founded. It was obviously
the design of the Samaritan woman to engage our Lord in the
discussion of this controversy; but he in a good degree waived
it, turning her attention to a subject of infinitely greater importance than the place of worship, even the nature of acceptable
worship; and assuring her that the time was at hand, when all
controversies in reference to the place of public worship would
become obsolete, and would lose their interest:-" Woman," said
he, "believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this
mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.""8  The
meaning of these words plainly is,' The time is just at hand
when the solemn public worship of God " the Father," the common Father of his human family, shall not be confined to any one
place, and when of course the controversy whether Gerizim or
Jerusalem has the better claim to that honor, shall be superseded.' Some have supposed that a particular period is referred
to as the ultimate limit of that order of things, in which the
solemn public worship of Jehovah was restricted to a particular
place. In this case the reference is probably to the fall of Jerusalem; but I do not know that more is meant than merely,'Yet
a very little while, and this state of things shall be no more.'
"Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship:
for salvation is of the Jews."39  In saying that the Samaritans
34 1 Chron. xvi. 26, &c.   3b i Kings ix. 3. 2 Chron. vi. 6.
36 Psalm lxxviii 68, 69.    3 Psalm cxxxii. 13, 14.,8 John iv. 21.             99 John iv. 22.




EXP. II.]  CONVERSATION WITH WOMAN OF SAMARIA.          73
worshipped they knew not what, we apprehend our Lord refers
not so much to the object of worship, as to the manner of worship:-' In worshipping God, ye are not guided by his will as to
the place of his worship; you have no divine authority for worshipping at Gerizim. On the other hand, we Jews know, on
good grounds, that in worshipping at Jerusalem, we are acting
in compliance with the Divine will.' These words are just
equivalent to,'In the question between you and the Jews, you
are wrong, and they are right; you are ignorant, and they are
well-informed.'
He adds as a reason, " for salvation is of the Jews."  "Salvation " here seems equivalent to' the Saviour'-that is, the Messiah. In this way the word is used in Luke:-" Lord, now
lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
for mine eyes have seen thy salvation."  " And all flesh shall
see the salvation of God;,,40 and in the Acts of the Apostles"So hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be
a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto
the ends of the earth."'4'The Messiah is to arise from among
the Jews, and therefore the true mode of worshipping Jehovah is
to be found among them.'
But that question, as to the proper place of worshipping
Jehovah-though, without doubt, the Jews were right, and the
Samaritans wrong —was, as a practical question, very soon to
cease to be of much interest. For, continues our Lord, " The
hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh
such to worship him."42'Under that order of things which is
just about to be established, and in which the Divine Being is to
be remarkably manifested as the "Father" of men, the great
question will not be, where he is to be worshipped, but how. The
worshipper at Jerusalem will not be accounted a true worshipper
because he worships there, nor the worshipper at Gerizim a false
worshipper because he worships there; the worshipper in spirit
and in truth, wherever he worships, whether in Jerusalem or
Gerizim, or anywhere else-whether in Canaan, or in any other
country-he, he alone, is the genuine worshipper.'
"To " worship in spirit," is to worship spiritually; to " worship
in truth," is to worship truly. They are not two different kinds
of worship; they are two different aspects of the same worship:
to worship spiritually, is in opposition to the performance of mere
external rites, to give to God the homage of an enlightened mind,
and an affectionate heart; to know, admire, esteem, love, trust,
and submit to him; and to worship him truly, is either to worship him according to the truth-that is, in a manner suited to
the revelation he has made of his character; or really, not merely
in appearance, but in substance-not in pretence only, but in sincerity. Such-such alone-are the acceptable worshippers. The,o Luke ii 29, 30; iii. 6.  "1 Acts xiii. 47.  24 John iv. 23




74         CONVERSATION WITH WOMAN OF SAMARIA.   [EXP. IL
Father seeketh these for his worshippers.4' These are the worshippers whom he acknowledges.  The worshipper at Jerusalem,
without this, will not be accepted. The worshipper at Gerizim,
with this, will not be rejected. The economy, whose great characters were externality and typism, is about to close; the economy, whose great characters are spirituality and reality, is about
to take place.
"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him
in spirit and in truth.'"4 The Father seeketh those who worship
in spirit and truth as his worshippers.  They are the objects of
his choice and preference; and the reason is plain-he himself is
spiritual-" God is a Spirit."  These words are equivalent to-'God is a living, intelligent, active being.' And, from his nature
as God, he must possess all those attributes in the greatest possible, or rather, in an infinite, measure.  He is the author and
fountain of life; he knows everything, and is infinitely wise; he
is the great original power in the universe, " who worketh all
things according to the counsel of his own will;" " who doth according to his will in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth;" whose arm none can stay, and to whom
none dares say, " what doest thou?"'" Worship, to be acceptable
to him, must be suited to his nature. It must be spiritual; it
must be the worship of man as an intelligent being-the worship
of the mind and of the heart; it must be true worship, not false,
like that of the idolater; not merely external and apparent, like
that of the formal ceremonialist; not insincere, like that of the
hypocrite.  "How has the lofty truth, the world-historical import
of this saying of Christ, been lost sight of by those who have
taken it as an isolated expression, apart from its connection with
christian theism, and with the'whole divine process for the development of christian life; by those abstract, naked, one-sidedlyintellectual deists and pantheists, who have dreamed that they
could incorporate it into their discordant system by their spiritual
fetichism, which substitutes -the deification of an idea for the
spiritual, truthful, adoration of God as a Spirit. The aristocracy
of education, the one-sided intellectualism of the ancient world,
was uprooted by Christ when he uttered this great truth to an
uneducated woman, who belonged to an ignorant and uncultivated people.""4
These sublime truths, to which nothing comparable is to be
found in the writings of the most accomplished of the heathen
sages, were, no doubt, but imperfectly understood by the Samaritan woman. She was probably mortified at his determining the
question so decidedly against her country; and though she does
not contradict him, she refers the settlement of the controversy to
4S Even under the former economy, such alone were acceptable worshippers
in the true sense of the word. Psal. 1. 7-23. Isa. i. 11-20. Micah vi. 6-8. Amos
v. 21-24.                                        44 John iv. 24.
45 Morus' Dissertation "IDe Deo, Spiritu, ad popularemn intelligentiam accommodate describendo" may be consulted with advanutage.-Dissertt. Theolog. et Philolog., Vol. i., Diss. x., p. 328.                   6 Neander.




EXP. II.]  CONVERSATION WITH WOMAN OF SAMARIA.           75
the Messiah, who, on his coming, would "restore all things"-set
all things td rights.  "I know," said she, "that the Messiah
cometh," or is coming; (the words, "who is called Christ," form
an explanatory note of the Evangelist, showing that the Gospel
was originally published among those who did not understand
Hebrew;) " when he is come, he will tell us all things.""47
It seems probable that the expectation of the speedy appearance of the Messiah was general at this period among the Samaritans, as well as the Jews. The former do not seem to have
mingled the political element with their expectations; and anticipated in him a teacher as well as a deliverer. That expectation,
probably, was founded on the oracle: " The Lord thy God will
raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken."48
Our Lord, with infinite condescension and kindness, revealed
his true character to this poor woman, and assured her that He
was the Messiah, whose coming she was expecting, and that this
was the instruction which was to be expected from him: —" I
that speak unto thee am he."49 Our Lord was very cautious of
owning, in so many words, his Messiahship among the Jews, for
two reasons-they were ready, either to stir up insurrection, and
take him by force, and make him their leader, or to accuse him
to the Roman government as a seditious person. There was no
such hazard here. The Samaritan woman believed our Lord's
declaration, and, we can have no doubt, asked and obtained the
living water; but, impatient to impart intelligence so important
and so delightful to her fellow-citizens, " she left her pitcher, and
ran back into the city."
Just about this time his disciples returned with the provisions
they had obtained; and though they were amazed that their
Master should have entered into familiar conversation with a Samaritan woman, being under the influence of their national prejudice, which held it unworthy of a wise man to talk with a
woman,50 and unfit for a Jew to be familiar with a Samaritan, yet
such was their reverence for him, that they did not presume to
make any remark on his conduct."'
On arriving at the city, the woman invited her fellow-citizens
to come along with her, and see a person who had discovered a
perfect acquaintance with her history, and who, she had reason to
think, was the long-promised Messiah:-" Come, see a man which
told me all things that ever I did; is not this the Christ?""'
Struck with her statements, many of them  accompanied her in
her return to the well."'
Meanwhile our Lord's disciples, seeing their Master apparently
absorbed in thought, urged him to partake of the provisions they
had brought."4  He replied to their friendly requests:-" I have
47 John iv. 25.    48 Deut. xviii. 15.    49 John iv. 26.
"0, He who instructs his daughter in the law is like one that plays the fool."Talmud, Tr. Sota, f. 20.                     "1 John iv. 27.
52 John iv. 28, 29.  "S John iv. 30.  5' John iv. 31.




76        CONVERSATION WITH WOMAN OF SAMARIA.  [EXP. II.
meat to eat that ye know not of.""  Our Lord's meaning plainly
is,'Something of which you are ignorant has occurred, which
has delighted and invigorated me, so as that I have no appetite
for natural food.'
His disciples, though even already they must have been in some
measure accustomed to his enigmatical form of speech, understood
him literally, and supposed that, in their absence, some person
might have furnished him with food.6" To remove their misapprehension, our Lord subjoins:-" My meat is to do the will of
him that sent me, and to finish his work;" that is, the work he
has entrusted me with.'In  performing the great work committed to me, I find more pleasure than even in my necessary
food; success in that, is, in my apprehension, the richest feast.'
At this moment, the multitude of Samaritans appear to have
been seen leaving the city, and coming towards them. On perceiving themn, our Lord thus addressed the disciples:"Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh
harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes and look
on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he
that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice
together. And herein is that saying true, one soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no
labor: other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors.""7' It is a common saying among you, When the seed is cast into
the ground, in four months we shall have harvest; but lift up
your eyes, and say, if, though we have but commenced sowing,
it be not harvest already; are not this people really a people prepared for the Lord?'58 It is likely our Lord refers here not only
to what had just occurred, but also to the great success which
had attended his labors, and those of his disciples, in Judea.
"And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto
life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may
rejoice together,"" q. d.,' This is a work in which it is indeed a
privilege to be engaged.' "The reaper," that is, the person who
succeeds in converting men to the faith of Christ, "he receiveth
wages," he obtains a glorious reward; and " the fruit he gathers
shall be to life eternal."  This either refers to his reward being an
eternal one, or rather, denotes that those who are converted by
his means, the fruits of his ministry, shall be saved everlastingly;
so that the sower, he who used means for their salvation, and did
not see their complete success, and he that reapeth-that is, who
has been the means of their conversion-may, in their everlasting
salvation, find a common enjoyment.
The proverb, " one soweth, and another reapeth," was fulfilled
in the case of our Lord's disciples-other men had labored, and
they had entered into their labors: "I sent you to reap that
whereon ye bestowed no labor; other men labored, and ye are
"5 John iv. 32.    I6 John iv. 33,      57 John iv. 35-38.
68 John iv. 35.    9ss John iv. 86.




EXP. II.]  CONVERSATION WITII WOMAN OF SAMARIA.         77
entered into their labors."6"  It was owinrg to John's preliminary
labors that their preaching had been so successful. This was,
very likely, said by our Lord, to repress the vanity of his disciples, who might be flattered by the great multitudes that in Judea
had been induced to submit to baptism. Some interpreters have
supposed that these words are prophetic, and refer to what took
place when his disciples entered into his labors, as well as those
of John the Baptist, and the ancient prophets, thus including the
abundant harvest of vast multitudes, both of Jews and Samaritans.
Many of the Samaritans were induced, by the report of their
towns-woman, to believe in Christ Jesus as the Messiah; which
almost necessarily leads us to the conclusion, that, in so short a
narrative, many circumstances which took place must have been
omitted. These converts, on coming to our Lord, earnestly requested him to remain with them some time.6' With this request
our Lord graciously complied, and continued with them two days.
These two days were no doubt busily employed by him, in instructing them in the word of the kingdom. Whether he performed any miracles here we cannot certainly say; there being
no mention of them is not certain evidence that they were not
wrought. At any rate, by means of his discourses, a great number of additional disciples were gained to his cause.
The " creed," or profession of faith of the Samaritans, deserves
notice: —" We know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of
the world."62 They seem to have been freer from prejudice as to
the design of the Messiah's mission than the Jews. This may have
arisen from the principal prediction of the Messiah, recognized by
them, distinctly stating, " That to him should the gathering of the
peoples be."63
The passage we have been considering is replete with practical
instruction.
Let us be grateful that we live under the spiritual dispensation; let us improve our privileges; let us recollect that they
bring with them a heavy responsibility, and that a carnal, nominal, hypocritical professor of Christianity will be punished much
more severely than a carnal, nominal, hypocritical Jew or Samaritan.
Let ministers and others engaged in cultivating the spiritual
harvest beware of becoming "weary in well-doing;" "in due
season they shall reap if they faint not." Let them imbibe the
spirit, and imitate the conduct, of their Lord and Master.
And let all seek to know, not only from the testimony of others,
but from their own experience, that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the
divinely-commissioned and qualified Saviour of the world. It is
only as the Saviour of the world that any of us can ever have
access to him as our own Saviour. But if we do not through
faith receive him as our own Saviour, it will avail only to our
deeper condemnation that he was made known to us-it may be
acknowledged by us, as the Saviour of the world.
do John iv. 37, 38.  61 John iv: 39-41.  62 John iv. 4?.  63 Gen. xlix. 10.




EXPOSITION III,
OUR LORD'S DEFENCE OF HIS WORKING MIRACLES ON THE
SABBATH-DAY.
JOHN V. 17-47.
To understand aright the very interesting passage which has
now been read, it is of importance that we keep steadily in view
who it is that makes these statements, and what were the circumstances in which he was placed when he made them. The speaker
is Jesus Christ, the incarnate Only-begotten of God; the divine,
and the divinely-appointed and qualified, Saviour of men; "the
Word, who was in the beginning, who was with God, who was
God;" who had become "flesh, and dwelt among men, full of
grace and truth," possessing and displaying, amid all the weakness
of the nature he assumed, and the debasement and suffering of
the state to which he submitted, a glory peculiar to himself —" the
glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father."' If this be not
steadily kept in view, many of the statements contained in this
discourse will be unintelligible, and apparently inconsistent.
The circumstances in which this illustrious speaker was placed
when he uttered this discourse, must also be attended to, if we
would rightly understand it. On the Sabbath-day, the day appropriated by Divine command to cessation from labor, Jesus
Christ had miraculously cured a man who had labored for thirtyeight years under a paralytic affection; and had commanded him,
as an evidence of the completeness of his cure, to take up the bed
on which he lay, and carry it. On this account, he was charged
by the Jewish rulers with the violation of the rest of the Sabbath,
which, under that economy, was not only, in a religious point of
view, a sin, but, in a civil point of view, a crime, exposing him
who was guilty of it to the punishment of death.
This was a charge repeatedly brought against our Lord by his
enemies; and his ordinary mode of meeting it was by pleading
the character of the works which he performed. They were acts
of mercy: and it was admitted, even by themselves, that the law
of the Sabbath was not violated by such acts, however laborious
and troublesome. Of this mode of vindication we have various
instances: —-' And he said unto them, What man shall there be
among you that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on
I John i. 1, 14, 16, 18.




EXP. III.] WORKING MIRACLES ON THE SABBATH-DAY.       79
the Sabbath-day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How
much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore, it is lawful
to do well on the Sabbath-days."' "And behold, there was a
woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was
bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when
Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman,
thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on.
her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, be
cause that Jesus had healed c n the Sabbath-day, and said unto the
people, There are six days in which men ought to work; in them
therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath-day. The
Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each
one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall,
and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman,
being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound, lo, these
eighteen years, to be loosed fromn this bond on the Sabbath-day?
And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were
ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things
that were done by him."3
In the case before us, however, for the purpose of unfolding the
truth with regard to his own personal dignity and official character, he chose to follow a different course. He takes at once far
higher ground, and distinctly intimates that he, as well as his
Father, is the Lord of the Sabbath.
"My Father," said he, "worketh hitherto, and I work."'
The meaning of these words, and their force as a defence of our
Lord's conduct in healing the impotent man on the Sabbath day,
have been variously understood. Some consider them as equivalent to —' The works which I perform are not only my works,
but my Father's; my Father works while I work; the healing
of this impotent man is not so much my work, as the work of
my Father:' as he says elsewhere:-" The Father, that dwelleth
in me, he doeth the works."' In blaming me, then, you blame
God. The work which I have done is one which nothing short
of Divine power could accomplish; and to represent it as an unlawful deed is the height of impiety.'
This is quite an appropriate and an unanswerable defence,
but we doubt if the words, fairly interpreted, express this meaning. The idea they naturally suggest, and which, from the impression made on the minds of the Jews, the idea they seem to
have suggested, is: —' My Father hitherto, from the creation of
the world, has continued to work on the Sabbath-day; and I also
work on the Sabbath-day.' Though God on the seventh day
rested fron the work of creation, —the giving being to new orders
of creatures, —he is continually employed in the preservation and
government of the world. The great machine of the universe
does not stand still on the Sabbath-day; the mighty and the minute processes of nature experience no interruption: the sun rises
2 Matt. xii. 11, 12.  3 Luke xiii. 11-17.  4John v. 17.




80       WORKING MIRACLES ON TIIE SABBATH-DAY.  [EXP. III.
and sets, the grass grows, the river rolls on, the blood circulates,
on the Sabbath, as well as on the other days of the week.'What my Father does,' says our Lord,' I do:' He works on the
Sabbath-day, and I work on the Sabbath-day; and who dare call
in question either his right or mine to do so?'
Our Lord here obviously claims a two-fold equality with the
Father. He does the same works with him; and, like him, he
works perpetually.
Instead of being overawed by this statement, made by one
who, by his miracles, had clearly proved that he was a divine
messenger, the Jewish rulers were exasperated by it, and thought
that they had now found an additional and a stronger reason for
seeking to bring him to capital punishment. He, in their estimation, had not only violated the law of the Sabbath, but been
guilty of the crime of blasphemy, in saying "that God was his
proper' Father, thus making himself equal with God."6
It is quite plain that our Lord's argument has no force, if his
claim of sonship is not thus to be understood. It were at once
impious and absurd for those who are termed " sons of God, in
the sense in which the Jewish magistrates received this appellation, or in the sense in which the term is applied to all good men,
to argue in this way,' I have a right to do whatever God does.'
It is obvious that our Lord did claim sonship, in a sense peculiar
to himself-sonship, in a sense which implied identity of nature,
and equality of authority.'My Father works on the Sabbathday, and who dare find fault with him? I work on the Sabbathday, and who dare find fault with me?
The Jewish rulers, not believing him to be what he was, an
incarnation of God, and the divine, and the divinely-appointed,
Saviour of the world, considered this assertion as, in itself, a
greater crime than that for which it had been brought forward
as a defence. To the crime of Sabbath violation, he had, in their
estimation, added that of blasphemy; for, in calling God "his
Father," he had claimed identity of nature with him, thus " making himself equal with God."
Such was the inference they drew from his words, and it appears that it was a fair inference. He does not accuse them of
misrepresenting his meaning; he does not protest against their
construction of his words. He goes on to state the truth with regard to his person and office, and the evidence on which it rested,
and thus to vindicate himself equally from the charge of Sabbath
violation in having healed, by his divine power, an impotent man
on that day, and of blasphemy, in making an assertion which, by
necessary implication, was a claim of equality with God.
I. —THE DOCTRINE.
The general idea pervading the whole discourse is this:-'There exists a perfect unity of mind, and will, and operation.
6dOv.                      6 John v. 18.




PART I.]               THE DOCTRINE.                      81
between the Father and the Son.' The works of the Son are
really divine works; so that, neither can he be justly accused of
Sabbath violation for working on the Sabbath-day, nor of blasphemy, in making himself equal with God.
"The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the
Father do."' These words have sometimes been explained, as if
they meant,' The Son, as the mediatorial servant of the Father.
does nothing but according to the will of the Father.' This is
true; but it does not seem to be the truth here stated. Our
Lord's defence is not, that his works were divinely-appointed
works, but that they were divine works.  The meaning seems to
be,'The Son can do nothing separately from the Father.'8
The word "can"9 is, I apprehend, to be understood in its
strict meaning of physical impossibility. It is true, that from the
moral perfection of the God-man, Christ Jesus, he was morally
incapable of doing anything inconsistent with the will of his
Father. But here the question is about an act of physical power
-the miraculous cure of the impotent mnan-and the meaning
seems to be,'It is impossible for the Son to exercise divine power
separate from  the Father; when the Son works, the Father
works also.'
To "see," here, is just equivalent to'to know'-to know intuitively. When the Son exerts his divine power, it is always
in the conscious knowledge, arising from the possession of the
same divine nature, that it is the will of the Father that it should
be so exerted; and as in this way the Son can do nothing but
what the Father does, so, on the other hand, "what things
soever the Father doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise."'~
He does only what he, by the possession of the same divine
nature, is conscious that the Father is doing; and he does all
that the Father does " likewise,"' in the like manner, doing not
only what He does, but doing it as Hle does it; that is, in a way
comporting with the absolute perfection of their common divine
nature.
All is of the Father-all is by the Son. Did the Father create
the universe? So did the Son. Does the Father uphold the
universe? So does the Son. Does the Father govern the universe?  So does the Son. Is the Father the Saviour of the
world? So is the Son. Surely the Jews did not err when they
concluded that our Lord made himself equal with God. Surely
he who is so intimately connected with God, that he does what
God does, does all that God does, does all in the same manner in
which God does it; surely such a person cannot but be equal
with God.
Our Lord adds, "For the Father loveth the Son.'"2 There
is an ineffable, infinite affection of the Father to the Son, necesJohn v. 19.
" Candor est lucis aeternre. Attende candorem solis. In cmelo est et expandit
candorem per terras omnes: Si separas candorem solis a sole, separa Verbum a.
Patre."-AuGsnTN.
9 divarat.    "0 John v. 19.     U 6/loicw.     2 John v. 20.
VOL. I.                    6




82        WORKING MIRACLES OI~ THE SABBATH-DAY. [EXP. III.
sarily springing out of their common possession of infinite excellence; and this love is manifested in the Father's "showing the
Son all that he doeth"" in-if I may venture on the expression
— his having no secrets with him.
The idea seems to be this, that the love of the Father and of
the Son, their perfect complacency in each other, is manifest-in
that perfect knowledge which the Son has of the period at which,
the purpose for which, and the manner in which, the divine
power equally possessed by them is to be put forth.'Is it in
consequence of this perfect knowledge,' as if our Lord had said-'that in this case I have exerted divine power while my Father
was exerting it.'
And he adds,'still further-still more extraordinary manifestations of this community of knowledge, will, and operation of
the Father and of the Son, will be mreade.' "H IIe will show you
greater works than these, that ye may all marvel,""' or, so "that
ye shall all marvel;" that is, we apprehend,' The Son, in consequence of his perfect knowledge of the mind, and will, and operations of his divine Father, will yet make still more remarkable
displays of that divine power which is equally his Father's and
his own, —such displays, as will fill with amazement all who witness them."'
What these displays were to be, appears from what follows. —He had healed an impotent man, but he was soon to raise to life
some who had been dead; nay, at a future period he was to raise
to life all the dead, and act as the Governor and Judge of all
mankind.
Such intimate knowledge of all the designs and operations of
the Almighty and Eternal God; such a knowledge as may be
compared to acute vision; such intuition of the Divine plan of
operation, together with the putting forth the divine energies
necessary to carry this plan into execution, —surely this, if anything can, proves the proper divinity of our Lord and Saviour.
" For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them;
even so the Son quickeneth whom he will."'" These words seem
an illustration of the statement made in the close of the 19th
verse, —" whatsoever things the Father doeth, these also doeth
the Son likewise;" as well as a specimen of "the greater things"
than the healing of the impotent man.
"For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them;
even so the Son quickeneth whom he will." The Father raiseth
up the dead and quickeneth them,-that is,'God possesses the
power, and that power is peculiar to Divinity, of raising up and
giving life to the dead.' It is one of the peeuliar characteristics
of the living and true God, that he is " the God that quickeneth
the dead."  Unto God the Lord belong the issues from death."','3 John v. 20.'4 John v. 20.
1" Hec ostensio est intitn  unitatis. Conferunt hue, Psal. xlv. 5. DocEBIT te
res stupendas dextera tua.' "-B EN-GEL.
"6 John v. 21.             " Rom. iv. 17. Psal. lxviii. 20.




PART I.]               THE DOCTRINE.                      83
"Why should it be counted an incredible thing, that God should
reiqe the dead,"18 says the apostle, obviously intimating that it
migll-, well be accounted an incredible thing that any one else
should raise them. Now, this power is claimed by our Lord in
the most absolute manner,-the power not only of raising up,
but of quickening, and of raising up and quickening whom he
will.
He "has life in himself, as the Father has life in himself," so
that he can, not merely, like the apostles, acting as the instruments of divine power, or rather as its heralds, declare that power
shall be manifested in raising this or that person from the dead,
but he can resuscitate and re-animate whomsoever he will. It is
a power inherent in him, which he can exert whenever he chooses.
With regard to all the dead, he has but to speak the word, and
they live.
But not only is the Son thus possessed, as a divine person, of
the same power as the Father, but in the economy of salvation,
the Father has appointed him to fill such offices, and to perform
such works, as are competent only to one who is possessed of
divine perfections, and he has done this for the express purpose
that men should yield to his Son the same religious homage
as they do to himself.  "For the Father judgeth no man, but
hath committed all judgment to the Son: That all men should
honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth
not the Son, honoreth not the Father which hath sent him."'9
The sum 6f our Lord's statements, in what goes before, seems
to be this, —' The Son is, equally with the Father, possessed of
divine perfections.-His works are, equally with the Father's,
divine works.' The sum of the statement that follows, seems to
be-' In the economy of man's salvation the Father has appointed
him to manifest his own divine perfections, so that men may be
led to honor him, even as they honor the Father.'
The word "judge,"" may be understood either in a more confined, or in a more extended sense. In the first case, it is equivalent to'finally to determine,' and refers to what we ordinarily
term " the last judgment," which is to follow the general resurrection, and in which all men are to " receive according to the
deeds which they have done, whether they be good or evil."'
In the second case, it is equivalent to'to govern-to rule.'22
The last sense includes the first, and therefore we are inclined to
prefer it, being disposed to take the words in the most extended
sense they will bear.
Under the economy of grace, the whole administration of the
Divine moral government is put into the hands of the incarnate
Son-the glorified God-man, Christ Jesus.  " Jehovah has said
to our Lord, Sit thou at my right hand;"723 and there he sits and
reigns, and must continue to reign, till all his enemies are made'1 Acts xxvi. 8.    29 John v. 22, 23.    2o Ktpivet.    2 2 Cor. v. 10.
2' Psal. xcvi. 13; xcviii. 9; sex. 6. Isa. ii. 4; xi. 3. Mic. iv. 3.'Rev. xix. 11.
23 PsaL cx. 1.




84.       WORKING MIRACLES ON THE SABBATH-DAY. [EXP. III.
his footstool. He has obtained "a name above every name."
"Angels, principalities, and powers being made subject to him."24
The Father administers government under the new economy,
not directly, but by the Son; he hath committed all government
to the Son. Everything connected with the government of the
church and of the world, inclusive of the final distribution of rewards and punishments, has been entrusted to him.
It has sometimes been said, with something like a sneer, by
the Unitarian enemies of the doctrine of our Lord's proper divinity,-' It would seem, according to your views, that this appointment was a very unnecessary thing; nothing being given
to the Son except what, according to you, he always possessed.'
But surely it does not require much acuteness to see the distinction between the possession, and the exercise, of a power, "to
observe the distinction between an original grot nd of suitableness
in the capacity and qualifications of an agent f.* a given purpose,
and a consequent investment of that agent with a particular function appropriated to that purpose."1
The design of the Father in appointing the Son to be in reference to all creatures the Supreme Ruler, is "that all may honor
the Son as they honor the Father." He has appointed him to
an office, the discharge of the functions of which, absolutely requires divine perfections, that in the display of these he may appear entitled to, and may receive, divine homage. "That,"6 may
either be considered as equivalent to,' in order that,' or'so that,'
as indicating the design of God, or as indicating the conclusion
which ought to be drawn from the fact. Surely our Lord has
here very distinctly told us who and what he is. For, after having attributed to himself works obviously divine, he here, in express words, claims for himself divine worship-worship equal to
that rendered to the Father.
The word rendered " to honor,""' does not of itself convey the
idea of worship. But to honor God, is to worship him. Every
mark of respect, inferior to worship, would be not honor, but
insult to HIM. To honor God is to worship him; and to worship God, is just to think, and feel, and act, towards him, in conformity to the revelation he has made of himself. He has revealed himself as infinitely great, excellent, and good-the creator, preserver, proprietor, governor, of all things. To think,
feel, and act in conformity to this revelation; in other words,
supremely to esteem, reverence, love, and trust in God, and to
express these sentiments in obedience and submission, this is to
worshiD God.
To "honor the Father," expresses that modification of religious worship which rises out of the revelation which God has
made of himself in the paternal character. God has made himself known as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and as our God and Father in him; as God loving the world,
" Phil ii. 9. Eph. i. 21. 1 Pet. iii. 22  2 Pye Smith.
16 Iva.                               27 TL#cycnl.




PART I.]             THE DOCTRINE.                     85
God reconciling the world to himself. Now, he is not honored
in this character, unless we look to him with unsuspecting confidence for every blessing we need for time and eternity, through
the mediation of his Son.
To " honor the Son," is just to regard the Son with those sentiments and feelings which correspond with the revelation made
of him as " the" eternal " Word," "the brightness of his Father's
glory," " God manifest in the flesh," the divinely-appointed and
the divinely-qualified, Redeemer of men.
The honor which it is the will of the Father should he given
to the Son, is the same honor that is due to himself, ".that all
should honor the Son as they honor the Father." It is not an
honor resembling that due to himself; but it is honor equal to
that due to himself, the same honor that is due to himself. He
is to be worshipped as the true God, possessed of all divine perfections, the creator, preserver, proprietor, governor, saviour, and
judge of the world.
That the honor here referred to, is really the honor of divine
worship, is plain from the reasons on which the claim is founded.
God is his proper Father; he is God's proper Son; there is identity of nature. He is equal with God; he has divine powers and
prerogatives; equally with the Father, he has the power of raising
and quickening whom he will; equally with the Father, he is
the ruler and judge of the universe. These are the grounds on
which a claim is made, that the Son should be honored as the
Father.
It is added, "He that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the
Father which hath sent him."  It is the will of the Father, that
all men should honor the Son as they honor himself; and if this
will be not conmplied with, the Father is dishonored. The Father
wills to be honored and worshipped through the Son; his will is
to be worshipped by men as the Father of our Lord, and our
Father in him. Now this cannot be done unless we honor the
Son. Indeed the Father cannot be honored in any other way
than by honoring the Son. He who does not honor the Son,
does not acknowledge God as the Father, such as he has manifested himself in his Son; he does not acknowledge the paternal
love towards us, manifested in sending his own Son; he does not
place his confidence in the Father, just because he has not faith
in the Son; he cannot love the Father, for he does not acknowledge the love of the Father. He cannot obey the Father, because he wants those aids, which can be supplied only by faith in
the Son. It is in the Son that the Father manifests himself:
" He who has seen the Son, has seen the Father,"' and he who
has not seen the Son, has not seen the Father. So closely connected are the worship of the Father, and that of the Son, that
the one cannot exist without the other.
The proper interpretation of the paragraph which follows,
(verse 24-29,) depends on the right resolution of the question,
28 John xiv. 9.




86         WORKING MIRACLES ON THE SABBATH-DAY.  [EXP. III.
whether the leading words in it, "death," "life," and " resurrection," are to be understood literally or figuratively.29
There can be no reasonable doubt, that "death" is often in
the New Testament used to describe that state of moral corruption and spiritual inactivity in which all men are by nature; and
"life" to describe that state of holy activity and enjoyment, into
which they are brought by the faith of the Gospel; and that the
transition from the one state into the other is sometimes represented as a resurrection; and some interpreters have considered
the passage before us as one of those in which, under these significant figures, the power of the doctrines of Christ, when understood and believed, to effect a great and most salutary change on
the character and condition of mankind, is brought before the
mind.
On carefully examining the passage, however, I am persuaded
that the words are to be understood in their literal signification,
and that they do not refer to the conversion of the irregenerate,
but to the resurrection of the dead. The reasons which have induced me to form this judgment, are the following
Unless the context absolutely requires it, we are never to depart from the literal signification of words and phrases, when
they afford a true and consistent meaning.
On the principle of figurative interpretation, it seems impossible to attach distinct ideas to such expressions as, " all who are
in their graves shall come forth, some to the resurrection of life,
and some to the resurrection of damnation."
The context obviously not only admits of, but seems to require, the literal interpretation of these words.  Jesus Christ had
performed a miracle of mercy on the Sabbath-day, and the Jewish rulers accused him of Sabbath violation. The question between him and them referred to his right to perform works on a
day set apart by Divine authority to cessation from labors. In
answer to their objection he might have done, what he did on
other occasions, have urged the character of the works he performed.  It was a work of mercy, and therefore no violation of
the law rightly understood. But he chose, as we have seen, to
occupy other and higher ground. From his possession of the
same divine power as that displayed by his Father in the upholding and governing of the world, he argues his right of exercis29 This is one of the most difficult questions in exegesis. The mystical or spiritual interpretation is comparatively modern. It is that of most of the rationalistic
interpreters, such as Ammon, Eckermann, and Eichorn.  The literal is that
adopted by the more ancient Greek and Latin interpreters, as Chrysostom and
Tertullian, and by such modern interpreters as Storr, Tittmann, and Schott.
Some very good interpreters, as Calvin, Lamp6,-Luck6, and Neander, endeavor to
conjoin the two interpretations; I think not very successfully. The only serious
difficulty in the way of adopting the exegesis which, upon the whole, seems the
preferable one, rises out of the use of the perfect in the close of the 24th verse,
where we should have expected the future; but in prophetic statements, the perfect often stands for the future, to indicate the absolute certainty of the event.
As Tholuck says, " He who has become a believer in the Son is regarded by God
as already holy and glorified for all eternity," Rom. viii. 30. A very good view
of the arguments for both modes of interpretation is Given by Tittmann in loc.




PART I.]              THE DOCTRINE.                     87
ing that power on the Sabbath-day, as well as on other days, just
as his Father exercised it. The Jews understood this as claiming equality with God, and they seem rightly so to have understood it, for our Lord does not complain either of their misapprehending or misinterpreting his meaning. What follows, then, is
our Lord's explanation and vindication of the assertion, which
the Jews considered as blasphemy, that he was equal with God,
that he had the same power that God has. To say, what according to the figurative mode of interpretation our Lord says,
that the doctrine which he had been commissioned of God to
teach, if understood and believed, would effect a salutary change
in the character and condition of mankind, so great and wonderful, that nothing short of the resurrection of the dead could afford,
an adequate figurative representation of it, would have been to
state a truth, but a truth which seems to have no direct bearing
on the obvious object of our Lord's discourse; whereas to say,
what the words, literally interpreted, plainly convey, that he was
possessed of the same divine power with the Father,-power
which he had manifested in the performance of miracles, and
would still farther manifest in the performance of still greater
miracles, immediately or very soon, in not only curing diseased
men, but quickening dead men, and ultimately in raising to life
all who had ever died, —this was just to make the assertion which
the circumstance required, and which his previous statements
led to expect.
On these grounds we are disposed to prefer the literal interpretation of this passage, to the mystical, or even to the mixed,
interpretation of it. Let us proceed to examine it somewhat
more closely.
" Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and
believeth on him who sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not
come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."3'
To "hear," is often, in Scripture, used to denote, to attend, to
believe, to obey; for example-" This is my beloved Son: hear
ye him."  He that hears Christ's word is just he who attends to,
who believes, who obeys him, as a divine teacher,-who considers
all that he says as divinely true, and as divinely true because he
says it.
To " hear the word" of Christ, and to " believe on," or to " believe him who sent him," is substantially the same thing, for our
Lord himself says-" My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent
me: He that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me."
Now, our Lord's assertion is, that every one who, by receiving
as true his doctrine, as the doctrine of a divinely-commissioned
teacher, gave credit to Him whose messenger he was, should
become the subject of that divine power, which he in common
with his Father possessed. He "hath," that is, he shall assuredly have, " eternal life," he shall be made capable of, and shall
in due time enter on, a state of everlasting holy activity and
-9 John v. 24.




88        WORKING MIRACLES ON THE SABBATH-DAY. [EXP. III.
enjoyment.  " He shall not come into condemnation."  The
word rendered "condemnation,"3' properly signifies'judgment;'
but here, as in many other parts of Scripture, especially of the
Gospel by John, is equivalent to' condemnation or punishment.'
The meaning is:' He shall not be condemned or punished.'
On the contrary, " he is passed," that is, shall pass, "from
death to life."a  These words are often, perhaps ordinarily, explained of conversion; but in their connnection here, it seems
more natural to explain them, of "the resurrection of life."
He who hears Christ's words, and believes on Him who sent him,
is not exempted from death. "It is appointed to men once to
(lie." The awful doom extends to all mankind:-" Dust thou
art, and unto dust shalt thou return."  "The body must die
because of sin," —the first sin of the first man. " But the spirit
lives, because of" the free and full "justification," by the obedience unto the death of the second man, the Lord from heaven;
and " he, who raised our Lord Jesus from the dead, shall also
quicken our mortal body."  To all who have his word, and believe on him who sent him, death is but the way to life.
The declaration in the passage before us seems nearly equivalent to the two following:-" This is the will of him that sent
me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him,
should have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last
day."  "He that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall
he live: and whosoever liveth, and believeth in me, shall never
die.'s32
But the hearers of our Lord, were not required to wait till they
got into the world of spirits, to witness these greater things which
the Son, in the exercise of that divine power which equally belongs to him and to his Father, was to perform: He adds, " Verily,
verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the
dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear
shall live.""3
These words are, we apprehend, a prediction of the miraculous
resurrection of Jairus' daughter, of the son of the widow of Nain,
and of Lazarus, and it may be of others; for we have no reason
to think that all Christ's miracles are recorded; nay, we certainly
know that he did so many other things besides those which are
recorded, that, "had they been written every one, I suppose,"
says the evangelist, "the world itself could not contain the books
that should be written."3    " The hour is coming, and now is,"
that is,'the appointed period is just at hand,' "when the dead
shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall
live;" that is,'when I the Son of God, shall by a mere act of my
will, expressed by a word of my mouth, restore to life those who
are dead.'
How accurately does the event correspond to the prediction!
Hear the story of Jairus' daughter: —" While he yet spake, there' Kpialv.       a See Note A.        32 John vi. 40; xi, 25, 26.
S John v. 25.                       34 John xxi. 25.




PART I.]              THE DOCTRINE.                     89
came from the ruler of the svnagogue's house certain which said,
Thy daughter is dead; why troublest thou the Master any further?
As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto
the ruler of the synagogue. Be not afraid, only believe. And
he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter and James, and
John the brother of James. And he cometh to the house of the
ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept
and wailed greatly. And when he was come in, he saith unto
them,  Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead,
but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when he
had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the
damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the
damsel was lying. And he took the damsel by the hand, and
said unto her, Talitha-cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel
(I say unto thee), arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and
walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were
astonished with a great astonishment."35 Hear the story of the
widow's only son:-" And it came to pass the day after, that he
went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with
him, and much people. Now, when he came nigh to the gate of
the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son
of his mother, and she was a widow; and much people of the city
was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion
on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched
the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young
man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and
began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother."36 Hear
the story of Lazarus:-" Jesus therefore again groaning in himself, corneth to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon
it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of
him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh; for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her,
Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou
shouldest see the glory of God?  Then they took away the
stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted
up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard
me. And I knew that thou hearest me always; but because of
the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that
thou hast sent me. And when he had thus spoken, he cried with
a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came
forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes; and his face was
bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him,
and let him go.'"3
Our Lord not only states that he would raise the dead, by
merely commanding them to arise, but he, in the plainest terms,
informs us that he would do this in the exercise of that independent power of giving life which belongs, and can belong, to
no creature, but which is common to him and his Divine
F'ither. "]For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he
Bb Mark v. 35-42.  3" Luke vii 11-15.   87 John xi. 3844.




90        WORKING MIRACLES ON THE SABBATH-DAY.  [EXP. III.
given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him
authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of
man. 38
This is by far the most difficult passage in the whole of our
Lord's discourse. At first sight, it seems to involve a contradiction. To have life "in himself," and to have it "given to him
to have life in himself," seem incompatibilities. The life which
he has, seems to be represented as at once independent and dependent, original and derived. Let us examine the passage attentively. We shall find that, while there may be some things
obscure, there is much that is clear; and, that, what is at first
sight obscure, may, on closer inspection, lose much of its obscurity.
It is very plainly stated, that " the Son has life in himself,"
and that he "has life in himself, even as the, Father hath life in
himself."  "Life," when attributed to God in the Scriptures,
seems to denote the property of independent existence, the possessing life, in the highest sense of that word, and the power
of communicating life to those who have it not, and of restoring
it to those who have lost it, or been deprived of it. When we
call God the living God, or say that in him is life, we mean that
he is the source of life, the fountain of being, the creative, lifegiving principle.  "The Father has life in himself;" it belongs
to his nature; he has received it of no one; it is an essential
attribute of his necessarily existing nature: he so has life, that
he can impart, withdraw, and restore it to whomsoever he pleases.
He is the fountain of all life. All in earth and in heaven, who
have life, have received it from him  "in whom is life," "with
whom is the fountain of life," who " has life in himself."  They
have not life in themselves.  "In him they live, and move, and
have their being."
Now, the Son is said to have "life in himself," that is, the Son
is a possessor of independent existence. He derives his life from
none; he has the power of communicating life according to his
pleasure.  " He has life in himself, even as the Father has life in
himself." All the life in the universe is as really from the Son
as from the Father. He is equally with the Father the possessor
of that independent existence, and that power of giving existence,
which is one of the grand characteristics of Divinity. He and
his Father are equally " the first, and the last, and the living One."
These principles are very clearly stated in the passage before us;
they are in perfect accordance with the general doctrine of the
Scripture; and our confidence in them is not to be at all affected
by the difficulty which may attach to some of the other expressions in the passage before us.
The whole of the difficulty lies in the phrase: —" The Father
hath given to the Son to have life in himself." There is something very peculiar in this phraseology. It is not said, that " the
Father hath given the Son life in himself," but "he has given to
38 John v. 26, 27.




PART I.]              THE DOCTRINE.                     91
the Son to have life," or, that he minqht have,"9 "life in himself:"
The first mode of expression would have distinctly stated a communication of life from the Father to the Son; and, had it been
our Lord's intention to express this idea, he would probably have
adopted it as the simplest and most unequivocal method of expressing it. The second mode of expression, which is peculiar,
seems intended to convey some other idea. What that is, we
hope to be able by and by to make evident.
Most interpreters appear to have overlooked this peculiarity of
expression, and have considered the words as expressive of what
they have termed that eternal communication of the Divine
nature, which they consider as implied in the very nature of our
Lord's sonship. I cannot find in the Scriptures any sanction to
this language. I can attach no distinct idea to it. It seems to
me a contradiction in terms. I know very good divines have
spoken of the Father as the fountain of Deity; but, in doing so,
they have, I apprehend, " darkened counsel by words without
knowledge."' A derived independent existence, a communicated
original power, are certainly downright absurdities.
But, the expression is not, The Father hath given to the Son
life in himself, or independent existence, and the power of giving
existence to whomsoever he will; but he has given to the Son
" to have life in himself." The word give is often used in Scripture, as equivalent to'appoint.' The appointment of the Son
to be the Messiah is repeatedly expressed by this word: —" Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and
commander to the people."40 "For God so loved the world, that
h6 gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.'"4' The Father has
appointed the Son to have, or hold, life in himself. The word
" gave" does not seem to refer to the life itself, but to the manner of having or holding it. The Father, as the head of the
mediatorial economy, appoints the Son to hold and exercise that
independent power of conferring life, which is the characteristic
property of that divinity, of which they are equally possessed.
He constitutes him the fountain of divine life to mankind, because he is in himself adequate to this function. The idea seems
materially the same as, when it is said, that "it pleased the
Father that in him  should all fulness dwell" —"that all the
fulness of the Godhead dwells in him bodily;" that so out " of
this fulness we might all receive grace for grace"-superabounding grace. This appears to me the most satisfactory mode of
explaining this somewhat difficult passage.
That the words refer to a Divine appointment, having a reference to the mediatorial economy, is obvious from what follows: " and hath given him authority to execute judgment also,
because he is the Son of man."'"  To execute judgment is, we
apprehend, to administer the government of the world, including, of course, the passing and executing final sentences on all
S9 EXetv.   40 Isa. lv. 4.  41 John  iii. 16.  42 John v. 27.




92         WORKING MIRACLES ON THE SABBATH-DAY.  [EXP. III.
intelligent beings.  The Father has appointed the Son, in his
mediatorial capacity, to be the ruler of the world; "he hath
committed all things into his hand." He has appointed him to
discharge functions, for the proper discharge of which, divine
perfections are absolutely necessary; for what, short of divine
power and wisdom, could enable a person to govern the universe?
It is added, he has done so, " because he is the Son of man."
I have already had an opportunity of explaining to you the meaning of the appellation " the Son of man," when used as a descriptive appellation of the Messiah.  The force of the particle rendered " because," has been variously explained.  We are disposed
to think the most probable method of interpretation is that
which supposes that there is a reference to the remarkable prophetic oracle recorded by the prophet Daniel (chap. vii. 13, 14).
It is obvious that our Lord, though using the third person, is
speaking of himself; and it is just as if he had said,'The Father
hath appointed me to be the ruler of the world, for I am the
person to whom, according to the ancient oracles, a kingdom
without limit and without end was to be committed.'4'
Our Lord now  directs the attention of his hearers to a still
more remarkable manifestation which was to be made by him of
the divine power which, equally with the Father, he possessed,
and which, by the Father, he had been appointed to display:"Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all
that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth:
they that have done good unto the resurrection of life; and they
that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."4   That
is,'There is a period coming, when all who have died shall, by
their being restored to life by the Son, find in their own experience that he has life in himself, as the Father has life in himself; and when it shall appear also, that all judgment is committed to the Son, by his sentencing those who have done good
-who have complied with the Divine will respecting the salvation of men, by believing the truth, and living under its influence —to life, everlasting life; and by his sentencing them who
have done evil-who have lived and died in a state of unqcuelled
rebellion against God-to punishment, everlasting punishment;
and by bestowing the rewards, and inflicting the punishment, to
which he has respectively adjudged them.'
43 Dr. Campbell and many others take another view of the meaning of the
phrase. They render it, and fairly enough, " Because he is a son of man." It is
remarkable that this is the only place in which the appellation is employed without the article. They consider the sentiment expressed as equivalent to-" for it
suits the ends of Divine wisdom, that the Judge, as well as the Saviour of men,
should be a man." This sentiment is undoubtedly a just one, though no Piroo
avapwTioc, none but a man in union with God as the incarnate Son was, could have
been fit for discharging the functions of such an office. Some of the reasons why
the power of judgment was given to our Lord as a son of man, are very well assigned by Witsius in his "Exercitat. in Symb." Exercit. xxii. ~ 9. Scholten "de
appellatione -roe Tiocd -oi'Avipdwrov," deserves also to be consulted.
4 John v. 28, 29.




PART I.]              THE DOCTRIN'E.                    9)
The only illustration this verse demands, or indeed admits, is
to be drawn from parallel passages of Scripture, of which the
following are a specimen:-" For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and
with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.""
" The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty
angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not
God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who
shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence
of the Lord, and from the glory of his power."4   " When the
Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with
him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before
him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them
one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the
goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the
goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on the
right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was
an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave
me drink: I was a stranger, and ve took me in: naked, and ye
clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and
ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying,
Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty,
and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took
thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?  Or when saw we thee
sick, or in pi so'n. and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say Ppto them, Verily, I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye
have done it Iunto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have
done it into me. Then shall he also say unto them on the left
hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared
for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungered, and ye gave:oe, no meat: I was thilsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a
stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not'
sick, and in prison, an-d ye visited me not. Then shall they also
answer him, saying, I!-rd, when saw we thee an hungered, ol
athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did
not minister unto tLee? Then shall he answer them, saying.
Verily, I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the
least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into
everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.""'
"He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is
filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be
righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And,
behold I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give to
every man according as his works shall be. I am Alpha and
Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may havw
right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into
the city.  For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whore
45 1 Thess. iv. 16.  46 2 Thess. 1. 7-9.  "7 Matt. xxv. 31-46.




94       WORKING MIRACLES ON THE SABBATH-DAY. [EXP. III,
mongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth
and maketh a lie."48
Our Lord concludes, as he had begun, by declaring, that in
all the exertions of his power, and in all the acts of his government, he did nothing separate from the Father. " I can of mine
own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is
just, because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father
which hath sent me."49' In doing all these things I act along
with the Father, —our mind, and will, and operation are one. I
can do nothing separate from him.' " As I hear, I judge." The
word "hear," is to be understood in the same way as the word
" see" in the preceding context.' My judgment is in every case
in exact accordance with the mind of the Father, of which I
have the most intimate knowledge, a knowledge absolutely perfect, as arising from the possession of the same divine nature.
And the justice of my judgments shall be made manifest, as all
of them shall be made to appear to be guided, not by any regard
to what might be considered my own private will and interest,
but by a strict regard to the will of the Father, who hath appointed me to manifest the Divine perfections; to do the Divine
will; " that God may be all in all."'
In the preceding part of the discourse, Jesus Christ has unfolded the great fundamental truths of his religion,-that he is a
divine person, possessed of the distinctive nature and attributes
of Deity; and that he is the divinely-authorized, and divinelyqualified, Saviour, and Ruler, and Judge of mankind; and he
farther states that the belief of these principles is most intimately
connected with the most important interests of mankind. " He
that believes them shall be saved; he that believes them not
shall be damned." In requiring his hearers to believe these
doctrines, under sanctions so awful, our Lord made no unreasonable demand. He accompanied his statements of principle, with
corresponding statements of evidence; and there is a beautiful
proportion between the importance and the strangeness of the
doctrines he taught, on the one hand; and, on the other, the
power and variety of the proofs by which he supported them.
He demands belief, unhesitating belief; but he does so only on
the ground of having presented the most satisfactory credentials,
that he was " sent and sealed " by the Father. To these credentials we find him soliciting the attention of his hearers in that
paragraph which now comes before us for consideration. The
substance of that paragraph may be thus stated:' Of the truth
of these principles, strange and even blasphemous as they may
appear to your prejudiced minds, you have been presented
with varied and most conclusive evidence; and should you reject them, your conduct in doing so will be altogether inexcusable.'
48 Rev xii 11-15.              49 John v. 30.




PART II.]              THE EVIDENCE.                       95
II. THE EVIDENCE.
Our Lord begins with stating, that he did not expect these
statements to be credited on his own unconfirmed assertion. " If
I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true."5 These words
are plainly to be understood in a limited sense; Jesus did bear
witness of himself, and his testimony was true; and we find him
asserting on another occasion, when this saying of his had apparently been retorted on him  by his opponents,-" Though I
bear record of myself, my record is true."' The limitations
under which our Lord's assertion is to be understood, are easily
defined. It has been justly remarked,52 that in all countries where
there are standing laws, and a regular constitution, there is what
is called a forensic or juridicial use of certain terms, which differs
considerably from the familiar use of the same words. To be
guilty, properly signifies, to have perpetrated a crime; but in
the forensic use of the term, he only is said to be guilty against
whom a crime has been proved by legal evidence. There is a
similar distinction between the ordinary and the forensic sense
of the word here rendered "true."  In the latter sense it is
equivalent to'valid' or'trustworthy.' It is held that a man's
unsupported testimony, in reference to anything that concerns
himself, is not in ordinary cases to be considered as evidence.
It may be true, but it must be confirmed by other evidence
before it can be admitted to be true. Our Lord's assertion then
is,'Were there no evidence for the statements which I have just
made, but my own unsupported declaration, they would not deserve credit. It were unreasonable to demand belief for such
important and such strange statements, on the simple word of
him whom they principally concern.'
But our Lord's testimony was supported by a variety of the
most satisfactory evidences. "There is another that beareth
witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth
of me is true.""5
The word "true," here occurs in the same sense as in the
previous verse. It is as if our Lord had said: —' I do not urge
my own unsupported declaration as valid evidence, but there is
another person who has given testimony to the same effect, whose
declaration must be sustained as valid evidence.' It has been a
question among interpreters, who that other witness is to whom
our Lord here appeals. Some consider the reference to be to
John the Baptist; others, to the Father. Those who take the
latter view of the subject, consider the following to be the train
of thought:-' I do not claim belief to these declarations on my
own unsupported affirmation. They are supported by the testimony of one, whose credibility is far above all question. I might
appeal to the testimony of John, whose evidence ought to have
much weight with you, considering the high estimation in which
60 John v. 31.    6' John viii. 14.    52 Campbell.    5S John v. 32.




9a)      -WORKING MIRACLES ON THE SABBATH-DAY. [EXP. III.
he was generally held by you; but I have no need of the support of his, or indeed of any human, testimony, though for your
advantage I advert to it. For the evidence of the statements I
make, I appeal to my Father, whom you call your God,-to the
testimony he has given in the works which he performed by me,
in the voice from the most excellent glory, and the supernatural
appearance which accompanied it, and in the declarations contained in those writings which you acknowledge to be his word.'
The very emphatic manner in which our Lord speaks of that
" other" witness, as one whose testimony he knew to be valid and
trustworthy, and his statement, that he referred to John's testimony, not because he needed it, but because it might have a salutary influencee on the minds of his hearers, render it, in my opinion, all but certain that this view of the meaning is a just one.~"'"Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth."~'
Our Lord here plainly refers to the tastimony which John bore
to him as the Messiah, when the Jewish Sanhedrim sent a deputation to inquire into the nature of his pretensions. Of this we
have an account in the first chapter of this gospel:-" And this
is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites
from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed,
and denied not: but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they
asked him, What then?  Art thou Elias?  And he saith, I am
not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then
said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer
to them that sent us; what sayest thou of thyself? He said, I
am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the
way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. And they which
were sent, were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said
unto him, Why baptisest thou then, if thou be not that Christ,
nor Elias, neither that prophet?  John answered them, saying,
I baptise with water: but there standeth one among you, whom
ye know not; He it is, who, coming after me, is preferred before
me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These
things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was
baptising. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him,
and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin
of the world! This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a
man which is preferred before me; for he was before me. And
I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel,
therefore am  I come baptising with water. And John bare
record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a
dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not; but he
that sent me to baptise with water, the same said unto me,
Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining
on him, the same is he which baptiseth with the Holy Ghost.
4 "" AX2oC cannot be the Baptist (see John v. 34), as Chrysostom and Euthymius
think, but is the Father. Christ calls him'A;Rloe' to excite their attention. John
viii. 18." -TaOLUCx.
6 John v. 33.




PART II.]             THE EVIDENCE.                     97
And I saw and bare record that this is the Son of God.""6 This
was not a solitary instance in which John testified, —publicly declared,-our Lord to be the divine, and the divinely-appointed and
qualified, Saviour promised to the fathers. A still more explicit
declaration on these subjects was made to his disciples, when
they came complaining of the growing popularity of Jesus.
"John answered and said, A man can receive nothing except it
be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that
I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He
that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the
bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly
because of the bridegroom's voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh
from above is above all; he that is of the earth is earthly, and
speaketh of the earth; he that cometh from heaven is above all.
And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no
man receiveth his testimony. He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. For he whom God
hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the
Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and
hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the
Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son
shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."57
Our Lord does not mention John's testimony as if he needed
it, but because it was fitted to make a salutary impression on
the minds of his hearers. " But I receive not testimony from
man, but these things I say that ye may be saved.""'
To "receive" here, as in verse 44, where it is interchanged
with the word " seek," is equivalent to' grasp at,' as if he had
said,'I am not anxious to build my cause on human testimony:
but I mention this circumstance for your advantage.' John's
testimony was likely to have —most certainly ought to have had
-much weight with the great body of the Jews, who, with
scarcely any exception, held him as a prophet; and especially
with the Sanhedrim, who, if he had been a false prophet, should
have punished him according to law. His testimony should
have been sustained as valid by them, as it was given in reply to
a solemn inquiry instituted by themselves, and they had never
proceeded against him as if he had borne false witness.
Our Lord desired the salvation of the Jews; he well knew
that they could be saved only through the belief of the truth;
and he notices John's testimony, not, by any means, as in itself
the strongest evidence he had to bring forward, but As evidence
peculiarly fitted to make an impression on their minds. "He
was," says our Lord, "a burning and shining light," or he was
"the lighted and shining lamp;" and "ye were willing for a
season to rejoice in his light."9' He was a teacher of truth, distinguished by the fervor of his zeal, and the clearness of his
statements respecting the Messiah, when compared with the pro"d John i. 19-34.  57 John iii. 27-36, 7.  58 John v. 34.  59 John v. 365.
VOL. 1.                  7




98        WORKING MIRACLES ON THE SABBATH-DAY.  [EXP. III.
phetic oracles; and " ye were willing for a season to rejoice in
his light."' It is plain that the Baptist was, in the earlier stages
of his ministry, highly popular as a teacher. Vast multitudes
followed him, listening to his discourses, and submitting to his
baptism.  The phrase "for a season" refers either to the comparatively short period of John's ministry, —'he was a bright
but a passing meteor,' —or rather to the still shorter period of his
popularity; for there is reason to believe that his doctrines became less popular as they became better understood; that many
rejoiced in him as the herald of Messiah the Prince, who turned
with disgust from him as the supporter of Jesus of Nazareth.
The circumstance of John's high qualifications and character as
a teacher is noticed by our Lord as a reason why his testimony
should be accounted true or trustworthy by the Jews, q. d.,'My
claims, in all their extent, were admitted and proclaimed by one
whom, for a season, you honored as one of the most illustrious
of public teachers.'
" But," continues our Lord, "I have greater witness than that
of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to
finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the
Father hath sent me."6"  The whole of what follows is our Lord's
account of the testimony of God, as contrasted with the testimony
of John, or of men.
The first Divine testimony is that given by the " works" whiclh
the Saviour did-" works which the Father gave him to finish"
or perform. Some have supposed that, by these works, we are
to understand all that our Lord did in the execution of the great
office of Saviour of men, to which he was divinely appointed,
and for which he was divinely qualified; and there can be no
doubt, that the whole of his work, especially when compared
with the prophetic testimony respecting it, affords satisfactory
proof of his divine mission. At the same time, our Lord's
miracles are often called his " works," e. g., "Now, when John
had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his
disciples."" "His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart
hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the
works that thou doest." " Jesus answered and said unto them,
I have done one work, and ye all marvel.""  " Jesus answered
them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in
my Father's name, they bear witness of me:" "If I do not the
works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye
believe not me, believe the works; that ye may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in him.""3  And our Lord
often appeals to these miracles as evidence of his divine mission.
We apprehend, therefore, that, in the use of the word "works"
here, there is, if not an exclusive, at least a principal reference to
them.
Our Lord's declaration, then, is equivalent to'God has testified my divine mission by the miracles which I have wrought,
"o John v. 36.  al Matt. xi. 2.': John vii. 3, 21.  63 John x. 25, 37, 38.




PART II.]             THE EVIDENCE.                     99
and which nothing but divine power could have accomplished.'
Miracles are not a direct proof of the truth of doctrines, but they
are a direct, and indeed it would appear the only satisfactory,
evidence of a divine mission. The place which miracles hold in
the system of christian evidence, is very clearly pointed out by
Nicodemus:-" Rabbi, we know  that thou art a teacher sent
from God, for no man can do these miracles which thou doest
except God be with him." The works done by our Lord were
obviously such as divine power alone could have performed.
They were the seal of God; and, when we consider his holiness,
and justice, and benignity, we cannot for a moment suspect that
he would attach that seal to imposture.64
But the miracles performed by our Lord were not the only nor
the most direct evidence given in favor of him by his Father:" The Father himself who hath sent me, hath borne witness of
me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his
shape."65  It is a question among expositors, to what particular
testimony our Lord here refers. Many, perhaps most, seem to
consider the reference as made to the testimony contained in the
Old Testament Scriptures, which are expressly appealed to in the
thirty-ninth and succeeding verses; and they view the words in
the close of the thirty-seventh verse as merely introductory to the
bringing forward this evidence, q. d.,' Though my Father has
not appeared in human form, and given evidence with an audible
voice, yet, in his word, which ye profess highly to value, he has
given testimony concerning me.' Others, with whom we are disposed to coincide, consider the words in the thirty-seventh and
thirty-eighth verses as referring to the remarkable testimony
given to our Lord at his baptism by a voice from heaven, and a
supernatural glorious appearance. In this case, the words must
be read, not affirmatively, but interrogatively:-" Did ye never
hear his voice, or see his form, or have ye not his word abiding
in you, that ye believe not him whom he has-h sent?"b
The following is the account of this remarkable testimony:" Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan to John, to be baptised of him. But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be
baptised of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering,
said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to
fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus,
when he was baptised went up straightway out of the water: and,
lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of
God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. And, lo,
a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased."" The supernatural luminous appearance,
commonly called the Sheckinah, which was the symbol of the
Divine presence, is, in Exodus xxiv. 17, called " the sight of the
64 A condensed view of the force of the miracles of our Lord, as evidence of his
doctrine, may be found in Exposition XIX.: " The Ministry of Christ-its Detaila
and its Results.":' John v. 37.     66 Matt. iii. 13-17     b See Note B.




100      WORKING MIRACLES (IN THIE SABBATH-DAY.  [EXP. III.
glory of the Lord,""6 or the glorious form of Jehovah. It is, as
if he said,'Did not an articulate voice from heaven declare me
the beloved Son of the Father, in whom he was well pleased;
and was not this declaration accompanied by the appearance of
that supernatural light which, from the beginning of the Jewish
economy at least, has been the symbol of the Divine presence?'
Could more direct testimony be given to me by God? How is it
that ye do not then receive me?  " Is it because ye have not the
word of my Father, which he then spake, abiding in you?""' that
is,'Have ye forgotten the solemn declaration which he then
made?' Ah, "Ye have not his word abiding in you, for him
whom he hath sent, him ye believe not."69
But, besides the testimony borne to our Lord by his Father,
in the miracles which he performed, and in the supernatural voice
and appearance which distinguished his baptism, he appeals to
the evidence of his divine mission, which was to be derived from
the Old Testament Scriptures, which were, and were admitted by
the Jews to be, given by inspiration of God:-" Search the
Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they
are they which testify of me."7'"
These words admit of three renderings. They may be rendered indicatively, "Ye search the Scriptures;" or imperatively,
as our translators have rendered them, "Search the Scriptures;"
or interrogatively, "Do ye search the Scriptures?"  We are
inclined to prefer the last mode of rendering them, "Do ye
search the Scriptures, because in them ye think ye have eternal
life? they testify of me; and will ye not come to me, that ye may
have life?"
The Jews professed to have a very high regard for the Old
Testament Scriptures. They, especially the doctors of the Sanhedrim, whom our Lord was now addressing, searched and
studied them. They considered them as the only really valuable
literature, holding in contempt the Grecian and Roman philosophy. They thought that in them "they had eternal life;"
that is, that they afforded the adequate means of attaining true
and permanent happiness.'Now,' says our Lord,'these Scriptures, which you profess so highly to estimate —these Scriptures
are the Father's testimony concerning me. I am the great subject
of the Old Testament revelation. To me all the prophets bear
witness. There is such a minute and accurate correspondence
between what I am, what I teach, what I do, what I suffer, and
what, according to these Scriptures, the Messiah was to be, and
teach, and do, and suffer, that, were you not blinded by prejudice,
you could not but see and acknowledge that I am He of whom
Moses in the law and the prophets did write; and yet, will ye not
come to me, that you may have life? Though the books you
yourselves admit to be sacred, and to contain the only true ac67 To eI6o~ Tryf d6of TroV KvZiov.
68 " John is fond of the word JuLvetv. 1 John iii. 9; ii. 27, 28. 2 John ii. 9. John
xv. 7." —-TOLUCK.       69 John v. 88.        70 John v. 39.




PART III.]          THE APPLICATION.                  101
count of the way to happiness-though these sacred books clearly
testify that I am the true author of happiness, the all-sufficient
and only Saviour, will you yet, after all, refuse to acknowledge
me? will you not come to me in the character that belongs to
me, according to these Scriptures, as "the way, the truth, and
the life," that you may obtain those blessings which I, and I alone,
can bestow?'
Such is our Lord's account of the testimony of the Father, to
the divinity of his mission, and the truth of his doctrines. The
substance of his statement may be thus given:'I do not require
you to believe, what I have just now asserted-as to my being
the divine, and the divinely-appointed and qualified Saviour and
Ruler of men-on my unsupported assertion. I know a person's
testimony in his own cause is not accounted valid. I require you
to believe this statement, on evidence which is altogether irrefragable. I might appeal to what John the Baptist said of me,
and his evidence ought to have much weight with you. But I
do not need his testimony, and I advert to it in passing, merely
because I think it may have some influence on your minds. The
testimony I appeal to, is infinitely superior to that of John. It is
that of my Father, " of whom ye say, that he is your God."  He
has given testimony to me in a variety of ways. He has testified
of me by the miracles I perform. These could not be performed
but by divine power; and they are his seal to may credentials as a
divine messenger. He has testified of me, by an audible voice
from heaven, and by that supernatural brightness which is the
well-known symbol of his peculiar presence; and he has testified
of me in those sacred books, which you admit to be given by his
inspiration.'
III. —THE APPLICATION.
In the judgments which men form and express of the characters of others, they often unconsciously make a manifestation of
their own. In scrutinising the motives which have led another
to a particular course of conduct, they often unfold the principles
which have a governing influence over their own actions. External conduct enables us to judge of inward character, by affording
us the means of conjecturing the motives in which it originates;
and the way in which we learn to argue from action to principle,
from conduct to motive-is by reflecting,'What would have induced us to do such an action, or to follow such a course of
conduct?' It is in consequence of this, that a selfish man is
constantly disposed to trace an apparently generous action to
some interested motive: that none are so uncharitable in their
judgments, as those who have the lowest claims on the good
opinion or even forbearance of others; and none so much disposed
to form excuses for the faults of their neighbors, as those who
have least occasion for the indulgence in return. A bad man is
generally disposed to trace even a good action, to an unworthy




102      WORKING MIRACLES ON THE SABBATH-DAY. [EXP. III.
principle; while a good man readily gives his nighbor credit
for good intentions, even when he may not be able altogether to
approve of the wisdom or propriety of the action, to which the
intention has given birth.
Of this tendency to judge of others by ourselves, we have an
example in the opinion formed of our Lord, by the Jewish
rulers. The leading principle of their minds was the desire of
human approbation and applause; and when they perceived
Jesus manifesting an eager desire, that men should embrace his
doctrines and become his disciples, conceiving that he was animated by motives and principles similar to those which influenced and guided their own conduct, they considered him as an
ambitious man-fond of fame and of power. They were incapable of forming a true estimate of his character, for they were
utter strangers to that disinterested regard for the honor of
God and the happiness of men, which formed its principal elements. They had no experience of the influence of such motives
over their own minds, and for that very reason, they were disposed to trace our Lord's conduct to any other motive, rather
than the true one.
It is a peculiarity in our Lord's discourses, which I have more
than once had occasion to refer to, that he often so frames his
speech, as not so much to answer what men had said, as to meet
the workings of their mind, to show that he was perfectly aware
of what was going on within. An attention to this remark, will
often make what is at first obscure in our Lord's discourses appear quite plain; and will show, that transitions which seem
harsh, are indeed quite natural. We apprehend we have such a
case now before us. Jesus had made a clear and strong statement of the truth with regard to himself, as the divine and
divinely-appointed and qualified Saviour and Ruler of mankind;
he had brought forward the evidence of the justness of his claims,
afforded by the three-fold testimony of his Divine Father, in the
miracles which he performed by the divine power, in the supernatural appearances which accompanied his baptism, and in the
Old Testament Scriptures; and he had expressed his regret and
astonishment that, after all, his countrymen would not come to
him that they might have life. For all this the Jewish Sanhedrim, before whom he stood, judging of him by themselves,
concluded, that like them he loved the praise of men. Our Lord
knowing their thoughts, disclaims the unworthy motive, and proceeds to unfold the true reasons why they so obstinately refused
to receive his doctrine as a divine message, and himself as a divine messenger.
"I receive not honor from men.""  It is true in the ordinary
sense of the word " receive," that Jesus did not receive honor
from men. Not honor, but shame and disgrace were what he received:-" He was despised and rejected of men;" "Men hid as
it were their faces from him, he was despised, and not esteemed."',1 John v. 41.                            72 If. liii. 3.




PART III.]           THE APPLICATION.                  103
But it seems obvious that the word " receive" here, as in the
thirty-fourth verse, and again in the forty-fourth verse, is used as
equivalent to " seek," or "catch at."'I am not desirous of obtaining honor from men. When I state my claims, and complain
that you disregard them, it is not because I wish to ingratiate myself with you; not because I covet your approbation or that of anlman, or set of men.' Hie did not need their sanction: He cou!ld
receive no honor from their applause. His object was to secure
the approbation of his Divine Father, by faithfully executing the
commission with which he was entrusted; and so far as they
were concerned, his desire was not that he should be applauded
by them, but that they should be saved by him. If he regretted,
and he did most deeply regret their obstinate unbelief and irapenitence, it was for their own sakes, not for his own. Such was
the unearthly, unambitious spirit of our Lord, and such should be
the spirit of all his ministers. All who are " allowed of God, to
be put in trust with the Gospel," should " so speak, not as pleasing
men but God, who trieth the hearts;" they ought "not to use
flattering words, nor a cloak of covetousness; nor ought they of
men to seek glory;" for if they " seek to please men, they cannot
be the servants of Christ.""
Indeed, the doctrines of our Lord were little fitted to secure
to him who taught them honor from men; and the fearless, honest manner in which he stated them, was calculated to do anything
but ingratiate him  with men of worldly and corrupt minds.
When our Lord made the statement,' Notwithstanding the abundant evidence there is of the truth of my claims in books, the
divine origin of which you yourselves admit, you will not, you
are indisposed, to come to me, that you may have life,' it was not
that he eagerly wished their approbation, but it was because he
well knew that the principles which governed their minds and
hearts, so long as they maintained their influence, made it morally impossible that they should recognize his claims, or receive
his message.
" But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you."'4
The love of God is the vital principle of true religion, and is used
here for religion generally. The Jewish rulers professed to be
very religious. Their very rejection of the claims of our Lord
was covered by the cloak of pretended regard for religion. They
persecuted him, and would have wished to put him to death, because he broke the Sabbath-day; and because in his defence of
himself, he had, by calling God his own Father, made himself'
equal to God. But in reality they were irreligious men, destitute
alike of the true knowledge, and the love of God. They were
"of this world," they were "from beneath."  They were thoroughlly worldly men-men, looking not at " the things unseen
and eternal;" but at "the things which are seen and temporal."
They had no relish for that spiritual salvation which he came to
reveal, to work out, and to bestow; and this was the true reason
13 1 Thess. ii. 4-6 Gal.. 10.            " John v. 42,




104       WORKING MIRACLES ON THE SABBATH-DAY. [EXP. III.
why they would not come to him. And so is it still. The reason why men, to whom the claims of Christ and Christianity are
addressed, reject them, is to be found, not in the want of evidence
on the side of these claims; but on the utter indisposition on
their part to attend to these claims. They have not the love of
God in them.
But how did our Lord know this?  Was there not something
uncharitable in tracing the conduct of the Jewish rulers to such
a motive? No. He who used these words, is " He who searcheth the hearts, and trieth the reins of the children of men; who
needs not that any should testify to him of man; for he knows
what is in man.M75 But, besides, the conduct of the Jews completely warranted the conclusion. Our Lord " came from God,"
— gave the clearest evidence of coming from God. He was " God
manifest in flesh."  He and the Father were so "one," that "he
who had seen him had seen the Father." Yet he was contemptuously rejected by them. Can those love the prince who contemn his accredited ambassador? Can those love the Father who
treat with contumely and cruelty his only begotten Son? If they
had loved Him who begat, they would have loved him who was
begotten of Him. Their want of love to God had been manifested in their rejection of Him who came to them in His name;
and was still farther to be manifested in the ready reception they
were to give to persons, who should come without anything like
satisfactory evidence of being His authorized messengers.' I am come in mv Father's name, and ye receive me not: if
another shall come in his own name, him  ye will receive."'6
Jesus came in his Father's name; that is, invested with His authority, and bringing satisfactory evidence that he was invested
with his authority. Yet, notwithstanding this, they did not receive him. Instead of receiving him, they rejected him as an
impostor; they punished him as a blasphemer. Could they more
clearly prove, that the love of God was not in them, than by
thus treating him whom He had " sent and sealed"?
Their want of the love of God was to be equally manifested in
the welcome reception they were to give to men, pretending to
the honors of Messiahship, but exhibiting no satisfactory evidence
of their divine mission. " If another shall come to you in his
own name, him ye will receive.""77 There is here a prediction of
the false Messiahs, by whom the Jewish people were to be deluded. These men in pretence, came in God's name; but in reality they came in their own. They ran, He did not send them.
They could exhibit no satisfactory evidence of their divine mission. They could not point, like Jesus, to the blind seeing, and
the deaf hearing, and the lame walking, and the dumb speaking,
and the dead living, and say, " The works which I do, bear witness of me."  None could say of them, " We know that ye are
75 Rev. ii. 23. John ii. 25.              76 John v. 43.
77 " Since the advent of Christ, there have appeared among the Jews sixty-four
false Messiahs, by whom they have suffered themselves to be deceived." —-ToLucK.




PART III.]          THE APPLICATION.                   105
teachers sent of God, for no man could do these works which ye
do, except God were with him." They could not point to a series of fulfilled ancient oracles, and say,'The spirit of prophecy
is our testimony.' Nor could any one say of any of them, with
even the slightest appearance of truth,-" This is he, of whom
Moses in the law, and the prophets did write."  In the carnality
of their views, and in the wickedness of their conduct, many of
them gave evidence, that they could not possibly be divine messengers; and yet, such pretenders to Messiahship were readily
received, just because their carnal views corresponded with the
carnal views of their countrymen.
Our Lord goes on to state, that with their present views, it was
not to be expected, it was indeed morally impossible, that such a
teacher as he was, should be cordially received; or that such doctrines as his were, could be readily believed by them.  " How
can ye believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not
the honor that cometh from God only?"78
"Honor" here, is approbation-good opinion; and our Lord's
statement is, that while they made it their leading object to obtain
the approbation and good opinion of each other, and remained
careless of obtaining the approbation of God, it was not to be
expected that they would admit his divine mission, or believe his
doctrines. To acknowledge Jesus of Nazareth,-a poor despised
man, who declared distinctly that his kingdom was not of this
world,-as the Messiah, was to incur the contemptuous scorn, and
malignant persecution of the influential classes among the Jews;
and was that to be expected from men who, entirely occupied
with things seen and temporal, considered the approbation of the
wise and powerful as an object of the highest value? If indeed
they had had a due impression of the infinite value of Divine
approbation, then they would have seen, that though the reception of Jesus as the Messiah, might bring down on them contempt,
and scorn, and persecution, still, since his credentials were abundantly satisfactory, it was their duty, it was their interest, to receive him. But in the entire absence of the last of these principles, and while the first of them held undivided sway in their
minds, how could they welcome a Messiah who had no worldly
preferments to bestow; whose appearance was as mean as his
doctrine was humiliating; for whom they must expect to have
their names " cast out as evil," and probably be made to "suffer
the loss of all things".?
Our Lord concludes by intimating to them, that they must give
an account of their rejection of him before the tribunal of God,
and that they would meet there as their accuser, the legislator of
whom they were accustomed to boast, and in whom they placed
their confidence. " Do not think that I will accuse you to the
Father: there is one who accuseth you, even Moses in whom ye
trust.")9
These words, "Do not think that I will accuse you to the
76 John v. 44.               79 John v. 45.




106       WORKING MIRACLES ON THE SABBATH-DAY. [EXP. III.
Father," may be viewed as a declaration that the design of our
Lord's mission was not vindictive, but merciful. He came not to
condemn, but to pardon-not to punish, but to save. His office
was not that of an accuser, but of an intercessor. When he
spoke to the Jews, he plainly told them of their sins and of their
dangers; but when he spoke of them to his Father, he lamented
their infatuation, and prayed for their forgiveness. "He shall
make intercession for the transgressors," said the ancient oracle;
and, in the fulfilment of this, our Saviour's last breath was spent
in prayer for his murderers.  "Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do." Or the words may be interpreted on
the same principle as the following and similar passages:-"I
will have mercy and not sacrifice."  "It was not you, but God,
who sent me hither."  In this case, they are equivalent to'Do
not think that I will be your only or your chief accuser. Though
I should not accuse you, your condemnation is certain; accusation will come from a quarter you are little thinking of. Moses,
in whom ye trust, will accuse you and condemn you.'
The Jews had a superstitious trust in Moses. They expected
him to appear along with the Messiah, and to assist him in accomplishing their deliverance. They also, at least in later ages,
trusted in the intercession of Moses for the acceptance of their
prayers. For the doctrine of the intercession of saints as mediators seems to have been borrowed, by the apostate Christian
Church, from the apostate Jewish Church. The trust our Lord
refers to was likely, however, rather a trust in Moses' writings
than in his person. They thought that in them they had eternal
life. They made their boast in the law. Their language was"We are Moses' disciples, we know that God spake by Moses."
But our Lord assures them that this very Moses would be their
accuser.
Moses may be considered as the accuser of the Jews in a
variety of ways. His law, of which they were proud, had often
been violated by them, and they had exposed themselves to the
punishment it denounces against its violators. In his writings,
especially in the prophetic song in the thirty-second chapter of
Deuteronomy, the contemporaries of our Lord are described and
condemned. Bitt the manner in which Moses was to accuse
them, referred to by our Lord, was obviously this: Moses is a
witness to the justness of our Lord's claims, and, of course, a
witness against those who rejected them. That this was our
Lord's meaning seems plain from what follows: " For had ye
believed Moses, ye would have believed me, for he wrote of
me. 7 80
Moses wrote of our Lord. In Moses' writings are recorded
some very remarkable prophecies of the Messiah, such as the
first promise, the promise to Abraham, the dying blessing of
Jacob on the tribe of Judah, and possibly also the prediction of
Balaam, "Behold a star shall arise out of Jacob."  Moses him80 John v. 46.




EXP. III.]                 NOTES.                        107
self also uttered a remarkable prophecy respecting the Messiah.
" The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the
midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall
hearken." 8  He instructed them in the signs of true and false
prophets. The whole of the sacrificial economy had a reference
to the Messiah. Had the Jews believed' Moses, they would
have believed Jesus. In one sense the Jews did believe Moses
-they had no doubt of his divine mission. In another sense
they did not believe him-they did not understand his writings;
and, therefore, they could not believe them. Had they properly
understood Moses' writings, and firmly believed them, the reception of Jesus as the Messiah would have been a matter of
course.
"But,"' added our Lord, "if ye believe not his writings, how
shall ye believe my words?"82  We are not to understand these
words as if they intimated that Moses is worthy of greater credit
than our Lord, or that our Lord's divine mission is not established on evidence altogether independent of Moses' testimony.
They merely intimate that nothing but a rejection of Jesus'
claims was to be expected from persons who, through ignorance
and unbelief, paid no attention to the declarations of a writer
whom they acknowledged as inspired.
It is to be feared that there are too many nominal Christians,
who will be found at last involved in a similar condemnation
with the Jews. These are weighty words of the judicious Scott:
" How many are there who trust in their attachment to some
form of doctrine, or to some renowned head of a party, who no
more enter into the meaning of these doctrines, or into the views
of the persons whose names they bear, than the Jews believed
the words of Moses, or entered into his views of the prefigured
and predicted Messiah. The creeds and formularies of many
sects and establishments suffice for the condemnation of vast
multitudes who glory in belonging to them as members or ministers; and it is well if the sermons many preach, and the books
which they publish, do not appear in judgment against them to
accuse them of not believing and practising what they preached
and printed."
NOTE A, P. 88.
Prneteritum,,tuspa8lfrlxF, est preeteritum propheticum et vim futuri obtinet hic, ut Jo. i. 15. KUINOEL. I demur to this "ut," &c. There can,
however, be no doubt that the " enallage temporum " is very frequent with
the Evangelist John. We need not go farther than the immediate context
to prove this. Some Latin codices render the word " transibit," indicating not how they read, but how they understood it. I am disposed to
81 Deut. xviii. 15.                 82 John v. 47.




108                           NOTES.                      [EXP. III.
think the declaration refers to an event, future when the declaration was
made, yet past, in referelce to the future event indicated in the immediately preceding clause. He shall not enter into condemnation, or punishment, and the reason is, " he has already passed from death into life."
The passage in 1 John iii. 14, where the same phrase occurs, though it
may be interpreted in the same way as in the case before us, will seem
to many more naturally to refer to conversion; and it is not without
some hesitation that we come to the conclusion that our exegesis is the
more probable.
NOTE B, P. 99.
CAMPBELL translates this passage thus:-" Did ye never hear his voice,
or see his form? Or have ye forgotten his declarations, that ye believe
not him whom he hath commissioned 2" And he defends his translation
in the following able note: —
" The reader will observe, that the two clauses which are rendered in
the English Testament as declarations, are, in this version, translated as
questions. The difference in the original is only in the pointing.  That
they ought so to be read, we need not, in my opinion, stronger evidence
than that they throw much light upon the whole passage, which, read in
the common way, is both dark and ill-connected.  See an excellent note
on this passage, from  Mr. Turner of Wakefield (Priestley's Harmony,
Sect. xl.) Our Lord here refers them to the testimony given of him at
his baptism, when the Holy Spirit descended on him in a visible form,
and when God, with an audible voice, declared him to be his beloved Son,
and our lawgiver, whom we ought to hear and obey. What has chiefly
contributed to mislead interpreters in regard to the import of this sentence, is the resemblance which it bears to what is said, ch. i. 18, OEOV
OiS1S;  oxO.s-ECp.TWjose, no one ever saw God; and ch. vi. 46, ox 8l,&,b
aX7,O, X 7LTc LoasXF, not that any one hath seen the Father. There is, however, a difference in the expressions; for it is not said here, otrs TOVY
7r1TTo,, but o'rs FeMo; Uxvro'l woeoxa-e. This, it may be thought, as it seems
to ascribe a body to God, must be understood in the same way; for we
-;re told, Deut. iv. 12, that, when the Lord spake to the people out of the
fire, they saw no similitude. Of this they are again reminded, verse 15.
But the word in the Septuagint is, in both places, not,ToS, but uyoiwiua,
which, in scriptural use, appears to denote a figure so distinct and permanent, as that it may be represented in stone, wood, or metal.  Now,
though this is not to be attributed to God, the sacred writers do not scruple
to call the visible symbol which God, on any occasion, employs for impressing men more strongly with a sense of his presence, so- awkozt,
which (for want of a better term) I have rendered, his form.  Thus the
Evangelist Luke says, ch. iii. 22, in relating that singular transaction here
alluded to, that the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus, ouwuuutxi ed'es, in
a bodily Jbrm. Thus, also, the word F-o; is applied to the appearances
which G(od made to men under the Mosaic dispensation.
" His appearance in fire upon Mount Sinai, is called by the Seventy,
Ex. xxiv. 17, 7b EIlog; T 6S J6oj; To xvuoIov; in our Bible, the sight of the.glory of the Lord.  In like manner, the word ilo; is applied to the symbol of the Divine presence, which the Israelites enjoyed in the wilderness; the cloud which covered the tabernacle in the day-time, and appeared
asfire in the night, Num. ix. 15, 16. And, to mention but one other instance, the display which he made to Moses, when he conversed with him




EXP. III.]                    NOTES.                            109
face to face, is, in the English translation, said to be apparently, Num.
xii. 8; but, in the Septuagint, tl, ed'd, that is, in a form or visible figure.
Thus, in the language of Scripture, there is a manifest difference betweenl
seeing God-which no man ever did, he being in himself a pure spiritand seeing his form, Td e-7,o; Srov, the appearance which, at any time in
condescension to the weakness of his creatures, he pleases to assume.
Another evidence, if necessary, might be brought to show that there was
no intention here to express the invisibility of the Divine nature, and is
as follows: the clause which appears to have been so much misunderstood, is coupled with this other, oVIre qoWiJv dX(xi1oaT8 71 TOTE. Can we
imagine that the impossible would have been thus conjoined with what is
commonly mentioned as a privilege often enjoyed by God's people, and
to which their attention is required as a duty?  For, though we are expressly -told that no man ever saw God, it is nowhere said that no man
ever heard his voice.  Nay, in the very place above quoted, Deut. iv. 12,
where we are informed that the people saw no similitude, 6,olwuoa, it is
particularly mentioned that they heard the voice.
"To conclude: there is the greater probability in the explanation
which I have given of the words, as all the chief circumstances attending
that memorable testimony at his baptism, are exactly pointed out —the
miraculous voice from heaven, the descent of the Holy Spirit in a bodily
form, and the declaration itself then given.  Dr. Clarke seems to have
had some apprehension of this meaning; for though, in his paraphrase,
he explains the words in the usual way, he, in a parenthesis, takes notice
of the two striking circumstances, the voice and the form, at our Lord's
baptism." Dr. Camlpbell is not singular in this view: Trinius and Moldenhauer have given the same interpretation.




EXPOSITION IV.
TIHE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
MATTHEW V. Vi. Vii.
INTRODUCTION.
WE come now to that admirable discourse, or series of discourses, commonly termed " The Sermon on the Mount." It is a
question with harmonists and interpreters, whether the discourses
recorded in the 5th, 6th, and 7th chapters of Matthew, and those
in the 6th and 7th chapters of Luke, are two relations of the
same discourse, or distinct discourses delivered at different times.
There are difficulties connected with either mode of answering
the question; but, upon the whole, I am disposed to think that
the preponderance of evidence is on the side of their being different discourses delivered at a considerable distance of time from
each other.'
There is indeed, a strong similarity; but still there is a marked
difference, both in the discourses, and in the circumstances in
which they were delivered. There are many things in the sermon recorded by Matthew, not to be found in the sermon recorded by Luke, and some things in the sermon recorded by
Luke, not to be found in the sermon recorded by Matthew.
Statements, that at first view seem very similar, when examined,
are found so different, that you cannot suppose them to be different reports of the same statement. The sermon recorded in
Matthew, was delivered before the healing of the leper. The
sermon recorded by Luke, seems to have been delivered after
that miracle. The sermon recorded in Matthew was delivered
before Matthew's call to be a disciple.  The sermon recorded. in
Luke was delivered after the twelve apostles were called to their
peculiar office. The sermon in Matthew was delivered on a
mountain; the sermon recorded in Luke was spoken on the
plain. Instead of eight beatitudes, as there are in the sermon
recorded by Matthew, there are only four in the sermon recorded' Doddridge is of this opinion, which is supported too by Venema, Whitby,
Blair, Macknight, Hess, Ferf, Greswell, and very lately by Lange, whose writings Archdeacon Hare pronounces " among the most valuable in modern German theology."




EXP. IV.]       THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.               111
by Luke, and these not by any means of equivalent meaning
with those which they most resemble. The only circumstance
which appears to me a weighty one in the opposite scale is, that
the account of the healing of a centurion's servant follows immediately the delivery of both discourses. Some interpreters
have supposed that the two narratives refer to two different
events; and there are, without doubt, not only circumstances
mentioned in the one narrative, that are omitted in the other;
but there are circumstances in the one narrative which there is
some difficulty in reconciling with circumstances detailed in the
other. It is just one of those cases which not unfrequently occur
in our attempts to harmonize the gospel history; that is, to place
in one consistent successive series, all the events recorded by the
four evangelists; there are difficulties on both sides, and all we
can do, is to choose the side which has the fewest, and the least
considerable ones. Judging on this principle, we are disposed to
think, that as our Lord, like his apostle, found, that for him
" to say the same thing was not grevious, while for his auditors
it was safe," so the discourses, though having much in common, were delivered at different times, and in different circumstances.
Our Lord had before preached in the synagogues; but as
probably no house could contain the multitudes which had assembled on this occasion, he "ascended a mountain," and being
elevated above the people, he sat down, according to the ordinary
custom of the Jewish teachers, and in that posture taught the
people. His disciples seem to have sat next to him, and the
crowd around them. The scenery of the Sermon of the Mount
has been very graphically described by Tholuck, who has much
of the genius of the poet, as well as of the learning and acumen
of the interpreter.
"And now let us try to figure to ourselves the charms of this
Galilean landscape, o'er-canopied by an oriental sky, in order to
reproduce, while we are reading them, the same impression which
was made by the words when they were heard. While, on every
other occasion during his abode upon earth, the Son of God preferred the unostentatious and obscure, he seems to have selected
the most beautiful and enchanting spot in nature, as the temple
in which to open his ministry. rlTravellers are wont to liken the
mountain scenery of Galilee to the finest in their native lands,
the Swede Hasselquist to East Gothland, and Clarke, the Englishman, to the romantic dales of Kent and Surrey.  The
environs of the Galilean sea have been compared with the banks
of the Lake of Geneva. This is said in the present day, when
the weight of the Turkish sceptre, like the curse of heaven, oppresses that once blooming land. What then must it have been
when the Saviour of the world made it the scene of his presence!
Even Josephus, in speaking of Galilee, rises into a poetical mood.'Marvellous,' he says,2' for natural beauty is the country around
2 De Bello Judseo, iii. 10, 8.




112             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.              [EXP. IV.
the Sea of Gennesaret. Such is the fertility of the soil, that it
produces, spontaneously, all shrubs.  But, beside2 this, the husbandmen have planted the most various sorts, for there is none
which the temperature of the climate does not suit. In other
regions the nut tree requires cold, but there it grows in the
richest luxuriance; there also flourishes the palm, though usually
it delights in heat, and there, side by side, the fig and olive,
which agree with a milder air.  There seems to be an emulation
in nature endeavoring to bring together the contending parties.
The seasons also carry on a beautiful rivalry, each struggling
with the other for the possession of the land.' But, charming
above all must be the beauty of the region where it presents
itself in one view, precisely at the spot on which our Saviour delivered his discourse.  Korte informs us, that the mountain,
standing as it does, apart, commands the same prospect which is
seen from Tabor. Far off the rich and blooming landscape of
Galilee; to the north, the snow-crowned Hermon; to the west,
the woody Carmel.  Maundrel even saw from  Tabor the Mediterranean. At the distance of a stone cast the cheerful sea of
Galilee, encircled with mountain and forest.  Add to this picture,
the cloudless sky of southern regions, and the solemn silence of
the early morn.' The whole scene,' says Hess,' is of a character familiar and grave, attractive and dignified. The clear sky
above him, and the rural district around, formed a natural temple.
No synagogue, not even the temple of the metropolis itself, could
make so deep and solemn an impression. There were to be seen
here none of the formalities which would have accompanied the
ordinary lecture of a Jewish teacher. He sat down upon the rising-ground, and fixing his eyes on the disciples, who stood next
to him, began,'Blessed are the poor in spirit.'"
I apprehend that the great design of our Lord in this discourse,
was to show the Jews, by an induction of particulars, what he
meant when he called on them  to "repent," or change their
minds. This, if I mistake not, is the true key of this discourse.
There is throughout a direct reference to the false notions generally entertained by the Jews respecting the Messiah's kingdom;
but as their prejudices originated in principles common to unregenerated human nature, though taking a peculiar form and
color from  their circumstances, the statements made are calculated to be "profitable to mankind in all countries, and in all
ages, for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness."T
3 "The emotions of a warm adorer of Christ upon this spot, under a deep impression of the beauties of nature, and remembering the words that once were
heard at the place, have been described by Rae-Wilson.'Travels in the Holy
Land,' 3d Ed., 1831, ii. p. 6."                  4 2 Tim. iii. 16.




PART I.]  CHARACTERS AND PRIVILEGES OF CHRISTIANS.             113
I. THE DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERS AND PRIVILEGES OF THE
DISCIPLES OF CHRIST.
Matth. v. 3 12.b
Our Lord begins with describing who are the truly happy.
who are the true citizens of the heavenly kingdom.  It is a remark of importance, that our Lord is not in these words speaking so directly, if at all, of the manner in which men are to obtain happiness, as of the characters of those who are really happy.
It is the faith of the truth with respect to the redeeming character of God, that gives true happiness; and it is this, too, we shall
see as we proceed, that alone can, and that certainly will, form
the characters here described, in the possession of which consists
in a great measure true happiness.
The dispositions which are here represented as necessarily
connected with the enjoyment of true happiness, are not amiable
natural tempers.  They are modes of thought and feeling produced by the Holy Spirit, through the instrumentality of the
faith of the truth; and they are all of them, though no doubt
with a great variety of degree, to be found in every man who,
being born again, has entered into the kingdom of God.
~ 1. The Poor in spirit-possessors of the kingdom.
The first class of persons pronounced " blessed," are " the poor
in spirit." "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Some interpreters connect the phrase "in
spirit," not with the word "poor," but with the word "blessed."'Blessed in spirit'-spiritually happy are the poor; but this is not
in accordance with the genius of the language; nor would the
same principle of interpretation at all apply to the benediction in
verse 8, " Blessed are the pure in heart."
It is quite plain that the descriptive appellation  "poor in
spirit," refers not to external situation, but to disposition and
character. Extreme poverty is not favorable to religion any
more than extreme affluence. The most depraved of mankind
have been generally found among the opposite extremes of society; and it is equally true that it is " a hard thing for" a very
poor, and a very " rich man, to enter into the kingdom of God."
The phrase "poor in spirit" may, taken by itself, signify
mean-spirited.   This obviously is not its meaning here, for
mean-spiritedness is no christian virtue, and is inconsistent with
real happiness.  The Christian is a man of a generous mind.
" It is impossible to read the first sentences of the Sermon on the Mount with,
out feeling that they must be in some measure a key to its whole purpose. This
series of blessings upon certain states of minds, compels us to feel that we are in
the presence of One who is come to establish a kingdom id the inner man; to deal
with the principles of things; to lay the axe to the roots; to baptize with' the
Spirit and with fire; to reform the fruit by reforming the tree."-MAuRICE's Kiug —
dom of Christ, iii. p. 20.
V0o1. I.                      8




114              THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.               [EXP. IV,
He "provides things honest," honorable, "in the sight of all
men."  He accounts it more " blessed to give than to receive."
He " thinks on the things which are honest, lovely, and of good
report."'
The phrase " poor in spirit," taken by itself, might also signify'spiritually poor,' as in Rev. iii. 17, that is, destitute of spiritual
blessings-the favor of God-conformity to his image- the
well-grounded hope of eternal life. I need scarcely say, that
cannot be the meaning, for he who is thus poor in spirit, is
wretched indeed.
The phrase " poor in spirit" has been interpreted' as equivalent to' destitute of mental wealth, simple, unlearned.' Many
such do belong to the kingdom of God, while " the wise and prudent" shut themselves out.8 But it is not as weak or ignorant that
they enjoy that privilege. They inherit the kingdom, not because
of; but notwithstanding, their mental deficiencies.
To be " poor in spirit," is, I apprehend, just synonymous with
to be humble. This is the meaning Chrysostom attaches to the
phrase, and he is followed by the great body of the best interpreters, ancient and modern.  To be "poor in spirit" is to think
of a person's self " not more highly than he ought to think."9
When a man is made to see the truth, with regard to the character and law of God, with regard to his own character and
conduct, and especially with regard to the way of salvation,
through the obedience unto death of the incarnate Only-begotten
of God, he obtains such views of himself, both as a creature and
a sinner, as are calculated to repress everything like the risings
of pride. He knows himself to be an entirely dependent being;
he knows himself to be an inexcusable sinner; he knows himself
to be a righteously condemned criminal; he knows that " in him,
that is, in his flesh, dwells no good thing;"'7 he knows that he
has, that he can have, no hope, but in the sovereign mercy of
God; that he has no righteousness to glory in, but the obedience
unto death of the Son of God; and that whatever is right and
holy in his sentiments and character, is owing entirely to the influence of the Spirit of God; and the knowledge and faith of all
this, naturally produces deep habitual abasement of spirit. He
feels himself " dust and ashes," guilty dust and ashes.  A saved
sinner, a sinner saved by grace, is the highest character he can lay
claim to. Man is poor, entirely dependent on the Divine bounty;
in his fallen state utterly destitute of everything good; and the
spirit which becomes such a being is the spirit of humility.
This is the poverty of spirit here spoken of, and he who possesses it is "blessed.""' He is blessed in the possession of such a
temper, for it naturally makes him patient under affliction, grate6 Rom xii. 17. Acts xx. 35. Phil. iv. 8.         7 Fritzsche.
8 Matt. xi. 25. 1 Cor. i. 16, 17.' Rom. xii. 3.  "' Rom. vii. 18.
1 ILaKaptot-" Happy." John xiii. 17. Acts xxvi. 2. Rom. xiv. 22. 1 Pet. iii.
14: iv. 14. It might have been better had our ra-nslators appropriated " blessed,'
as the version of EUALoy'uiyof and eto'y7lr0sf.




PART I.]  CHARACTERS AND PRIVILEGES OF CHRISTIANS.       115
ful for every blessing; and, leading him to rest his hope entirely
on something out of himself, secures a steadiness and permanence
of peaceful piety and joyful expectation, which can in no other
way be enjoyed. But this is not, I apprehend, our Lord's principal idea, for he assigns a particular reason why he pronounces
the poor in spirit " blessed," and that is, that "theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
"The kingdom  of heaven," as I have already shown you, is
the order of things introduced by the Messiah; and when it is
said that the kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor in spirit, the
meaning is, they are the persons who enjoy the peculiar blessings
of that order of things. The privileges and immunities of citizens of the heavenly kingdom, are their exclusive property.a
They are happy, for, though poor in spirit, they are-probably
in reference to the enjoyment of the heavenly happiness, which
is called their "inheriting the kingdom"-said to be "rich in
faith," rich in expectancy, and " heirs of the kingdom."" The
Jews were generally of opinion that the rich, in the literal sense
of that word, were to enjoy the principal honors and benefits of
the Messiah's kingdom. But, says our Lord, ye must " repent,"
ye must change your mind. The true citizens of the heavenly
kingdom are not the rich in this world, but "the poor in spirit."
~ 2. They that mourn-they shall be comforted.
The next class of persons pronounced blessed by our Lord are
those that mourn.13 "Blessed are they that mourn, for they
shall be comforted."'4 It is natural for man to count the gay
and the prosperous happy; and the Jews expected nothing but
festivity and gladness under the reign of the Messiah. It is as if
he said,'Repent, change your mind: in your mode of thinking,
happiness and mirth are indissolubly associated, but they only
are happy who mourn.'
It is plain that it is not every species of mourning that is here
referred to. There is "a sorrow of the world which worketh
death.""  Affliction is not at all necessarily connected with holy
character, or spiritual privilege. Those who mourn are, I apprehend, those who, in consequence of obtaining just views of the
holiness and benignity of the Divine character, and of the guilt
of their own conduct, and the depravity of their own natures, are
habitually sorrowing for their own sins after a godly sort, and
who also " sigh and cry for the abominations done in the land,"71
and " when they behold transgressors are grieved;""7 who sympathize deeply with the afflictions of others, and " weep with
them who weep."'8 It is also probable that our Lord refers to
the undoubted fact, that all his peculiar people are, in some form
or other, visited with affliction-some of them with very severe
12 James ii. 5.'3 Matt. v. 4.
14 " Qui non gemit peregrinus, non gaudebit civis." AUGUST. Epp. 248.
1' 2 Cor. vii. 10.   16 Ezek. ix. 4.     17 Psal. cxix. 158.'3 Rom. xii. 15.                         a See Note A.




116            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.           [EXP. IV.
and complicated affliction: —" For whom the Lord loveth, he
chasteneth, and he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.""
These mourners are blessed. In filial penitence, in sorrow for
the dishonor done to God, in generous sympathy, there is much
real present satisfaction, and even enjoyment-satisfaction and
enjoyment infinitely superior to any which the impenitent and
selfish can taste; and the afflicted mourning Christian is happy,
inasmuch as his affliction is contributing to his improvementis "working patience, and experience, and hope"0 —is producing' the peaceable fruits of righteousness"' —is " working out for
him a far more exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory."22
But the reason particularly assigned for his pronouncing these
mourners blessed, is, " they shall be comforted."  Mourning over
their sins, they shall be comforted, by the plain declarations of a
free and a full forgiveness, which, by the influence of the good
Spirit, they shall be enabled to believe, and, " believing which,
they shall rejoice with joy unspeakable:"2 mourning over the
dishonor done to God, they shall be comforted by the assurance
that a period is hastening onward, when the excellences of the
Divine character and government shall be universally acknowledged: mourning over the calamities of their fellow-men, they
are comforted by knowing that God is bringing good out of the
evil which they deplore, and that, yet a little while, and suffering
shall be entirely unknown in the universe of God, except among
the irreclaimable rebels against his holy government: mourning
over their own afflictions, they are comforted by knowing that
they have the sympathy of their Lord and Saviour, that all these
afflictions result from paternal kindness, and shall all promote
their improvement and happiness. And not only shall they be
thus comforted while they mourn, but ere long the days of their
mourning shall be ended; they shall obtain complete and everlasting consolation:-" And one of the elders answered, saying
unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and
whence came they?  And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest.
And he said to me, These are they which came out of great
tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white
in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne
of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that
sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger
no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on
them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the
throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains
of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."2"
~ 3. The meels-they shall inherit the earth.
We proceed now to the consideration of the third leatitude —
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."5 "  The
19 Heb. xii. 6.    20 Rom. v. 3, 4.     21 Heb. xii. 11.
22 2 Cor. iv. 17.  23 1 Pet. i. 8.
24 Rev. vii. 13-17.  25 Matt. v. 5.




PART I.]  CHARACTERS AND PRIVILEGES OF CHRISTIANS.      117
meek," is an appellation which describes the temper of mind
under suffering. The persons here spoken of are viewed, not as
enjoying unbroken prosperity, but as exposed to affliction in a
variety of forms; and, when thus exposed to affliction, they are
not fretful, and discontented, and resentful, but meek, quiet, resigned, cheerful sufferers. Patience and meekness are nearly
allied. The difference seems to be this-patience is expressive
of the sufferer's temper in reference to his sufferings; meekness
is expressive of his temper in reference to those who are the
authors or occasions of his sufferings. Our afflictions may be
viewed as coming from God, or as coming from our fellow-men;
and meekness is the name of that disposition which we should
cherish, and which every Christian, so far as he is under the influence of christian principle, does cherish, both in reference to
God and man, viewed as the cause or the occasion of suffering
to us.
Like all the other holy tempers described in this passage,
meekness originates in right views of the Divine character, and
our own. An enlightened conviction of the infinite greatness
and excellence,-the sovereignty, and wisdom, and holiness, and
righteousness, and condescension, and kindness of God, and of
our own insignificance as creatures, and demerit as sinners, lies
at the foundation of that meekness which forms an essential part
of the character of a genuine Christian. The man who really
believes that God has a right to do with him, as his creature,
whatever he pleases; that, in the exercise of that right, he is
uniformly guided by righteousness and wisdom, and influenced
by benignity; that anything, short of the severest punishment
which he is capable of enduring, is mercy to him, viewed as a
sinner; that God is rich in mercy-" in Christ reconciling the
world to himself" —his father and friend, who has given for him
his only Son, and given to him eternal life, and has promised to
" make all things work together for his good:""2 the man who
really believes all this with regard to God, though he may deeply
feel the afflictions with which God may visit him, cannot be fretful and impatient-cannot question either the righteousness, or
the wisdom, or the kindness, of the Divine procedure to him.
The language of his heart is, " Here am I, let Himn do to me as
seemeth good unto him.'7 "The will of the Lord be done."
"Hath not the potter power over the clay?"  " Wherefore doth
a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?"
" It is of the Lord's mercies that I am not consumed." I will
t' consider in my heart, that as a man chasteneth his son, so the
Lord my God chasteneth me."  "I will bear the indignation of
the Lord, because I have sinned against him;" nay, I will be
thankful to him  who treats me, not as a " bastard," but as a
"son."  I will " hear the rod and him who hath appointed it."
Thus does the meek man " hope, and quietly wait for the salvation
of the Lord," that is, for deliverance from affliction, from him
26 2 Cor. v. 19. loom. viii. 28, 32.




118             THE SERMON ON THE MQUNT.              [EXP. IV.
who hath sent affliction.  Thus does he " sit alone, and keep silence; thus does he put his mouth in the dust, if so be there may
be hope;" for he believes that " the Lord will not cast off forever: for though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he does not afflict
willingly, nor grieve the children of men.""'
Meekness is most severely tried when our fellow-men are the
direct causes of our sufferings, and when these sufferings originate
in their injustice and malignity. But, even in these cases, the
well-instructed Christian in meekness possesses his soul. He
knows that, though men may have had a guilty agency in his sufferings, God has had a righteous agency; that " this also has come
forth from the Lord, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent
in working:" that the wicked are but "God's hand and rod;"28
and that, while righteous judgment is God's province, humble,
quiet suffering is his. Besides, he knows that the unjust and ma-:lignant conduct of his enemies, is but the native result of that
corrupted nature, of which he is a possessor as well as they, under whose uncontrolled dominion he, like them, once was, and
from whose thraldom, if delivered, he owes his deliverance entirely to free, sovereign mercy.
The influence which these views of Christian truth have in
forming the disposition of meekness, is most beautifully illustrated by the apostle, when he calls on Christians to be "gentle,
showing all meekness unto all men; for we ourselves also were
sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and
pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one
another. But after that the kindness and love of God oAr Saviour to man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we
have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he
shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.""
This meekness, in its manifestations both towards God and man,
was most illustriously exemplified in the character and conduct
of our Lord and Saviour.  When exaction was made, and he, on
whose head was made to meet " the iniquity of us all," became
answerable, he was "wounded, and bruised, and chastised, and
smitten to death" by his Father. Yet he was " brought as a lamb
to the slaughter, and, as a sheep before her shearers, was dumb."
He uttered no complaint, displayed no fretfulness —" Not my
will, but thine be done.""0 And then, with regard to mankind:
"When he was reviled, he reviled not again; when he suffered,
he threatened not; but committed himself to him who judgeth
righteously;"" and, so far from  cherishing resentful fcelings
towards his enemies, he wept when he thought of the miseries
they were drawing down on their heads, and died with this prayer
2 2 Sam, xv. 26. Acts xxi. 14. Rom. ix. 21. Lam. iii. 39; iii. 22. Deut. viii
1. Mic, vii 9 Heb. xii. 7, 8. Mic. vi. 9. Lam. iii. 26, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33.
28 Isa. xxviii. 29.  Psal. xvii. 14.  Isa. x. 5.  29 Tit. ii. 3.
30 Isa. liii. 7. Luke xxii. 42.            31 Pet. ii 23.




PART I.]  CHARACTERS AND PRIVILEGES OF CHRISTIANS.       119
on his lips-" Father, forgive them; for they know not what they
do."32 If we would rightly understand what Christian meekness
is, we must study his character, and " learn of him who was meek
and lowly in heart.""3
Now, our Lord  pronounces those who  are thus meek,
blessed: —" Blessed are the meek."  It is as if he had said, "Ye
call the proud happy:",3 you think there is the greatest probability of the prosperous man having a good share in the blessings
of that temporal kingdom which you are expecting the Messiah
to establish; but you must "repent," you must change your
minds. According to the maxims of the spiritual kingdom, of
which He is to be the founder, it is not the proud, prosperous
man, but it is the meek sufferer, that is the happy man; it is ihe
who shall be accounted great in the kingdom of God.
The meek may be pronounced happy, for the disposition which
characterizes them is one of the essential elements of happiness.
Humble, cheerful resignation to the will of God, is happiness;
proud, self-sufficient dissatisfaction, is misery.
But our Lord here, as in the other beatitudes, assigns a particular reason why he pronounces the meek blessed: —" Blessed
are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."
In these words of our Lord, there is a plain reference to the
words of the Psalmist:-" The meek shall inherit the earth, and
shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." " Such as
be blessed of him shall inherit the earth." " The righteous shall
inherit the land, and dwell therein forever."35
The words before us have been variously interpreted. By
many interpreters, they have been considered as equivalent to the
statement, that " godliness has the promise of the life that now
is;"T36 as an assertion that the meek are those who really have
the greatest enjoyment of the good things of the present state.
They are the persons most likely to enjoy such things as are
needful and convenient, with the greatest security, and to have
the most undisturbed enjoyment of them. As the apostle Peter
says, " Who will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is
good,"37 gentle, kind, beneficent?. The meek man makes fenenemies to himself, and does not bring himself into hostile collision with those among whom he lives. He may not be so
likely as others to get a great deal of the world, but he is likelv
to have a great deal more enjoyment in his little, than a man of
an opposite temper in his abundance:-" The little which the
righteous man hath, being more and better than the riches of
many wicked.""3
Others lay the emphasis on the word " inherit," and consider
our Lord as saying,'The meek have a covenant right to the
good things of this world, which men of an opposite character
are destitute of.' Both these interpretations state truths, and
s2 Luke xix. 42; xxiii. 34.  33 Matt. xi. 29.   34 Mal. iii. 15.
35 Deut. xix. 14. Psal. xxv. 13; xxxvii. 11, 18, 29.  36 1 Tim. iv. 8.
3a?  Pet. iii. 13.                       s8 Psal. xxxviiL.




120              THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.                 [EXP. IV.
important ones; but still, I apprehend, they do not bring out hle
meaning of our Lord.39
We are to recollect that our Lord was speaking to Jews, and
that he uses phraseology familiar to them, and accommodates
himself to their mode of thinking. His words, literally rendered, are, "they shall inherit the land," i. e., Canaan,-" the
land of promise." He speaks of the blessings of the new economy, in the language of Old Testament prophecy. Israel, according to the flesh, —the external people of God, under the former
economy, were a figure of Israel according to the spirit-the
spiritual people of God under the new economy; and Canaan,
the worldly inheritance of the former, is the type of that aggregate of heavenly and spiritual blessings which form  the inheritance of the latter. In reference to the state of things under the
Messiah, it is said, "Thy people also shall be all righteous;"
none but the truly righteous are members of the true spiritual
church; subjects of Messiah the prince: "they shall inherit the
land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,
that I may be glorified."40 To "inherit the land," is to enjoy
the peculiar blessings of the people of God under the new
economy; it is to be " heirs of the world," "heirs of God, jointheirs with Christ Jesus." It is to be "blessed with all heavenly
and spiritual blessings in Christ;" to enjoy that true peace and
rest, —of which the rest of Israel in Canaan was a figure,-which
a man enters into on believing the truth, and which will be perfected in heaven.
Such, I apprehend, is the true meaning of the phrase, " they
shall inherit the land;" so that our Lord in this beatitude,
materially says:' You call the proud and the prosperous happy,
and you suppose they are likely to inherit Canaan under the
Messiah. I tell you, the truly happy are the meek sufferers;
they, and they alone, shall be possessors of that spiritual inheritance, of which Canaan was merely a figure.'
~ 4. They that hunger and thirst after righteousness-they shall
be filled.
I think it is not at all unlikely, that one reason why our Lord
immediately added, —" Blessed are they which hunger and thirst
after righteousness, for they shall be filled,""' was to prevent his
audience from supposing that he had used the words-" inherit
the land" literally, and to lead them to his true meaning. They
were  "hungering  and thirsting," eagerly desiring, after what
they supposed were the blessings of the Messiah's kingdom,-de39 Calvin combines these views, and something more, in his exegesis: "Etiamsi
nusquam pedem in suo figere queant, terrme domicilio quiete fruuntur. Neque
imaginaria est hsec possessio, quia terram inhabitant quam sibi divinitus concessam esse norunt. Deinde adversus malorum intemperiem et furias opposita
Dei manu teguntur... atque hoe illis satis est, donec mundi hereditatem
ultimo die adeant."
4u Isa. lx. 21.                                   41 Matt. v. 6.




PART I.]  CHARACTERS AND PRIVILEGES OF CHRISTIANS.         121
liverance from a foreign yoke, wealth, dignity, honor, dominion.
They who were cherishing these desires were dreaming, and
would soon awake to disappointment. These desires would not
be gratified; they who cherislhed them would not "be filled."
The Messiah came with no intention to bestow such blessings.
But, " blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." Some interpreters understand the
words " hunger and thirst" literally, as equivalent to'are exposed to great straits and sufferings,' and translate the succeeding
words-" on account of righteousness" —" Blessed are they who
hunger and thirst on account of righteousness, for they shall
be filled." It is clear that the idiom of the language would
permit such a translation;42 but that given in our version is
the more natural rendering, and prevents the tautology which
otherwise would be found in the paragraph, as the words before
us would in this case be precisely the same in meaning as verse
10th.
Hunger and thirst are, I believe, in all languages, used to express vehement desire.43 It is not very easy to fix the precise
meaning of the word " righteousness." In the Apostle Paul's
writings, it ordinarily signifies'justification,' or' method of justification.' I apprehend that here, as in the former case, we are
to find its true meaning by attending to the manner in which
the phrase is used in the Old Testament, especially in the
prophecies with regard to the Messiah. I shall quote a few of
these:-" Seventy weeks are determined upon thiy people, and
upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an
end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring
in everlasting righteousness."" "Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted that are far from righteousness. I bring near my
righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall
not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my
glory."46   "My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone
forth; and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall
wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust. Lift up your
eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the
heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax
old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like
manner: but my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished."4"  "Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye
judgment, and do justice; for my salvation is near to come, and
my righteousness to be revealed.""' From these passages, it
seems evident that the phrases "righteousness," "God's righteousness," when -used in reference to the new economy, describe
the same thing as "salvation," "God's salvation."  To hunger
and thirst after righteousness, is earnestly to desire that spiritual
deliverance which the Messiah has come to accomplish, and which
42 " 6dat being supposed to be understood."-CLEM. ALEX. Strom. vi.
43 PsaL xliii. 3; lxiii. 1.   44 Dan. ix. 24.  45 Isa. xlvi. 12, 13.
46 Isa. ii. 5, 6.       47 Isa. lvi. 1.




122             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.              [EXP. IV.
consists "in righteousness;" in the exercise of "grace reigning
through righteousness unto everlasting life;" in pardon dispensed in consistency with, and in glorious illustration of, righteousness; and in bringing the whole inner man, in all his sentiments and feelings, into conformity with the righteous mind and
will of God. The persons here described are those who, in contrast with the great body of the Jews, who were earnestly expecting a temporal deliverer and a temporal deliverance, were
eagerly desiring a Saviour from guilt and depravity, and their
fearful consequences.
Such our Lord pronounces happy; for, while they who were
looking for a temporal Messiah and worldly blessings would be
disappointed, they who were desirous of heavenly and spiritual
blessings would be abundantly satisfied; they would be " filled."
They would obtain "abundance of grace, and of the gift of
righteousness;" they would obtain "in Christ the redemption"
that was " through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according
to the riches of Divine grace."  "Justified freely by God's grace,
his blood would cleanse them  from  all sin, and they would bce
washed, and sanctified, and justified in his name, and by his
Spirit."48  In the knowledge and faith of the truth respecting the
Saviour, they would obtain the gratification of their desires;
and, in the fulness of their grateful and happy hearts, they would
exclaim-" Surely in the Lord have we righteousness;" we are
"complete in 4im;'  "of God are we in Christ Jesus (who of
God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and
redemption)"'9-justified, sanctified, and redeemed.
~ 5. The merciful-they shall obtain mercy.
I proceed now to the illustration of the fifth beatitude"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.""5 According to the views generally entertained by the Jews, the persons most likely to obtain a large portion of the blessedness to be
enjoyed under the Messiah's reign, were men of fierce warlike
dispositions, fired with resentment for the wrongs done their
country; who should, under the victorious banners of their
Prince, inflict a severe and merited vengeance on their gentile
oppressors; and as the well-earned reward of their valorous exploits, be enriched by the spoils of their spoilers, and raised to
ominion over those who had enslaved them.  How different is
the truth! These are not the blessed ones under Messiah's
reign; this is not the happiness he confers.  "Blessed are the
merciful;" and their happiness consists in this-not that they are
enriched with spoil, or invested with dominion, but that " they
shall obtain mercy."
Let us shortly consider, in succession, the character which is
here represented as belonging to the subjects of the Messiah, and
48 Eph. i. 7. 1 John i. 7. 1 Cor. vi. 11.
"9Isa. xiv. 24. Col. ii. 10. 1 Cor. i. 30. Comp. 2 Cor. v. 21.   "O Matt. v. 7,




PART I.]  CHARACTERS AND PRIVILEGES OF CHRISTIANS.             123
then the happiness to be enjoyed by them. They are "' merciful,"
and being merciful, they are "blessed, for they shall obtain
mercy."
Mercy may be viewed in reference either to guilt or misery.
Mercy, viewed in reference to guilt, is opposed to resentment or
revenge, and is a disposition to forgive, and deal leniently with
an offender. Mercy, viewed in reference to misery, is opposed
to insensibility or cruelty, and is a disposition to relieve or to prevent suffering; a compassionate tenderness of heart, which makes
us weep with those who weep, or who have cause to weep, though
ignorant or insensible of their wretchedness. The disposition to
forgive seems as naturally included under meekness, as under
mercy, and in the following remarks I shall confine myself to the
delineation of that distinguishing feature of christian character,
which consists in a disposition to pity and relieve the miseries of
mankind.
The mercy which our Lord represents as one of the characteristics of that people whom  he pronounces blessed, is something
very different from a naturally affectionate and kindly temper.
This is a mere instinctive feeling, and, though amiable, no proper
object of moral approbation.  In its movements there is no
reference to the Divine authority; and it is frequently found in
conjunction with principles and habits, most decidedly condemned by the Divine law.
The mercy spoken of by our Lord, like all the other dispositions here specified as characteristic of the subjects of the
Messiah, is the result of the truth as it is in Jesus, understood
and believed; and can be produced in no other way. It is the
feeling which a man has, who knows and believes that, in the
exercise of sovereign kindness on the part of God, through the
mediation of his Son Jesus Christ, he is. delivered from evils infinite in their number, and inconceivable in their severity, to
which he had rendered himself justly liable by his violation of a
law most holy, just, and good-it is the feeling which such a
conscious debtor to Divine mercy naturally cherishes towards
those who are involved in sufferings, of whatever kind, especially
in that worst species of suffering, from which, through the grace
of God, he has himself obtained deliverance.
This mercy is wide in its range. It regards both the bodies
and the souls of men: both their temporal and eternal interests.
This is one of the features which chiefly distinguish it from that
instinctive kindliness to which I have just been adverting. The
good-natured generous man of the world, pities and relieves the
1 Much of the train of thought, and not a few of the expressions, in the following illustration, are borrowed from Dr. Wardlaws excellent discourse "On
Christian Mercy," though so much altered and mixed up with other matter, as not
easily to admit of more distinct acknowledgment. A strong resemblance will
be found, also, to the exposition of "Be Pitiful," in the Expository Discourses
on the First Epistle of Peter. This exposition was first written; and, when
used as materials for an illustration of Peter, the author had no idea of publish
ing either.




124             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.             [EXP. IV.
temporal wants of his fellow-creatures; but he thinks not of their
spiritual state, their everlasting prospects. He feels tender compassion for nakel, starving, diseased bodies. He feels compassion,
it may be, for minds uninstructed in that information which is
requisite to enable men to obtain a creditable subsistence for
themselves in this world, but he feels no pity for souls perishing
in ignorance of God, and under the condemning sentence of his
holy law. This cannot indeed be expected; for how should he
feel for others, when, in reference to such subjects, he has no
feeling for himself? —though there is something monstrously
absurd in men's being so exceedingly concerned about the removal of the sufferings of a few years, and altogether careless
about the prevention of the intolerable miseries of eternity.
Christian mercy is not thus inconsistent. It looks on mankind,
chiefly in their relation to God and eternity; it regards them
both as mortal and immortal; and it is chiefly affected by their
spiritual state, and their everlasting prospects.
In this respect it resembles that Divine mercy, in the faith of
which it originates. The Divine Being pities all the miseries of
man; but it is immortal man-the sinner-that is emphatically
the object of Divine mercy. The mercy wherewith He remembers man in his lost estate, is great mercy, "for it endureth forever."  It stretches onward to eternity, and it delivers its objects
from the lowest hell; and such, according to his capacity, is the
mercy of every one who has found mercy.
But while chiefly affected with the miseries of man as a sinner
— with the ignorance, and error, and guilt and obduracy, and
depravity, which mark his character, and with the painful, extreme, and irremediable wretchedness which, if he repent not,
awaits him in the world to come-the christianly merciful man is
not affected by these alone. He is far from being insensible to
their temporal calamities and wants. He cherishes a sincere
sympathy for all the calamities and evils to which men are
exposed in their bodies, in their minds, in their connections with
each other; from whatever causes these evils may have arisen,
whether from the immediate visitation of God, from the injustice
and cruelty of their fellow-men, or from the folly and crimes of
the sufferers themselves. Like Job, " he weeps for them who are
in trouble," and his " soul is grieved for the poor.."
But this mercy is something more than a feeling; it is an
operative principle. It is not " a well shut up, a fountain sealed,"
but a copious source of acts of beneficence-streams of blessings.
This mercy does not evaporate in unprofitable words. It is not
satisfied with saying to those who are naked and destitute of
bodily food, " be ye fed, be ye clothed;" but to the limits of its
ability it gives " the things necessary for the body." It is not
contented with deploring the ignorance, and vice, and spiritual
wretchedness, of mankind; but exerts itself for the instruction of
52 Job xxx. 25.




PART I.]  CHARACTERS AND PRIVILEGES OF CHRISTIANS.       125
the ignorant, the reclaiming of the profligate, the conversion of
sinners, the salvation of the perishing.
And here, too, this mercy resembles that in the faith of which,
as we have already remarked, it originates. The mercy of God
to a fallen world, was operative mercy.  "God so loved the
world," that he " spared not his own Son, but delivered him up
for us all.""3 And in the character of him who is the image of
the invisible God, active mercy is the prominent feature. He
not only pitied, but saved. Though "in the form  of God, he
thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself
of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and
was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion
as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross.""4  With what indefatigable activity,
what disinterested self-denial, what patient endurance of suffering, did he seek to promote the true happiness of mankind! It
was " his meat to do the" benignant "will of his Father, and to
finish his work" in " preaching glad tidings to the meek," comforting all who mourned, healing diseases, and "giving himself
a ransom for all.""  He did not wait, on many occasions, for application on behalf of the miserable; he imparted unasked relief;
he went in quest of objects on whom to show mercy; and thus
will christian mercy, which is just the mind of Christ dwelling
in us, lead all who are under its influence, to abound in acts of
substantial kindness to the poor and the miserable.
It is this influential, operative mercy on which the blessing of
God is pronounced.  "Is not this the fast that I have chosen;
to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and
to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is
it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the
poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked,
that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine
own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning,
and thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee: the glory of the Lord shall be thy
reward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou
shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from
the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and
speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in obscurity,
and thy darkness be as the noon-day: and the Lord shall guide
thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat
thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a
spring of water whose waters fail not."56 Such was the mercy
which characterized the ancient patriarch.  " When the ear heard
me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness
to me; because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless,
and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that
03 John iii. 16    Rom. viii. 32.           54 Phil. ii. 6.
55 John iv. 34. Isa. lxi. 1. 1 Tim. ii. 6. Heb. x. 7-10.  56 Isa. lviii. 6-11.




126             TEE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's
heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me:
my judgment was a robe and a diadem. I was eyes to the blind,
and feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor: and the
cause which I knew not I searched out. And I brake the jaws
of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.""7
The external act of beneficence may exist where the inward
principle of christian mercy is wanting, and may be useful to
man though it cannot be acceptable to God. But wherever the
principle of christian mercy exists. it will manifest itself by corresponding fruits, wherever there exists ability to do good; mere
professions of sympathy, however fervent, must be hypocritical,
and however they may impose on men, which they seldom do in
any great degree, they must be regarded with abhorrence by
Him who desireth truth in the inward parts.
It scarcely requires to be remarked that the form and degrees
of the manifestations of the principles of mercy, must depend on
the circumstances in which we are placed; and that "a cup of
cold water" may be as genuine and as acceptable a display of
mercy, as the most costly pecuniary offering.
This merciful disposition is not confined in its exercise to any
particular class of men. The Christian, no doubt, feels a peculiar interest in the afflictions of those who are connected with
him, whether by the ties of nature or of grace —those who are of
his own household, and those who are of the household of faith;
but wherever he sees misery, there does he feel compassion, and
there, too, if it be in his power, does he give relief. It is not the
merit of the sufferer, but his misery, that he looks at; and here
again christian mercy resembles that mercy, in the faith of which
it originates.
The Christian, under the influence of this principle, " loves his
enemies, blesses them that curse him, does good to them that
hate him, and prays for them that despitefully use him and persecute him;" and thus shows himself to be a " child of his Father
in heaven, who maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the
good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."58  Thus
have I endeavored shortly to delineate that christian mercy,
which is an essential ingredient in the character of all the true
subjects of the Messiah.
Let us now turn our attention for a little to the happiness
which our Lord represents as possessed by them. They are
"blessed;" and they are " blessed, for they shall obtain mercy."
The happiness of the followers of the Messiah, as described by
our Lord, is as different from what the Jews were generally anticipating as the characters themselves. Fierce relentless warriors were the persons they conceived as likely to be greatest in
his kingdom. But our Lord tells them that not they, but "the
merciful," are to be his favorites; and as to the happiness enjoyed
under him, it is not to be that of brave warriors receiving the
57 Job xxix. 11-17.                 53 Matt. v. 44-47.




PART I.]  CHARACTERS AND PRIVILEGES OF CHRISTIANS.         127
merited reward of their sanguinary labors; it is to be that of
merciful men receiving mercy.
The merciful man is blessed in the possession of this disposition.  There is an inward satisfaction in the exercise of benevolence and pity, to which the highest gratification of the selfish
man is not worthy to be compared. It must, indeed, be of a very
high character, for it is a source of happiness to God and his
Son. It is a delight to Jehovah to show mercy;59 and we have
no reason to doubt that our Lord Jesus referred to his own experience in that memorable saying recorded by the Apostle Paul,'It is more blessed to give than to receive."
But our Lord fixes our attention on one circumstance, as peculiarly illustrative of the happiness of the merciful man: he
"'obtains mercy."  Here let us inquire what it is to obtain
mercy; and what is the connection between being merciful and
obtaining mercy. There is, however, a previous question: Of
whom do the merciful obtain mercy? It is obvious to remark,
that the display of a merciful disposition is calculated to excite
kind feelings on the part of all who witness such displays; and
the man who pities others is likely himself not to be unpitied
when he is brought into circumstances calculated to awaken
compassion.  But there can be no reasonable doubt that the
mercy here referred to is the mercy of God. The pity which
man can show man, was not very likely to be represented by our
Lord as that which entitled its possessor, or him who might certainlv count on it, to be called blessed.  It must be the pity of
God which can lay a foundation for pronouncing him who is its
object blessed.6'
What is it, then, to obtain mercy from God? It is obviously
not to obtain merited reward.  An innocent and happy creature
is never said to obtain mercy. The exercise of mercy supposes
guilt and misery in its object. When God shows mercy, he
pardons the guilty and he blesses the miserable. To obtain
mercy is for a sinner who deserves everlasting destruction to
obtain pardon and salvation, as tokens of the benignant pity of
God.
The second question will require a somewhat more extended
answer -What connection is there between being merciful and
obtaining mercy? It must be very plain to every person who
will allow himself to think at all, that our merciful disposition is
not the ground on which we obtain mercy.  The truth on this
subject is very clearly stated in Scripture. Divine mercy is free
sovereign mercy; it is not purchased at all; not purchased even
by Christ's work, far less by our own. Christ's mediation is not
the price of mercy: it is the channel through which mercy finds
its way to the sinner in consistency with justice. And faith is
59 Micah vii. 18.                              60 Acts xx. 35.
61 " Not even as an adjunct, can the idea of mercy shown us by our fellow-men
be connected with  eeryn0(aovrat, as Calvin, Piscator, and others suppose, Ilap,
too OeoO dL2IOV76rt, says Euthymius" —THOLUCK.




128,          THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.          [EXP. IV.
not the price of mercy either; it is the appointed way in which
the sinner enters on the enjoyment of mercy. Whatever the
words before us mean, they cannot signify what many would
have them mean, "that the gift of God may be purchased with
money," or obtained as a recompense for what they call deeds of
charity. To speak of obtaining mercy in this way is contradiction and absurdity. Mercy, when shown by God to his creatures
— especially to his sinful creatures-must, from its very nature,
be free. It is bestowing pardon on a righteously-condemned
criminal; conferring happiness on one whose desert is misery;
giving life where death is due.
But is it not said, " Charity covereth a multitude of sins"?82
Without doubt it is. But in that passage there is no reference
to alms-giving, nor to what is ordinarily termed the pardon of sin.
Attend to the words of Solomon, which Peter quotes-" Hatred
stirreth up strifes, but love covereth all sins"' —and you will at
once perceive how strangely they pervert the Scriptures, who
draw from that passage any support to the notion that our sins
may be pardoned on the ground of our good works, or that mercy
may be bought by pecuniary sacrifices.
But while they who obtain mercy obtain it entirely from the
sovereign kindness of God, through the mediation of his Son,
yet all who, through the faith of the truth, trust in the Divine
mercy, are distinguished by a particular character, the result of
this faith produced in the soul by divine influence; so that no
one, whatever may be his professions, who does not possess this
character, will be found at last to have had any personal interest
in the saving virtue of the Redeemer's sacrifice, nor, of course,
in the saving mercy of God.'
In the whole of the paragraph which we are at present engaged in explaining, as I have more than once already had occasion to remark to you, our Lord's design is not to explain the
foundation on which the hope of mercy is to rest, but to delineate
the character of his genuine disciples. Of this character, mercy
is one of the prominent features; and what our Lord says is just
this:-' Mercy is a necessary part of that holy character which,
according to his most benignant purpose of grace, he has inseparably connected with the enjoyment of that happiness which
is the result of his free sovereign kindness.'
Of the justness of the views we have now given, we have a
very striking illustration in reference to one of the modes of the
exercise of mercy enjoined on the disciples of Jesus Christ. In
the form of prayer which Christ taught his disciples, we are instructed to say, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our
debtors;" and our Lord enforces the use of this petition by adding, "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you; but if ye forgive not men their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."'
Is our forgiving one another, then, the meritorious cause of our
62 2 Pet. iv. 8.   63 Prov. x. 12.    64 Matt. vi. 13, 14.




PART I.]  CHARACTERS AND PRIVILEGES OF CHRISTIANS.       129
being forgiven by God? One might have supposed so, nad it
not been that such an idea is entirely subversive of the gospel
method of salvation, and that in other places of Scripture our
being forgiven by God is held out as the grand motive why we
should forgive."5 That which is the effect, cannot, at the same
time, be the cause of that which produces that effect. But our
not forgiving one another is a plain proof that we are not under
the influence of the faith of the forgiving love of God; and if'
we continue in that state, we shall not be among those who shall
" find mercy of the Lord at that day."
~ 6. The pure in heart-they shall see God.
We proceed now to the consideration of the sixth beatitude,
" Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.",6 The
first thing to be done here is to ascertain the true import of the
appellation " pure in heart."  The term is plainly figurative, and,
like most figurative terms, admits of being variously interpreted.
In opposition to a dishonest deceitful man, a man of unsound
heart,67 a man of integrity may be said to be sound or pure in
heart; or, in opposition to a sensual lustful man, a man of a polluted heart, a man whose thoughts and desires are regulated by
the law of chastity may be said to be pure in heart; or, viewing
all error and all sin as polluting the mind and heart, purity of
heart may be considered as synonymous with holiness, conformity
of mind and will to God; or, in contradistinction to the man oi'
clean hands, the person whose external behavior is unimpeachable, the man of a pure heart may be viewed as the person whose
inward principles, whose sentiments and affections, whose modes
of thought and feeling, as well as his external conduct, are in
accordance with the holy law of God.
I cannot help thinking that our Lord, in using the terms before us, had a tacit reference to that character of external sanctity
or purity which belonged to the Jewish people, and to that privilege of intercourse with God, which was connected with that
character.68 They were a people separated from the nations polluted with idolatry; set apart as holy to Jehovah; and, as a holy
people, they were permitted to draw near to their God, the only
living and true God, in the ordinances of his worship. On the
possession of this character, and on the enjoyment of this privilege, the Jewish people plumed themselves. They accounted
themselves blessed, because they were thus " holy to the Lord,"
and were thus permitted to draw near to him.
A higher character, however, and a higher privilege, belonged
to those who should be the subjects of the Messiah's reign.
They should not only be externally holy, but " pure in heart;"
and they should not merely be allowed to approach towards the
holy place, where God's honor dwelt, but they should "see
63 Matt. xviii. 32, 33. Eph. iv. 32. Col. iii. 13.  66 Matt. v. 8.
67 "Mundum cor -== simplex (i. e., sine plica) cor'b0auj/(z6 i1 T.Xo7f."-TVENcHI
6s i Non sufficit puritas ceremonialis."-BENGE: L
VOL. i.                   9




130             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
God," be introduced into the most intimate intercourse with him.
Thus viewed, as a description of the spiritual character and
privileges of the subjects of the Messiah, in contrast with the external character and privileges of the Jewish people, the passage
before us is full of most important and interesting truth.
The subjects of the Messiah are " pure in heart" —spiritually
purified. Their bodies may not be purified by the lustrations of
the Mosaic law, but " their hearts are purified by faith."69 To use
the apostle's language, their hearts are " sprinkled from an evil
conscience."'0  The man whose conscience is polluted with guilt,
cannot be happy, and is altogether unfit for communion with
God. Every man's conscience is naturally polluted with guilt,
for every man is a sinner, and, to a certain extent, every man
knows that he is a sinner. While he regards God as his enemy,
-and while he considers himself as under guilt, he must regard
God as his enemy, —he must be a stranger to true holiness and
to true happiness, for true holiness and happiness arise out of the
knowledge of God, and favorable intercourse with God as our
Father and our Friend. The only way in which the heart can
be purified from the evil conscience, which prevents holiness and
happiness, by shutting us out from God, who is the source of
both, is by the sprinkling of the atoning blood of the Lamb of
God, who bears, and bears away, the sin of the world. It is the
belief of the truth respecting Jehovah, as well pleased in his Son,
"reconciling the world to himself" in him, "seeing he has
made him, who knew no sin, to be sin in our room;" it is the
belief of this truth, which cleanses the conscience, which purifies
the heart, which gives us confidence in the sight of God, and enables us to go boldly to his throne, as the throne of mercy. This
i' love of God shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost given
to us,"7771 produces love to God; for " we love him who hath so
loved us;" and this love to God is the prolific seed of all holiness, both of heart and conduct.
The pure in heart, or the spiritually purified, are thus those
who, through the faith of the truth respecting the atoning sacrific of Jesus, are fitted for spiritual intercourse with the holy
Jehovah. These are the blessed ones; not those who have been
" sanctified to the purifying of the flesh, by the blood of bulls
and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer," but they who have had
" their conscience purged from dead works, to serve the living
God, by the sprinkling of the blood of Christ, who, through the
eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God" a " sacrifice
of a sweet-smelling savor."72
Such persons are blessed in the enjoyment of this spiritual
purification, " for they shall see God."  They who were " sanctifed to the purifying of the flesh," were permitted to enter the
sacred gates of the temple, and, in the appointed rites of worship,
to approach to Jehovah. This was an important and valuable
69 Acts xv. 9.           70 Ileb. x. 22
71 Rom. v. 5.            72 Heb. ix. 13, 14. Eph. v. 2.




PART I.]  CHARACTERS AND PRIVILEGES OF CHRISTIANS.         131
privilege. But far higher is the privilege: enjoyed by those whose
"hearts are sprinkled from  an evil conscience"-whose "consciences are purged from dead works." " They shall see God,"
that is, they shall obtain clear and satisfactory views of his character, and they shall be admitted into intimate and delightful
fellowship with him.
In the truth, the faith of which purifies the heart, they see
God; for what is that truth but a manifestation of the glory of
God in the face of his Son-an illustrious display of the combined radiance of divine holiness and divine benignity. The
veil which covers the Holy of Holies is, as it were, rent asunder,
and the believer sees, with the eye of his mind, Jehovah as "the
Lord God merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant
in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving
iniquity, and transgression, and sin, not clearing the guilty"
without satisfaction to the injured honors of his character, and
the insulted rights of his government; " yet setting forth his Son
a propitiation through faith in his blood," and proclaiming himself to be "the just God and the Saviour;" "just, and the
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."7' And he not only
obtains clear satisfactory views of the Divine character, but he
enjoys intimate and delightful communion with God. He is
brought very near God; God's mind becomes his mind; God's
will becomes his will; and his "fellowship is truly with the
Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ."74
They who are pure in heart "see God" in this way, even in
the present world; and in the future state their knowledge of
God will become far more extensive-their fellowship with him
far more intimate; for though, when compared with the privileges of a former dispensation, even now "as with open face we
contemplate the glory of the Lord," yet, in reference to the
privileges of a higher economy, we yet see but " through a glass
darkly" —we " know but in part"-we understand but in partwe enjoy but in part. But " that which is in part shall be done
away," and " that which is perfect shall come."  " We shall," to
use the apostie's language, which we know is accurate, for it was
taught him by the Holy Spirit, though the full meaning of it we
shall never understand till we get to heaven,-we " shall see face
to face," we " shall know even as we are known;"7~ or to borrow
the words of the Psalmist, we "shall behold his face in righteousness: we shall be satisfied, when we awake, with his likeness."'76
Then, and not till then, will the full meaning of these words be
understood,-" Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see
God."b
~ 7. The peace-makers —they shall be called the children of God.
We proceed now to consider the seventh beatitude.  " Blessed
are the peace-makers: for they shall be called the children of
73 Exod. xxxiv. 6. Rom. iii. 25, 26.         74 John i. 3.
75 1 Cor. xiii. 9-12.  76 Psal. xvii 15.     b See Note B.




132            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.           [EXP. IV.
God."" The Jews, in general, regarded the gentile nations with
bitter contempt and hatred, and they expected that, under the
Messiah, there should be an uninterrupted series of warlike
attacks made on these nations, till they were completely destroyed, or subjugated to the chosen people of God. In their
estimation, those emphatically deserved the appellation of happy
who should be employed under Messiah the prince, to avenge on
the heathen nations all the wrongs these had done to Israel.
How different is the spirit of the new economy! How beautifully does it accord with the angelic anthem which celebrated the
nativity of its Founder: "Glory to God in the highest, and on
earth peace, good-will toward men."
This is one of the distinguishing characters of the subjects of
the Messiah, that they are peace-makers.'8  Through the knowledge and belief of the truth as it is in Jesus, they are brought
into a state of peace. "They have been reconciled by God to
himself, by the death of his Son."  By him " they have received
the reconciliation:"'" the war which raged within is also brought
to a close; and being at peace with God, and at peace with themselves, they are at peace with the whole world, regarding all mankind with a sincere benevolence, and desirous of promoting their
best interests, both in this world and in that which is to come.
This naturally induces them  to become peace-makers.  It
makes them desirous that all men should become partakers of
the peace, which has been obtained through the ransom paid on
the cross; and that, for this purpose, all " men should" acquaint
themselves with God, as revealed in " Christ crucified," and thus
be at peace.- They know that "there is no peace for the
wicked," and therefore, as peace-makers, they use the means
which lie in their power, that "the wicked should forsake his
way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and turn to the
Lord, who will have mercy on him, and to our God, who will
abundantly pardon."80  They know, and believe, that this "peace
with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ," lies at the foundation
of peace with ourselves; and that these two lay the only solid
foundation for peace, in all the extent of that word, with one
another. They believe, that if men were but generally "reconciled to God through the death of his Son," then man, the brother,
would live the friend, of man; and till this is gained, in their estimation, little progress can be made towards this most desirable
consummation; and that which receives the name of peace, is
only a suspension of combat, or an armed truce. Under the influence of the faith of the truth, by means of which they have
obtained peace, Christians, happy in themselves, endeavor to diffuse happiness around them. They carefully abstain from injuring any one; knowing that mutual injury is the great cause of
mutual quarrels. Not easily provoked, they endeavor not to
provoke others, except "to love and to good works,'8' kind
77 Matt. v. 9.       78 eipqvo'otoll, not merely EtpqPttKO    or elp'vaiot.
79 2 Cor. v. 18 Rom. v. 10, 11.  80 Isa. Iv. 7.  81 Helb.. 24.




PART I.]  CHARACTERS AND PRIVILEGES OF CHRISTIANS.    133
offices. They " follow peace with all men," so far as this is consistent with that " holiness, without which no man shall see the
Lord."  " As much as lieth- in" them, they endeavor to "live
peaceably with all men."82 In all the relations in which they are
placed, whether domestic, civil, or ecclesiastical, their object is to
prevent, allay, and extinguish anger, debate, strife, and division.
In order to obtain peace, they will not sacrifice truth or duty, because they know that to be only a false peace-not deserving the
name-which can be secured in this way; but they will sacrifice
everything but truth and duty, in order to obtain peace. Thev
carefully avoid whatever they have reason to think will give offence, or create disunion; and readily bear even with men's
weaknesses and follies when they are not criminal, rather than
disturb peace. They count it their duty, not only to avoid carefully whatever may break the peace, but just because they love
peace, though cautious of interfering in " strife that does not belong to them," they do not shrink from exertion and sacrifice,
when they perceive that these, on their part, may conduce to the
extinguishing of the fire of discord, though it may not have been
kindled by themselves.
This peaceable and peace-making disposition, is by no means
to be confounded with that indolent good nature which is but a
modification of timidity and selfishness. He who, in order to
secure what he terms peace, sacrifices truth and duty, will frequently fail in the object he has in view; and even should he
succeed, he will find at the great day of accounts, that not the
blessing of the peace-maker, but the curse of "the fearful and
unbelieving," shall rest on him; and instead of being permitted
to "enter through the gates into the city," he shall be shut out
among "dogs, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all that love and
make a lie."
The peace-makers are pronounced happy by our Lord:
"Blessed are the peace-makers." They cannot but be happy.
Next to the enjoyment of peace in our own minds, must be the
delight of knowing that we are the means of diffusing peace and
love around us. But the particular reason which our Lord
assigns for pronouncing them happy is, " they shall be called the
children of God." Such persons are the children of God, and
they shall be called or acknowledged to be his children. Both
these ideas are suggested by the words.
To be a child of God, is a figurative expression, descriptive of
intimate and peculiar relation to God, and of moral conformity
and resemblance to God. These peace-makers are the objects of
the peculiar and favorable regards of God; and indeed their
possession of this disposition is a clear proof of it, for, in consequence of " the great love wherewith he loved them," he has by
his Holy Spirit, delivered them from the dominion of those
" lusts striving in their members," " from whence come wars and
fightings;" and from being "hateful and hating one another,"
82 Heb. xii 14. Rom. xii 18.




134             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
has enabled them  "to put on bowels of mercies," "to forbear one another in love," and to "forgive one another, if any
have a quarrel against any."'3 The clearest evidence of indiviluals being the children of God, the objects of his peculiar love,
is their possession of those holy dispositions which he alone can
confer, and which he confers only on those whom it is his purpose to bless with final salvation.
The peace-makers are the children of God, not only as being
the objects of his peculiar favor, but as being conformed to his
image. He is "the God of peace."'4 His great object in the
wonderful scheme of redemption, is to " gather together in one
all things in Christ," whether they be "things in heaven, or
things on earth."88  And all those who, under the influence of
christian truth, are peace-makers, show that they are animated
with the same principle of action as God, and "as obedient
children," are co-operating with him in his benevolent design of
establishing " peace on earth." As of all who delight in strife,
and debate, and war, it may be said, " They are of their father
the devil"-who was "a murderer from the beginning-and the
works of their father they do;" so it may be said of all who, as
the Psalmist expresses it, "l seek peace and pursue it,"8 they are
of their " Father in heaven," "the God of peace," and the works
of their Father they do. What greater happiness can a created
being enjoy than to be the object of the Divine favor? what
greater honor than to wear the impress of the Divine image?
The peace-makers shall not merely be, but they shall be
" called," acknowledged to be, "the children of God."  God
calls them his children, even in the present state, distinguishing
them by tokens of his peculiar regard; and at last he will
publicly avow his relation to them in the presence of an assembled universe. Their fellow-saints recognize them by this distinguishing mark to be their brethren, children of their common
Father. Many, even of that world which is blind to some other
of the characteristics of the children of God, who know not the
younger brethren, as they knew not the first-born when he was
among them, are constrained by the manifestation of this temper
to say,-' these are the sons of God'; and there is a period approaching, when the peace-makers, however humble their situation may have been in the present state, and however much
their characters may have been misapprehended or misrepresented, shall "shine forth like the sun in the kingdom  of their
Father."   Then will be "the manifestation of' the sons of
God.",,
This concludes the statement of the distinctive characters of
the subjects of the kingdom of God.
83 James iv. 1. Col. iii. 12, 13.
84 Rom. xv. 33; xvi. 20. 2 Cor. xiii. 11. 1 ThfEs. v 23. Heb. xiii. 20.
"5 Eph. i. 10                  86 John viii. 44. Psal. xxxiv. 14.
87 Matt. xiii. 43. Rom. viii. 19. 1 John iii. 2, &




PART I.]  CHARACTERS AND PRIVILEGES OF CHRISTIANS.             135
~ 8. Appendix.-Persecuted yet blessed.
The beatitude'in the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth verses, may
be considered as a kind of appendix.  " Blessed are they which
are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely
for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your
reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which
were before you."88
The Jews expected that all of them were to enjoy the blessings of the Messiah's reign; and that these blessings were to
consist in a great measure in freedom from external evils, such
as poverty and oppression, and in the enjoyment of external
good, such as peace, wealth, honor, and in one word, prosperity.
Our Lord had already distinctly intimated, that the subjects of
the Messiah were not to consist of the Jewish nation as a body,
but of men possessed of a peculiar character; and in the words
before us he clearly states, that his peculiar people, instead of
being distinguished by worldly wealth and honor, were to be a
poor, despised, and persecuted race. They were to be " persecuted
for righteousness' sake."
The phrase, " for righteousness' sake,"89 is just equivalent to,
for the belief and profession of christian truth, and for the performance of christian duty. To suffer for righteousness' sake, is
synonymous with suffering for Christ's sake; suffering " for the
Gospel's sake;" " suffering as a Christian."
The term, "persecuted," is descriptive of all the variety of
evils to which the followers of our Lord were to be exposed for
their attachment to him and his cause, for their allegiance to
his authority, and their observance of his laws.  How varied and
severe these evils were, is to be learned from the history of the
church of Christ. The apostles, who occupied the highest place
in the kingdom of heaven, were distinguished not less by their
sufferings, than by their honors. " I think," says one of them,
speaking in the name of them all, " that God hath set forth us
the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made
a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are
fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ: we are weak,
but ye are strong; ye are honorable, but we are despised.
Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are
naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place;
and labor, working with our own hands: being reviled, we
bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we en88 Matt. v. 10-12. "Of these verses it is curious to find, what certainly was
not accidental, a reminiscence, 1 Pet. iii. 14,'A2X' el 7r6axotre &a ducKatoaivvv
uaK&iptot; and iv. 14, ETi vet6ieraOc EtV Ov6l1art XpttroiV yaKucptot."-THOLUCK.
89 The want of the article need occasion no difficulty. " Nomina abstracts
velut aper7j, (irtjOeta similiaque, perinde sunt, utrum addito an detracto articulo
dicantur."-FRITZscHII




136               THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.                  [EXP. IV.
treat; we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day."90  And, speaking of his
own individual experience, he tells us that, as a christian apostle,
he had been " in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure,
in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft."  "Of the Jews," says
he, " five times received I forty stripes save one.  Thrice was I
beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck,
a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeyings often,
in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own
countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in
perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false
brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in
hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.""'
The description of the sufferings of the people of God under the
Old Testament economy, is equally applicable to the primitive
followers of Christ.  Some, many of them, "had trial of crue
mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted,
were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheep-skins
and goat-skins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented: (Of whom
the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in
mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth."92
Comparatively few of the followers of Christ have been exposed
to persecution in so violent a form; but all his genuine followers
are, in some form, and in some degree, " persecuted for righteousness."  "All who will live godly, must," and do, "suffer persecution." It has been justly remarked, that "the wicked hate the
holy image of God, and those who bear it; his holy truth, and
those who profess and preach it; his holy law, and those who
obey and stand up for its obligation and authority; his holy ordinances, and those that attend on them."93 The particular form
of the opposition which wicked and worldly men make to the
cause of Christ, will depend on circumstances; but in all countries and in all ages, it exists, and the followers of Christ should
count on being exposed to derision, reproach, slander, and it may
be evils of a more formidable kind, from ungodly men."94
It deserves and requires notice, that when our Lord pro
nounces his people "blessed" amidst, and on account of, perse90 1 Cor. iv. 9-13.                           91 2 Cor. xi. 23-27.
92 Heb. xi. 36-38.                            93 Scott.
94 When modern divines refer all that Scripture declares about the persecution
of Christians on the part of the world, to the circumstances of those times, and
to the discrepancy betwixt Heathen and Hebrew, and explain, on the same principle, the sayings before us, they proceed upon a no less carnal view of the church
of Christ than that which the bulk of the Jews entertained of the Messiah's kingdom; for it implies, that whosoever lives within the precincts of the church is, on
that very account, sundered from the l6voLoc. The persons whose characters are
drawn here, are such as have received into their hearts the Spirit of Christ. They
are described as persecuted for his, and for righteousness' sake. The ground of
the persecution accordingly lies in that natural enmity between light and darkness, of which John speaks, ch. iii. 20; and hence, wherever there is a darkness which Christ hath noe lightened, there that enmity is also found."T. OLUCei.




PART I.]  CHARACTERS AND PRIVILEGES OF CHRISTIANS.         137
cution, it is not suffering in general he speaks of, but " suffering
for righteousness' sake."  It is not every sufferer, no, nor every
sufferer for religion, that can legitimately claim the consolation
with which our Lord's declarations are so replete. He alone can
be pronounced blessed, who suffers because he will not deny the
truth, because he will not violate the law of his redeeming Lord.
It is, as Augustine says, "not the punishment, but the cause
which makes the martyr."99 He who is persecuted in this cause,
however severely, is blessed.  It is an honor and a privilege conferred on him.  "It is given to him  on the behalf of Christ to
suffer for his sake."96
The particular reason our Lord assigns for pronouncing those
who are persecuted for righteousness' sake happy, is, that " theirs
is the kingdom of heaven." 1 have already had occasion to explain these words in illustrating the first of the beatitudes. The
phrase is commonly considered as eqivalent to,'they shall enjoy
the celestial blessedness.' I have no doubt this is included in it,
but this is by no means all that is included in it. It is not,'theirs
shall be the kingdom of heaven,' though that is true, but " theirs
is the kingdom of heaven;" even while suffering for righteousness' sake, "theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  The kingdom of
heaven is the new economy, the order of things under the Messiah.  A  person enters into this kingdom when he "repents towards," or changes his mind with regard to, " God," believes the
Gospel, and is born again, "being transformed by the renewing
of his mind." The privileges of this kingdom are spiritual.
They are not meat and drink, or riches, or honors; they are
" righteousness,"-justification, —" peace, and joy in  the Holy
Ghost."97  These are the privileges of the kingdom, and every
one who enters into it, is invested with them.98  These men, however despised and persecuted by their fellow-men, are happy, for
they are kings and priests, or " a royal priesthood," a sacred kingdom; they have "received  the kingdom  which  cannot be
moved."99 They are already in the enjoyment of privileges and
immunities, compared with which, earth's highest honors and enjoyments are but as the dust in the balance; and they are assured
of; in due time, obtaining in heaven the full "inheritance of the
kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world."
It is obvious that, in all that our Lord had said, he had a particular reference to those who had believed on him, and that
they were the persons whom he had described " as poor in spirit,
mourning, meek, hungering and thirsting after righteousness,
merciful, pure in heart, peace-makers, and persecuted for righteousness' sake." But he now makes a change in the form of his
discourse. From general statements he turns to direct address;
and fixing his eyes benignantly on his disciples, who appear to
a~ " Martyres non facit pcena sed causa." Enarr. in Psal. xxxiv. 23.
96 Phil. i. 29.                                97 Rom. xiv. 17.
93 ", Mens regnum bona possidet." —SEN:cA.
99 Rev. i. 6. 1 Pet. ii. 9. Ibeb. xii. 28.




138            THE SER{MON ON THE MOUNT.          [EXP. IV.
have been seated nearest to him, he says:-" Blessed are ye,
when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all
manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be
exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."
Perfect integrity was a leading feature in the character of our
Lord. He never excited false hopes; nay, he never availed himself of false hopes which, irrespective of any statements he had
made, men had formed. " I will follow thee whithersoever thou
goest," said a scribe. Our Lord, instead of allowing the man to
do so, till he should discover that He was not the kind of Messiah he expected, immediately replied:-" The foxes have holes,
and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not
where to lay his head."'00 And here, in the very commencement of his ministry, he tells his disciples, " what great things
they must suffer for his name's sake." He tells them that they
were to be reviled and persecuted, and that all manner of evil
was to be spoken against them; and their future experience
taught them that the Faithful Witness did not lie.
But, while he tells them that " in the world they would have
tribulation," he assures them also that " in him they should have
peace." They would be happy, blessed, when all these things
should come upon them, if their sufferings were brought upon
them by their attachment to Christ and his cause; and, if the
charges brought against them were indeed false charges, amid all
their sufferings they would be supported by the peace of God,
and the hope of glory; their " tribulation would work patience,
and experience, and hope-a hope which would not make them
ashamed."  The assurance that "if they suffered along with
Christ, it was that they should be glorified together with him,"
would support their heart, and enable them to " count it all joy
when," on account of Christ, "they were brought into manifold
temptations."
Our Lord not only pronounces them "blessed," but calls on
them to "rejoice"-" Rejoice, and be exceeding glad."  It is a
strange exhortation —when persecuted and reviled, not merely
be patient and resigned, but joyful and glad. This seems "a
hard saying"-an impracticable precept. But our Lord's commands are " not grievous."  He requires from his people nothing
that is unreasonable. When the whole of the case is taken into
view, the command appears in the highest degree reasonable, and
the duty not only practicable, but easy: "This is the victory
which overcometh the world," all difficulties," even our faith."'
Let a man but believe what Jesus reveals to him, and he willnot
feel it difficult to do what Jesus commands, or endure what Jesus
appoints. The man who believes that his reward shall be great
in heaven, will have no difficulty in rejoicing and being exceeding glad amid those afflictions which, however heavy, he will in
this case feel light; and which, however long continued, he will
100 Matt. viii. 20. Luke ix. 58.  1 1 John v. 4, 6.




PART I.]  CHARACTERS AND PRIVILEGES OF CHRISTIANS.       139
regard as but for a moment; and which he knows are I' working
out for him a far more exceeding, and an eternal weight of
glory."2
The celestial blessedness is, in one point of view, a free gift:"The gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord."'
-not merited by man, but freely bestowed by God.4 But, in
another point of view, it is a reward, as it is only in the way of
doing and suffering the will of God that it can be attained, and
as the measure of enjoyment in the heavenly state will be regulated according to the degree of labor and suffering in the service
of Christ. How great that reward will be, we cannot tell; but a
window has, as it were, been opened in heaven, and through it
we have been allowed to contemplate those who have suffered
for Christ, enjoying their reward: —" After this I beheld, and, lo,
a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations,
and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne,
and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their
hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God
which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the
angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and
the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom,
and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our
God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered,
saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes?
and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great
tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white
in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne
of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that
sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light
on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of
the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their
eyes."' This is the state, in the period between death and the
resurrection, of those who have suffered for Christ. At that period, still higher rewards shall be bestowed on them. They " shall
be brought with him" in glory, when he comes; they shall, in a
manner of which we can form no distinct conception, take a part
with him in " the judgment of the world;" they shall " sit with
him on his throne, as he has overcome, and is set down with his
Father on his throne;"6 and they shall for ever, in the highest degree which is competent to created beings, be participants of his
joys and sharers of his honors.
The full assurance of hope, respecting the recompense of re2 2 Cor. iv. 17.                         3 Rom. vi. 23.
4," The reward is vouchsafed, not Kar' (Ei7r7/ua, but Kara Xadpt'. It is a Xtptqlza,
not an tS6vZtov. Rom. vi. 23." —TIoLucK. "Gratia dicitur, quia gratis data est
illa, cui datur." —AUGusT.
5 Rev. vii. 9-17.     6 1 Thess. iv. 14. 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3. Rev. iii. 21.




140              THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.                 [EXP. IV.
ward, was not to be the only source of support, and consolation,
and joy, to our Lord's disciples, under the sufferings to which
they were to be exposed for his sake. The consolation that the
treatment they were meeting with, was just what the most distinguished servants of God, in former ages, had experienced,
was well calculated to sustain and comfort them.  " The same
afflictions had been accomplished in their brethren, who had been
in the world." The path to heaven has always been replete with
sufferings of some kind or other, which called for the exercise of
faith and patience. It was consolation to the primitive Christians,
to think that they were only meeting with the same afflictions as
Moses, and David, and Elijah, and Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and
the other prophets, and meeting with them in the same cause. In
such company reproach becomes praise, and dishonor glory.'
Our Lord's primitive followers, through the effectual operation
of his Spirit, were enabled to yield obedience to this apparently
hard command. They experienced the truth of their Lord's
declaration, that when persecuted for righteousness' sake, they were
blessed —and feeling themselves blessed, they rejoiced. Hear
how one, who in sufferings as in labors seems to have held the
first place, describes his feelings, " For I reckon, that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us."  " Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is
written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we
are more than conquerors, through him that loved us. For I am
persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus."8  " We
are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed,
but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but
not destroyed: always bearing about in the body the dying of
the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest
in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death
for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest
in our mortal flesh." " For which cause we faint not; but though
our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by
day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while
we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which
7 "What a treasure of comfort must the apostles have found in this allusion!
How does it steel the courage to have comrades, such comrades, in the war of afflictions! What, although it was not to the present, but to the past, they required to look for them; is not the combat, is not the triumph in which it is atlast to terminate, the same? The little timorous band of the Nazarene may join
the ranks of that cloud of witnesses (Heb. xii. 1) who, in the struggle for an invisible world, have sacrificed all that men value upon this earth. How animating
the consciousness of fighting in fellowship with so great a company of the children
of light!"-THOLUCK.                           8 Rom. viii. 18, 35-39.




PART II.]  THE POSITION AND DUTIES OF CHRISTIANS.           141
are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the
things which are not seen are eternal."   " For we know, that, if
our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a
building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens."'0  "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's
sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong."" And we find
the Hebrew  Christians, taking joyfully "the spoiling of their
goods," "knowing in themselves, that they had in heaven a more
abiding substance." And the same principle will produce the
same mode of feeling and acting, in all countries, and in all ages.
II.- THE POSITION AND DUTIES OF CHRISTIANS IN REFERENCE TO
THE WORLD.
The sentences which follow" were addressed by our Lord, not
to the multitude indiscriminately, but to his disciples, and they
are descriptive of the important and salutary change which was
to take place among mankind, through their instrumentality.
The truth on this subject is presented to the mind under two
very significant emblems; and appropriate practical instruction
is connected with each of these emblematical representations.
Let us inquire into the meaning of these emblems, and seek to
feel the force of the practical instructions connected with them.
We are not less interested in them, than those were to whom
they were originally addressed.
~ 1. The Salt of the Earth.
"Ye are the salt of the earth."'"
The earth here plainly symbolizes the human inhabitants of
the earth, or the earth viewed as their residence, and affected by
their moral state. The use of the figure indicates that the earth
needs salt.'  It is in a state of spiritual decomposition-moral
putrescence. The world, mankind, are in a state of ignorance
and error, of guilt and depravity-a state of which animal matter,
tending to, undergoing, the process of dissolution, is a striking
figure: offensiveness and danger to other sentient beings, and
destruction of the putrifying substance itself, are the significant
parts of the figure.
Mankind, under the influence of ignorance and error, guilt and
depravity, are the proper objects of the disapprobation and
loathing of the Divine Being, and of all the wise and good beings in the universe. They are perishing, and —continuing under these influences —they must utterly perish-" perish in their
9 2 Cor. iv. 8-11, 16-18.                      10 2 Cor. v. 1.
11 2 Cor. xii. 10      12 Matt. v. 13-16.       13 Matt. v. 13.
14 - r9 stands  -Ka/uof,' the world,' v. 14; and implies mankind in general,
with the accessory notion of the 0Oaprbv,'corruptible,' which must be preserved
by means of coas,' the salt.' "-OLsHAUSEN.




142             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
own corruption." The seeds of disorganization, the elements of
ruin, are within, and at work; their operation is discoverable by
all who, in any measure, have " their senses exercised, to make a
distinction between good and evil," just in proportion to their
spiritual perspicacity and sensibility; the process, as it goes forward, makes the world an uncomfortable and unsafe residence
for human beings; and the miserable subjects of the malady,
unless restored to health, becoming every day more loathsome,
must soon be thrust into the mystical valley of the son of Hinnom, the charnel-house of the universe-the horrid receptacle of
that spiritual filth, the accumulation of which would, in no long
period, make our world not only without an inhabitant, but un
inhabitable.
At the period our Lord uttered these words, the whole world,
with scarcely an exception, was a mass of moral rottenness. The
unutterable abominations of the impure and bloody systems of
paganism-manifested not only in their infamous orgies, miscalled
religious rites, but in the general prevalence of vices, which
ought not even to be once named among Christians-overspread
the earth; and Judaism, which, even in its state of purity (having in but a very small measure the power of diffusing itself),
had done little to counteract the growing corruption of mankind,
had now, except in a very few individuals, not only lost its savor, but become the seat and the source of an offensive pestilential disease. The language employed by the sacred historian,
respecting the state of mankind immediately before the deluge,
is equally applicable to the state of the world at the time our
Lord uttered these words:-" The earth was corrupt before God."
"' When God looked on the earth, behold it was corrupt; for all
flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth."'5
Now, of this corrupted and corrupting earth, this mass of decomposing spiritual organization, our Lord pronounces his disciples " the salt:"-" Ye are the salt of the earth."'
In these figurative words, our Lord announces the wonderful
truth, the full import of which is, even yet, after eighteen centuries, but imperfectly unfolded, that, through the instrumentality of his disciples,-then so few in number, so humble in
circumstances, so utterly destitute of all the forces, physical and
political, by which changes among great bodies of men are
usually effected,-an important and salutary alteration was to
take place on the characters and circumstances of mankind.
The pestilence was to be in some measure arrested, the nuisance
abated; the earth made a safer and more comfortable dwelling
for moral agents, beings connected with God and eternity; many
individuals resorted to a healthy state; and their ruin —their
utter ruin-as spiritual beings, which was so certainly in pro15 Gen. vi. 11, 12.
16," Salt denotes proverbially one of the most indispensable necessaries of life.'Nil sole et sale utilius,' says the Roman proverb. Plin. H. N. xxxi. 9. Eceles,
XXxix. 32." — THOLUCL




PART II.]  THE POSITION AND DUTIES OF CHRISTIANS.            143
gress, prevented.  " Ye are the salt of the earth," is equivalent
to,' You are to be the means of improving the world, and of
saving its inhabitants. By your instrumentality the ignorant
are to become enlightened, the guilty are to be brought to seek
and obtain pardon, the depraved are to be made holy, the unprofitable useful, the miserable happy; men are to be made fit
for presenting themselves a sacrifice to God-" holy, acceptable,
rational worship." You are to be the grand instrumental means
by which God is to renovate the earth, to make it a wholesome,
pleasant residence for men to dwell in, and superior beings to
visit-to regenerate society, and to save men.'"
It is never to be forgotten, that the immediate instrument of
these blessed changes is truth, divine truth-truth from  God,
truth about God, operating on the minds of men, influencing
and guiding all their active energies, according to the principles
of their rational and moral nature; and that, in man's depraved
state, a special divine influence is absolutely necessary, so to
bring the mind, and keep it in contact with this saving truth,
as that these blissful consequences may be realized.  Men are
" transformed by the renewing of the mind;" and it is the good
Spirit that, by the truth, creates " the new mind," and puts " the
right spirit" within men.
But that truth is not immediately revealed to every one in
whom, when believed, it effectually works in arresting spiritual
putrefaction, and restoring to spiritual health. Our Lord taught
his disciples, personally and by his Holy Spirit, the saving truth.
He transformed them by its instrumentality. He made them
holy and happy beings. But this was by no means all. He not
only stopped the plague in them, restoring them to health, but
he constituted them his agents in healing others. Not only were
they the recipients of the water of life, but out of them flowed
rivers of these healing waters. The truth preached by them, and
rendered permanent in their.divinely-inspired writings —confirmed
by those miracles of which, in their writings, we have an abiding,
authentic record, and illustrated by their holy lives, which, in the
sacred narrative, are still held up to us-was the grand means
by which the Holy Spirit, not only in their own age and country
was, but in every succeeding age, to the end of the world, and
to the remotest borders of the earth, is, to prove himself " Jehovah Rophi-the Lord that healeth."'8
The words, "Ye are the salt of the earth," as they were primarily applied to the apostles, and the other inspired teachers of
Christianity, so they have obviously an exuberance of meaning"'
17 "The course of the human race, apart from Christianity, is always downward: all its civilization ends in barbarism."-NEANDER.
18 Exod. xv. 26.
19 Thomas Aquinas says that the apostles are called salt, "ratione virtutis:"
and he thus expands this thought. They have first "virtutem saporativam;"
then they have " virtutem arefactivam;" then they have " virtutem restrictivam;"
then they have "virtutem mundificativam;" and, finally, they have " virtutem
sanativam;"-then they are called salt, " ratione originis," water and heat-the




144             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
in reference to them; but they may be employed as strikingly
descriptive of the position and duty of christian teachers in all
countries and in all ages. Nay, we do not rightly apprehend
our Lord's meaning, if we do not consider them as referring to
the place which his people, whether holding official situations or
not in his church, occupy with regard to the world, and the purpose which he means to serve by them. " Jacob," the spiritual
Israel, is intended to be " in the midst of many people as a dew
from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass,"20 for refreshing
and fructifying the nations. All who know the truth are bound
by their obligations, both to their Lord, the author of the truth,
and their fellow-men, to make known the truth by which they
themselves-slaves as they lately were-were made free, and by
which alone others can be made " the Lord's freemen."  In their
character, as the salt of the earth, they must bring themselves
into contact with the corrupting substance. Every Christian,
however limited his sphere of influence, must still, within that
sphere, exert the influence which he possesses. He must exhibit
truth in its meaning, and evidence, and influence: he must be a
living epistle of Jesus Christ, seen and read of all men.
In the language of our Lord to his primitive disciples, " Ye
are the salt of the earth," I cannot help thinking, that there is an
intentional intimation, that the benignant influence of his religion, producing a favorable moral change, through the instrumentality of those who embraced it, was not to be confined within the
narrow limits of the promised land, but was to pervade the whole
earth-the world-reaching " to every kindred, and people, and
tongue, and nation." The whole earth was corrupt before God;
and, as the divine counteractive of corruption was needed by all,
it was ultimately to be extended to all lands. The prophets and
the pious Jews were the salt of Judea; but the apostles and their
followers were to be the salt of the earth.
It is an intimation of what is the undoubted truth, that all true
holiness and happiness among mankind is the result of christian
truth known and believed; that the knowledge and belief of
christian truth, so far as they depend on created agency, are diffused through the instrumentality of christian men; and, that it
is the will of Christ that christian men should diffuse this knowledge and faith as extensively as possible. The earth —the whole
earth —is laboring under moral putrescence, and, therefore,
throughout the whole earth, is the divine counteractive to be diffused. There are two or three very important practical conclusions, which come out of this statement of the case.
In the first place, there can be no doubt of the propriety and
obligation, as there can be no doubt of the necessity, of christian
missions to heathen and infidel nations. They are wide-extended,
water of tribulation, and the heat of love; and then, thirdly, they are called
salt, "ratione consuetudinis," every sacrifice being salted with salt. This is a
specimen of scholastic exegesis.
20 Micah v. 7.




PART II.]  THE POSITION AND DUTIES OF CHRISTIANS.       145
putrifying marshes, and can only be healed by that spiritual salt,
of whose healing virtue, the salt thrown by the prophet into the
bitter empoisoned waters is a striking figure.2' Christians who
take no part in such undertakings, seem to deny either the need
of the heathen world or the power of christian truth, or to disclaim at once the possession of the knowledge, and the obligation
of the duty, implied in the words, " Ye are the salt of the earth."
Their conduct seems to say, the earth does not need salt, or Christianity is not salt, or we are not Christians.
In the second place, it seems equally beyond doubt, that Christians must mingle themselves with society, in order to serve the
purpose of their being constituted the salt of the earth. It is not
the will of our Lord, that we should be monks or hermits. It is
his will that christian churches should be select bodies, "a people
taken out from among the Gentiles" —"a peculiar people"-" a
people dwelling alone."" It is his will that his people in their
most confidential friendships, should follow the law of the elective
affinities of their new nature. But while all this is true, it is not
only not their duty to go out of the world, but in all ordinary
circumstances they cannot do their duty unless they are in it.
The world is surely the place for the salt of the world. Christians must mingle with society, and in mingling with society, they
must, in the various ways which may seem best fitted to gain their
object, apply to their fellow-men that truth by which alone they
can be saved.
And in the third place, it seems a natural conclusion from what
has been stated, that the capacity of a Christian to produce saving
good, and his obligation to attempt it, correspond with the closeness of the relation in which he stands to the individuals who are
the proper objects of his christian benevolence. The closer the
salt can come to the body that needs it, the more intimately it can
insinuate itself into the substance, the greater probability of its
serving its purpose. He does not act like a Christian, who does
not do what lies in him, that the whole earth should be salted.
But he acts very like a fool, who maks great exertions to put down
moral putrescence among the antipodes, while he allows it to exist and increase in his own country, his own city, his own neighborhood, his own family. Home attempts to put down spiritual
corruption, should not supersede foreign enterprise for the same
purpose. But since the pestilence is universal, while I will do
what I can to send remedies to the inhabitants of Calabar or Japan, I will especially look after my own country, my own city,
my own relations, my own family. My securest way of extending the influence of Christianity, is first to influence those I am
most intimately connected with, and then, through them, those
with whom I have a comparatively remote connection. I expect
to find the best missionary agent in the man who is most diiligent
and conscientious in attending to the spiritual concerns of "his
own, especially those of his own house." I shall come to doubt
21 2 Kings ii. 19-22.   22 Acts xv. 14. 1 Pet. ii. 9. Numb. xxiii. 9.
VOL. I.                   10




146            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT,           [EXP. IV.
whether that be salt at all, if what is constantly in contact with
it be not salted.
The whole of our Lord's statement goes on the supposition,
that, to be successful in making others Christians, and in thus
making them holy and happy, we must be ourselves Christians,
we must ourselves be christianly holy and happy. We must
"have salt in ourselves,"23 if we would be the salt of the world.
To be really useful as foreign or home missionaries, or christianinstruction agents, or sabbath-school teachers, men must be
Christians indeed; not merely men who have learned a system
of theology by rote, and are fluent enough in imparting it to
others, but men who know, and believe, and experience the
truth as it is in Jesus. How can men teach what they do not
know? How can they exemplify what they have never experienced?  It is christian truth under divine influence, that makes
men christianly good and happy; and it is just in the degree
in which we find in a man christian truth embodied, and christian
influence exemplified, that we find him a fit agent for advancing
Christianity.  "Let the dead bury their dead,"24 but let them not
pretend to be fit agents for promoting their spiritual resurrection.
If the professed followers of Christ, instead of holding the
truth, embrace error-if, instead of leading holy lives, they live
in conformity to the present evil world-it is plain they cannot
serve the high and holy purposes for which they are separated
from the world. Unconverted members of christian churches are
plagues to the church, and plagues to the world. And however
active such persons may be made, in a species of promoting the
cause of Christianity, by such motives as they can alone feel the
force of-and it is astonishing what exertions they can be brought
to put forth-little good is to be expected, and much evil is to be
feared, from their exertions. Worldly-minded, untender-walking, while, at the same time, loud, noisy, bustling, professors of
Christianity, are among the worst enemies of Christ and Christianity, of the church and of the world. Instead of being such
salt of the world as counteracts and even cures putrescence,
they are like salt of another kind, which, when brought into
contact with putrifying substances, accelerates the progress of
decomposition. These men may well make the world worse,
but they will never make it better. As true consistent active
Christians are the greatest of all benefactors to mankind, so there
are not worse enemies to society than worldly, wicked, professors
of the religion of Christ. They are " to every good work reprobate"'-useless to others-and in a situation even more deplorable
and less hopeful than that world, obviously lying in wickedness,
of which, from their profession, they should be the active efficient
reformers.
These sentiments are stated with terrific plainness, though, in
appropriately figurative language, in the words that follow:"But if the salt lose its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It
23 Mark. ix. 50.                        24 Matt. viii. 22.




PART II.]  THE POSITION AND DUTIES OF CHRISTIANS.        147
is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast forth and to be
trodden under foot of men."25
The salt used by the Jews, was by no means so thoroughly
purified as that which we employ. It was native salt, mixed
up with earthy substances, which formed a considerable portion
of the whole mass. With us salt cannot lose its savor or taste,
without being itself lost. With them the compound substance
called salt, when long exposed to the atmosphere, had. the saline
particles exhaled or wasted away, and there remained an insipid,
useless, earthy mass. An old but singularly trustworthy oriental traveller26 states, that in passing through the Valley of Salt,
near Aleppo, in Syria, he took up a piece of salt, and breaking
off portions of it which had been exposed to the sun, and air,
and rain, found that though they had all the external appearances of salt, they had entirely lost its taste. This insipid substance is good for no purpose. It is entirely useless. It does
not even serve the purpose of manure. We are told that as vast
quantities of salt were employed in the temple, as condiment for
the sacrifices, that which became vapid by exposure to the
atmosphere, being useful for no other purpose, was strewed, as
we do sand or gravel, in the courts of the temple, to be trampled
under foot. Let us endeavor to discover the meaning of this
figurative representation.
Some interpreters'7 consider the phrase "wherewith shall it
be salted?" as equivalent to, "Wherewith shall the earth be
salted?"  As if he had said,'If those who should be the instructors and reformers of the world become ignorant and
wicked, what is to become of the world? must it not be consigned
to hopeless corruption?' This is an important and impressive
thought, but it does not seem to be our Lord's thought.
From  what follows-" It "-i. e., the salt-" is henceforth
good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of
men," it is obvious that the sense is,' If the salt lose its taste,
how is it to recover it?' The sentiment intended to be conveyed
seems to be this: A professed Christian, especially if he has
seemed to be distinguished for the knowledge and experience of
the saving truth, and by being so, has seemed to be useful in
making the world wiser and better, who becomes careless, and
ignorant, and worldly, and irreligious-who loses the hold he
seemed to have of truth-who ceases to manifest anything like
its native influence on his temper and conduct-is in a state
peculiarly deplorable. There is less probability that he shall be
reclaimed than that the grossly ignorant, the openly proibane,
should be converted. An ignorant wicked heathen, is in a less
hopeless condition than an apostate Christian, whether the
apostasy be avowed or silent.
This is a sentiment very strongly expressed by the inspired
apostles, who had the mind of Christ: —" It is impossible for
65 "Nil est tritius quam 1ui vult divinus haberi, ac non eSt."-BENGEL.,6 Maundrell.                               27 Luther.




148             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.         [EXP. IV,
those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of t.le heavenly
gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have
tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to
come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again to repentance;
seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put
him to an open shame. For the earth which drinketh in the
rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for
them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: but
that which beareth thorns and briers, is nigh unto cursing:
whose end is to be burned."28  "If after" men "have escaped
the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of the Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and
overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
For it had been better for them not to have known the way of
righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the
holy commandment delivered unto them. But it has happened
unto them according to the true proverb,' The dog is turned to
his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed, to her
wallowing in the mire.' 7729
Such individuals are in all but a desperate state, in reference
to their own salvation. They may be saved; but it will be as by
fire. They may be saved; but the probability is, they shall
perish, must perish, because they will perish. They serve no
good purpose. They pollute the church if they are allowed to
continue in it. They have disgraced it in the estimation of men,
even though they leave it, or are expelled from it. Such men
are viewed in the passage as retaining the name of Christian.
They are still called salt. But they bear a name they do not
deserve; and it is not the better for them, while it is the worse
for others, both in the church and the world, that they do bear
so worthy a name.
A professed Christian, who does not serve the avowed purpose
of his being a Christian, making men wiser and better, who is
not in some measure the salt of the earth, is the object of contempt, even to worldly men. They are compelled to respect the
man, though they may smile at his enthusiasm, who acts a consistent part as a Christian, in endeavoring habitually that all
men with whom he is brought into connection, may become, not
only almost, but altogether, such as he is, Christians, with the
exception of —what he is very sensible of-his defects and his
faults; but they can have no respect for the man whose profession proclaims one thing, while his life declares another.
The man who, in order to secure the approbation of the men
of the world, abstains from taking that part in endeavors to
promote the improvement of mankind on christian principles,
which his conscience tells him he ought to do, falls into a very
serious mistake. Contempt, not respect, is the sentiment his
conduct excites. And as this is true of individuals calling themselves Christians, so it is true of bodies calling themselves
28 Heb. vi. 4-8.                  29 2 Pet. ii. 20-22.




PART II.]  THE POSITION AND DUTIES OF CHRISTIANS.            149
churches. It is a fearful sight, but it has often been witnessed,
when those " whose high vocation is to save the world around
them from ruin, curse that world with the insipidity, on which it
will contemptuously trample, when they should have blessed it
with a savor of life to rescue it from moral corruption-from
eternal death."30
But what is all the disgrace which the useless professor of
Christianity (the savorless salt) can draw upon himself here, in
comparison of the shame and everlasting contempt which awaits
him in the other world?  How fearful will be the doom  of the
unprofitable servant-" cast into utter darkness," where there
is " weeping and gnashing of teeth!""'
It is quite possible that our Lord may have a reference to the
use of salt in sacrifice;'It is by you the Gentiles shall be prepared for being laid as a sacrifice on the altar of God; and if
you do not serve this purpose, instead of being laid on the altar,
you will be cast out to the outer courts, and trodden on by all
who frequent them.'32
~ 2. The light of the world.
The same truths which are taught us by Christians being termed
the salt of the earth, are brought before the mind under a different
figurative representation in the words that follow, "Ye are the
light of the world."33
" The world," that is, the inhabitants of the world, are supposed
to be in a state of darkness. Darkness, in Scripture, is the emblem of ignorance, of error, of sin, and of misery. Mankind are
here then represented as in a state of ignorance, error, guilt, depravity, and misery; and the disciples of our Lord are held forth
as the instrumental means of dispelling this darkness, of bringing
men to the knowledge and faith of the truth, and, under the influence of that truth, making them truly holy and happy.
Our Lord himself, in the highest and fullest meaning of the
term, is " the light of the world," "the light of men,"34 the true
sun of the moral world, the source of knowledge, holiness, and
happiness to man.  But it is through the instrumentality of his
people, that he communicates these blessings to mankind.  They
themselves were once " darkness," ignorant, depraved, unhappy;
but through the knowledge and belief of the truth, under the
influence of the Spirit, they are become "light in the Lord;3""
and being enlightened by him, like the moon and planets, though
in themselves opaque bodies, when illuminated by the sun, they
shine by the reflection of his light. " They hold forth the word
of life."36 In their profession, character, and conduct, they live.3 Bennet.                                   31 Matt. xxv. 30.
32," Non itaque caleatur ab hominibus qui patitur persecutionem, sed qui persecutionem timendo infatuatur. Calcari enim non potest nisi inferior, sed inferior non est, qui quamvis corpore multa in terra sustineat, corde tamen fixus in
ctilo est.'-AUGUSTIN.     33 Matt. v. 14.     34 John viii. 12; i 4.
id Eph. v. 8.               PhiL ii. 16.




150            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNr.            [EXP. IV.
to the world a representation of true Christianity. Like mirrors,
they reflect the glory of the Lord, as manifested in the person
and work of him, who is "the image of the invisible God"'"the Father of lights."'7
These words are, no doubt, peculiarly applicable to the apostles,
and to the public teachers of Christianity, but they are by no
means to be confined to them. Every Christian out to consider
himself as laid under obligations to communicate the blessings of
Christianity, to diffuse the light with which he himself has been
enlightened.
This duty is strongly enjoined by our Lord in the words which
follow, and the propriety and reasonableness of it are strikingly
illustrated by two appropriate figures. " A city set on an hill
cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under
a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all in the
house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see
your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
The general idea intended to be conveyed by these words seems
to be this,'The design of my calling you to be my disciples, is
not only your own advantage, but the advantage of others; and
if you do not sedulously endeavor to gain that end, you do not
act in character. You act an anomalous and absurd part. It
would be an absurd thing to attempt to conceal a city, built on a
hill, from the view of the inhabitants of the surrounding country.
If it had been meant to be hid, it would not have been placed
there. It is built on a hill that it may be seen. It would be an
absurd thing to light a lamp (so the word should have been rendered, for candles, properly so called, were not in use among the
Jews,) and then cover it with a large vessel, which, though it
might not extinguish it, would prevent it from answering the
purpose for which it was lighted. When a lamp is lighted, common sense dictates that it should be placed on the lamp-stand,
that it may give light to all who are in the house. If you do not
diffuse the knowledge and blessings of Christianity around, you
do not serve one great-the great —purpose for which I have
called you to be my disciples. You act as absurdly, as if you
were, after building a city on a hill that it might be seen, to enclose it with a high wall that it might not be seen; after kindling
a lamp that it may give light, covering it with a vessel that it
may not give light.' Such, I apprehend, is the force of the two
figurative illustrations.
Let us now attend a little more closely to the injunction which
they are intended to illustrate and enforce. "Let your light so
shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify
your Father which is in heaven."
What are we to understand by the Christian's " light"? and
what by his making it " shine before men"?  The Christian is
naturally, like the rest of mankind, entirely destitute of true light
37 Col. i. 15. James i. 17. "Joannes lumen illuminatum; Christus lumen illuminana" —AuoUST., Ser. clxxii. 5.




PART II.]  THE POSITION AND DUTIES OF CHRISTIANS.           151
"' Ye were sometime darkness," says the apostle, " but now are
ye light in the Lord." " Christ" gives him " light.""3 The word
of the truth of the Gospel is light; when it is understood and believed, it becomes the light of him who understands and believes
it. Till he understands and believes it. it is not his light. It
shines around him, but all is dark within; but when, under the
influence of the Holy Spirit, he understands and believes it, "it
shines in his heart," and diffuses its purifying, cheering influence
over the whole inner chambers of the soul, producing holiness
and peace; nor is this all, so subtile and penetrating is this
heavenly light, that, though dwelling within, it pervades the
man, and, as it were, invests his whole exterior, that which his
fellow-men can see, his conduct, with a holy radiance.  The holy
happy character formed by the truth understood and believed,
discovers itself in a great variety of appropriate manifestations.
This is the Christian's light: the truth dwelling in him producing
holiness and peace.
If this is the Christian's light, it is not difficult to perceive
what is meant by his " letting his light shine before men." The
injunction obviously implies, that Christians are not to retire
from the active scenes of life, but are to continue to associate
with their fellow-men. The salt could not serve its purpose, unless scattered over the putrifying mass. The lamp, when lighted,
must be placed amid the darkness which it is intended to dispel.
To "let our light shine," is just to make a plain distinct profession of the truth which we have received,-to do all that lies in
our power to bring clearly before the minds of all with whom we
are connected, that truth in its meaning and evidence, that they
may believe it; and then, what is not less important, and-what,
as it would appear from what follows, our Lord had prinarily in
view-exhibit in our temper and behavior the native effects of
that truth on our own minds in making us holy and happy. It
is equivalent to a command, never to shrink from the avowal of
Christian truth, nor from the performance of Christian duty.
" Hold forth the word of life." Let men see what real Christianity is.'
The great end to be sought by Christians in thus making their
light shine before nien is, that these men " may see their good
works, "39 and may "glorify their Father which is in heaven;740O
that is, that by' seeinr their good works, they may be led to glorify their Father who is in heaven.  The necessary consequence
of letting the Christian light shine, that is, of yielding to the influence of christian truth on the mind and the heart, is the production of good works.  "The grace of God," which is the
great subject of christian truath, teaches men to " deny ungodliness, and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly
38 Eph. v. 14.
39 "',/zIv E-pya. Vestra opera. Opera, non vos,-splendorem, non lychnum."
-BENGEL.
40 "The Lord says not here, Let your light shine before men that they may
glorify you; but that they may glorify your Father which is in heaven." —TRaFNI.




152             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.          [EXP. IV.
in this world." Christian truth, when really understood and believed, moulds the character and guides the conduct. In the
degree in which men are influenced by it, and manifest its influence, they are harmless, and useful, and happy. When others
see their " good works," and see that they are the result of christian principle, notwithstanding the natural enmity of the human
mind and heart to christian truth, a conviction is lodged in their
minds, that that must be good which produces such peculiarly
excellent effects. The holy examples, and the abundant good
works of genuine Christians, soften men's prejudices, win them
to attend to the truth, and are instrumental to their conversion,
by which they glorify God, and become his worshippers and servants. The exhortation of the Apostle Peter, " Have your conversation honest among the Gentiles; that, whereas they speak
against you as evil-doers, they may, by your good works, which
they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation,""' expresses
the same sentiment as the injunction of our Lord which we have
just illustrated.
When professed Christians do not let their light shine before
men, do not manifest the native practical influence of the truth,
but, on the contrary, act in a manner inconsistent with their profession, then men seeing their evil works, "blaspheme that
worthy name by the which" they "are called,"42 and thus those
who should be the means of their fellow-men's salvation, become
instruments of their perdition. There is no class of men who
have a more fearful weight of guilt lying on them, than worldly,
inconsistent, unholy professors, especially if teachers, of Christianity.
The command of our Lord in this verse, may seem inconsistent with what he says respecting prayers, and alms, and fast.
ing, in the sixth chapter, 1-6, and 16-18. " Take heed that yo
do not your alms before men, to be seen of them; otherwise ye
have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore
when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before
thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues, and in the streets,
that they may have glory of men. Verily, I say unto you,
They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not
thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth; that thine alms
may be in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, thou
shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing
in the synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may
be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet; and
when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father, -which is
in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward
thee openly."  "Moreover, when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that
they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they
41 1 Pet. ii. 12.                          42 James iL 7.




PART III.]  CHRISTIANITY AND ANCIENT REVELATIONS.      153
have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine
head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast,
but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which
seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." The inconsistency is,
however, merely apparent; our Lord does not condemn the
Pharisees for doing in public such duties as are of a public
nature, but for publishing and proclaiming what ought to be
secret. He does not find fault with them for going up to the
temple to pray, but for choosing the most public part of the
street for their secret devotions; and even in the case of public
alms, it is not so much the circumstance of their publicity, as the
object in view, which he censures. It is " the doing alms before
men, that they might be seen of them." The seeking publicity
in order to obtain a selfish and unworthy object, is obviously a
very different thing from  giving alms under the influence of
christian principle, and while not coveting public notice, yet by
no means sedulously avoiding it, that " men," seeing our " good
works," may " glorify our Father which is in heaven."
III. THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO THE ANCIENT
REVELATIONS.
The duties of a public instructor of mankind in Christianity
are multifarious and difficult. He must state the truth clearly
and fully, and he must guard against those misapprehensions
which the statement of truth, however clear and full, not unfrequently occasions in ignorant, half-informed, prejudiced minds.
If he content himself with merely stating the truth, he may
unintentionally become the propagator of error, and his authority
may be set up, and his words quoted, in support of a system,
materially different from, or even diametrically opposite to, that
which he meant to establish.
Our blessed Lord in this, and in every other department of the
art of public teaching, has set his ministers an example, and they
should follow his steps.  His statements with respect to the
nature of the blessings to be bestowed by the Messiah, and the
character of those who were to enjoy these blessings, were
equally opposed to the doctrines of the Jewish teachers, and to
the sentiments almost universally entertained by the Jewish
people; and he most distinctly taught, that a complete change
of mind must take place in order to a participation in the advantage of that heavenly economy, which was just about to be
established in the world. It was not unnatural for those who
were firmly but mistakingly persuaded, that the views they entertained on these subjects were warranted by, and founded on,
the Old Testament revelation, the writings of Moses and the
prophets, when they heard our Lord's discourses, to come to the
conclusion, that his intention was to subvert the authority of
these inspired writers, and substitute his own in its room-to




154             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.              [EXP. I.
destroy the ancient religion, and to establish a new one on its
ruins. Such a notion was entirely unfounded in truth, and its
prevalence was calculated in various respects to throw obstacles
in the way of our Lord's success. We find him, therefore, in
the passage which follows, strongly disavowing every hostile design in reference to the ancient Scriptures, and placing in a true
point of light the reference which his doctrines and laws bore to
the previous manifestations of the mind of God by Moses and
the prophets. " Think not," as some of you are apt to suppose,
" think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets;
I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."43  He thus states his object both positively and negatively.
~ 1. Negative-not destructive.
"The law" is here, as in many other parts of the New Testament, employed as a designation for the five books of Moses, as
distinguished from the other inspired writings of the Old Testament, here termed the prophets.  "The law and the prophets,"
is just equivalent to, the Old Testament Scriptures.
The phrase "to destroy the law or the prophets," is peculiar,
and there is some difficulty in fixing its precise signification.  It
is obvious that the word " destroy," is not to be understood in its
literal meaning.  Our Lord, in these words, does not mean to
disclaim any intention to treat the sacred books as the converted
Ephesians did their books of magic, when they "brought them
together, and burnt them before all men.""4 The word is plainly
used figuratively. But when figuratively used, the word has
various significations, and therefore it is necessary to inquire
which of these it bears in the present instance.
The word "destroy," in its figurative acceptation, may mean
to abrogate, or to violate, or to invalidate.  Many interpreters
understand the word in the first sense, and consider it as a declaration, that it was not our Lord's intention to abrogate the
moral law. There are, however, insuperable objections to this
mode of exposition. We have no right to restrict the term
" law," to the moral part of the Mosaic institute: and there can
be no doubt with a careful reader of the New Testament, that
our Lord did come to abrogate the law of Moses. It belonged
to a temporary, as well as a typical economy.  " It was added
because of transgressions, until the seed should come, in reference to whom the promise was made,"45 and then, having served
its purpose, it was to cease; and, accordingly, we are informed,
that our Lord has "taken it out of the way," that he has "blotted out the handwriting" which was against the Gentiles, that he
has nailed it to his cross,"46 so that his people, whether Jews or
Gentiles, are no longer under that " pedagogue,'"' having been introduced by him into a state of mature sonship. Besides, it is
43 Matt. v. 17.                             44 Acts xix. 19.
45 Gal. iii. 19.  46 Eph. ii. 14, 15.  Col. ii. 14.  47 Gal. iii. 25.




PART III.]  CHRISTIANITY AND ANCIENT REVELATIONS.          155
plain that our Lord does not so much speak of the law properly
so called, as of the five books of Moses, of which the law was a
principal, but by no means the only subject. It also deserves to
be noticed, that the sense of abrogation does not apply to predictions as it does to laws, and still less to books containing predictions.
It does not appear to me that a more satisfactory sense is
brought out by understanding the word "destroy," in the sense
of violate.'I am  not come to violate, or to teach others to
violate, the law.' For here, as in the former case, the term
applies rather to the law itself, than to the books which contain
an account of it, and it is not at all applicable to the prophetical
writings.
I am disposed to consider the term as equivalent to invalidate.48'I am not come-as some of your teachers may surmise, and as
some of you may suppose, from my teaching being so very unlike any teaching you have ever heard, while your teachers profess to derive their doctrines and precepts from the sacred writings-I am by no means come to invalidate, to represent as
of no authority, or of diminished authority, these former revelations of the Divine will.'
I think it not improbable, that in mentioning, not the sacred
writings generally, but "the law  or the prophets," and saying,
not " the law and the prophets," but "the law or the prophets,""4
our Lord refers to the dishonor done to the different portions of
the sacred writings, by the two dominant sects among the Jews.
The Pharisees explained away many of the precepts of the law,
making "void God's commandment by their traditions;" and the
Sadducees do not seem to have admitted the divine authority of
the prophetical writings; the one invalidated the law, and the
other the prophets. But our Lord says, I am not come to explain
away, or to deny, any part of the ancient revelation: my object
is directly the reverse, —" I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."
~ 2. Positive-completive.
The phrase " to fulfil the law and the prophets," is fully as obscure as " to destroy the law or the prophets." It has been common to explain the phrase, as if it meant that the object of our
Lord's mission was to obey the precepts of the moral law in its
covenant form, and endure its curse in the room of his peopleto verify the various types of the ceremonial law-to introduce
that spiritual system of government of which the judicial law
was an emblem, and to accomplish all the various predictions in
the books of the prophets respecting the Messiah. All this is
truth, and important truth; but it is truth dressed, most of it, in
48 " Ka7ra2iat idem quod carcapy7/aat."-CAMERON.
49?' is never precisely equivalent to icai. In some cases they may be interchanged; but this is not one of them. Chrysostom repeats the 7 thus-7-7 rov
v6oov, l Trooc 7WDoobyraf.




156              THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.             [EXP. IV.
comparatively a very artificial and very modern garb; truth put
into our Lord's words, rather than brought out of them. Besides, it is plain that the term "fulfil," according to this interpretation, is made to signify, not one thing, but a great many things.
It has been supposed by some very judicious interpreters, that
the word " fulfil" here means fully to expound, to bring out the
true meaning, in opposition to the false glosses of the Jewish
teachers. That the word is used in this sense is plain from a
passage in Rom. xv. 19: "I have fully preached"-literally, I
have fulfilled, clearly and completely unfolded-" the Gospel of
Christ;""5 and they have thought that there is here a reference
to what they consider as the expositions of the law which follow.
There can be no doubt that our Lord, both personally and by his
disciples, did unfold the true meaning of much that was recondite,
and much that had been misrepresented, in the Old Testament
Scriptures; yet, still, I scarcely think this formed so great a part
of his teaching, as to be represented as the design of his coming
as a teacher; and I more than doubt if the statements which
immediately follow are, strictly speaking, expositions of the law.
I apprehend the word "fulfil" is used in the sense of'complete,''fill up,''perfect.'  This is so common a use of the term,
as to make it unnecessary to quote examples of it."' It is as if
he had said, "my design is not to isnvalidate the Old Testament
revelation, but to complete it. It is but the first part of a great
divine manifestation; I come to give the remaining and the most
important part of it.' Our Lord came to complete divine revelation, both inasmuch as he came to do and suffer those things,
which were to form the subject of that part of the divine revelation which yet remained to be given, and inasmuch as, by his
Spirit, through the instrumentality of his apostles, he actually
made that revelation. Revelation seems viewed as an unfinished
building.'Now,' says our Lord,' I do not come to demolish it;
I do not come to remove one stone of it; my purpose is to carry
forward, and complete, the divine edifice."2
In these words our Lord sanctions the divine authority of the
Old Testament Scriptures, and at the same time holds himself up
as the person appointed by God to finish the work which they
had left incomplete, and therefore entitled certainly to not less
reverence and faith, than Moses and the prophets:-The "God
who at sundry times and in divers manners," had spoken " in
time past unto the fathers by the prophets," was now to speak to
them " by his Son."5'
In the verse which follows, our Lord, who was to complete the
work of divine revelation, declares the inviolable authority of
the law, until all be fulfilled or completed: —" For verily I say
unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall
in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.""'
50 re-'7rwpUKEvaL T b eayygEtov 7ro Xpwtrov.
51 See Luke vii. 1. Acts xiii. 25; xiv. 26. Col. i. 25. Phil. ii. 2. 2 Thess. i. 11
52 "Rabbin. agnoscunt, Messioe esse, Legera perficere."-BENGEL.
53 Heb. i. 1.                              54 cruatt v. 18




PART III.]  CHRISTIANITY AND ANCIENT REVELATIONS.        157
These words have often been considered as a declaration of the
perpetual authority and obligation of the moral law. That the
moral law,-which is indeed just another name for the duties
which necessarily rise out of the relation in which a rational and
accountable being like man stands to the all-perfect Being, his
creator, his preserver, his benefactor, his moral governor,-must
forever remain unrepealed and unrepealable, there can be no
doubt. While man continues a rational being, and God continues an all-perfect Being, it cannot change; and this is not
only an indubitably true, it is also an infinitely important,
principle.
At the same time, I do not think that it is the principle our
Lord states here.  " The law," is a phrase which, to a Jew, conveyed the idea of the Mosaic institution, the peculiar order of
things under which the Israelitish people were placed at Mount
Sinai. That is the law to which our Lord seems to refer; and
I apprehend interpreters would not likely have supposed that
the reference was to anything else, had it not been that they
found difficulty in explaining words, which seemed to them to
imply a declaration of inviolable stability to a system which was
temporary as well as local, and which has in fact long ceased to
exist.
If the words, however, are carefully examined, they will be
found to contain in them, not an indefinite declaration of the inviolable authority of the law, but a declaration of its inviolable
authority till a certain period, till certain events had taken place,
— " till heaven and earth pass,"-" till all things be fulfilled."'Heaven and earth passing away,' understood literally, is the
dissolution of the present system of the universe; and the period
when that is to take place, is called the "end of the world."
But a person at all familiar with the phraseology of the Old
Testament Scriptures, knows that the dissolution of the Mosaic
economy, and the establishment of the Christian, is often spoken
of as the removing of the old earth and heavens, and the creation
of a new earth and new heavens. For example-" For, behold
I create new heavens, and a new earth; and the former shall not
be remembered, nor come into mind." " For as the new heavens, and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before
me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain.""
The period of the close of the one dispensation, and the commencement of the other, is spoken of as "the last days," and
"the end of the world;" and is described as such a shaking of
the earth and heavens, as should lead to the removal of the
things which were shaken.56 The phrase in the end of the verse,
" till all things be fulfilled," seems to refer to the typically prophetical character of the law, and to be equivalent to' till all the
things figured in it be-take place, really exist,-till the true
priest, and the true altar, and the true sacrifice, come.'
In these words there is an allusion to the language used in the
55 Isa. lxv. 1t; and lxvi. 22.  56 Hag. ii. 6. Heb. xii. 26, 27.




158             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.              [EXP. IV.
Previous verse.  " I am  not come to destroy," that is, to invalidate, the Old Testament Scriptures, but to complete them.
Now the period referred to, is the period when Divine revelation
was completed by the Son of God. That period, I apprehend,
was the pouring out of the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost,
the giving that Divine instructor who was to " teach the apostles
all things-lead them into all the truth."  From that period " the
law," the Mosaic institution, ceased to be of obligation; —it had
served its purpose; it entirely, as a system, passed away.  "The
middle wall of partition"" was completely taken down. But,
till that period, not the slightest freedom must be used with
regard to requisitions: every one of them must be religiously
observed.
The Jewish teachers professed a great regard for the law, yet
they tampered with its authority. They explained away some
of its most important requisitions-for example, the command to
provide for parents —and by instituting unauthorized distinctions,
they enabled men to violate it without directly outraging their
consciences, as in the case of oaths."8 It is said to have been a
common doctrine among them, that their eminent teachers, and
the high council, the Sanhedrim, at Jerusalem, had full power to
set aside any part of the law.
Our Lord condemns such impiety, and, as it were, says,'I
have a much greater respect for the law than those men who
would represent me as its destroyer: I declare to you " not one
iota or tittle shall pass from the law, till heaven and earth shall
pass away, till all be completed."' The "iota" or jod is the
smallest of the alphabetical characters used in the Hebrew language, being little more than a point, and the word " tittle" is
expressive either of the little flourishes which were made in
writing at the end of the Hebrew letters, or rather of the minute
and almost indiscernible marks by which some of the Hebrew
letters, which are remarkably similar, are distinguished from each
other.'9  The phrase, "a jot or tittle shall not pass away," is just
a strong mode of expressing this truth:' No change, not even
the smallest, can take place with regard to "the law,"-a divine
institution, —till it has fully served the purposes for which it was
intended, and till the period appointed for its termination by him
who instituted it has arrived.  Till then, every one of its minutest
regulations is binding on the conscience.
I think it likely this was said, not only with a reference to
the impious freedom which the Jewish doctors, notwithstanding
all their professions of reverence for the law, were in the habit of
using with regard to many of its requisitions, but also to prevent
his disciples from  supposing that they were immediately to be
delivered from the yoke of ceremonial bondage. He carefully
57 Eph. ii. 14.               58 Mark vii. 11. Matt. xxiii. 20.
59 It is a saying of the Rabbins, " si quis Daleth in Deut. vi. 4 mutaret, concuteret totum mundum." The effect would be to change one God into another God,
minr into 7rIm.




PART III.]  CHRISTIANITY AND ANCIENT REVELATIONS.      159
observed the law himself, and required his followers to observe
it so long as its authority continued; and, in the verses which
follow, he states that a neglect of any of its institutions, would be
anything rather than a recommendation of a person to a high
place in that kingdom of God which was about to be established.
"Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of the least commandments,60 and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least
in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach
them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.""
These words have generally been interpreted as if they meant,' Whosoever shall wilfully and habitually transgress any of the
requisitions of the moral law, even those which may appear
the least important, that person shall be considered as the least,
the most contemptible, in the christian church; while, on the
other hand, the person who shall fully and honestly expound all
these requisitions, and illustrate his expositions by his example,
that man shall be highly esteemed, greatly honored, in the christian church.' Viewed in their connection, our Lord's words appear to me to be intended to convey a somewhat different meaning.
The Jewish doctors were held in estimation, and admired for
the dexterity with which they "rendered void the commandments of God by their traditions."  "But," says our Lord, "the
teacher who explains away any of the requisitions of the Mosaic
law, and who encourages others in their violation of them by his
example, that teacher shall be little thought of; he shall be despised and condemned in the kingdom of heaven," —under the new
dispensation which the Messiah is to introduce; while, on the
other hand, the teacher who fully and faithfully expounds the
law of Moses, and pays a strict attention himself to its statutes,
that man shall be called great-he shall be highly honored and
esteemed-in the kingdom of heaven, —under the New Testament
dispensation. Instead of encouraging his followers to disregard
the law of Moses, our Lord insists on the most scrupulous adherence to it, " till all things should be fulfilled;" and when all
things should be fulfilled, and not only an iota and a tittle, but
the whole law, should pass away, and the kingdom of heaven
should be introduced, not the neglecter or violator of the law of
Moses, but the person who had strictly and conscientiously observed it, would be accounted truly honorable, worthy of all respect; so that, instead of requiring less from his disciples than
the Scribes and Pharisees did from theirs, so far as the law of
Moses was concerned, our Lord required more.,0 Campbell's rendering is preferable, " were it the least of these commandments."
"' Matt. v. 19.




160             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.          [EXP. IV.
IV. THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRISTIANS SUPERIOR TO THE
RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES.
~ 1. Introductory statement.
" For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in
no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."62
These words in the 20th verse are not only deserving of
our most considerate attention, as embodying a most important
practical truth, but as being, so to speak, the text of a large portion of the remainder of the discourse, occupied in illustrating,
by examples, how the righteousness of the citizens of the kingdom of heaven was to exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and
Pharisees.
To understand a discourse, nothing is of greater importance
than a clear apprehension of its object and design. If this be
not distinctly understood, the most perspicuous statements may
appear obscure, the most conclusive arguments unsatisfactory,
and the most apposite illustrations irrelevant. A great deal of
the obscurity which, in most men's minds, rests on very many
passages of the holy Scriptures, is to be accounted for on this
principle. They do not distinctly perceive, or they altogether
misapprehend, the object of the inspired writer; and while they
do, it would be wonderful if they should clearly understand his
particular statements, arguments, and illustrations. The object
of the inspired writers, in any particular part of their writings,
may generally, without much difficulty, be discovered; and when
it is found out, it is the best key for unlocking the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge therein contained. It is often distinctly stated in so many words, and when it is not so, it may
usually, by a heedful perusal of the context, be satisfactorily ascertained.
I apprehend a good deal of misinterpretation has prevailed in
reference to that paragraph of our Lord's sermon on the Mount,
in the exposition of which we are about to engage, in consequence
of mistakes as to its object or design.
It has been supposed by some, that our Lord's object is to expound the law of the ten commandments, and to show, by a few
examples, its exceeding breadth and spiritual reference. They
suppose that our Lord asserts that the sixth commandment forbids not only murder, but malignant feeling; and the seventh
not only adultery, but impure desire. That the divine law does
take cognizance of the thoughts and intents of the heart, there
can be no doubt, and that malignant feeling and impure desires
are sins in the estimation of Him who looks on the heart; but
whether the sixth and seventh commandments, strictly speaking,
do forbid anything but what, in plain terms, they prohibit, is i
62 Matt. v. 2Q




PART IV.]     CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.             161
totally different question, and one which, I apprehend, our Lord's
statements do not furnish us with the means of answering.
There is nothing, either in the way of direct statement or otherwise, to lay a foundation for the conclusion that our Lord, in the
remarks which we are about to illustrate, had it for his object to
show that the law of the ten commandments had a hidden, recondite, spiritual meaning, besides the literal signification of the
words in which it is couched.
Others have supposed that our Lord's design is to contrast the
morality of the law with that of the Gospel, the morality of Judaism with the morality of Christianity. But the morality of the
law, and the morality of the Gospel, the morality of Judaism, as
Judaism is taught in the Old Testament, and the morality of Chrstianity, as Christianity is taught in the New Testament, are substantially the same. Moses requires supreme love to God, and
disinterested love to man, and Jesus Christ requires no more.
The details of religion and moral duty, in the two volumes of
inspired Scriptures, are, no doubt, modified by the circumstances
in which the church, under the old and new dispensations, was
placed; but the principles of religious and moral duty appear
in both to be what they are, what they cannot but be, unchanged
and unchangeable, like him in whose nature they originate, and
whose will they express, "without variableness or shadow of
turning." " That which is of the Old Testament can never be
~n-christian, it is only proto-christian.""
The object of our Lord seems to us very distinctly and clearly
stated by himself, in the twentieth verse. That object was to
show that the system of religious and moral duty, which was to
be taught and exemplified in "the kingdom of God," the new
economy, was to be greatly superior to that system of religious
and moral duty taught by the Scribes, and exemplified by the
Pharisees; and, as the system of duty taught by the Scribes and
Pharisees was generally accounted by the Jews the right one,
that object was farther to impress on their minds the great truth,
which the whole discourse seems to be intended to illustrate and
enforce, that they must " repent," change their minds, now that
"the kingdom of God was at hand; for unless they, by this
change of mind, were "born again," they could not " see it,"
nor "enter into it;" thev could not understand its nature, nor
enjoy its blessings.  All that follows, from  the 20th verse
down to the 18th verse of the next chapter, is an illustration by example of the principle here stated. Our Lord's object,
then, is not to contrast the true meaning of the ten commandments with the limited signification ascribed to them by the
Jewish teachers; still less is it to contrast the morality of the
law with the morality of the Gospel; but it is to contrast the
righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees with the righteousness of the kingdom of God, that is, the system of religious and
moral duty taught by the Scribes, and exemplified by the Phari63 Olshausen.
VOL. 1.                   11




162            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.           [EXP. IV.
sees, with the system of religious and moral duty to be taught
and exemplified by the true followers of Messiah the Prince.
"The righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees" is just the
system of religious and moral duty taught and exemplified by
the Scribes and Pharisees. That this is the meaning of the
phrase is plain from the specimens of this " righteousness," which
our Lord refers to in the succeeding context.
"The Scribes," so often mentioned in the gospel history, were
the same class who are termed " masters in Israel," and "doctors
of the law," expounders of the Old Testament Scriptures. They
did not form a separate sect, though they seem generally to have
been of the sect of the Pharisees."  The origin of this sect is
involved in great obscurity. Their distinctive appellation is
equivalent to separatists, and was likely assumed by them to indicate that they were distinguished from other Jews by the
greater strictness of their manner of life. At the time of our
Lord's appearance, they were the most numerous-and, when
compared with the infidel Sadducees, and the mystical and enthusiastic Essenes, the most respectable-of the Jewish sects.
The Scribes were looked up to by the Jewish people as the
teachers of religious and moral duty; and the Pharisees were
considered as the class which, in the most exemplary manner,
reduced their lessons to practice. The highest idea which a carnal Jew could form of a religious man, was a person who, in his
behavior, conformed himself to the teaching of the Scribes, and
to the example of the Pharisees. The first were considered as
the best expounders of Scripture; the latter as the most illustrious patterns of holiness. It was a proverb among them that,
if but two men were to enter the kingdom  of heaven, the one
would be a Scribe, and the other a Pharisee."
Our Lord's doctrine of the necessity of repentance, or a change
of mind, could scarcely be put in a form more calculated to astonish his countrymen, than that which it wears in these words.
They expected that all Jews were, as a matter of course, to enter
into the kingdom; they expected that Scribes and Pharisees
would occupy high places of distinction and honor in that kingdom. How must they have been amazed to hear it proclaimed
that, unless a man's righteousness exceeded that taught by the
Scribes, and exemplified by the Pharisees, he could not be a subject of that kingdom at all! The general idea is,' The religion
and the morality which is to distinguish the citizens of the king(lom of heaven, is to be of a far more exalted character than that
taught by the Scribes, and exemplified by the Pharisees.'
The prevailing doctrines among the Jewish teachers, in the
age of our Lord, respecting religion and morality, seem to have
been very corrupt. They are said to have maintained, that the
doctors of the law, and the high council at Jerusalem, had a
power to dispense with Divine requisitions: we are certain that,
y unauthorised traditions, and by false interpretations of Scrip64 Triglandius de tribus Judeorum sectis.




PART IV,]      CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.              163
ture, they " made void the commandments of God."  And the
conduct of the Pharisees was not better than such a course of
instruction might be expected to produce. Under an appearance of devotion, they were strangers to the spirit of piety; and,
pretending to uncommon worth, they were deficient in ordinary
integrity."
The righteousness taught by the Scribes and exemplified by
the Pharisees, was almost entirely external, and often hypocritical. It consisted almost exclusively in a round of bodily observances, and even these were often performed to serve a purpose
very different from  that which was avowed: —" Woe unto you,
Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses,
and for a pretence make long prayers; therefore ye shall receive
the greater damnation."  "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and
of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup
and platter, that the outside of them  may be clean also. Woe
unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites I for ye are like unto
whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but
are within full of dead mnen's bones, and of all uncleanness.
Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but
within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.""
It was extremely partial. They made a selection among the
Divine precepts; and, while they scrupulously obeyed some, and
those chiefly of secondary importance, they systematically violated others, and those of prime importance:-m" Woe unto you,
Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and
anise, and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of
the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have
done, and not to leave the other undone.""
It proceeded from principles defective or unsound —not from
the fear and love of God-from respect to his authority, and a
desire to please him-from disinterested benevolence, or even
from enlightened self-love; but from low, confined views of selfinterest-from  a wish to obtain human applause, and secure
wealth and honor for themselves.  "But all their works they do
for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and
enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost
rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in tie synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and -e be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi."68
And, while in their religion and morality there was thus so
much wanting, and so much wrong, they yet plumed themselves
on them, as if they gave them a title, not merely to the respect
of men, but to the favour of God; not only to the good things
of earth, but to the joys of heaven. They thanked God that
65 For many of the thoughts and expressions in this sketch of the righteousness
of the Scribes and Pharisees, I am indebted to Dr. Brewster.-Lectures, pp.
121-1 64.
63 Matt. xxiii. 14, 25-28.  67 Matt. xxiii. 23.  as Matt. xxiii. 5-7.




164            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
they were not as other men. They " trusted in themselves, that
they were righteous, and contemned others." They said, in exact correspondence with the appellation they had assumed to
themselves, "stand by, we are holier than you."
Such was the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees; and
our Lord's assertion is, that the subjects of the kingdom of God
must be characterized by a much more elevated kind of religion
and morality. Their righteousness must be spiritual and sincere; it must be universal; it must originate in, and be sustained
by, pure motives; and it must never be made a ground of confidence before God, or an occasion of self-gratulation, or vain
boasting.
The righteousness or religion which characterizes the true subjects of the Messiah, is not, like that of the Scribes and Pharisees, merely external; nor is it, as very generally in the case of
the latter, hypocritical. What is external in it, is the expression of thought and feeling, and the genuine expression of
thought and feeling. Its principle is, " God is a spirit; and they
who" would " worship him, must worship in spirit and in truth."
"I serve God with my spirit," says the apostle Paul; "we are
the circumcision"-that is, the true people of God, the spiritual
Israel —" who worship God in the spirit."69
Universality, in opposition to partiality, is another distinguishing feature of the righteousness by which the true subjects of
the Messiah are characterized. Knowing that every part of the
Divine law wears the stamp of supreme authority, they " account
its commandments concerning all things to be right, and abhor
every wicked way."
In opposition to the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees,
the righteousness which distinguishes the subjects of the Messiah,
originates in, and is sustained by, motives rising out of the character and will of God, and our duty and happiness as connected
with these. The rule is, " Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as
to the Lord, and not to men."'"
And, finally, the righteousness of the subjects of the Messiah,
unlike that of the Scribes and Pharisees, must never be made a
ground of confidence before God, or an occasion of boasting.
The man who is under the influence of the views which the
Gospel unfolds, cannot place confidence in anything but in the
mercy of God manifested in consistency with his righteousness,
through the mediation of Jesus Christ. His obedience, even
though it were perfect, could not afford him who has already
violated the law, and incurred its penalty, any reasonable ground,
for hope of pardon and salvation; and knowing, as he does, that
his best services are defective and sinful, he sees that they never
can deserve to be rewarded, for their own sake, but need to be
graciously accepted, for the sake of his Saviour; and well aware
that, if his heart and life be more in accordance with the mind
and will of God than those of some of his fellow-men, it is owing
69 John iii. 24.  Rom. i. 9.  Phil. iii. 3.  70 Col. iii. 23.




PART IV.]      CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.              165
entirely to the operation of divine influence,-he sees that he has
great cause of gratitude, but no ground of pride, for that it is
"by the grace of God, that he is what he is." This characteristic feature of the righteousness of the subjects of the Messiah's
kingdom, is beautifully delineated in the following words of one
of the holiest of these subjects;-" Yea, doubtless, and I count
all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ
Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found
in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law,
but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith.""'
To prevent mistakes-mistakes of vital importance to the interests of the soul-it is necessary -again to remark that the
design of our Lord is not to state the terms on which men may
obtain the Divine favor, but to delineate the characteristics of
the religion of those who are in possession of the Divine favor.
It is not our Lord's intention to say,'You must first obtain possession of this righteousness, so far superior to that of the Scribes
and Pharisees, and then, as the reward of your exertions in
making this acquirement, you shall be made partakers of the
blessings of the kingdom of heaven;" but it is his intention to
say,'You have not entered into that kingdom; you are not
possessed of its privileges and immunities, whatever may be your
external professions, if you are not characterized by this righteousness.' The truth is, that the faith of the gospel, by which a
man enters into the kingdom, at the same time introduces to the
enjoyment of the privileges of the kingdom, and forms the
character of a willing, obedient, happy, subject of the kingdom.'The answer to the question, How is this righteousness to be obtained? is, Through the faith of "the truth as it is in Jesus.'"
That truth, believed, "purifies the heart;" the manifested " grace
of God"  through Christ Jesus, and that alone, effectually
"teaches to deny ungodliness, and worldly lusts, and to live
soberly, righteously, and godtly.""2
f 2. The rightousness of Christians, and that of the Scribes and
Pharisees compared, in reference to the life and happiness of others.
Having stated the general principle, our Lord proceeds to
illustrate it by a variety of particular instances, in which the
righteousness of those who enter into the kingdom of heaven,
must exceed that taught by the Scribes, and exemplified by the
Pharisees  "Ye have heard that it was said by them  of old
time, thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in
danger of the judgment."" This is the first specimen of the
righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees; and it is very
good, so far as it goes.
Phil iii. 8-9.   7" Acts. xv. 9. Tit. ii 11, 12.   73 Matt. v. 21.




166             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
The words rendered " by them of old time," are susceptible of
various translations. They may be rendered "in ancient times,"
or "to the ancients;" or, as our translators have rendered, "by
the ancients." or them of old time. It does not matter very
much which of these modes of rendering is adopted: though,
upon the whole, we consider that of our translators as the preferable one.
By "them  of old time," some understand Moses, in whose
writings, no doubt, the words,'" thou shalt not kill," are to be
found: but it seems unnatural to  call Moses "them  of old
time;" we rather think our Lord here quotes the very words of
the Scribes and Pharisees, when teaching their disciples.  "Ye
have heard," is just equivalent to-' The Scribes and Pharisees
are accustomed, when explaining human duty, to use this language —" It is said by them of old time," that is, by the elders
in their traditions, " Thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill
shall be in danger of the judgment."'
In teaching this department of human duty, they confine their
attention to the overt act of violence and murder; and they fix
the mind on the temporal punishment awarded by the law for
this crime, as that which should chiefly or solely operate on the
mind as a motive against committing it.  The Scribes and
the Pharisees teach that men should not take away one another's
lives; and, as a motive to induce them to comply with this law,
they say that he who violates it is " in danger of the judgment;"
or rather, is liable to, is exposed to, the judgment.  "The judgment " is here the name of a criminal court. In every city in
Judea, according to Josephus, there was a court, consisting of
seven judges, who had the power of life and death.'4 That court
is here termed " the judgment."
The statement of the Scribes and Pharisees, then, is just as if
a person in this country were saying,' It is the law of the land,
that no man commit murder; and if'any man violate this law,
he is liable to be brought before the High Court of Justiciary,
and tried; and, if found guilty, to be punished with death.'
In this specimen of the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, we see that it is the external conduct only for which they
legislate, and that it is temporal punishment alone by which they
represent the law respecting murder to be sanctioned.
But let us hear our Lord explain what, on this particular head
of moral duty, is that righteousness which exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, and without knowing and ex-.
emplifying which, a man cannot be a subject of the Messiah's
kingdom: —- But's I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with
his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment;
and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger
of the council; but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in
danger of hell-fire."'8'4 Bell. Jud. Lib. ii. xx. 5; Ant. Jud. Lib. iv. viii. 14.:5 "'Eyw 6 d; gywi!itv. Illud 4y~ acute pronuneiandum." -PIaceus. 76 Matt. v.'22




PART IV.]      CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.              167
The general meaning of these words is plain enough:' The
righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees" speaketh on this
wise-' Thou shalt not kill, and if thou dost, thou must be tried
for thy life;' but "the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven"
says-' Thou shall not cherish malignant feeling towards anyv
man, nor manifest it in any way: and if thou dost, thou wilt
offend God, and expose thyself to severer punishments than any
which man can inflict on man.'  But let us look at the words
somewhat more closely. Let us see what the righteousness of
the kingdom forbids, and then let us see what are the punishments which it denounces on those who commit the crimes it
forbids.
It forbids our being "' angry with our brother without a cause,"
that is-it forbids all unreasonable anger,-anger without a sufficient reason;- and it, moreover, forbids all immoderate anger,
that is, anger in a higher degree, and for a longer time, than is
lawful. The lawfulness of anger has been questioned by some
christian moralists, but on very insufficient grounds. The very
words before us seem to imply, that if it be forbidden to be
angry " without a cause," it is, at least, permitted to be angry
with a cause. The apostle Paul commands us to " be angry and
sin not"-words which seem to intimate, not only that it is
possible to be angry without sinning, but that there are circumstances in which we would sin if we were not angry. The
apostle James seems to teach us the same truths when he bids us
" be slow to wrath;"" and we know that the perfect Exemplar
of holiness in human nature was not incapable of this emotion;
for we read, on one occasion, that he was not only " grieved for
the hardness of the hearts" of his audience, but " he looked round
on them with anger."78
It is obvious, however, that the principal, if not the only occasion when anger is lawful, is, when it is directed against sin;
and then the strong feeling of disapprobation is expressive of
zeal for the Divine honor, and is quite compatible with, and
ought always to be accompanied by, a sincere wish for the true
happiness of him with whom we are angry. Whenever it proceeds from pride and selfishness-whenever it is accompanied
with malignant feeling towards its object-it is, undoubtedly,
sinful; and when we think of the difficulty of regulating this
passion, and the great hazard of its hurrying us into offences
against the law of love, we surely should have very good cause,
before we venture to indulge in it. It is obvious that all causeless anger is sinful-all anger without a good reason, and all
anger which, in degree or continuance, exceeds the reason which
may exist.
A second thing forbidden by "the righteousness of the king77 Eph. iv. 26 James i. 19.
78 Mark iii. 5. " Merito ei'KI additum. Neque enim iracundus est quisquis irasci
solet, sed qui o~. o' eti, Kai to' otl oi 6d, iKai j2iA;ov a die, ut Aristoteles loqidtur."
-GROTIUS.




168              THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.               [EXP. IV
dom," is the calling our brother "raca."  In the dialect generally used among the Jews in the time of our Lord, "Raca"was a word of contempt and displeasure which angry persons
were in the habit of applying to the objects of their displeasure.
It means an empty, insignificant, worthless fellow. The qualifying phrase, " without cause," seems intended to extend to all the
three statements made here.  We are not, without a cause, and
without a very sufficient cause, to say of another person, " He is a
worthless fellow," nor to say to him, " You are a good-for-nothing
miscreant."  There may be a good reason. however, for saying
this, and a great deal more than this, both of and to men. Our
Lord uses worse words than raca both of and to the Scribes and
Pharisees; but he does not do it " without a cause." All abusive
language is forbidden by the law of the kingdom-all language
expressive of malignity and of undue anger or contempt.
A third thing forbidden by this law, is the saying to a brother,
"Thou fool," or rather Moreh; for, I apprehend, the word is not
a Greek, but a Hebrew  one,79 and, like Raca, should not have
been translated-a word expressive of still greater contempt and
detestation-signifying a rebel and apostate.  This was the worst
thing a Jew could say of a Jew. This part of the law of the
kingdom prohibits all rash reflections on our neighbor's character,
and especially all harsh judgments respecting his spiritual state.
There may be cases in which the law of love absolutely requires
us to say to a man that he is an apostate, while we use every
means in our power to reclaim him. But what is forbidden here
is the using such terms without sufficient reason, and as an expression of malignant feeling.
Let us now attend to the punishment to which, according to
the law of the kingdom of God, these offences expose him who
is guilty of them.  " He who is angry with his brother without a
cause is in danger," is liable to be exposed to " the judgment."
I have already stated that "the judgment" was the name of
those inferior law courts, one of which was to be found in every
Jewish city, which took cognizance of ordinary crimes, such as
murder, and had the power of life and death. These words are
not to be interpreted literally, for certainly Messiah the Prince
has not erected any court similar to that which the Jews termed
"the judgment," by which persons who are guilty of causeless
anger are to be tried and punished. The meaning is,' He who
is causelessly angry with his brother is, in my estimation, not
less worthy of punishment than he who, on account of a crime
committed by him, is dragged before " the judgment," and is by
the assessors condemned.'
79 "The word mrv, here used by the evangelist, differs only in number from
=,-., the compellation by which Moses and Aaron addressed the people of Israel,
when they said (Numb. xx. 10), with manifest and indecent passion, as rendered
in our English Bible,' Hear now, ye rebels;' and were, for their punishment, not
permitted to enter the land of Canaan."- Vide CAMPBELL, Pref. to Miatthew's
Gospel, ~ 25. PAULurs, a respectable authority on such a subject, adopts this
exegesis, and refers to Psal. xxviii. 8.' See Note C.




PART IV.]      CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.              169
He who calls his brother "raca" is in danger, or is exposed
to "the council." The council here means the Sanhedrim-the
highest court of judicature among the Jews, both political and
ecclesiastical, consisting of seventy judges. The seat of this
court was at Jerusalem. This court took cognizance only of the
more flagrant crimes, and had the power of condemning, not
only to death by the sword, but by stoning, which was accounted
a more severe and disgraceful mode of punishment.  The meaning of our Lord's statement, then, is-' He who not merely
cherishes unreasonable anger against his brother, but uses reproachful and contemptuous language towards him, is guilty of
a still greater crime than he who is only " angry at him without
a cause," and is exposed to a punishment proportionally more
severe.'
He who calls his brother "fool," or rather "moreh," rebel,
apostate, miscreant, he is "in danger of hell-fire." The phrase
"hell-fire" is literally "the gehenna of fire."  "Gehenna" is
the Syro-Chaldaic word for the valley of Hinnom, or of the son
of Hinnom, called also Tophet. This was a fertile valley, lying
to the south of Jerusalem, which had been the scene of some of
the most abominable rites of idolatrous worship.80  Here it was
customary, during the prevalence of idolatry, to burn children
alive, in honor of Moloch or Baal; and the name of Tophet,
which signifies a drum or tabor, was borrowed from the custom
of attempting to drown the cries of the victims by such noisy
music., After the return from the captivity, the Jews showed
their abhorrence'of the transactions of which this place had been
the scene, by making it, after the example of Josiah, the receptacle of dead carcases, and other filth cast out of the city; and
fires were kept constantly burning in it to consume this refuse.
Hence the Jews came to use the word " gehenna" as the name of
the place of punishment after death.8' In this sense, it is gen
erally used in the New Testament. In the passage before us, we
understand it literally. Our Lord's meaning seems to be:' He
who not only is angry with his brother without a cause; who not
only, without a cause, speaks to him  contemptuously and reproachfully; but who, without a cause, charges him with apostasy, calls him not only foolish, but wicked, holds him up not
only to the contempt, but to the hatred, of mankind,-his guilt
is still greater, and he deserves still severer punishment. If he
who is angry without cause deserves to be tried and punished by
the judgment, and he who calls his brother " raca" deserves to
be tried or punished by the Sanhedrim, he who calls his brother
" moreh deserves to be cast out as refuse into the valley of Hinnom, and there to be consumed.'
The general idea is,' The law of the Messiah's kingdom is
much more strict ii. its requisitions, and terrible in its sanctions,
than the Mosaic law as expounded by the Scribes and Pharisees.
80 2 Kings xxiii. 10.
q1 Vide S. Petiti Lectiones Variae. Critici. Sacri. VYWl. vii.




170             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.          [EXP. IV.
Under the Jewish law, murder is punished; but under the
Christian dispensation, unreasonable anger will be esteemed as
black a crime, and punished as severely as murder is among the
Jews, and all malevolent affection and the expression of it, will
expose to punishments, the least of which will be more severe
than that awarded by the Jewish law to him who deprives his
fellow-man of life.'
Let us remember, my friends, that we live under this dispensation, and that if we enjoy its advantages, we are exposed to its
hazards.  Let us never forget the declaration, that "he who
hateth his brother is a murderer, and we know that no murderer
hath eternal life abiding in him."82 Let us remember that none
who are characterized by " hatred, variance, emulations, wrath,
strife, envyings, murders "-that none who do these things"shall inherit the kingdom of God." Let us remember that it
is the law of our Lord, that we love one another, as he hath
loved us: —" Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil-speaking, be put away from you with all malice:"
and "put on, therefore, as the elect of God, bowels of mercies,
kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering: forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have
a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do
ye."83
In the words which follow, our Lord draws some important
practical conclusions from the statement he had made, the substance of which may be thus expressed:-' Religious worship
cannot be acceptable, while he who offers it continues under the
influence of malignant principle; and as malignant principle exposes to the displeasure of God, and will be punished by him, it
is the interest of all to rid themselves of its bondage, before they
stand at his judgment-seat, where a final and irreversible sentence will be pronounced on them.'
Such is, I apprehend, the general meaning.  Let us now examine the words somewhat more particularly: —"Therefore, if
thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy
brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the
altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and
then come and offer thy gift."84
It was the doctrine of the Scribes, and the practice of the
Pharisees corresponded with it, that anger, hatred, and the expression of these, if they did not go so far as overt acts of violence, were among the minor faults; and that God would not
severely judge men for these, if they were but regular in presenting their sacrifices, and observing the other external duties of
religious worship. In opposition to this, our Lord teaches, that,
according to the righteousness of the kingdom, having one's
mind not subject to the law of justice and love, would render all
external religious services unacceptable to God.
82 1 John iii. 15.   83 Gal. v. 20, 21.  Eph. iv. 31.  Col. iii. 12, 18.
84 Matt. v. 23, 24.




PART IV.]      CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.              171
Under the law of Moses, various gifts and sacrifices were presented, some of these were absolutely obligatory, and the occasions on which they were to be offered are very particularly described, others, though not expressly prescribed, were considered
as becoming tokens of religious gratitude. These were denominated " free-will offerings," as their being presented was left to
the option of the worshipper.  Some have supposed. that there is
a particular reference to this last species of religious gifts in the
passage before us; we rather think that the word is to be understood in its general sense, and that " when thou bringest thy gift
to the altar," is just equivalent to,' When thou art about to perform a solemn act of religion. If at that time the individual remembered that his brother had ought against him, he was to leave
his gift before the altar, and go his way, and be reconciled to his
brother, and then come and offer his gift.'
A "brother," here, is equivalent to a fellow-man. For are we
not all brethren? Hath not God " made us all of one blood?"
"Have we not all one Father?  Hath not one God created us?""8
To " remember that our brother has ought against us," is to recollect that we have done some injury to him, that we have
treated him in some way or other unsuitable to the relation in
which we stand to him, not as a brother-to be conscious that
we have wronged him.
In this case the person, instead of offering his gift, is to go immediately to his brother, and to be reconciled to him; dismissing
all malignant feeling from his mind, he is to repair the injury he
has done to his brother. If he has deprived him of his property,
he is to restore it; if he has calumniated him, he is to do all that
lies in his power to counteract the effect of his calumny, and
acknowledge his regret for having acted so unbrotherly a part.
In this way he is likely to be reconciled to his brother, that is,
to be restored to his brother's favor.
And here I may remark by the way, that, in the New Testament, to be reconciled to another does not signify so much to
cherish kindly feelings towards one with whom we have been
offended, as to be restored to the favor of one whom we have
offended. This throws light on one of the most important exhortations in the word of inspiration, addressed to sinners: —" Be
ye reconciled to God," that is,'not lay aside your dislike of God,'
-though that too is a duty —but it is " Be restored to the Divine
favor, which you have forfeited."  "Receive the grace," the free
favor, "of God."  In the faith of the Gospel, enter on the possession of the blessing of having for your God "Him, who is in
Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing unto men
their trespasses."8'On being reconciled to his brother, the officer is to return to
the temple, and then present his gift. The general principle is
this, the person who is conscious of an unrepaired wrong to his
fellow-man, cannot be an acceptable worshipper of God.
83 Acts xvii. 26. Mal. ii. 10.              86 2 Cor. v. 18-21.




172            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.           [EXP. IV.
It is necessary here, however, to guard against mistakes. The
man who rests his hope of the acceptance of his religious services,
on the consciousness of his brother having nothing against himon the consciousness of his having wronged no man-is leaning
on a broken reed. The only ground of hope for the acceptance
of our persons or services is the free grace of God; but it is a
plain proof, that that grace is not believed by me, and therefore
cannot be the ground of my hope, if it is not influencing my temper towards my brethren of mankind. The man who wilfully
injures a brother, and persists in that wilful injury, gives plain
evidence that the love of God is not shed abroad in his heart,
and he cannot be an acceptable worshipper, till he has obtained
mercy himself through the faith of the truth. That faith, working by love, will immediately lead him to repair all injuries which
he is aware of having done to his brother.
This passage is strangely supposed by many to have some peculiar reference to the Lord's Supper, and is often grossly abused,
as if it furnished a reason for neglecting the observance of that
ordinance, when any of our fellow church members has done anything to displease us. These persons seem to act as if the words
ran, not'If thy brother have ought against thee,' but'If thou
hast ought against thy brother.' If any of my fellow church
members do anything that offends or displeases me, the first
question I ought to ask myself is, Ought I to be offended or displeased? And if I am convinced on good grounds that I ought,
then my duty is to go to my offending brother, and tell him his
fault alone; and if this does not reclaim him, then I am to go
with one or two brethren to remonstrate with him; and if this is
ineffectual, then I am to bring the matter before the proper
ecclesiastical assembly; all this is my duty;8 but in no step of
the process can this form a proper reason for my neglecting to
do my duty in obeying our Lord's command-" Do this in remembrance of me."  But the passage has no peculiar reference
to the Lord's Supper; it teaches the general doctrine, that religious worship, performed by a person under the influence of
an unjust and malignant disposition, cannot be acceptable to
God, and this is just as applicable to secret prayer, as to observing the Lord's Supper.
Our Lord proceeds to urge the duty of being immediately reconciled to the brother whom we have injured, lest, dying under
the guilt which unrepented of and unrepaired injuries to our
brother necessarily involve, we should be plunged into hopeless
destruction. For this does seem to me the force of the words in
the 25th verse, "agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou
art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver
thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and
thou be cast into prison."'
Some very good interpreters, I am aware, consider this verse
as containing a counsel of prudence with regard to the manage87 Matt. xviii. 15, 17.           88 Matt. v. 25.




PART IV.]     CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.             173
ment of differences, an advice to avoid as much as possible going
into law-courts to have them decided. Such a counsel will be
readily admitted by all to be a wise one; and it could scarcely
be couched in more appropriate terms. But still I cannot help
thinking, that such a mode of interpretation strangely breaks the
train of our Lord's illustration, and weakens the force of his
argument, besides making the explication of this verse itself exceedingly perplexed. The language of these verses is evidently
too strong to be confined to the effect of an unsuccessful litiga.
tion; and, accordingly, those who explain them in this way,
commonly suppose that they have an ultimate reference to the
last judgment, thus giving at once a literal and metaphorical
sense to the same words.
"Agree with thine adversary" is the same as " be reconciled
to thy brother,"-' Seek restoration to his favor by repairing the
injury you have done him. For you and he are like two
litigants going to the judgment-seat. You are as certainly going
forward to the tribunal of God, where your injury against your
brother will become the matter of judicial inquiry, —as if the
man you have injured were dragging you before a human court
of law. There is no time to be lost. Should you die while malice rankles in your bosom, and the wrong you have done is un-.repaired, then you are as it were finally delivered into the hands
of the judge; there is no longer room for reparation.' "Should
you die in such a state, what would be your portion? Dying
under the influence of malignity, you must be utterly unqualified
for joining the blessed assembly above, where all is peace and
love. If you die in a state of mind unfit for worshipping God
on earth, will you not be still more unfit to worship him in
heaven? You are in danger then of being cast into a prison
from which you will never escape, of being called to make a reparation which you will never be able to pay, of being delivered
over to a punishment which will never come to an end."9  " Verily, I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence,
till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing."90
~ 3. The righteousness of Christians and that of the Scribes and
Pharisees compared, in reference to chastity.
In the verses which follow, our Lord brings forward another
example of the superiority of the righteousness of the kingdom
of God, to " the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees."  It
is borrowed from that department of moral requisitions which
has a reference to chastity; " Ye have heard that it was said by
them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say
unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her,
hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.""
In the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, the man
89 Brewster.     90 Matt. v. 26.    91 Matt. v. 26, 27.




174             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.             [EXP. IV.
whc was guilty of the crime of adultery, was considered as unchaste; anything short of this, seems by them to have been considered as not inconsistent with the character of a good man;
but in the righteousness of the kingdom the desire of sin is sin;
and he who allows himself to cherish, in any degree, a wish after
what is forbidden, is considered as a transgressor.  The wanton
look, the impure imagination, the irregular desire, are, in the estimation of the one Lawgiver, violations of the law of purity.
No sin is more strongly prohibited in the law of Christ than
impurity. " Fornication and all uncleanness," says an apostle,
"let it not be once named among you."92 No species of sin is
more degrading to the intellectual and moral nature of man.
"Fleshly lusts war against the soul." They obscure the mind,
they harden the heart, they pervert the affections. They unfit
the mind for the exercises and the pleasures of religion, and in
their unhappy victim all the emotional part of our nature seems
strangely converted into one depraved feeling of brutal selfishness.93
This species of sin is in direct opposition to the design of God
in the gospel economy.  " For this is the will of God, even your
sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: that every
one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification
and honor; and not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the
Gentiles which know not God: for God hath not called us unto
uncleanness, but unto holiness."94  Christ " gave himself for us,
that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people."95
Impurity is utterly inconsistent with fellowship with God, and,
if indulged in any of its forms, will assuredly exclude from the
enjoyment of the celestial blessedness:-" Meats for the belly,
and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and
them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord,
and the Lord for the body." " Know ye not that your bodies
are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of
Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid."
" Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the
body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own
body. What! know ye not that your body is the temple of the
Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are
not your own?"'   " Know ye not that ve are the temple of
God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"97 " Know
ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of
God? Be not deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
92 Eph. v. 3.
93 BuRNs-one who unhappily could speak from experience on this subjectone never to be named but with admiration, and pity, and strong moral disapprobation,-says, most strikingly:"-  Oh, it hardens a' within,
And petrifies the feeling."' 1 Thess. iv. 3-7.                      95 Titus, ii. 14.
61 Cor. vi. 13, 15, 18, 19.             97 1 Cor. iii. 16.




PART IV.]      CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.              175
adulterers, nor efleminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor
extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."8  " For this ye
know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous.man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of
Christ and of God."99  "The fearful and unbelieving, and the
abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers,
and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which
burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."'09
To temptations to impurity in some of its forms, we are constantly exposed, and it requires constant vigilance to avoid falling before some of them. There are a few advices which, on
this subject, I would affectionately urge on the attention of the
young. Be on your guard against loose and unprincipled companions.  "Be not deceived; evil communications corrupt good
manners."  It is impossible to associate intimately with the profligate without danger. Abstain from the perusal of books
tainted with impurity. These are scarcely less mischievous-in
many cases they are more so-than the company of the wicked.
The deliberate perusal of such books is a plain proof that the
mind and conscience are already in a deeply-polluted state.
Keep at a distance from all indelicate and even doubtful amusements-I allude chiefly to theatrical amusements-where the
mind is exposed, in many instances, to all the evils at once of depraved society and licentious writing. Seek to have your minds
occupied, and your affections engaged with " things unseen and
eternal."  Habitually realize the intimate preience of that God,
who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. Never forget that
his eye is on your heart, and that " all things are naked and
opened" to him; and, as one of the best and most effectual
methods of mortifying your members which are on the earthcrucifying the flesh with its affections and lusts, "Set your
affections on things above;" " Seek the things which are at God's
right hand."' Never tamper with temptations, but "flee youthful lusts;" watch and "pray that ye enter not into temptation."2
\Vith a particular reference to sins against purity, our Lord
lays it down as a general principle, applicable to all violations of
the Divine law, that there is no degree of self-denial to which we
ought not readily to submit, in order to secure ourselves from the
commission of sin, the natural result of which is unqualified and
everlasting destruction:-" And if thy right eye offend thee,
pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee
that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole
body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend
thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee
that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole
body should be cast into hell."'
98 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10.   99 Eph. v. 5.        100 Rev. xxi. 8.
Col. iii. 2-6.  2 2 2 im. ii. 22. Matt. xxvi. 41.    3 Matt. v. 29, 30.




176             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
The meaning of the word " offend " here is not to' displease,'
but to'make to stumble,' to' become an occasion of sin.' The
general meaning is,'We are resolutely to part with everything,
which has proved, or is likely to prove, the occasion of sin to us,
however valuable and pleasant it may be, and however much, in
the way of painful feeling and strenuous exertion, the sacrifice
may cost us.' Take a familiar illustration. A person is fond of
wine: it is agreeable to his taste; it is useful in refreshing him
after severe exertion. But he finds that this taste has seduced
him into intemperance; he finds that there is constant danger of
its doing so. He has fallen before the temptation again and
again. What is such a person's duty? According to our Lord,
it is obviously to abstain from it entirely,-on this plain principle,
that the evil he incurs by abstaining, however keenly felt, is as
nothing to the evil to which the intemperate use of wine subjects
him-even everlasting punishment in hell: and to make this abstinence his duty, it is not necessary that he should know that he
will fall before the temptation: it is enough that he knows that,
as he has repeatedly fallen before it, he may fall before it again.
Our Lord supposes the alternative to be, on the one side, the
parting with a right hand or a right eye; and, on the others, the
body being cast alive into the fire of the valley of Hinnom, and
there consumed to ashes. Who would not part with a right
hand, or a right eye, to save life, much more to avoid the horrors
of such a death? Were men acting on the same principle with
regard to the interests of the immortal soul, they would not hesitate for a moment to part with any present pleasure or advantage, which they were conscious,, as a temptation or occasion of
sin, exposed them to the hazard of spending an eternity amid degradation and torment, of which the pollutions and fires of the
valley of Hinnom are apt but most imperfect figures.
This passage has been by some understood too literally, and
they have thought it their duty absolutely to mutilate their
bodies in order to save their souls. The members of the body
are but the instruments of sin: if the evil principle be mortified,
the members of the body will not be abused; and, if it remain
unmortified, the cutting off a right hand, and the plucking out a
right eye, will be of no use.
Our Lord's statement proceeds on the principle, that the mortification of sinful passions may be exceedingly painful: but if
men consent to lose their limbs, by most excruciating operations,
to save their lives, what ought they to shrink from, if it be necessary, in order to the salvation of the soul? The reason why men
are so backward to give up what is pleasant and useful to them,
when it exposes their soul to hazard, is their not really and firmly
believing that the loss of the soul is that tremendous evil which
the Scriptures represent it; or that, what they love and value,
does indeed tend to lead them into sin, and thus expose them to
this tremendous evil. No man will part with his right hand or
his right eye if he is not persuaded that this is necessary to save




PART IV.]      CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.            177
him from suffering incomparably greater than its loss can occasion. But let him once be persuaded of this, and he will count
him a benefactor who deprives him of them; nay, rather than
run the risk, he will himself cut off the right hand, and pluck out
the right eye; and, it is equally true, that there is no advantage
or pleasure which a man will not immediately abandon, if, under
the power of the world to come, he is convinced that his abandonment is necessary, in order to his being saved from everlasting destruction. Any possession, or pursuit, or amusement, or
enjoyment, however useful, however agreeable I may find it,
must be rejected and renounced forever, if it be to me, though it
may not be to others, a necessary source of temptation or occasion
of sin. " Though it should be a source of pleasure, though it
should be a means of gain, though it should be a step to honor,
though it should, by habit and use, have become a part of myself, dear as a right eye, useful as a right hand, I must count it
as nothing when compared with the hazard of losing the life, the
happiness, of my soul."
Men are very apt to think and feel, though they may not say
it, that this part of our Lord's law is a hard saying; but let it be
tried in the balance of sound common sense, and say if it is not
in the highest degree right and reasonable. Is it hard to require
men to do for their souls, what they readily admit they ought to
do for their bodies?  If the body is not more valuable than the
soul, and if time is not longer than eternity, and if death is not
more dreadful than damnation, the words of our Lord are
"words of truth and soberness."
Are we, my brethren, acting as if they were so? Are we as
careful to keep out of the way of temptation, and to avoid every
kind of unnecessary intercourse with the wicked, as to keep out
of the way of evident danger, and to avoid every infectious disease?  Would we rather go into a fever hospital than into a
theatre? Are we as readily touched with penitence, when we
have fallen into sin as we are filled with regret when we discover
that we have caught a dangerous distemper? Are we as diligent in using the means of restoration to spiritual health as to
bodily? Are we as grateful to a friend for caution against a sin
he thinks us in danger of committing, as we would be to him for
a hint not to take a path where he suspected we were likely to
be robbed or murdered?
Alas! how very different, how directly opposite, is the real
state of matters with the great body of mankind. They carefully
avoid unwholesome food, and keep at a distance from every infected habitation; but they recklessly mingle with the wicked,
and engage in ensnaring amusements. They are alarmed by
the first symptoms of bodily disease, and use every method for
obstructing its progress, and effecting its cure; but they treat
the strongest symptoms of spiritual disease as matters of little
importance, and obstinately refuse to employ the means which
the Great Physician has appointed, as requisite in order to a cure..
VOL. I.                   1 2




178              THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.             [EXP. IV.
They thankfully receive cautions in reference to the health of
their body, if they think it really in danger; but they often indlignantly spurn at every hint given them in reference to the salV ation of the soul, and seem to count him an enemy who speaks
t them of the snares amid which they are walking, and points
out to them the manner in which they may escape being entangled
to their everlasting destruction.'
This is not an unjust representation of the character and conduct of many who would be offended, were we to call in question
their faith in Christianity.  Yet, no inconsistency can be more
glaring than this. Ere long it will be seen to be so. The
miserable victim of his own obstinacy, in the regions of hopeless
misery, feels now-alas! that he could not be brought sooner to
believe it —that it would have been better for him to have parted
with what he felt to be dear as a right eye, and useful as a right
arm, than to be cast, as he has been, into hell-fire.
~ 4. The righteousness of Christians and that of the Scribes and
Pharisees compared, in reference to divorce.
In the 31st and 32d verses, our Lord gives a farther illustration
of the superiority of the righteousness of the kingdom of God, to
the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees.  "It hath been
said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a
writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever
shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication,
causeth her to commit adultery; and whosoever shall marry hei
that is divorced committeth adultery."'
Every one who has read the 1st verse of the twenty-fourth
chapter of Deuteronomy, to which our Lord seems here to refer,
knows that divorce was permitted by the law of Moses.  This
permission was granted, however, only to prevent greater evils.
it was found to be necessary for the hardness of the hearts of the
Jews. Had they not been allowed to separate from their wives
when they had taken a dislike to them, they might, by the violence of their tempers, have been led to treat them with cruelty.
It deserves notice, that they were not commanded to divorce
their wives in the circumstances specified, they were only permitted to do so; and to prevent them doing it hurriedly, and
without consideration, they were required to give the wife a bill
of divorcement written out in due form, and the separation, when
thus effected, was final. By thus requiring divorce. to be a
solemn, and making it an irrevocable transaction, provision was
made, as far as was practicable, for preventing its being done
under the influence of passion, or for a trivial cause.'
4Brewster.                               5Matt. v. 31, 32.
6 "The Mosaic law, intended for a rude people, placed restraints upon unlimited wilfulness. Political legislation must adapt itself to the materials on which
it has to act. The permission-for it was no more-was owing to ai207ypoKapdia
rob;aoi. Matt. xix. 8." —TNEANDER. "The law of the kingdom" is not a statelaw




PART IV.]      CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.             179
The expounders of this law, however, disregarded altogether
its object. They even considered permission as a precept, and
taught that'men might put away their wives for every cause.'
If the Scribes taught in this way, the practice of the Pharisees
corresponded with their teaching. Every opportunity was seized
for putting away their wives and marrying others. The great
intentions of marriage were in a good degree frustrated. Full
encouragement was given and taken to furious passions, and
irregular desires. Many cruelties were committed, and great
misery was produced.'
This was the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees with
respect to marriage. But the righteousness of the kingdom of
heaven was of a higher order, and "speaketh in this wise:"
" But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife,
saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit
adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced, committeth adultery."8 According to this law, adultery is the only
sufficient reason of divorce. He who for any other cause puts
away his wife, is to be held an adulterer if he marry another
woman; and she, by marrying him, commits adultery; while, at
the same time, he becomes the guilty occasion of adultery, if the
woman, who is still his wife, marry another man; for in this case
she commits adultery, as he also does who marries her.
Our Lord, in another place (Matt. xix. 4, 5), shows very
plainly that the indissolubility of marriage, as well as the propriety of that relation being confined to one man and one woman,
were intimated in the circumstances in which it was instituted.
"God created them at first, a male and a female,"9 one man and
one woman, "thus putting it beyond their power to be united to
more than one, or to separate from each other to join another
connection. He thus taught them, that any other arrangement
would neither be conducive to their happiness, nor agreeable to
his will, and intimated that they should continue through life
wholly devoted to each other.'""
Few things have done more to promote the happiness and the
moral improvement of man, than our Lord's re-establishing the
principle, that the conjugal relation is indissoluble save for one
cause. Let all who stand in this relation to each other seriously
consider the nature of their relation, and the importance of their
duties. Let them reflect, that since they form as it were one
body, they ought also to have one mind and heart. Let them
reflect, that as they are so intimately connected, they ought to
cherish each other with the same attention and affection, aq they
do their own bodies. Let them strive to have the same inclinations, as they have the same interests, and guard against all disputes and disagreements. Let them beware of all irritating language or disrespectful treatment, and always show each other
every becoming token of civility and kindness. Let them bear
with each other's infirmities; study each other's tempers; enBrewster.    8 Matt. v. 32.  9 Campbell.    10 Brewster.




180             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
deavor to correct each other's faults. Let them always conduct
themselves with gentleness, and perform their respective duties
faithfully, though they may not receive the return they have a
right to expect. Let them suppress every dislike which might
produce in their mind even a wish to be separated, or which
might render them more remiss in the duties which they owe to
each other. Let them forbear, and forgive, and conciliate, and
comfort, and cheer one another. Let them consider themselves
as bound to promote to the utmost of their power, not only the
present prosperity, but the future felicity of each other. Let
them often together draw near to the throne of their common
Father, and pray for one another, mutually exhorting, instructing, and comforting one another. Let them, in fine, live together as heirs of the grace of life, as those who know that death,
the only lawful cause of separation, will ere long cut the otherwise indissoluble bond; and let them seek to be bound together
by a tie, which even death itself cannot dissolve,-even the
faith of the same truth, the love of the same Saviour, the hope
of the same salvation. Thus will they spend a happy lifetime
together on earth: thus will they spend a happy eternity together in heaven."
~ 5. The righteousness of Christians and that of the Scribes and
Pharisees compared, in reference to oaths.
Our Lord now brings forward a fourth illustration of the superiority of the righteousness of the kingdom to that of the
Scribes and Pharisees, not less striking than any of those which
we have considered.  "Again, ye have heard that it hath been
said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but
shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths. But I say unto you,
Swear not at all: neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem;
for it is the city of the Great King. Neither shalt thou swear by
thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."'2
Let us first inquire into what the righteousness of the Scribes
and Pharisees teaches on the subject of oaths; and then into
what the righteousness of the kingdom teaches on the same subject, and in the course of this inquiry, it will become very evident that the righteousness of the kingdom greatly exceeds the
righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees.
The sum of the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, was
a prohibition of perjury. They taught that oaths, solemnly
uttered in the name of Jehovah, were binding, and that he who
violated them was guilty of a great sin. So far all was right.
The righteousness of the kingdom teaches the same thing. He
" Brewster.               4 Matt. v. 33-37. See Note C.




PART IV.]      CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.              181
who can deliberately declare a falsehood, under the sanction of
an oath, or refuse to perform what he has not only promised,
but sworn to, is obviously guilty of a shocking complication of
impiety, falsehood, and injustice. It is impossible too strictly to
prohibit, or too strongly to condemn, this crime.
But the Scribes, in their doctrine with respect to oaths, while
in words they held that perjury was sinful, did much to lessen
the solemnity of an oath, and to smooth the way for this worst
form of falsehood. They made a distinction among oaths. According to them, some were binding, others were not. The
obligation of an oath depended upon the nature of the object by
which the person swore.'3 Oaths to or by God, which are particularly specified in the text, were obligatory, and all oaths
taken before a magistrate were of this kind. But, with the exception of oaths by the gold of the temple, and by the sacrifices
of the altar-which, for some selfish or superstitious reason, they
held to be binding-they appear to have taught, that to swear
by any created thing was of very little consequence, created no
obligation, and might be done in common conversation without
sin; and the practice of the Pharisees seems to have been such
as might have been expected from such teaching of the Scribes.
They prohibited false swearing by God, but they did not prohibit
unnecessary, and therefore profane, swearing, even by God; and
they considered oaths, where the Divine name was not mentioned, with the two exceptions above referred to, as harmless
expletives, and destitute of obligation.
Such was the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees.
But what saith the righteousness of the kingdom?-" I say unto
you," says the one Lawgiver of that kingdom, "swear not at all;
neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: nor by the earth;
for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of
the Great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because
thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than
these cometh of evil."'4
The contrast between the righteousness of the Scribes and
Pharisees, and the righteousness of the kingdom of God, has
been variously stated. Some interpreters have supposed that
our Lord meant to say,'The righteousness of the Scribes and
Pharisees condemns false swearing; but the righteousness of the
kingdom proscribes swearing altogether. The first prohibits
perjury; the last aims at making perjury an impossibility, by
prohibiting swearing.'
These interpreters seem, however, to have misapprehended our
Lord's meaning. There is plainly nothing in the nature of the
thing which makes an oath criminal. If there had, it never
could have been enjoined at all by Divine authority, as it obvi13 Matt. xxiii. 16. Oaths by the gold, i. e., the treasure of the temple, were
binding. "'The ct2X(pyvpot thought the oath by their god mammon had the greatest for-e. Luke xvi. 14."-OLSHAUSEN.        14 Matt. v. 34-37.




182               THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.                   [EXP. IV.
ously is: —" Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him,
and shalt swear by his name."'5 An oath is simply an appeal to
the Omniscient One who searches the heart, and the just Governor of the world who punishes fraud and falsehood, as to the
truth of our testimony, and the sincerity of our promises. It is
merely expressing in plain terms what ought to be present in the
mind in all our declarations. We find the Apostle Paul repeatedly making affirmations, under the solemnity of an oath:'" Moreover, I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare
you I came not as yet unto Corinth."     For neither at any time
used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness; God is witness.""' We find our Lord answering to the
high priest's adjuration, which was the Jewish mode of taking an
oath." We find an angel represented as " swearing by him that
liveth for ever and ever:"" we find God himself introduced as
swearing.1' All this seems quite unaccountable, if our Lord's
meaning here was that, under the New Testament economy,
swearing in every form was unlawful. While, then, I cannot
consider these words as an absolute prohibition of " the oath," it
is very obvious that the call to use it must be very plain and distinct, to make it safe to have recourse to it. The greater part of
the oaths which prevail in society do nothing but mischief. The
requiring them is a temptation to sin, in one of its most heinous
forms, before which multitudes fall. They do not prevent the
evil which they are intended to guard against. They increase
it. If oaths were never imposed, and never taken, but with an
enlightened and pure conscience, there would be but little
swearing."~
I apprehend that our Lord himself limits the reference of what
he says to ordinary conversation, when he says, " Let your communication"' be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay." He does not refer to
judicial transactions at all, but to the ordinary intercourse of
life.22
The contrast between the law of the Scribes and Pharisees,
and the law of the kingdom, is this-The first prohibits only
15 Deut. vi. 13.                   16 2 Cor. i. 23. 1 Thess. ii. 5.
17 Matt. xxvi. 63, 64.'S Rev. x. 5, 6.
19 Gen. xxii. 16. Isa. xlv. 23  Jer. xlix. 13; li. 14. Amos vi. 8. Psal. lxxxix.
3, 35; cx. 4.
20 Bengel's note is good. "Multi veterum Christianorum  simpliciter bane
literam acceperunt, eoque facilius juramenta ethnica declinarunt: vide tamen
Ap. x. 6; Jer. xxiii. 8: Es. xlv. 23, qui locus tempora N. T. spectat: Contra hodie
periculum est ne paucissima in tot juramentis vera sint; et in veris paucissima
necessaria; et in necessariis pancissima libera, fructuosa, sancta et leta. Multa
ad pompam, ad calumniam, ad compescendas suspicionesjustas, comparata sunt."
"     Mo 6o6oat sponte, ultro, absque necessitate, in omni omnino casu, in communibus
rebus." -EPISCPIUs.
21 O6 26yocf 6/iv.
22 Calvin has hit the point of contrast. " Deus non modo perjuriam damnavit,
sed jurandi levitatem quae nonrinis ejus reverentire derogate Neque enim is solum
accipit nomen Dei frustra, qui pejerat, sed qui in rebus frivolis, vel in communi
sermone temer6 et contemptim nomen Dei arripit."  "The Saviour forbids absolutely such oaths only as are hostile to the reverence that is due to God."-TuoLUCx, whose note deserves to be consulted.




PART IV.]       CHRISTIANITY A'ND PHARISAISM.                  183
false swearing in judgment by the name of God-the latter pro.
hibits all vain unnecessary swearing in ordinary conversation,
not only by the name of God, but " by any other oath," as the
Apostle James expresses it."3 " I say unto you," says our Lord,
"in your communication, swear not at all,"24-use no oaths, no
approximation to oaths, in your ordinary  conversation-not
merely do not swear by God, but do not swear at all, for all
oaths, if they have any meaning, are in reality addressed to God.
"Swear not by heaven, for heaven is the throne of God," and he
that swears by heaven, if his words are not empty sounds, swears
by that throne, and him  who sits on it.  "Swear not by the
earth, for the earth is God's footstool," and he that swears by it,
swears by the God whose footstool it is.  " Swear not by Jerusalem," for if the oath have meaning, it is an oath by the God
who has chosen Jerusalem  as the seat of his worship.  "Swear
not by the temple" for that is to swear by Him who dwells in it.
" Swear not by your own head," for that too belongs to God; it
is his far more than yours —you did not, you cannot, make one
of its hairs-you cannot, by your will, even change the color of
one. An oath by your head, if it be not absolutely unmeaning,
is an oath by the universal Creator and Proprietor. Every oath,
just because it is an oath, is an ultimate reference to Deity.
Carefully avoid everything like a profane or irreverent reference
to God; and abstain from all such unmeaning, or worse than unmeaning, asseverations.
"But let your communication," your ordinary conversation,
"be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay."  These words, taken by themselves,
seem most naturally to convey this idea-' Speak the truth at all
times.' Even when not called solemnly to swear by God, let
your yea be yea-let your nay be nay-according to the Jewish
proverbial mode of describing a min, whose word and promise
may be trusted-" His yes is yes-and his no is no.""'  The
apostle uses the phrase in this sense when he states " the promises of God in Christ are yea and amen;"" certain, infallible,
truths.
At the same time, viewed in contrast with what goes before,
and with what follows after, it seems plain, that this is not our
Lord's idea here. The meaning is,'Be content with simply
stating the truth, whether you are affirming or denying, and if'
any person question the truth of your assertion, just repeat it,
23 James v. 12.
24 "The loc.'at all,' which perplexes Augustine so much, and has perplexed
so many, is doubtless to be interpreted and limited by what immediately follows.
All these kinds of oaths which I specify are forbidden you. You do not, by using
them, avoid taking God's name in vain. For why have these oaths anything
binding? It is God's presence in these created things which gives them any hold
over your consciences. Every oath is an awful thing, and, in its ultimate ground,
rests upon God, though the lightness and frivolity of men cause them willingly
to conceal this fact from their eyes."-TRENCH..;I " His yea in word is a yea in deed, and his nay in word is a nay in deed."
The word corresponds with the thought, and feeling, and purpose, and the deed
will correspond with the word.                    26 2 Cor. i. 20.




184             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.              [EXP. IV.
but do not confirm your assertions with anything in the form  of
an oath or asseveration. If you have any assertion to make, or
a denial to make, do so simply, without any oath, or anything
approaching to an oath.'
" For whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."  These
words may be rendered " cometh of the evil one," but we prefer
the rendering of our translators as more comprehensive.27   The
use of strong asseverations, oaths, or approximations to oaths,
can proceed from no good cause. It may proceed from the person's knowing that what he utters is false, and therefore stands
in need of confirmation. He is conscious that he is saying what
is not true, and therefore concludes that he may not be believed,
as he knows he deserves not to be believed. For this reason he
seals his word with his oath, in order to secure for it the credit
he knows it does not merit. Surely, when it cometh from this
cause, it "cometh of evil;" it were better to retract his word
than to support it with an oath. To swear to a lie is a double
sin-it is adding perjury to falsehood. Or it may proceed from
a person's being suspected of falsehood. If the person is justly
suspected of falsehood, then it cometh of evil.  If he is justly
suspected, it must be because he is addicted to falsehood; and
the only way of getting a better character is n)t to make strong
assertions, but henceforward scrupulously to speak the truth.
Indeed, with all reflecting men, the use of unnecessary oaths and
asseverations, will only make a man's testimony more and more
suspected. If the person is unjustly suspected of falsehood —
then in justice to himself, to discredit such uncharitable suspicions, he should positively refuse to confirm his declarations by
an oath. To swear in such a case, is an admission that his word
is not sufficient.  He who is known to be a liar, will not get
credit even by his oath; and he who is a man of truth, voluntarily exposes his character to suspicion when he condescends in
ordinary conversation to confirm his word by swearing.'8 Or the
practice may proceed from a principle of irreverence, a want of
a due fear for that great and terrible name, the Lord our God;
and I need not say this is evil-the root of all evil-the want of
the fear of God. It cannot proceed from anything better than a
reckless disregard of the Divine declaration, that " for every idle
word that men speak, they must give an account in the day of
judgment."9 It must be plain to every person, that all profane
swearing, and even what are ordinarily termed minced oaths,
are completely forbidden by the law of the kingdom of heaven.
Such is our Lord's fourth illustration of the superiority of the
righteousness of the kingdom of God, to the righteousness of the
Scribes and Pharisees.30
27 " I consider it as a maxim, in translating-when a word is, in all respects,
equally susceptible of two interpretations, one of which, as a genus, comprehends
the other,-al vays to prefer the more extensive.'The evil one' is comprehended under the general term'evil.' — CAMPBEL.    23 Brewster.
"9 Matt. xii. 36.
39 Since writing the above, a somewhat different exegesis has suggested itself




PART IV.]        CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.                    185
~ 6. The righteousness of Christians, and that of the Scribes and
Pharisees, compared in reference to retaliation."l
We are presented with a fifth illustration in the 38th and
succeeding verses.   "Ye  have heard  that it hath been said,
An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you,
That ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy
right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will
sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him  have thy
cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go
with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee; and from him
that would borrow of thee, turn not thou away.132
In the law of Moses we meet with the following enactments:"And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbor; as he hath
done, so shall it be done to him."33 " Eye for eye, tooth for
tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound
for wound, stripe for stripe."34  "And the judges shall make
diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; then shall ye
do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother:
so shalt thou put the evil away from among you."35 It is evident,
however, that this law was intended to guide the magistrate, and
to show him how far he might go in inflicting a penalty, or
granting a compensation, for acts of cruelty and injustice. This
lex talionis is the rule of justice which naturally suggests itself to
every man, and is the basis of the ancient Greek and Roman
legislation.  As Tholuck well says, "it is an elastic law," in the
good use of the term. It is not a rule or precept for the conduct
of injured individuals.  They were not authorized to take such
vengeance themselves, nor were they required to insist on such
strict retaliation in the laws of justice. It was intended, not to
foster the spirit of revenge, but, on the contrary, to prevent that
spirit from breaking out into violations of law and order, by putting it in the power of the injured person to obtain legally an
exact requital, so far as was possible, for what he had suffered.
But the Scribes had in this case, as in many others, perverted
to my mind, and though not so fully satisfied with it as to substitute it for the
common one adopted in the text, I think it right to indicate it here, for the consideration of scholars. I have always felt it as odd to apply " these " to the particles "yea and nay." May the pronoun not refer to "oaths "-the subject of the
whole paragraph a May not the clause be translated "for the superabundance of
these comes of evil "? and may not the statement mean-' All unnecessary oaths
are wrong-the undue multiplication of oaths is a great evil'? As Bengel, with
his characteristic conciseness, says, " Nimietas viciosa.'-Surely, if in anything,
in solemn appeal to God-especially, as in oaths, with imprecation of his vengeance-there should be " NEQUID NIMIS." It is a good advice though coming from
a heathen: —iplov rapagrIa7at el yev o0ov Te eS i 7rav, Ei d& 17X, k T6V V3V7()pV.
"Avoid swearing altogether if you can; but if not, then as much as possible."'EPICTETUS. Most justly does Sir William Blackstone say, " A large crop of oaths
cannot fail to produce a rich harvest of perjuries."
31 "Lex talionis."      32 Matt. v. 38-42.       S3 Lev. xxiv. 19.
3' Exod. xxi. 24, 25.  a3 Deut. xix. 18, 19, 20.




186              THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.                 [EXP. IV.
the Divine law. Its language meant, in their "righteousness,"
something very different from what it did in the law of Moses.
The word words were viewed by them  as recommending, or even requiring strict retaliation; and it has been supposed that they
went so far as to intimate, that individuals were at liberty to
avenge their own wrongs, and that it was their duty to do so,
provided they did not exceed the measure of punishment prescribed in the law. The righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, permitted and cherished a spirit of resentment, and sanctioned the desire of retaliation and vengeance.
How different, how far superior, was the righteousness of the
kingdom of God,d " But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil;
but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him
the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and
take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to
him that asketh thee; and from him that would borrow of thee
turn not thou away.36
To " resist evil,""3 is very much the same thing as to avenge
ourselves; it is to set ourselves, as it were, in an attitude of opposition to our assailant, to show him that we are determined to
repel his threatened violence, to resent the mischief he may occasion us, to render back evil for evil, and to avenge ourselves for
our losses and sufferings.98
Now our Lord informs us that all this is wrong according to
the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven. Its subjects are
not, either by personal violence or by vindictive legal prosecution, to manifest a revengeful spirit. That there are cases in
which a man may be not only authorized, but required, to protect
his own life, liberty, and property, at the peril, and by the punishment, of the illegal assailant, there can be no doubt; but in
erery such case, the animating principle must not be vindictive.
It has been very justly remarked, " that in the present state of
human nature, there is but little need to enumerate exceptions and
limitations to such general rules as that before us. Self-love will
suffice, and more than suffice, to prevent us from going too far in
such a direction. In all ordinary cases it is better to give way,
and yield to insult and injuries, than to repel them by force or
by legal process. It certainly does not accord with the spirit of
Christianity, to put the life and the soul of a man in competition
with a sum of money, however great, when there is no reason to
fear further violence to ourselves or to others. In smaller matters, however, from which our Lord selects his examples for the
illustration of the general precept, there is no room for hesita36 Matt. v. 39-42.                              d See Note D.
37 It matters little whether r, 5irovpp be considered as masculine or neuter, as
the evil doer or the evil deed, the injurer or the injury. The latter, for reasons
likely to occur to every mind, is, however, the preferable exegesis. It includes
the former. Most certainly they err who refer the word to him who is emphatically" the wicked one." We are expressly bound to "resist him." James iv. 7.
38Brewster.




PART IV.]       CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.                   187
tion or doubt. If a man give a disciple of Christ a contemptuous or painful blow on the cheek, it is his duty and wisdom to
imitate his Master, and to take it patiently, nay, to turn the other,
and expose himself to a repetition of the insult or injury, rather
than to begin a contest, by returning the blow,39 sending a challenge, or commencing a process at law-even although he should
be ridiculed for his want of manly spirit, in consequence of his
obedience to the law of his Lord. If a man be sued at law, and
be unjustly deprived of his'coat,'40 or inner garment, which,
though not of great value, he yet might be ill able to spare, he
had better suffer himself to be defrauded of his " cloak,""4 or upper garment, than be involved in the temptations and evils of
seeking legal redress.  "Under many pretences, unreasonable
nen make demands on our time and our labor; and, in many
cases, it is better quietly to comply with their demands than to
resist them. If a man insist on my going a mile out of my way
to serve him, I had better go two than quarrel about it.""4 From
the use of a word borrowed from the Persic, descriptive of compulsory labor performed in the service of the State, "the compeller" here is to be understood as some official, requiring the person referred to, to serve as a guide or messenger.
This command of our Lord, thus illustrated by the examples
he brings forward, plainly does not forbid us to defend ourselves
when we are in danger. To do so is one of the strongest instincts of our nature, the law of God written on our heart. But
with regard to personal injuries, when there is no hazard of life,
as in the case specified, it is our duty to repress resentment, and
to abstain from  violence.  In like manner, there are cases in
which it is plainly a man's duty to avail himself of the protection
which the law gives to property. Justice to his creditors, to the
public, to his family, may require him to defend his estate,
though even this must not be done under the impulse of private
revenge. But we ought to have resort to the tribunals of justice,
only when the cause is important and the call urgent; we are to
prosecute our claims with humanity, moderation, and a spirit of
peace; we are to be content with reasonable satisfaction, and
embrace every opportunity of terminating our contests.
In reference to personal liberty-there can be no doubt, that,
next to the blessings of a good conscience, and the hope of eternal
life, it is one of the most valuable privileges. Every Christian
and every man should be ready to do much and suffer much, in
39 " Why is the right cheek specified, although, when we strike-striking with
the right hand, we strike the left cheek 8 Maldonatus (one of the best of the
Roman Catholic interpreters) correctly answers:'Non ccedendi consuetudinem,
sed loquendi secutus est;' it being always the custom to mention the right first."
-THOLUCK.
4o Xtr6V is the under-coat made of linen or cotton, which folded closely to the
body-the Roman "tunica."
41'Ipu6rtov is the cloak worn outmost, made of various stuffs, according to the
fortunes of the wearer-from camel's hair to the richest silk. It hung loose about
the body, corresponding with the Roman "toga," or rather "pallium."
42 Scott.




188               THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.                [EXP. IV.
order to secure it and retain it for himself and others. Yet at
the same time, he will not only " patiently submit to every necessary burden, and constitutional restraint," but, in obedience to
our Lord's precept, he "will bear much of the insolence" of men
" dressed up in a little brief authority," " overlook many stretches
of power, and endure even a variety of acts of oppression, rather
than have recourse to violence and tumult."43
The injunctions in the 42d verse are a farther illustration of
that noble, generous spirit, which the righteousness of the kingdom  requires in the subjects of the Messiah-which prevents a
man from  standing on every point of right, and induces him,
instead of insisting or rendering evil to all who have deserved it
at his hand, to do good to those who have no particular claim on
him. The words are plainly to be understood with very considerable limitations."   They  cannot possibly  mean, that we
should give and lend to all persons, without considering what
they need to receive, or what we are able to bestow. To do this,
would be equally inconsistent with the dictates of Scripture,
justice, and common sense:-" A  good man showeth mercy,
and lendeth;" but then, it is added, "he will guide his affairs
with discretion."  " Let him that stole steal no more: but rather
let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good,
that he may have to give to him  that needeth."4"  "For I mean
not that other men be eased, and you burdened; but by an
equality, that now  at this time your abundance may be a supply
for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for
your want; that there may be equality."'" "Now concerning
the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches
of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let
every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him,
that there be no gatherings when I come.""4 "Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send
relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea.""8  " He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart
to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.""9 From these passages, it is plain that we are to give or
lend, with discretion, to those who have need-out of our abundance, as God hath prospered us-according to our ability; and
that we are to impart to another, not the whole, but a portion, of
43 Brewster.-Tholuck has, with great felicity, in a few words summed up the
true meaning of these precepts. " Christ, with indefinite generality, declares in
what way the Christian is to act when he happens to be subjected to violence.
The application of the precept, however, is in many ways conditional upon a regard to God's glory, the good of the injurer, and the good of the community.'
Olshausen's idea as to this, and the paragraphs about marriage and oaths, that
they are applicable tv r, /atoXeigTa ratv oipavtv but not Ev r7 Kc6au, is most unsatisfactory, and absolutely amazing, coming from so good a man.
44 Jerome would limit the precept to spiritual things; but this is quite arbitrary. And what is it to lend and borrow in these? There is much good sense,
however, in his remark-" Et divites si semper dederint, semper dare non
poterunt."
45 Eph. iv. 28.      46 2 Cor. viii. 13, 14.    47 1 Cor. xvi. 1, 2.
48 Acts xi. 29                                  49 Luke iii. 11.




PART IV.]       CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISIM.                189
what we possess more than he.50  Our Lord recommends a kind
and liberal spirit, inciting a man to do good to the utmost of his
power.  Such was the spirit of Christ to an impoverished world,
and such is the spirit of his religion. It has been finely said,
"Selfishness is in every shape and form  antichristian."
To all to whom God has given the means of beneficence, we
proclaim the law of the kingdom; and that it may make the
d(eeper impression, we proclaim it in the express terms of the
Divine statute-book:-" Withhold not good from  them  to whom
it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.""' " As
we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men,
especially unto them who are of the household of faith.""'
" Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on
the things of others."5   "But to do good and to communicate
forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.""4 And,
as motives which must be found irresistible by every christian
heart, we put them  in mind of "the words of the Lord Jesus,
how he said, It is more blessed to give to give than to receive;" and of
his work, in which his grace so marvellously displayed itself, in
that, "though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor,
that we through his poverty might be rich."55
~ 7. The righteousness of Christians, and that of the Scribes and
Pharisees, compared in reference to regard  and  treatment of
enemies.
A sixth, and certainly no less striking and conclusive, illustration of our Lord's principle, that the righteousness of the kingdom exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, is contained in
the verses which now  come before us for explication:-" Ye
have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.""  This is "the righteousness of
the Scribes and Pharisees" —" But I say unto you, Love your
enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate
you, and'pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute
you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in
heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the
good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if
ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even
the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only,
what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven
50 Brewster.    51 Prov. iii. 27.  52 Gal. vi. 10. See also 1 Tim. v. 8.
53 Phil. ii. 4.    54 Heb. xiii. 16.    55 Acts xx. 35. 2 Cor. viii. 9.
56 Maurice is the only interpreter I have met with who considers these words
as the utterance of Divine law. "So long as Israel was a nation, so long as it
owned God and God owned it, the maxim,'Thou shalt hate thine enemy,' expressed a duty as real, as binding, as the other to which it was appropriated,' Thou shalt love thy neighbor."'" A man is far gone in an attachment to a hypothesis, whether hermeneutical or dogmatical, who, rather than abandon it, can
take up a position such as this.-MAURICrE, iii. 60.




190             THIE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.           [EXP. IV.
is perfect.""' This is the righteousness of the kingdom.f —Surely
there is a superiority, an infinite superiority, in the righteousness
of the kingdom above the righteousness of the Scribes and
Pharisees!
But that we may be the more impressed with this superiority,
let us consider somewhat more closely the respective requisitions
of the two contrasted moral systems. The passage before us is a
very satisfactory confirmation of the general view which we have
taken of our Lord's object in this section of the discourse, that it
is not to contrast the Jewish false commentaries on the law of
God with the true meaning of that law; that it is not to contrast
the morality of the law with the morality of the Gospel, the
morality of Moses with the morality of Christ; but that it is to
contrast the system of religious and moral duty taught by the
Scribes, and exemplified by the Pharisees, with the system of religious and moral duty to be taught and exemplified under the
new economy about to be established by the Messiah. The first
part of the moral precept, in this particular dogma of the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, is, so far as the words are
concerned, to be found in the Pentateuch, though bearing a very
different meaning from that which the Scribes attached to it;
the second is, neither as to language nor as to sentiment, to be
found anywhere in the Old Testament Scriptures, and is, indeed,
in direct opposition to the spirit of the morality taught by Moses
and the prophets. In Leviticus xix. 18, we meet with this
injunction-" Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge
against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself." In the estimation of the Scribes, the persons who, under the designation of neighbors, are represented as
the proper objects of love, are exclusively their compatriotstheir fellow Israelites, those who belonged to their nation, or who
professed their religion.  If they had carefully studied their
sacred books, they would have found that the Egyptians are
represented as the neighbors of the Israelites;' and that in the
very chapter where the words referred to occur, the following
words are also to be found: " And if a stranger sojourn with thee
in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou
shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of
Egypt: I am the Lord your God.""  Strangers, equally with
neighbors, are represented as the proper objects of such a love as
we bear to ourselves; and though there are passages in which
" neighbor" signifies one with whom, by common origin or vicinity of residence, we are peculiarly connected, in contrast with a
foreigner or stranger, yet the manner in which it is employed in the
Decalogue, is sufficient of itself to show that the term is often
used to denote mankind at large, with all of whom every individ57 Matt. v. 43-48.                       58 Exod. xi. 2.
59 Lev. xix. 33, 34. See also 1 Sam. xv. 28. 1 Kings xx. 35.
f See Note F.




PART IV.]      CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.              191
ual is connected by a variety of ties. When they were prohibited
from bearing false witness against their neighbors, they were certainly prohibited from bearing false witness against any one; and
when they were prohibited from coveting the wife as the property
of their neighbor, surely the prohibition had a universal reference.
The command to love their neighbor, properly understood, was a
command to love all mankind; and, by consequence, absolutely
prohibited malignant feeling —for, "if we love all our neighbors
of mankind, there will remain none to hate."6"
But if the first part of this dogma of the Scribes, though expressed in scriptural language, was utterly unsupported by
Scripture, rightly understood, the second part of it is directly
opposed equally to the letter and spirit of scriptural morality.
There is no such command in the Old Testament, as "Thou
shalt hate thine enemy."  There is no such sentiment expressed
under any form of words. On the contrary, the opposite sentiment is clearly and frequently taught.  As proof of this, we
appeal to the following passages of the Old Testament Scrip:
tures:-" If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray,
thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the
ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest
forbear to help him; thou shalt surely help with him."6' " Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth; and let not thine heart be
glad when he stumbleth; lest the Lord see it, and it displease
him, and he turn away his wrath from him."62  "If thine enemy
be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give
him water to drink."63
It is true, indeed, that the Israelites, as the executioners of
the Divine righteous judgments on the enormously wicked inhabitants of Canaan, were required to destroy them. The language
used on this subject is very strong.  "Thou shalt not seek their
peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever."6   " And when
the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee, thou shalt smite
them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant
with them, nor show mercy unto them: neither shalt thou make
marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his
son, nor his daughter shalt,thou take unto thy son."6   " Thou
shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after
their works; but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite
break down their images."66  " Therefore it shall be, when the
Lord thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round
about, ill the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance
of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.""' These
injunctions, however, laid no foundation for the general principle
that it is lawful to hate enemies. These nations were criminals,
righteously appointed to extermination on account of their reo
6u Brewster.     61 Exod. xxiii. 4, 5.  62 Prov. xxiv. 17, 18.
63 Prov. xxv. 21.    64 Deut. xxiii. 6.  65 Deut. vii. 2, 3.
60 Exo& xxiii. 24.   67 Deut, xxv. 19.




192             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.           [EXP. IV.
markable crimes; and the Jewish people were appointed to carry
the sentence into execution. Even in this case, they were not
warranted, far less commanded. to hate the unhappy criminals
whom  they were yet appointed to punish; and to suppose that
these injunctions justified them  in hating their enemies, and
in ranking among their enemies all who did not belong to their
nation, and adopt their religion, was altogether an unwarranted
assumption; and was, indeed, a making void God's commandment by man's tradition.
The substance of the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees on this point, seems to have been-' Jews are bound to love
and do good to Jews; but they are not only permitted, it is a
part of their duty, to cherish dislike towards the Gentiles.' Their
statement is faulty in three important respects: They gave an
unduly limited sense to the word neighbor; they reckoned all
who were not neighbors, in their sense of the word, as enemies; and they considered themselves as allowed to hate their
enemies.68
The doctrine of the Scribes was but too well suited to the
malignant and selfish principles of human nature, and we find
the Pharisees, and the Jews generally, acting under its influence.
A heathen historian, speaking of the Jews, says, " They readily
show compassion to their own countrymen, but they bear to all
others the hatred of an enemy;"6 and the apostle Paul describes
them  as "contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the
Gentiles that they might be saved."
We find the same malignant and selfish principle manifesting
itself among other nations as well as the Jews. The Greeks and
Romans looked on foreign nations with sentiments of malignant
contempt, and treated them with the greatest injustice and
cruelty, and there is but too much of the same spirit to be traced
even in our own times, both in public transactions and in private
life.
"Lands intersected by a narrow frith
Abhor each other-mountains interposed,
Make enemies of nations, who had else,
Like kindred drops, been mingled into one."70
In opposition to this righteousness of the Scribes and the
Pharisees, our Lord declares the righteousness of the kingdom:
-" But I say unto you, Love your enemies.""  This precept is
equivalent to a prohibition of malignant feeling towards any
human being; a command to cherish kind wishes towards all
mankind. Instead of warranting us to confine our benevolent
regards to those whom we may consider our neighbors-our
kindred or countrymen-our benefactors or friends-men of our
own sect, or even religion-our Lawgiver commands us to embrace, in the wide-spread arms of our benevolence, all mankind,
-strangers, foreigners, heathens, even enemies. Every human
68 Brewster.  69 Tacit. Hist. v. 5.  70 Cowper's Task.  71 Matt. v. 44.




PART IV.]     CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.             193
being is to be regarded with good will; and, as we have opportunity, to be treated with kindness. It is quite obvious, that we
are not required to regard with precisely the same kind of feelings
a christian brother, and an openly profane and profligate person
-a generous benefactor and a malignant inveterate enemy. It
is not possible-and, if it were, it would not be proper —to
cherish the same tender regard for strangers, as for " our own,
those of our own household," the same gratitude to enemies as
to benefactors, the same esteem for the bad as for the good. But
we are to regard all men, even our enemies, with love, that is,
we are sincerely to wish them well; we are to desire their good;
we are, as we have opportunity, to promote their happiness.
In the clauses which immediately follow, our Lord illustrates
what he means by loving our enemies: —" Bless them that curse
you." To bless a person, in Scripture, often means to implore
blessings from God on him, and had this clause stood alone, I
should have been disposed to interpret the phrase in the passage
before us-' Implore blessings on the head of him who is imprecating evils on yours.' But in this case, the injunction would be
quite synonymous with pray for them. To "bless," here, I apprehend, signifies to speak in a civil and friendly manner, so far
as truth will permit, both to and of those individuals who speak
to and of us in a very different way.  It is, I think, quite
parallel to the apostle's injunction, not to "render railing for
railing, but contrariwise blessing."'Be civil and kind to those
who are rude to you, and be ready, when you can do so with
truth, to speak to the advantage of those who have, by malignant and untrue statements, endeavored to injure your reputation.'' Do good to them that hate yoru."'Your benevolent regard
to your enemies, is not to be confined to kind wishes and civil
speeches: where you have an opportunity-and you ought
readily to avail yourself of every opportunity that offers, you
ought to seek such opportunities-you should be ready to do a
good office to him who has proved his hatred of you by doing
you an ill office.'
"Pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you."'Knowing that you can do but little to make them happy, call in
the aid of Omnipotence. Instead of imprecating vengeance,
pray for forgiveness, and for all heavenly and spiritual blessings,
to them; and do this for your most inveterate foes-" for them
who despitefully use you and persecute you."'
A  most powerful motive to the discharge of these difficult
duties is suggested by our Lord in the words that follow:
" That ye mnay be the children of your Father which is in heaven:
for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good,
and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."'2 These words
may either mean,'that you may clearly show that you are the
children of God-that ye stand in a peculiar, close, and endear72 Matt. v. 45.
VOL. I.                   13




194            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.           [EXP. IV.
ing relation to him, and that ye have been formed to a peculiar
character in reference to him;' or'that you may resemble God,
as children resemble their parents.' I apprehend the last is our
Lord's meaning. Cherish these sentiments, adopt this conduct,
in reference to enemies, for it is in this way that you are to imitate him whom you, under the new dispensation, are enabled to
(call Father, with a peculiar emphasis. He is good to the unthankful and evil; he makes His7' sun to rise on the evil as well
as on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. He
is merciful even to those who resist his will, and rebel against
his laws. They share the bounties of his providence. They are
invited to participate in the blessings of his salvation. He has
no pleasure in their death. He is not willing that any should
perish. He is long-suffering towards them, that his goodness
may lead them to repentance. Surely this must be felt by every
Christian as a very powerful motive, especially when he considers what must have become of himself,-what must have become of the whole race of man, —had not God loved his enemies,
and " commended his love to men, in that while they were enemies, he spared not his own Son, but gave him up, the just in
the room of the unjust."  The man who hates his enemies is not
like God-cannot be a child of God. A child of God!-he is of
his father the devil, and the works of his father he does. The
more we love our enemies the more we resemble God, and the
more evidence do we exhibit that we are really his children.
The whole of our Lord's exhortation goes on the principle
that, from "the children of the kingdom," it is reasonable to expect such a conformity to the character of their Father; and
that if this is not manifested, they who profess to be children of
the kingdom, disgrace at once their profession and themselves.
" For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do
not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?""'If your kind regards are confined to those who
regard and treat you with kindness, you do no more than the
worst and most despicable class of men are in the habit of doing.
Wicked and unprincipled men readily express their gratitude to
those who have befriended them.  The most barbarous and
savage nations generally return kindness for kindness. Even
the brute creation show attachment to those who treat them
well. Will you take credit to yourself for having acted like a
Christian, when you have only acted not worse than a heathen,
and not worse than a brute? If you would show that you are
the children of God, you must love not only him whom the
Scribes call your neighbor, but him also whom they call your
enemy. You must be "perfect as your Father in heaven is
perfect."'
These words are to be limited by the context,-' your love is not
73 Beautifully does Bengel say, "Magnifica appellatio. Ipse et focit solem et
gubernat, et habet in sua nuius potestate."  74 Matt. v. 46, 47.




PART IV.]       CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.               195
to be partial, but universal, like that of your heavenly Father.
You are to love not some only, but all, even those who seem the
least suitable objects of benevolent regard.' That this is the
meaning, is plain from  the parallel passage in Luke, "Be ye
merciful, as your Father which is in heaven is merciful.""
While I have no doubt this is the meaning of the words, it is an
important truth, that the Divine moral excellence is the copy
and rule of the Christian, and that nothing short of as complete
a conformity to this, as the limited capacities of our nature admit of, should satisfy our ambition.'7
To love enemies is not natural to man; and the only effectual
method of implanting such a disposition in the mind, is the shedding abroad in the heart of the love of God and his Son." The
man who really believes, that when he was an enemy of God,
God so loved him as to give his Son to be the victim for his sins,
cannot deliberately cherish resentment againt any human being,
but, constrained by God's love, he will become a follower of him
as a dear child, and reason in this way:-' If God for Christ's
sake, has forgiven me, surely I should forgive my brethren.'
There is something peculiarly touching in the manner in which
the Apostle Paul enforces the duties here enjoined, in his Epistle
to Titus.  " Speak evil of no man, be no brawlers, be gentle,
showing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also
were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts
and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one
another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which
we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the
washing of regeneration, and renewing of the HIoly Ghost;
which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that, being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs
according to the hope of eternal life.  This is a faithful saying,
and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they
which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good
works. These things are good and profitable unto men.""7
~ 8. The righteousness of Christians, and that of the Scribes and
Pharisees, compared in reference to the duties of beneficence and
piety.
In the sixth chapter, our Lord prosecutes his illustration by
examples, of the principle stated at the 20th verse of the preceding chapter,' that the righteousness of the kingdom greatly
exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and of the Pharisees;'
75 "Perfecti in amore, erga omnes."-BENGEL.
76 "Ipse secundum naturam suam, nos secundum nostram."-AUGUSTIN.
77 "A love such as this, man cannot appropriate to himself, through a resolution of will, or by means of endeavor, because this love is a divine love; he can
only obtain it thri ugh a spiritual communication by faith" —OLsaauss.
73 Tit. iiL 2-8.




196              THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.             [EXP. IV
that is, that the system of religious and moral duty, to be taught
and exemplified under the new economy, was to be greatly
superior to that taught by the Scribes, and exemplified by the
Pharisees. The instances already brought forward refer to that
system as taught by the Scribes; the instances which follow
refer to it as exemplified by the Pharisees.
"Take heed," says our Lord, " that ye do not your alms before
men, to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your
Father which is in heaven."79  It is generally admitted, by the
best critics, that the original reading of the passage before us is,
"Take heed that ye do not your righteousness8~ before men to be
seen of them," etc. This first verse is a statement of a general
principle in reference to religious and moral duties, which, in the
succeeding verses, is applied to the three particular duties of alms,
prayer, and fasting.
To " do our righteousness" is just, in other words, to perform
those duties which we owe to God and to man. Now, our Lord
prohibits his disciples from imitating the conduct of the Pharisees in doing these duties before men to be seen of them. These
words are not to be understood as a prohibition of the performance of religious and moral duty in the presence of other men;
for many duties, both of religion and morality, are of a public
nature, and, therefore, if performed at all, must be performed before men; but they are to be understood as a prohibition of
giving an unnecessary publicity to our performances of duty, and
especially, of our performing any duty in public in order to attract
attention to ourselves, and secure applause for our conduct.
There are cases in which we not only may perform, but ought
to perform, certain duties publicly, and perform them with the
wish and purpose that they may attract notice; we are to " provide things honest," that is, honorable, "in the sight of all
men;781 we are to " make our light shine before men, that they
may see our good works."8' But while we do so, we must have
an ulterior object. If we do our good works before men that
they may see them, the object must be, not that they may applaud us, but "that they may glorify our father which is in
heaven;" not that we may show off ourselves to advantage, but
that we may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
The words of our Lord are equivalent to,-' Beware of giving an
unnecessary publicity to your performance of duty; and beware
of making the approbation and applause of men your ultimate
object in the performance of duty.'
This injunction is enforced by a very powerful motive:"Otherwise ye have no reward of your Father who is in heaven:"
that is,'If you perform -your duties merely in order to obtain
the praise of men, you cannot obtain the approbation of God,
79 Matt. vi. 1.
8s  " &KaLoavVq, instead of LTeUoavy." — ide TIOLUCK. "Justitiam generaliter
nominavit, deinde particulariter exsequitur; est enim pars aliqua justitise, opus
quod per eleemosynam fit."-AuGuSTIN.
81 Rom. xii, 17.                           82 Matt. v. 16.




P'ART IV.]    CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.             197
or those manifestations of his approbation in which the reward of duty consists.' This statement proceeds on a principle
which pervades the whole of the system of duty enjoined by our
Lord-that actions take their character from their principlesand that nothing is an act of duty to God but what springs from
a regard to his authority, and from a desire of his approbation.
A number of men perform the same external act-an act required by the Divine law-but they perform it from different
principles. One does it merely because it is customary, and
thus proves that he has the principle of imitation. The act with
him is little better than a mere manifestation of instinct. Another does it to increase his influence or power,-in him it is a
display of ambition. Another does it to advance his worldly interests, —in him it is a manifestation of " covetousness."  Another does it to acquire applause,-in him it is a display of vanity.
Another does it to alleviate or remove the sufferings of his fellow-men,-in him it is a manifestation of humanity. Another
does it, because he knows it to be the will of God, to which he
is desirous of being in all things conformed,-and in him alone
it is an act of religious duty."3 He alone does what God requires,
which is not only to do some external act, but to do that act from
a regard to the will of God; and, of course, he only can obtain
God's approbation, and those manifestations of God's approbation
in which the reward of duty consists. For a man doing righteousness, doing what is in itself good, merely in order to obtain
the approbation of men-for such a man to expect God's approbation, is in the highest degree unreasonable. He is not seeking
it; and not seeking it, most assuredly he never will obtain it.
In our Lord's words there is involved, not only the principle,
that acts in themselves good, if proceeding from unworthy motives, cannot obtain the approbation of God, or the manifestation of that approbation which is the proper reward of duty; but
also the converse principle, that acts in themselves good, if they
proceed from right motives, must meet with the Divine approbation, and be rewarded by suitable manifestations of that approbation. Nothing we can do can merit reward; but it is the natural and necessary result of the infinite holiness and benignity of
the Divine nature, that every act of real allegiance to God, every
expression of' love, esteem, veneration, and obedience, is regarded
by him with complacency, and draws forth, in some form or other,
a display of this complacency, in conferring a gracious reward.
Against the practice of performing duties from a vain-glorious
principle, our Lord exhorts his disciples with peculiar urgency:
"Take heed," says he, " that ve do not your righteousness to be
seen of men."  Our Lord's emphatic language intimates, that
what he warns them against is an evil of great magnitude, and
an evil which they were in great hazard of incurring; an evil, to
borrow the quaint language of Matthew Henry, that they were
"in great danger by, and in danger of."  Making a regard for
83 Brewster.




198               THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.                  [EXP. IV.,
human approbation and applause, the great motive of our con
duct, is utterly inconsistent with the very being of religion. ft
degrades the character, and ruins the soul. He who primarily
seeks the praise of men, by doing so excludes himself from the
praise of God; and he who finds the reward of his conduct in
the applause of short-sighted and misjudging men now, will find
his punishment in the everlasting contempt of all truly wise intelligent beings forever. As it is an evil of great magnitude, so
it is one from which we are in great danger. The love of the
approbation of our fellow-men is a principle natural to us; and,
when kept within its proper bounds, it is a very useful and praiseworthy principle; but it is ever in danger of passing these limits,
and usurping to itself supremacy, as a motive to action It has been
justly said, that " The love of human praise is a very subtle and
deceitful desire. It imperceptibly creeps into the heart, and ere
we are aware, becomes the animating and regulating principle of
conduct."'
To prevent mistake, it may be proper to observe, that nothing
which our Lord's says here, is at all inconsistent with the doctrine
of his apostle, who teaches us that " every one should please his
neighbor for his good to edification."85  We are to avoid offending those with whom we are connected; we are to seek to stand
well in their estimation.  We are to do so, however, not from
the desire of their praise, but because God has commancned us so
to act, and because, without being esteemed by them, it is not
likely we shall have it in our power to be really useful to them.
It is to be done less for our own sake than for theirs-n-ot that
we may have their approbation, but that we may promote their
welfare. What our Lord condemns, is not the wishing to stand
well in the estimation of our fellow-men, but the ostentatiously
performing religious or moral duties for the purpose of securing
their admiration or applause; in one word, the placing a regard
to the opinion of man in the room of a regard to the will of
God."8
It may also not be without its use, to guard against an undue
contempt of the opinion of man. There is a great tendency in
the human mind to run into extremes.  That man is in a serious
84 Brewster                                    85 Rom. xv. 2_.
86 "The" excessive "love of men's admiration and applause is a most dangerous
and pernicious principle. It leads to all the vanities and follies of this world, to
fawning and flattery, to cunning and deceit, to envy and calumny, to ostentation
and hypocrisy, to ambition and murder, to infidelity and irreligion. It fetters
the faculties of the mind, and perverts the feelings of the heart. It sets conscience aside, makes the word of God of none effect, and gives to man another
rule of life-the opinion of the world: an uncertain rule, always changing according to the fancies of men-an insufficient rule, leading him only to put on the
appearance of righteousness —a dangerous rule, as likely to lead him to evil as to
good-a sinful rule, substituting the will of man in the room of the will of God;
and the individual's own honor in the room of God's glory-in fine, an unchristian
rule, opposing the whole spirit and design of the Gospel; filling the man with
the thought of his excellencies rather than with the sense of his deficiencies;
flattering his pride instead of humbling his heart; teaching him to live to himself rather than to his Maker and Redeemer.' —Abridged from BREWSTER.




PART IV.]     CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.             _99
error, who thinks he has attained true dignity of character,
merely because he sets at defiance public opinion. In very
many cases, he who does so, is in reality only courting public
admiration, by pretending to despise it. He wishes the world to
admire him as a person superior to its smiles or its frowns. The
man who attends to the duties of life, from a regard to human
opinion, may, to a certain degree, be a useful member of society.
The man who is neither animated by the love of praise, nor restrained by the fear of contempt, if a stranger to higher and
holier motives, is likely to be one of the most mischievous members of society.
Having laid down this general principle, that, unlike the
Pharisees, his disciples should not allow a regard to the opinion,
and a desire of the applause, of men, to be their leading motive
in the discharge of religious and moral duties, our Lord proceeds
to apply this general principle to particular uses. He applies it,
in succession, to alms, to prayer, and to fasting.
(1.) Alms.
Our Lord applies the principle first to alms:-" Therefore,
when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues, and in the streets, that
they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have
their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand
know what thy right hand doeth; that thine alms may be in
secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, himself shall re
ward thee openly."8'
It is obvious that our Lord goes on the supposition, that his
disciples would give alms. At this time our Lord's disciples
were comparatively few, and the great body of them belonged to
the laboring class, and yet he takes for granted that they would
give alms. True religion always teaches men to be merciful;
and it is the duty of all who have more than what is absolutely
necessary for their own support, and that of their families, to
give what they can spare to those who need. I do not think
Christ Jesus would have acknowledged any person as a disciple
who did not give alms, unless he was himself absolutely indigent.
Our Lord gives directions, both negatively and positively, as
to the manner in which alms should be given. Let us look at
his negative directions:-" When thou doest thine alms, do not
sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the syna.
gogues, and in the streets, that they may have glory of men.
Verily I say unto you, They have their reward."
It has been supposed by interpreters, that in this passage there
is a reference to a custom among the Jews, of which we have no
particular record. It is well known that, among some of the
ancient nations-the Romans, for example-it was a custom for
the rich to distribute at their doors, at stated times, money and
87 Matt. vi. 2-4.




200              THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.                [EXP. IV
provisions among their poor dependants; and it has been sup.
posed that this custom had been introduced among the Jews.
It has also been supposed, that on such occasions a trumpet was
sounded, professedly to assemble the poor, but really to give
public notice that the rich were engaged in a work of generosity.'
This is, however, merely a conjecture,"8 though not an improbable
one. We have good evidence that, in oriental countries, mendicants often carry a trumpet along with them, which they sound
on receiving alms, in honor of those who bestow them; and it
has been supposed that the Pharisees selected such mendicants as
the objects of their alms, that their liberality might be duly celebrated.89 It is quite possible, however, that the word may be
merely a proverbial way of expressing the sentiment:-' Make no
unnecessarily ostentatious display of your liberality in almsgiving.'
Our Lord terms the persons who were in the habit of acting
in this way, " hypocrites."9" There can be no doubt the reference
is to the Pharisees, to whom he often gives this name. The
word signifies stage-players-actors-persons who assume a character. The great body of the Pharisees seem to have been of
this description. They assumed the appearance of great sanctity,
while they were, in reality, the slaves of worldly and selfish passions. They, in doing their alms, made an ostentatious display
in the synagogues and in the streets.
The word "synagogue" is usually, in Scripture, employed as
a distinctive name for the houses in which the Jews used to meet
for instruction and devotion.  The word, however, just means a
meeting. The English word meeting is often used in the south
to signify a dissenting place of worship; but still it is also often
used without this particular reference; and, in the same way, I
apprehend "synagogues" are here to be understood generally of
places of public concourse, as we have no reason to think that it
was the custom among the Jews to give alms in the synagogue."
These hypocritical Pharisees chose the most public situations for
-bestowing their alms-where there was to be found the greatest
number of spectators and admirers.
Their object in doing so was, " that they might have glory of
men." In giving publicity to their alms, their object was, not
that others might be led to imitate their example-and thus God
might be glorified, and the poor relieved-but that they might
secure for themselves a large share of public estimation, and thus
83 We may safely say so, since the learned, and laborious, and-honest Lightfoot
has said-" Non inveni, qu.esiverim licet multum serioque, vel minimum tubby
vestigium in praestandis Eleemosynis; a doctioribus (where were these to be
found?) libentissime hoc discerem.' Ikenius, another most learned man, makes
the same acknowledgment.
89 Harmer's Observations, vol. i.
90 The state of Greek learning, previous to the age immediately before the Reformation, may be judged of from Lyra's account of the etymology of V~o0Kptryf:' Dicitur," says he, "ab hypos quod est sub et crisis, aurum, quia sub auro, vel sub
honestate exterioris conversationis habet absconditum plumbumn falsitatis."
91 Erasmus, Grotius, Elsner, Wolfius, Kuincel, and Wahl.




PART IV.]       CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.                   201
be placed in more favorable circumstances for gaining their own
interested objects.
Our Lord most emphatically adds-" Verily they have their
reward." They obtain what they seek, and they shall obtain no
more.  The praise of men is their rewardr-all their reward.
They have the admiration of men, and the disapprobation of
God; and they are to the full rewarded. Indeed, their ostentatious and selfish ends rendered them even unworthy of the praise
of men. They have obtained more than they deserve, and it
would be unreasonable in them to expect any farther recompense.
Our Lord now proceeds to give positive directions as to the
manner in which alms should be given. " When thou doest
alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.""9
It is an ingenious remark, that there is probably here an allusion to the fact that the chest for receiving alms was placed at
the right hand entrance into the synagogue, so that, in passing
it, the right hand was employed in putting into it contributions
for the poor.93 Whether there be a reference to this custom or
not, the meaning of the words is plain: —' Let your almsgiving
be as private as possible-let not those at your left hand know
what you are giving in charity with.your right-let not even
your nearest relatives, who are most at your hand, be told of
your works of mercy, unless there be some good reason for their
knowing them;'-or' Endeavor to conceal them even from yourself. Do not dwell on them in your mind as a source of selfcomplacent reflection.'94
The first clause of the 4th verse should be read in connection
with the 3d, thus: " Let not thy left hand know what thy right
hand doeth, that thine alms may be in secret."' Use every
proper method to avoid ostentation in giving alms. In this case,
the praise of men cannot be expected; but if the alms be bestowed from a regard to the Divine authority, as one of God's
appointed methods for promoting the happiness of his children
and our brethren, we shall obtain a much richer reward. Our
Father,95 who seeth in secret, is the witness of our alms; he sees
what we do, and he sees the principle from which we do it.  He
approves of our conduct, and he will manifest his approbation of
our conduct.  That manifestation of his approbation shall be
public. He will reward you openly.'
The best illustration of this is to be found in Matthew xxv.
92 Matt. vi. 3.                                       93 Henry.
94 The exposition of LUTHER is original. According to him, such a giving by
the right hand is meant-as that the left, knowing nothing of the matter, cannot
stretch itself out, in order, by the reception of the honor, to make up the loss.
"That is called givers havers, as children joke with each other."-TnOLUCK.
TRENCH very happily gives the meaning —" Let your alms be given so secretly,
that, if that were possible, no part of yourselves, save that actually engaged in
the giving, should know of the gift-not even the brother hand."-Exposition of
the Sermon on the Mount, p. 85.
9 ",,Numero singulari Pater?neus dicere unigeniti proprium est: Pater tuus
dicitur ad fideles; pater vel pater noster a fidelibus dicitur. Conf. John xx. 17."
-- NGEI




202            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.           [EXP. IV.
" When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy
angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory."
"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say
unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of
these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."  "And these shall
go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into
life eternal."9
Our best works deserve no recompense at his hands. If we
think of them as we ought, we shall see so much wanting and so
much wrong, that we will not p;esume to think them worthy of
his notice. Yet he will notice the least and the most secret of
all; he will openly approve them; he will abundantly reward
them. " God is not unrighteous to forget the work, and labor
of love, which they show to his name."97 But it must be the
work and labor of love, and it must be showed to his name. It
deserves notice, that, in the Divine administration, it is so ordered
that the selfish person is disappointed in the end, while he who
seeks the good of others shall find his own. No works of man
can deserve reward from God. If any man think, by a series of
beneficent actions, to atone for his sins, and purchase heaven, he
shall find himself awfully disappointed. But every manifestation
of love to God, and love to men for God's sake, is an object of
the Divine approbation, and that approbation shall be suitably
displayed.
In this passage, as in a number of others in this discourse, we
must beware of an over-literal interpretation. In condemning
public almsgiving-or rather in condemning those who give all
their alms in public-it is not so much the act as the principle
which our Lord condemns. Were we understanding the words
in all the extent of meaning which they will bear-it would follow, that nothing ought to be given in public subscriptions or
collections for the poor-for in this, concealment would be improper, if not impossible. It is obvious from Acts xi. 29, 30,
that the primitive Christians did not always conceal their donations. To do so in every case would be inconsistent with the
command, "Let your light shine before men."  Indeed, it is
quite possible, that affected secresy may be a cloak to avarice,
and it is a fact that many by pretending to be very private in
their charities, have contrived to keep their money to themselves,
and at a very cheap rate obtain the reputation of remarkable
generosity.98 Yet, on the other hand, the remarks of the judicious Scott deserve to be seriously pondered, " Though there are
many charities which can scarcely be promoted without some
degree of public notoriety, and frequently a leading person may
be called to excite others, who are backward, by a useful example, yet no duty is more liable to be made an occasion of vainglory than this, and many designs, very praiseworthy in themselves, and beneficial to others, are supported by a liberality
which springs almost entirely from this corrupt principle. The
96 Matt. xxv. 31, 40, 46.  97 Heb. vi. 10,    98 Fuller.




PART IV.]      CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.                203
heart is deceitful, and when men love to have their names among
the subscribers to public charity, but are not equally liberal in
private, while they love to speak and hear of their own beneficence, and are not willing to do much without the credit of it, it
is too plain how the case stands with them. In general, private
charities, if not most useful, are most unequivocal, and the less
reward we receive from man, the more may we expect from our
gracious God."
(2.) Prayer.
We proceed now to the application of the general principle
laid down in the 1st verse, to the duty of prayer. The sum of
what he says in the preceding verses is —'My disciples, the
children of the kingdom, are to give alms, but they are not to
give them as the Pharisees do: their righteousness is in this
point to exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees.' And the
sum of what he says in the words now before us-' My disciples,
the children of the kingdom, are to pray, but they are not to
pray as the Pharisees: in this point also, their righteousness is
to exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees.' How it is to do
so will appear more distinctly, when we have examined somewhat
more minutely our Lord's statements.
1. General directions about Prayer.
"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites
are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and in
the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily
I say unto you, They have their reward."99
There are two preliminary remarks, to which I would call
attention, before entering on the explication of these words. The
first is, that our Lord does not here condemn public worship or
social prayer.100 It is plain, both from reason and Scripture, that
both of these are duties, and from their very nature they cannot
be performed in secret. They must be performed before men,
though our object in performing them must not be, that we may
be seen of men. The reference plainly is to personal individual
prayer.
The second preliminary remark is, that our Lord takes for
granted, that all his disciples would be distinguished by the performance of secret prayer. What he says is not to persuade
men to prayer, but to direct them in it. " Infidels may imagine
that God does not concern himself with the affairs of mortals,
and may excuse themselves by pretending that it would be presumption in them to solicit the Supreme Being to do this or that.
99 Matt. vi. 5.
100 That learned and honest, but very unsound-minded man, Gilbert Wakefield,
maintained that there was no divinely-appointed or sanctioned christian public
worship. He was satisfactorily replied to by Dr. Priestley and Mrs. Barbauld,
of his own denomination, as well as by others of a more orthodox creed.




204             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.              [EXP. IV.
Formalists may say their prayers, and be glad when the task is
over; but Christians cannot live without communion with God.
As soon as Saul is converted-turned from  a Pharisee into
a Christian-' Behold he prayeth.' "' He formerly " said prayers"
in public, now he prays in good earnest in secret. Prayer has
with much propriety been called the breath of the new creature;
and it has justly been said, you will as soon find a living man
who does not breathe, as a living Christian who does not pray.
"Every one that is godly," says David, " will pray to thee."
Taking it for granted, then, that our Lord's object is to show
how, in the performance of the duty of secret prayer, his disciples
were to exceed the Pharisees, the disciples of the Scribes, let us
see in what this superiority was to consist:-" When they prayed,
they were not to be as the hypocrites;" that is, the Pharisees who
were hypocrites, men who assumed a character which did not belong to them, who pretended to be very religious, when in truth,
in the just acceptation of the word, they were not religious at all.
Hypocrisy characterized the general conduct of the Pharisees;
but in nothing was it more disgustingly exhibited than in the
manner in which they performed the duty of individual personal
prayer.  They "loved to pray standing2 in the synagogues,"
that is, I apprehend, not the place of public worship, but any
place of public concourse-and "in the corners of the streets,"'
-at the crossing of the streets, where there generally is a crowd,
and where they could be seen from all quarters. These were the
places and circumstances in which the hypocritical Pharisees
loved to perform their personal devotions.
This seems very strange to us, but it quite accords with what
is still customary in oriental countries, especially among the
Mohammedans. There are stated times for prayer, and whenever
these times arrive, the more devout-wherever they are, in whatever company, and in whatever employment they are engagedimmediately perform their devotions.' A similar custom prevails in Spain, not improbably borrowed from the Moors.
We know that among the Jews there were appointed hours
for prayer, the third hour, or nine o'clock; the sixth hour, or
mid-day; and the ninth hour, or three in the afternoon.5 How
this appointment originated we do not know. We find David
saying, "Evening, morning, and at noon, will I pray;" and we
find Daniel praying three times a day, probably at these seasons.
Now it would appear that it was a common thing for the hypocritical Pharisees, instead of retiring at these seasons for devotion,
rather to arrange matters, so as that they might be found in a
very public situation when these times came; and there, in the
1 Fuller.
2," The usual attitude of the Jews in prayer, as also of the ancient Christians,
was standing. Maimon. constit. de precat." —THoLUCK. 1 Kings viii. 22. Dan.
vi. 10. In the Greek church also, "standing" is the prayer posture.
3 "Non publice in synagoga orare unquam solorum hypocritarum fuit."ELSNER. Matt. vi. 5. Prov. viii. 2, 3.
4 Brewster.                      5 Prideaux, Connect. vol. i.




PART IV.]      CHRISTIAN'ITY AND PHARISAISM.           205
presence of an admiring multitude, with all the external appearances of remarkable devotion, they said their prayers. Their
object was not that they might be heard by God, but " seen of
men."  The act of personal prayer, in itself a dutiful one, was in
their case, not so much an act of worship of God, as of worship
partly of themselves, and partly of those whose applause they
coveted.
Here, as in the case of alms, our Lord warns his disciples, not
so much against the external act, as against the principle which
it implies. They mistake his meaning who think that he here
prohibits the posture of standing in prayer, or prohibits in every
case the performance of personal devotion in public. A Christian may be placed in circumstances in which he cannot retire
for secret prayer, but he is not therefore to neglect it, nor is he
studiously to conceal from his companions that he performs it.
Paul " gave thanks to God in the presence of the ship's company;"' nay, Christians may be placed in circumstances in which
it is their duty to make it known, that they regularly attend to
the duties of personal devotion. Daniel is not to be blamed because he opened his window when " he kneeled on his knees, and
prayed to God in his house,"' as a testimony against the impious
decree, forbidding all prayer for a month.
That which Christ means to censure was the loving to pray
in public places "to be seen of men."  " His object was not to
appoint the place, or the posture of prayer. These, in his estimation, were matters of very inferior moment; but to detect the
vanity of the mind; to direct his followers to seek, not the applause of men, but the approbation of God."8 The person who
loves to officiate in social worship, because he may thus obtain
for himself a character for remarkable piety among his brethren,
is equally condemned by the spirit1of our Lord's prohibition, as
the Pharisee who performed his private devotion in public for the
same purpose.
In reference to such persons our Lord solemnly declares,
"Verily I say untQ you, they have their reward."  The word
"reward," is of ambiguous meaning, nearly equivalent to recompense. It seems to have been our Lord's intention to intimate, that these men's conduct would be followed by its natural
consequences, both from men and from God, in time and in
eternity. They obtain man's applause, and God's disapprobation, because, for a pretence, they make public and long prayers;
they are honored by men who look on the outward appearance,
and from him who looketh on the heart they receive "'greater
damnation."
The man who can designedly make the solemnities of religion
the instrument of gratifying his own vanity and ambition and
covetousness, may obtain what he does not deserve, and what he
would not receive if the truth were known, the admiration of
men; but he richly deserves, and he certainly will receive, if
6 Acts,xxvii. 85.       7 Dan. vi. 10.          8 Fuller.




206              THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.             [EXP. IV.
repentance do not intervene, his part among the hypocrites,
where there is "everlasting shame and contempt," as well as
"weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth."'
Instead of seeking the greatest possible publicity for our personal devotions, we should seek the greatest attainable privacy.
" But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet; and when
thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret:
and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee
openly."'0
Some have considered the words of our Lord in the beginning
of the verse as figurative." To enter into the closet, and to shut
the door before prayer, is considered as a metaphorical expression
for withdrawing the mind from all external objects, shutting out
all but God and ourselves, remembering that in prayer it is with
Him, with Him alone, that we have to do.  This is an important
truth, and is equally applicable to social as to personal prayer.
But it seems quite obvious, from entering into the closet, and
shutting the door, being contrasted with standing in places of
public concourse, that the words are to be understood literally.
" When thou prayest," —' when, as an individual, thou art about
to present personal addresses and private petitions before the
throne of God, instead of going into a crowd that men may observe thee, withdraw, whenever it is practicable, from all human
society.'
"Enter into thy closet,"'retire by thyself.' We are not to
dwell on the word closet."  A field, a garden, a mountain, may
be as retired as a closet, and have all been sanctified by the
Saviour's example, as proper scenes for secret praver."'  "And
when thou hast shut thy door," that is,' when thou hast secluded
thyself from observation, and secured thyself from interruption,
then perform thy personal devotions.'
"Pray to thy Father in secret."  There are none of your
fellow-men there, but He with whom you have to do is there.
Lay open to him your minds and your hearts, your wants and
your wishes, your fears and your sorrows.  ".Worship him who
is a Spirit, in spirit and in truth." Such prayers will not secure
you human applause, but they will draw down on you the approbation of your heavenly Father, and such testimonies of his
approbation as will be an exceeding great reward.
" Thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly."
Secret prayer does not, cannot, in the proper sense of the term,
merit anything; but it is, it must be, the object of the approbation of Him who desireth truth in the inward parts. Even now,
he richly rewards the sincere secret worshipper, by manifesting
himself to him in a way he does not to the world; and ultimately
9 How foolish, how wretched a thing to speak to God, and to look to men."LEIGHTON. "Pray to the gods, but would have mortals hear."-YoUNG.
lu Matt. vi. 6.                                 11 Augustine.
2 TaytiZov  t —7r-eppov-the upper part of the house, to which the pious Jews
used to retire for devotional purposes Acts x. 9. " rateiov-u- dr6Kpvba oicr7,uara,"
-PHAvORINUs, IIESYCIIIU.                              13 Scott




PART IV.]        CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.                  207
these secret intercourses with God shall be openly declared before men and angels, as evidences of humility, and faith, and unfeigned piety; and in uninterrupted intimate fellowship with
God, throughout eternity, shall obtain an abundant, gracious recompense.
The prayers of our Lord's disciples were to be contradistinguished from those of the Pharisees, both by their originating in
a desire, not for human applause, but for God's approbation, leading them to the greatest practical privacy, instead of the greatest
possible publicity, and also by being more rational in their substance and form. The Pharisees acted as if they thought that
the merely repeating over and over again the same words, and
protracting the service to a sufficient length, would secure the
acceptance of their prayers.
Against the foolish and superstitious usage originating in this
mistake, our Lord warns his disciples: " But when ye pray, use
not vain repetitions,4 as the heathen do; for they think that they
shall be heard for their much speaking."'"
It is plain that our Lord does not mean to forbid either the
repetition of the same request again and again in the same
prayer, or the continuing for a considerable time indevotional
exercises. In Daniel's prayer for the restoration of the Jews, the
same words, or words of the  same import, are frequently repeated. In the hundred and nineteenth Psalm, the petition,
"teach me thy statutes," recurs seven times.  In the hundred
and thirty-sixth Psalm, the words, "'his mercy endureth for
ever," are repeated twenty-six times. On a most interesting occasion, when the fervor of his devotion was certainly as great as
human nature is susceptible of, our Lord three times presented
the same petition, in the same words."8 When a person is very
deeply impressed witch the sense of the value of a blessing, and
of his need of it, it would be a most painful constraint to be prevented from expressing it again and again."
As we cannot consider our Lord's words as a prohibition of
all repetitions in prayer, neither can we consider them  as an
unqualified condemnation of long prayers. The prayers of Solomon, Nehemiah, and Daniel, although uttered under the inspiring influence of the Holy Spirit, are of considerable length; and
we know that our Lord himself, on one occasion, continued all
night in prayer to God.'8 It is plain, too, from the number of
14 There can be no doubt this is a fair translation of the original word
BarroX67yetv, the origin of which has given so much exercise to the learning and
ingenuity of critics. "Quantum sufficit," on this subject, may be found in THoLUCK, v. ii., p. 114-123.      15 Matt. vi. 7.         16 Brewster.
17 It is reported of Augustine that he prayed over, for a whole night, " Noverim
te, Domine, noverim me." "There is no prayer," says Leighton, "too long to
God, provided it be all enlivened with affection; no idle repetition where the
heart says every word over again as often and more often than the tongue."
8 "He who himself spent nights in prayer, and spake a parable that men
ought always to pray, and not to faint, does not find fault with prayer which is
long drawn out, if only it be prayer."-TRENCH.




208              THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.               [EXP. IV.
persons whom Paul remembered in his prayer, that his devotions
could not be very short.
Our Lord himself teaches us what are the limitations with
which we are to understand his words.  His disciples are " not
to use such repetitions as the heathen," and as " the hypocrites,"'9
the Pharisees, did: they were not to protract their prayers as the
heathen and the hypocrites-the Pharisees-prolonged theirs.
The repetitions referred to are such as those of the priests of
Baal, who cried from  the morning till the evening, "O Baal
hear us!""2 such  as the Ephesian mob uttered, when, for the
space of two hours, they cried out, " Great is Diana of the
Ephesians.""  Such repetitions and long-continued prayers proceeded, on the part of the poor heathen, from an idea that they
would be heard for their much speaking. Their notions of their
divinities were very low. They thought that they were very
nearly such as themselves.  Such  notions and such practices
still exist. The Indian devotees spend whole days in shouting
out the sacred monosyllable, Um; and the Mohammedan dervises turn round in a circle, repeating He, or Alla, till they drop
down from giddiness."2
The Jews, who ought to have been better informed, seem to
have adopted similar absurd notions and practices. The following are maxims of the Talmudical doctors:-" Every one who
multiplies prayer shall be heard;" and, " The prayer that is long
shall not return empty." The Pharisees made long prayers, and
this was considered as a proof of their uncommon devotion.
It is curious to observe the identity of the character of false
religion in all its forms-Heathenism, corrupted Judaism, and
corrupted Christianity. The poor deluded Romanists are in the
habit of repeating the Lord's prayer, and the salutations of the
Virgin, in a language they do not understand; and of expecting
that, by the frequent repetition of these, which they number by
counting a string of beads, they are to obtain deliverance from
the greatest evils, and the possession of the most important
blessings."23 In a popish prayer, addressed to Jesus, the word
Jesu is repeated fifteen times, with only the words, "Have
mercy on us, and help us;" and ending thus, " Give me here my
purgatory!"
In opposition to these false notions, our Lord instructs us that
words are not essential to true devotion, and that prayers must
not necessarily be long, in order to their being effectual: —" Be
not ye therefore like unto them; for your father knoweth what
things ye have need of before ye ask Him.""' Our Lord forbids
19 " In omnibus rebus vitandus mos hypocritarumn; in precibus etiam ethnicorum."
-BENGEL.
20 1 Kings xviii. 26.                           21 Acts xix. 28.
22," Ohe! jam desine Deos, uxor, gratulando obtundere,
Tuam esse inventam gnatam: nisi illos ex tuo ingenio judicas,
Ut nihil credas intelligere, nisi idem dictum sit centies."-TERENT.
23 For full accounts of the "battology" of the Roman Church, consult Voetii
Disput. Sel Theol. tom. iii.                       24 Matt. vi. 8.




PART IV.]       CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.                  209
here, all unmeaning and unnecessary repetitions.  When repetition is the natural result of earnest desire, it is more than allowable; but when it is the effect of carelessness or ostentation, or
-when it proceeds from the idea that the merely repeating certain
words is to produce some beneficial effect, it is sinful and forbidden. A prayer is not by any means necessarily a bad one
because it is long, any more than it is necessarily a good one because it is short. In general, it is proper to avoid long prayers,
especially in the family and in the church, which are not only
wearisome to men, but offensive to God. A proper sense of the
majesty of the Supreme Being would cure this evil.  "God is in
heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few."2"
It is worthy of observation, that whenever our Lord or his
apostles were long in  prayer, it was in private.  It has been
shrewdly remarked, that "if many, who pray for an hour or
longer in public, and with tedious repetitions, were as circuitous
in the closet, whether he should commend their discretion or not,
we might hope well of their sincerity.  But when the reverse is
true, it certainly has the appearance, to speak it gently, of the
very spirit which it was our Saviour's intention to condemn."2
The reason which our Lord assigns for his disciples avoiding
the needless repetitions and the tiresome protraction by which'
the prayers of the heathens and Pharisees were characterized, is
a very satisfactory one:-" Your Father knoweth what things
ye have need of before ye ask Him." So far from many words
being necessary, strictly speaking, no words at all are necessary
to prayer. To most of us I believe, even in secret prayer, the
employment of words is useful, and in social prayer it is absolutely necessary; but it is not needful in reference to God. He
needs not to be informed by words what we want, nor urged by
words to afford us the requisite supply. He is not ignorant of
our necessities, nor iidisposed to supply these " according to his
glorious riches.""
But it may be asked, if such be the truth, what is the use of
prayer?  Is it not altogether unnecessary?  To this question I
reply, in the well-considered language of a most useful practical
expositor of the Sermon on the Mount.  " Prayer is necessary
by the Divine appointment. We are expressly commanded to
ask, that we may receive.  If we refuse to seek the Divine
bounties, as he has ordained, we have no reason to expect that
he will bestow them upon us. Prayer is also, in its own nature,
necessary before we can experience the blessing of the Almighty.
It is intimately connected with the first principles of true religion.
25 Eccles. v. 2.                                       26 Furler.
27 " Superstition. ascribes the reason for the granting of a prayer, not to the
mercy of God, but to its own godless work. Unbelief infers from the omniscience
of God (in which it does not believe) the uselessness of prayer. Faith founds
upon this same holy, gracious, divine omniscience, its poor prayer. Thus our
Lord teaches us to pray in faith, because God knows, before we ask him, -what
things we stand in need of; and, therefore, he can inspire the (to him) acceptable
prayer, and grant it accordingly."-OLsHAUsEN. Rom. viii. 26-28.
VOL. I.                      14




210              THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.              [EXP. IV.
It is impossible to cherish these in the heart, without the soul
rising in adoration of the Divine excellencies, and feeling a desire of the Divine favor; and what is this but player, in its
simplest and purest form? It is likewise a becoming act of worship on our part, an acknowledgment of our dependence on God,
and an expression of our obligations for his goodness. It is a
useful means of disposing us rightly to receive and improve the
gifts of Heaven, and is thus a kind of indispensable preparation
before we can receive them.  It is itself the exercise of our best
feelings, and by the very act of praying aright, we are made to
possess many of the blessings which we ask.  It is, in fine, naturally connected with the use of means for attaining what we
seek in our petitions, and should thus dispose us to employ these
means with renewed diligence.  But though prayer is thus necessary and useful to us, it is not in the smallest degree necessary
for informing or persuading the Almighty.28
2. Pattern of Prayer.
To place in a still clearer point of view, the kind of prayer by
which his disciples were to be characterized, and contra-distinguished from the Pharisees, our Lord gives us a specimen of it
in that wonderful composition commonly termed the Lord's
Prayer, a composition of which it has been justly said, that it probably contains in it more important instruction than can anywhere
else be found in so few words.
" After this manner pray ye," that is,' Instead of the vain repetitions and the tedious protraction which are the leading characters of the prayers of these hypocrites, the Pharisees, let your
prayers be distinguished for the simplicity, comprehensiveness,
rationality, and brevity, which are the distinctive qualities of the
following form.'
It has been a question among interpreters and divines, which
has given origin to a good deal of acrimonious controversy,
whether the Lord's Prayer is to be considered as a form to be used,
or as a pattern to be imitated. The right answer to the question
is, it is to be considered as both. In the case before us, it seems
plainly brought forward as an example or pattern of the prayer
which was to prevail under the new economy. In the gospel
by Luke, we find our Lord, on another occasion, as we apprehend, using, in reference to the same formula, these words:"When ye pray, say Our Father which art in heaven,"29 words
which seem obviously to intimate, that it is the duty of his disciples in their prayers, not only always to use it as a pattern, but
sometimes also to employ it as a form.
23 Brewster.-" Utrumque tenendum est, vota nostra a Deo sponte praeveniri,
et tamen non precibus impetrare quod petimus.'-BENGEL. It does not require
a very deep philosophy to see the consistency of these two equally certain principles. Some wise men of this world cannot, however, discern it.
29 Luke xi 2.




PART IV.]      CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.              211
It has been very well remarked, that " it may be often very
proper to use the very words, but it is not always necessary; but
we ought always to pray after the manner of it, with that reverence, humility, confidence in God, zeal for his glory, love to
mankind-submission and moderation in temporal, and earnestness about spiritual things, which it inculcates-avoiding vain
repetitions, and using grave and comprehensive expressions.,""
Let us now proceed to examine this divine pattern and form
of prayer. As it stands before us, it consists of three parts —In
vocation, Petition, and Doxology.g
The invocatory part of the prayer consists in these most
comprehensive words-"Our Father which art in heaven."'"
" Father," like every other word properly expressive of human
relation, when applied to the Divine Being, must be considered
as bearing a figurative or analogical meaning. When God is represented as the Father of those who worship him, we are taught
that he stands in a relation towards them similar to that in which
a father stands to his children; and that he regards them, and
acts towards them, in a manner similar to that in which a father
regards and acts towards his children.
It has sometimes been made a question, on the resolution of
which the true meaning of the appellation " father" in the passage before us depends, whether this prayer is intended for all
men, as the rational creatures of God; or only for those who are
become the " children of God through faith in Christ Jesus." I
apprehend it is the duty of every man to pray to God; but it is
the duty of every man to pray to God in his true character; and
it is only when one does so, that he can pray acceptably. God
is the kind Father of all mankind, not only as he is the Father
of the spirits of all flesh, who " hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth," and who
"giveth to all life, and breath, and all things,""2 but also, inasmuch as, though they have acted the part of most undutiful
children, and exposed themselves to the most dreadful evils from
him as the righteous Governor of the world, he still regards
them with pity and love, having no pleasure in their death, but
willing rather that they turn from their evil ways and live; and
having, by a wondrous device of infinite wisdom, made the exercise of his compassion towards them perfectly compatible with
the demands of holiness and justice, he exhibits himself as " God
in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their
trespasses unto them," seeing he has "made him  who knew no
sin, to be sin for them," that " they might be made the righteousness of God in him;"" and proclaiming, " Return to me ye backsliding children, for I have redeemed you;""7 for the " great love
wherewith he loveth" men, through the mediation of his Son, he
blesses them with all heavenly and spiritual blessings, saving
30 Scott. Vide Vernede iii., Ser. xxii.  3S Matt. vi 9.
32 Acts xvii. 25, 26.  33 2 Cor. v. 19-21.  34 Jer. iii 14, 22.' See Note G




212             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
them in him, with an everlasting salvation." This is the truth
as to the relation in which God stands to men; this is the way in
which he regards them, and is disposed to treat them. Every
man who hears the Gospel, may, should, believe these truths;
and whatever has been his previous character, from that time he
may, he should, he will, call God his father. He will " set to his
seal that God is true," and in his own experience, he will obtain
satisfactory evidence, that, "as a father loveth and pitieth his
children," so God loves and pities him.6" Our Lord could not do
-whatever some of his mistaken servants may have done-he
could never instruct any man to pray in unbelief; but he does
here instruct all men to pray in faith.3' Every man —the greatest
sinner breathing-may, ought, to call God father, but he never
will really call God father, till he believe the truth about him;
and then he will not be able to refrain from calling him father.
"Father," is just equivalent to'the Being from  whom  we
have derived existence and every blessing-on whom we are entirely dependent-who really loves us, and is disposed to bcestow
on us everything which is necessary to our true happiness, in the
widest extent of meaning which belongs to that comprehensive
word.'
"Father in heaven," or " heavenly Father," is an appellation intended to bring before our mind, that He who stands in so
intimate a relation to us, and who regards and treats us so
benignantly, is infinitely exalted above us. He is high above us,
as the heaven is high above the earth. He is at the head of the'universe-the great Sovereign whose throne is in the heavens,
the region of immutable purity and happiness.
"Our Father," or " our heavenly Father," suggests the thought
-' He is not only the Father of other intelligent beings, but he is
my Father; he regards me with pity-he desires my happinessand he is not only my Father, but the Father of all my brethren
in Christ, the Father of all my brethren of mankind.'
The important practical instruction suggested by this solemn
invocation, is obviously this,-That, believing the truth respecting the infinite grandeur, and excellence, and amiableness of the
Divine Being-believing that he stands to us in the relation of a
father, and cherishes towards us the dispositions of a father-we
should approach him with a mingled sentiment of veneration and
love, awe and confidence, in the full assured belief that he is
both able and willing to answer the prayers we present to him,
agreeably to his will; and that it is our duty, when God gives
us opportunity, to pray with others, and at all times to pray for
others."8 This invocation forms, as it were, the preface to the
prayer.
The petitionary part of the prayer divides itself into six
35 Eph. ii. 4; i. 3.    36 John iii. 33. Psal. ciii. 13, 14.    37 Fuller.
38 " Every believer hath a share in all the prayers of all the rest; lle is a partner in every ship of that kind that goes to sea, and hath a portion of all their
gainful voyages." —LGHTON.




PART Iv.]      CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.              213
parts."  There are six different petitions or requests; the first
three of which have a direct reference to the Divine glory, and
the last three to the petitioner's happiness.
The first petition is, " Hallowed be thy name."40  The " name
of God," as our heavenly Father, is God himself, as manifested
in his works, and in his word, especially in this character of
"our Father."  The word " hallowed," is nearly synonymous
with'sanctified' or'glorified.' The petition is equivalent to,' May the manifestation of thine infinitely-venerable and amiable
excellencies, excite universal attention, and call forth corresponding sentiments and conduct, in all intelligent beings. May God,
as our Father in heaven, be universally known and honored.
May we be enabled to " sanctify thee in our hearts, and to make
thee our fear and our dread;" may we be enabled to "love thee
with all our heart, and soul, and strength, and mind;" may we
be enabled to "trust in thee at all times," to seek and to find
happiness in thee, and in thee alone; may we be enabled to
"glorify thee in our souls, and in our bodies, which are thine;4"'
to think, feel, speak, and act, in every case, in a manner becoming thine infinite excellence, and the relation in which we stand
to thee; and may this be the case, not only with us, as individuals, but with all the children of men. May they all know, and
fear, and love, and trust in and obey thee, as their heavenly
Father.'
It is thus a most extensive petition. It is a prayer that all
atheism, and infidelity, and ignorance, and error, and superstition, and false religion, and impiety, may be banished from
the world, and that the only living and true God, " our Father
in heaven," may be worshipped and honored all over the earth,
and by every individual of the human race
The second petition is, " Thy kingdom come."4  Some, by
" the kingdom of God," understand here the new economy, both
in its external and internal administration; that is, the introduction, and progress, and universal establishment of true religion
in its most perfect form-Christianity. Others think that "the
kingdom" of the Father is to be considered as here contrasted
with the kingdom of the Son, and that the reference is to that
final economy, when, "the end being come, the Son shall have
delivered up the kingdom to the Father," and " God shall be all
in all.""  I am disposed to think the first view the correct one.
The kingdom of God, and the kingdom of heaven, ordinarily
signify the new economy; and the phrase, " The delivering up
the kingdom to the Father," seems to me to refer not to the
Mediator resigning his kingdom, but to his restoring or bringing
back to the Father the kingdom which had revolted from him,
39 Divines of the Lutheran church generally consider the petitions as sevendividing what we call the sixth into two.
40 Matt. vi 9.
41 Isa. viii 13. Matt. xxii 37. PsaL lxii. 8. 1 Cor. vi. 20.
42 Matt. vi 10.                       43 1 Cor. xv. 24-28.




214             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.             [EXP. IV.
and which rsvolt the mediation of the Son is intended to quell
and put down.4"
" Thy kingdom come," is a prayer that we ourselves may be
made loyal subjects to God, through the instrumentality of the
word and agency of the spirit of Christ-that we may be made
thoroughly loving, faithful, and obedient-that this may be the
case with all with whom we are connected, by whatever tiethat the word of the kingdom may be preached in all nationsthat it may be "preached with the Holy Ghost sent down from
heaven"-that Christian churches may be established in every
region of our earth-that "men may be blessed" in Christ
Jesus, and that " all nations may call him  blessed"-that "the
kingdoms of this world may become the kingdom of our Lord,
and of his Christ"-that every opposing power may be put down,
and God be all in all.
The terms of this petition have given rise to the opinion, that
this prayer is only suited to the commencement of the christian
dispensation: and that as the kingdom, which was then at hand,
has long ago come, it is absurd to pray for what has already
taken place. But as the coming of the kingdom, is a phrase
which as naturally refers to the progress as to the introduction
of the christian religion; till that religion be universally known
in our world-till its doctrines be universally taught in their
primitive purity —till its ordinances be universally observed in
their primitive simplicity-till all men be made to experience, in
the highest possible degree, its power to sanctify and to bless —
the prayer can never be an unseasonable one.'May the kingdom of our Father in heaven come; may his supreme authority
be universally acknowledged; and may all unite in ascribing
the majesty to him of whom, and through whom, and to whom
are all things!'
I apprehend, however, that those interpreters unduly confine
the meaning of this petition, who would exclude the full development of the kingdom of God in the celestial state. To
avail ourselves of the division of the Shorter Catechism, it refers
not only to " the advancement of the kingdom of grace," but to
the " hastening of the kingdom of glory.""
The last petition, in the first division of the prayer, is, "Thy
will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.""  "The will of God"
is a phrase which, taken by itself, may express either that which
God has determined to do, or that which God has commanded
to be done, and appointed to be submitted to. With regard to
44 See "The Resurrection of Life."
45 The following collection of scriptures, taken from Chemnitz, will enable the
Christian, in his private devotions, to expand in his thoughts the petition, "Thy
kingdom come:"-Luke xi. 20. Rom. xiv. 17. Psal. ex. 2. Rom xvi. 20. John
xvii. 15. 1 John v. 4. John xvi. 33. Matt. vi. 33; viii. 11; xviii. 6. Luke
xvii. 33; xxiii. 42. Eph. ii. 19. Col. i. 12. Matt. xxv. 34. 1 Cor. xv. 50, &c.
2 Tim.' ~. 18. 2 Pet. iii. 12. 2 Thess. i. 5. 1 Thess. ii. 13. 2 Pet. i. 11. Luke
xii. 40.
46 Matt. vi. 10.




PART IV.]      CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.              215
the will of God, in the first sense, it is already done on earth, as
it is done in heaven.  "His counsel stands, and he does all his
pleasure." Neither infernal nor human power or policy, can
frustrate the purposes of God.  It is our duty to acquiesce in
the Divine determinations, as infinitely wise and righteous, and
to rejoice that " he worketh all things according to the counsel
of his will;" but the doing of the will of God, in this sense, is
not so properly a thing to be prayed for, as a thing to be acquiesced, to be rejoiced in; at any rate, for the reason already
assigned, that it is already done on earth, as it is in heaven,
it cannot be the subject of the petition now under consideration.
It is not God's will of purpose, but God's will of precept and
of providence that is here referred to.47 It is a prayer that our
will, and the will of every human being, may be brought into a
complete accordance with the will of God, as made known in
his written word, or in his providential dispensations; that we,
and all men, may desire and do as he wills and directs; that we
may be made to know his will, to do his will, to submit to his will
— to believe what he has revealed, because he has revealed it-to
choose, and do what he has commanded, because he has commanded it-to submit to what he appoints, because he has appointed it. We do the will of God when, from a regard to
his authority, we regulate our hearts and lives according to his
law, and when, from the same principle, we acquiesce in the arrangements of his providence, resting satisfied with the manner
in which he disposes of our concerns, and submitting, without
doubting and murmuring, to all his dispensations. We not only
pray that God's will may thus be done by ourselves and others
on earth, but that it may be done "as it is done in heaven;"
that is, by the angels, and the spirits of the just made perfect,
universally, cheerfully, harmoniously.  We pray, in other words,
that we may, and others may, be made "perfect in all the will
of God."
To be so is our duty, and ought to be at once our desire and
endeavor. The knowledge of the fact, that in this life we never
shall do the will of God in the same absolutely perfect way as it
is done in heaven, is no reason why we should lower the object
of our desires, or the aim of our endeavors. What an amount of
blessings is wrapped up in this petition! Were this petition fully
granted, earth would almost become heaven; for what makes
heaven what it is, but that there the will of God is the will of all
intelligent beings? Perfect holiness, and perfect happiness, are
necessarily implied in perfect conformity to the will of God.
These three petitions are most intimately connected. The
great object of desire is the glory of God —" the hallowing his
name."  The grand means for securing this is " the coming of
his kingdom;" and the manifestation that his kingdom is come,
47 Beza considers the reference here as to the "voluntas decernens" rather than
to the " voluntas jubens." His venerable and sounder-minded, though not more
acute, friend, Calvin, is of an opposite opinion.




216              THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.             [EXP. IV.
and his name therefore hallowed, is " the doing of his will on
earth, as it is done in heaven."
The first of the petitions which have for their direct object
human happiness, is, " Give us this day our daily bread."4'
Interpreters have found much difficulty in fixing the precise
meaning of the epithet rendered in our version " daily."49 The
reason of this difficulty is, that the words nowhere else occurs in
the New Testament, and is not to be found in any of the profane
Greek writers, so that we have no means of ascertaining its true
sense, save the connection and the etymology. I apprehend that
the most probable meaning is,'bread that is necessary and
suitable to our subsistence,' what Agur calls "food convenient
for us."60
Some have interpreted the words figuratively. They consider
them as a prayer for spiritual blessings, under the figure of bread.
They view them  as equivalent to,' Give us the supersubstantial
bread-the bread of life —the true manna whereby we may be
nourished up to eternal life;' some have even strangely supposed
that there is a reference to the bread in the Lord's supper.
There can be no reasonable doubt, that this petition is intended as a prayer for whatever is needful for the body. Bread
comprehends all the necessaries, but none of the superfluities, of
life. If God gives us the latter, we should be thankful for them,
and employ them as a trust committed to us, to be managed so
as to promote the glory of the munificent owner; but we are not
warranted to ask them as what God has promised to give us.' Having food and raiment, let us be therewith content."0'
We are to ask every day,'"day by day,"'2 our necessary
bread; we are not warranted to ask even of the necessaries of
life, very large supplies, which may serve for weeks, and months,
and years to come, but as children entirely dependent on, and
completely confiding in, our heavenly Father, we are to ask the
supply of our present need, and to expect that to-morrow, when
we require to make the same request, we shall obtain the same
display of fatherly care.
It has been ingeniously remarked,'We are to ask our own
bread. Give us our bread,-we are not allowed to ask the
bread of others,-we must not covet our neighbor's goods, but
must be contented with what God gives us in the way of honest
industry, or by the kindness of our friends.'
In this petition we acknowledge our dependence on God for
all we have, and for all we need.  " Our talents and industry
cannot succeed without his concurrence. Our friends and benefactors are entirely dependent on him. Our riches and stores
48 Matt. vi. 11.
49 hrtoCatov. "Crux non Theologorum duntaxat sed etiam Grammaticorum."AMYRAUT.
5 Prov. xxx. x. 8. The fullest and most satisfactory discussion of this question I
have met awith is that by Tholuck, vol. ii., 172-196. It is, indeed, quite a masterpiece, and, but for its length, I should have transferred it into the notes.
51 1 Tim vi. 8.                52 Matt. ajuepov. Luke, KaO' Bozvpav.




PART IV.]      CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.                 217
cannot continue without his will. Our health and strength cannot be preserved without his power; and even though we had the
necessaries of life in abundance, they cannot support or nourish
us without his blessing.1"3
The spirit which this petition breathes is very different from
the temper natural to depraved man. " Man naturally aspires
to be independent of God, and to raise himself out of the reach
of want and adversity.  He cannot trust God to provide for
himself and his family, but desires to take this charge on himself.
Unlike the sheep of Christ's pasture, who go in and out as he
leads them, and look to him to feed them, he emulates the wild
beasts who roam through the forests in quest of prey for themselves and their young ones. Ever anxious to accumulate, he
has neither time nor inclination to think of anything else, till,
in some unexpected hour, he is obliged -to spare time to die.
Christian, canst thou envy such a man, even when he succeeds
to his heart's desire in accumulating wealth, —Wilt thou learn
of his ways? It is really. better for thee, and for thy children,
to receive, as Lou need it, the supply of your wants. It is better
IHe should provide for you in answer to your prayers, than that
you should try to provide for yourself in opposition to his command.'The young lions lack and suffer hunger, but they that
seek the Lord shall not want any good thing."'4
The first three petitions in the Lord's Prayer suit perfectly
holy beings. They breathe the very spirit of heaven. Angels,
and the spirits of just men made perfect, may, we have no doubt
they do, join in them. They are the expression of their habitual
wishes.  "Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom  come, thy will
be done on earth, as it is in heaven." The fourth is one which
Adam in innocence might have offered. It is an expression of
entire dependence on God, and a desire to receive from him
what he sees necessary and sufficient for the supply of those
wants which rise out of our connection with a body of organized
animated matter.  But the two concluding petitions speak of
guilt and depravity. They could not be offered by the inhabitants of heaven.  They could not have been offered by Adam in
innocence. They are the cry of the guilty for pardon, and of the
morally imperfect and depraved for sanctification.
"Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."55  It has
sometimes been said that "debts" here, mean sins. I do not
think that this is an accurate interpretation. To " forgive debts"
in the passage before us is plainly a figurative expression. Man,
as a subject of the Divine government, owes God a debt of obedience..,All that God requires is due by man. It is plain, however, that debts do not here mean duties, for, in this sense of the
word, to remit our debts would be to excuse us from doing our
53 Brewster.                                    54 Fuller.
55 Matt. vi. 12.-How strikingly and strangely does this petition for pardon
contrast with the pagan's prayer, or rather demand of blessings as things due to
him, —  Oeoi doir/Tr fpol rcT fpetXupara! This, according to Philostratus, was the
usual prayer of Apollonius Tyaneeis. Phil. Vit. Ap. i. 11.




218             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
duty, to emancipate us from the law of God. This is what it were
unworthy of God to do, and therefore impossible for him to do;
and if it were practicable, it would not be benefit but ruin to man.
But when man does not discharge the debt of duty, he contracts
another kind of debt, the debt of punishment. The sinner owes
satisfaction to the law for the wrong he has done it, and this debt
can be discharged only by adequate punishment.
These responsibilities are the " debts" referred to in the words
before us, and to " forgive us our debts," is to release us from the
obligation to punishment; or in other words, not to exact the
debt of satisfaction which we have incurred by neglecting to pay
the debt of duty. "Forgive us our debts," is just,' Punish us
not for our sins.''We are sinners-our sins deserve punishment-but in thy fatherly mercy remit the punishment which
our sins deserve.  " Deal not with us," either now or hereafter,
either in this world or in the world to come, "according to our
sins, nor reward us according to our iniquities;" let not those
penal evils which are the deserved, and the natural, consequences
of transgression, be inflicted on us?  " Cast us mlot away from
thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from  us." "  Cast
us not into hell.'
The saints, under the Old Testament economy, were encouraged to present this petition, by "the name of God," so
solemnly declared to Moses: —"The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and
truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin:""' though they must have been greatly perplexed to reconcile the one part of that name with the other:
"_ And that will by no means clear the guilty." We have much
more abundant encouragement to present it, in consequence of
God having, in the word of the truth of the Gospel, "set forth
his Son to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare
his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through
the forbearance of God: to declare at this time his righteousness;
that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus:,"8 and proclaimed himself " God in Christ, reconciling
the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them:
for he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him."59
From this petition it is plain, that all Christians, while they
are on the earth, have sins, daily sins, to be forgiven.  "It is no
doubt to their shame," as Mr. Fuller says, " that it should be so;
but so it is, and to disown it does not make the matter better,
but worse." That man is a sad self-deceiver, dreadfully ignorant of God's law, and of himself, who does not see that there is
much, very much, both wanting and wrong in him, and that he
needs to say every day, " Forgive me my debts."'The debts of
this day, if not remitted, would require me an eternity to pay.
56 Psal. ii. 11.                      57 Exod. xxxiv. 7, 9.
58 Rom. iii. 25, 26.                  59 2 Cor. v. 19, 21.




PART IV.]       CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.                219
Had I no sins to answer for, but the sins of this day, I would be
undone forever, but for the free sovereign mercy of God, manifesting itself through the mediation of Jesus Christ.' It teaches
us, too, that the shedding of Christ's blood, as the price of our
redemption, is perfectly consistent with the free love of God, not
only in providing the Saviour, but in pardoning the sinner for
his sake. Forgiveness is not demanded as a due, but requested
as a favor. Had we fully paid the penalty in our own persons,
the debt would have been discharged, and, therefore, would not
have needed to be remitted; and if our Lord's sufferings had
been what some very good, but not very judicious men have
represented them, just precisely what the sins of the saved deserve, neither more nor less, whatever gratitude we might owe
to God for admitting a surety, and finding a surety, there would
be no room for forgiveness of the debt; for in this case, too, the
debt had been fully paid. In the Scriptures, and the representation is quite in accordance with sound reason, the sinner is
always considered as deserving punishment. Punishment is a
debt which he owes. The atonement has made the remission of
that debt consistent with, ay, gloriously illustrative of, the Divine
righteousness. In seeking forgiveness from Go], we are never
to lose sight of this atonement, as the only medium of forgiveness; yet still we are to ask forgiveness as a free favor. To the
very end of life, the Christian must come for forgiveness, just as
he did at first; not as a claimant of a right, but as a supplicant
for a favor.
The daily coming to God, and requesting him for Christ's sake
not to punish us for the sins which we have committed, is perfectly consistent with the important doctrine of the perfection,
and the perpetuity of justification. It is certain that "he that
believeth in Christ shall never come into condemnation;" but
that, instead of leading to the conclusion,' I need not pray for the
remission of my debts,' suggests the strongest encouragement to
present such a petition, just as the Divine assurance that a believer shall persevere to the end, instead of laying a foundation
for carelessness, is a most powerful motive to continue " steadfast
and unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord."
There is a very important addition to this petition-" As we
forgive our debtors."6" Our " debtors," here, are not solely or
principally, if at all, our pecuniary debtors. They are persons
who stand to us in some measure in the relation in which we
stand to God; persons who have failed to perform to us the
debt of duty, and who have incurred the debt of punishment;
persons whom, in strict justice, so far as they are concerned, we
might punish; in one word, persons who have done us an injury.
To forgive these persons their debts, is just not to insist on our
60 ",C'f indicat non paritatem sed similitudinem rationis." —MALDONATUS. It is a
Jesuit that states the distinction; but it is not a Jesuitical distinction. As high
as the heaven is above the earth, so is His way of pardoning above ours. Many
interpreters consider s6g here as equivalent rather to since than to as.




220             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
right. It refers not so much to our not harboring ill-will towards
persons whom we may have fancied to have injured us, as to our
freely forgiving, our not exacting, even if we have it in our
power, punishment from a man who has injured us really, it may
be deeply.
Regard to public justice, which must be maintained to secure
the interests of society, may make it my duty to do all that lies
in my power to get a man who has injured me adequately
punished; but that is perfectly consistent with my having no resentment against the man,-perfectly consistent with a feeling,
that, but for the interest of society, I should greatly prefer that
the man should not be punished at all.
These words certainly cannot be considered, as some, I am
afraid, do consider them, as stating a meritorious ground on
which we may claim forgiveness from God; yet they not only
teach us, that all who need forgiveness from God, should be ready
to extend forgiveness to their fellow-men, but also that no man
can rationally expect that this prayer, as presented by him,
will be heard, if he is disposed to punish to the utmost all who
injure him.
Some have said, and said truly, that, under the influence of
such a temper, men cannot have the comfort of forgiveness; but,
assuredly, that is not all. Our Lord's words here, and elsewhere,
make it plain that he cannot have the thing itself. For a man,
indulging in implacable resentment, to expect that, continuing
in that temper of mind, he shall be ultimately saved, is gross
presumption; the only rational expectation in that case is, that
he shall " die in his sins," and perish for ever.
It is a very striking  consideration, that this petition is so
framed, that, if presented in an unforgiving spirit, it is indeed an
imprecation of Divine vengeance. He who does not forgive his
neighbor his trespasses, when he uses this prayer, in effect asks
God not to forgive him his trespasses; and, if he continue in
his present temper, there is no doubt that his prayer will be
answered.
The last petition of the Lord's prayer is, "Lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil."'  " Temptation " means'trial,' and is often used in Scripture, especially in the New
Testament, to signify affliction generally. This is not its meaning here. Affliction, in some form or other, is the lot of all men;
and it were folly to expect to be completely exempted from itit were worse than folly to pray to that effect. Affliction seems
a necessary part of moral discipline; and, to be subjected to it
when we need it, is a great blessing. "Behold," says Eliphaz,
"happy is the man whom God correcteth; therefore despise not
thou the chastening of the Almighty."6   " Blessed," says David,
"is the man whom though chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him
out of thy law."6"  "Before I was afflicted  I went astray; but
now have I kept thy word. It is good for me that I have been
61 Matt. vi. 13.     62 Job. v. 17.      63 Psal. xciv. 12.




PART IV.]      CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.              221
afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes."6' "Rejoice," says our
Lord, when ye are persecuted for righteousness' sake, " and be
exceedingly glad; for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you."65 The apostles
felt suffering to be good, when " they departed from the presence
of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer
shame for his name.""  This is the apostle Paul's judgment on
this point: " We glory in tribulation also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of
God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is
given unto us;"67 and this, the apostle James' judgment, "My
brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
knowing this, that the trial of your faith worketh patience.""8 If
these things are so, it would not be wise to pray that we may
never be afflicted.
" Temptation " more properly means, whatever is calculated to
lead us into sin-the propensities of our depraved nature-the
seductions of the world-the suggestions of Satan. In this way,
both the afflictions and the comforts of life may be temptations.
In the strict sense of the words, God cannot tempt any man:" Let no man say, when he is tempted, that he is tempted of
God."69  When God is said to lead men into temptation, the
meaning is,' In the course of his providence they are placed in
circumstances, in which, from their own depravity, or from the
depravity of others, they are solicited to sin.'
This is a prayer that God would graciously prevent us from
being brought into circumstances of strong temptation, that he
would not leave us to struggle with temptation in our own
strength; that he would instruct us to avoid, that he would
enable us to overcome, our temptations.
He who would honestly and acceptably70 present this petition, should guard against going into temptation. There are
some fool-hardy persons, who seem glad of an opportunity of
having their spiritual strength tried by temptation. They discover great ignorance of themselves, and a great want of a just
sense of the evil of sin. It has been justly said, " He who carries
about with him much inflammable matter, would do well to keep
at the greatest possible distance from the fire."  A person knows
that he is very irascible, yet he voluntarily places himself in circumstances, in which he is likely to be put into a passion: a
person feels that the love of the world is growing on him, yet
he earnestly seeks after a situation, where that principle is likely
to be greatly strengthened: a person knows that he has an undue
liking to intoxicating liquors, and has often yielded to it, yet, instead of putting himself in circumstances in which that liking
cannot be indulged, voluntarily exposes himself to constant temp64 Psal. cxix. 67, 71.  65 Matt. v. 12.     66 Acts v. 41.
67 Rom. v. 3, 4, 5.    68 James i. 2, 3.    69 James i. 13.
70 Peal. lxvi. 18.




222            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.           [EXP. IV.
tation. For persons, acting in this manner, to say,' Lead me
not into temptation," is to mock God.  They "tempt God."
Oh, that such persons would remember that God is not deceived,
and that he will not be mocked with impunity; that, as he is
never tempted of sin, he will not always allow himself to be
tempted by the sinner!
It is a striking remark of Mr. Fuller: 1" There is no necessary
connection between entering into temptation, and coming out of
it. Both Judas and Peter went in, but only one of them returned. Those who go in on a presumption of coming out again,
are often fatally mistaken. They are'snared and taken.' "
It is added, "But deliver us from evil." That may mean,
either from that which is evil, or from him who is evil-from the
evil thing, 7 or from the evil one.7'  I prefer the first sense as the
more comprehensive one, and as including the second. It is a
prayer to be preserved from everything that is really prejudicial
to us, especially from sin, that evil in which there is no good.
It matters very little whether this is considered as the positive
part of a petition, the negative part of which is, " Lead us not
into temptation," or as a separate petition, for deliverance from
everything that is really evil,-i. e., from sin and its fruits. I am
rather disposed to go along with the Lutherans, and make this the
seventh petition.
The concluding doxology does not appear in the prayer, as
recorded by Luke; and the best critics are, with great unanimity
and decision, of opinion that it was not originally included by
Matthew. It seems early to have been introduced into some
MSS., in consequence of its having been added to the prayer,
when used in public worship.
It consists of an ascription of the "kingdom, the power, and
the glory" to God.7' It contains a reason both why we ask
these things, and why we hope to obtain them. The practical
instruction furnished by it is very comprehensively stated in our
Shorter Catechism. It teaches us "to draw all our encouragement in prayer from God only," to connect thanksgiving and
adoration with petition. It is scarcely necessary to add, that
the concluding word, "Amen," is an expression of desire and expectation-' so let it be-so shall it be —I earnestly desire it —I
firmly expect it.'
The 14th and 15th verses are a kind of explanatory note on
the concluding clause of the fifth petition. The meaning of the
words is quite plain.' The man who is habitually of a forgiving
disposition, proves himself to be one of those whose sins have
been forgiven by God. The man who is habitually unforgiving,
shows with equal clearness that his sins have not been forgiven.'
We cannot suppose that the forgiveness of those who injure us
can, in any degree, merit forgiveness of God, or that he will
71 Luke vi. 45. Rom. xii. 9.
72 Matt.. xiii. 19 38. Eph. vi 16. 1 John iii. 12; v. 18.
73 Matt. vi. 13.                          k See Note H.




PART IV.]       CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.                 223
pardon the impenitent and unbelieving, because, out of a natural facility of temper, without any regard to God, they forgive
others.
The persons addressed are professed disciples.   When their
hearts do not condemn them in this respect "they have confidence towards God," though conscious of much unworthiness;
but if their hearts condemn them, their confidence will be abated,
and if they utterly fail in this, their hypocrisy will be manifested.
The best illustration of this passage, is to be found in our Lord's
own words: " Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft
shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven
times?  Jesus said unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven
times; but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take
account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon,
one was brought unto him which owed him ten thousand talents:
but forasmuch as he had not to pay, his Lord commanded him to
be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will
pay thee all. Then the Lord of that servant was moved with
compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the
same servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants,
which owed him an hundred pence; and he laid hands on him,
and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
And his fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and besought him,
saying, Htave patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And
he would not; but went and cast him into prison, till he should
pay the debt. So when his fellow-servants saw what was done,
they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that
was done.  Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto
him, 0, thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee?  And
his lord was wroth, and delivered him  to the tormentors, till he
should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my
heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive
not every one his brother their trespasses.74
(3.) Fastirg. "
We proceed now to make a few explicatory remarks on out
Lord's account of the difference between the duty of fasting, as
74 Matt. xviii. 21-35.-" The carnal sense, which can never rise to the comprehension of the organic relation of a doctrine, has stopped short at this isolated
saying; and, in strict literality, has regarded the assigned condition of the forgiveness of sins as the only condition at all. It is natural that, by this mode of
handling the Scripture, it should swarm with contradictions."-THOLUCK.
75 " The rule of christian ethics, in regard to fasting, is, that it is neither en.
joined nor recommended, but only justified as the natural expression of certain
states of feeling, analogous to those of the disciples under the sense of separation




224     "       THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.              [EXP. IV.
performed by the disciples of the Scribes and Pharisees, and by
his disciples, the children of the kingdom.
" Moreover, when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad
countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily, I say unto you, They have their
reward."70
In speaking of fasting, our Lord makes use of the same sort
of language, as he employs in reference to alms and prayer.
"When thou doest alms,"" when thou prayest," "when ye
fast." He does not enjoin these exercises, but he proceeds on
the principle, that the children of the kingdom were to perform
them. He takes for granted, that they would do alms, pray, and
fast.
The first thing to be done here, is to ascertain the true meaning and reference of the word "fast."  To fast, means to abstain
from food: but as it is plain, that it is a religious duty that our
Lord refers to, the word must be understood as expressive of abstinence from food for a religious purpose, and in connection
with, and in subservience to, religious exercises.
There is no general injunction, either in the Old or in the
New Testament, of abstinence from food, whether partial or total,
as connected with, or subsidiary to, religious duties. The only
fast of direct divine appointment, was that to be observed by
the Jews on the tenth day of the seventh month,-the great day
of expiation;" and even with regard to it, we do not find abstinence expressly commanded: if observed, it must have been
merely because found subservient to the great purpose of that
day, which was mental humiliation on account of sin, —the afflicting the soul.
In the later ages of the Jewish commonwealth, there was a
number of other public fasts observed annually, but we have no
reason to think they were of direct Divine appointment. The
true account of the matter seems to be this: The use of a full,
and especially of a luxurious diet, is inconsistent with that clear,
calm state of thought and feeling which devotional exercises require. When the mind and the heart are very much engaged
with any subject, especially if that subject is of a serious and
mournful kind, there is an indisposition to take food; and in
that state of mind produced by a deep sense of the evil of sin,
and of the supreme importance of things unseen and eternal, to
refrain from food seems a natural expression of our sense of our
own unworthiness, and the comparative insignificance of all
earthly things. These seem the principles on which the practice
of fasting is founded, and though, like kneeling or prostration in
prayer, not of express Divine appointment, it may be, it has been
found, useful as a help to the right performance of those spiritual
from their Master. In such states of the interior life, all outward signs of peace
and joy-all participation in social intercourse and enjoyment-are unnatural
and repugnant. Luke v. 83."-NEANDER. Vide Vernede, iii. Ser. xxiii.
76 Matt. vi. 16-18.  77 Lev. xxiii. 27-29. Zech. viii. 19. Acts xxvii. 9.




PART IV.]       CHRISTIANITY AND PHARISAISM.                 225
exercises in which, under every dispensation, all really acceptable religion consists.
"Fasting,"-abstinence, either total or partial, from  food,
seems in all ages of the world to have been connected with seasons of peculiarly solemn devotion. The inhabitants of Ninevebl
connected fasting with their deprecation of the Divine vengeance,
denounced by the prophet Jonah.78  In circumstances of remarlkable danger, the pious kings and prophets of Israel called on the
people to engage in fasting as well as in prayer.79 And indeed
so closely associated were the ideas of fasting, and a season for
extraordinary prayer,-especially for deliverance from threatened
judgments, that the ordinary name for such a season seems to(
have been, a fast.80  A  season of extraordinary devotion was
called a fast, on the same principle, that we describe a very pious
man, as much in his closet, often on his knees.
It was the practice of the pious, under the Old Testament dispensation, not only devoutly to observe the public fasts, but to
set apart periods of time, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter,
for extraordinary religious exercises, and with these they seem to
have usually connected abstinence, partial or total.  David tells
us, that he "humbled his soul with fasting."  Daniel "set his
face to seek the Lord by prayer, and supplication, with fasting,
and sackcloth, and ashes." Nehemiah " mourned certain days,
and fasted." And Anna, the prophetess, " served God with fastings and prayers."8'
The natural course of things,-the tendency in the depraved
mind of man to rest in what is external, and to substitute what
was originally the means or the sign, for the end and the thing
signified,-manifested itself with regard to fasting, and in the
days of our Lord, a great part of the religion of the Jews, especially of the Pharisees, seems to have consisted in literal abstinence, total or partial.  The Pharisees fasted often; "I fast,"
says the Pharisee who went up to the temple to pray, " I fast.
twice a week."
Our Lord did not prohibit fasting as a means or an expression
of religion. Whatever he says on the subject is rather favorable
to the practice. In the passage before us, he takes for granted
that his disciples would fast. Elsewhere he defends his disciples
for not fasting while he was with them; but says that after his
departure, they would fast; and he mentions fasting along with
prayer, to describe that extraordinary devotioll which was the
appointed means of obtaining that faith which was necessary to
cast out demons of the most malignant kind.82
We find our Lord's primitive disciples fasting and praying, or
praying with fasting, on occasions peculiarly important and sol78 Jonah iii. 6, 7, 8.
79 2 Chron. xx. 3. Ezra viii. 21. Jer. xxxvi. 9. Joel i. 14.
80 2 Sam. xii. 16. Jer. xiv. 12.
81 Psal. xxxv. 13. Dan. ix. 3. Neh. i. 4. Luke ii. 37.
82 Matt. ix. 14, 15; xvii. 21.
VOL. i.                      15




226             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
emn; and the Apostle Paul seems plainly to hint that it was the
ordinary and proper practice of Christians in general, occasionally
to "give themselves to prayer and fasting," that is, to observe
seasons of extraordinary devotion, and to use abstinence, total or
partial, as a subsidiary to the religious exercises engaged in on
these occasions.83
In the degenerate Christian, as in the degenerate Jewish
Church, fasts were put out of their place; and, instead of a
means or expression of devotion, were constituted principal parts
of religious worship. The fasts appointed by the Roman Catholic Church are very numerous. This abuse has led to an opposite extreme among Protestant Christians, and I apprehend that
abstinence from food, as a means or expression of devotion, is
exceedingly little known among the professors of Christianity
in our country and age.
Fasting, in connection with religion, is plainly entirely instrumental-a means in order to an end. It is a well-known fact
that abstinence produces different effects on different constitutions; that a measure of abstinence, which might be useful to
one, would be injurious to another; that what might fix attention in one would distract it in another; and, as there is no express statute in the case, " wisdom is profitable to direct;" but,
at the same time, I am afraid many of us are blameable in having left altogether untried, a means of giving greater intenseness
to our attention, and greater fervor to our devotion, which nature
seems to dictate; and which has been employed with success, by
many of the wisest and best men in all ages, in those seasons of
extraordinary religious service in which, it would appear, the
saints, both under the New and Old Testament dispensations,
engaged. Indeed, I am afraid these seasons are themselves much
more unfrequent than they might be. It appears to me that
fasting, in our Lord's use of the term, is just equal to observing
a season of extraordinary devotion with which abstinence from
food was connected as at once the means and the expression of
devotion.
The fasts referred to are not the public fasts, just as the prayers
referred to are not the public prayers. The fasts referred to are
seasons of extraordinary devotion which the individual observes
for his own spiritual improvement. Having shown his disciples
how, in the ordinary exercises of devotion, they should exceed
the Pharisees, he proceeds to show how they should exceed them
in their extraordinary exercises of devotion.
And, you will observe, he does not say that their fasts are to
be more frequent or more rigid than those of the Pharisees; but
he does say, they are not to have that character of ostentation
which belonged to the fasts of the Pharisees. In fasting, as in
prayer, they are to seek, not man's applause, but God's approbation; and, in the manner in which they conduct their extraordinary, as well as their ordinary devotions, they are to show this,
83 Acts xiii. 2. 3. xi 2. 23.   1 Cor. vii. 6.




PART IV.]     CHRISTIANITY AND PIARISAISM.             227
We are now ready to enter on the exposition of our Lord's
words; and, after these preliminary remarks, we will not require
to devote much time to their exposition.' When ye fast," that
is,'when ye devote a portion of time to the purpose of extraordinary devotion, especially to the exercises of penitential confession
and deprecatory supplication, accompanied by abstinence,' "be
not as the hypocrites," that is,'act not in the manner in which
these hypocrites, these stage-players, the Pharisees, behave.'
Then he proceeds to give us an account of the manner in which
they conducted themselves: " They put on a sad countenance,
and disfigured their faces, that they might appear to men to fast."
It was the custom of the Jews to begin their fasts as they began
their Sabbaths, at sunset, and to continue them to the same time
of the following day. During that period, they not only abstained from food, but from bathing, from perfumes, from anointing, from pleasure and recreation of every kind. They generally
fasted twice in the week-on Monday and Thursday-from regard to a tradition of the elders, that Moses went up to Sinai to
receive the law on the last of these days, and returned on the
first of them. They considered these fasts as a great part of
their religion, and were anxious to make the most of them in the
way of levying a tax of admiration upon their superstitious
countrymen.
Instead of keeping at home on these days, and devoting the
time to those exercises of which fasting was but the means and
the sign, they went abroad, and, like true stage-players, exhibited, in an extravagant degree, all the symptoms of a state of
mind which they did not feel, but which they wished others to
believe they experienced. They assumed a sad countenance, and
disfigured their faces. " They employed all the usual tokens of
deep affliction and mental distress. They covered their heads
with dust and ashes, veiled their countenances, neglected their
dress, and deformed their features, by contracting them into the
most gloomy and dejected looks. They studiously exhibited all
the external appearances of humiliation, while their hearts were
lifted up in spiritual pride;""84 and they did this, that they might
appear to men to fast-that they might be taken notice of as remarkably religious persons.  "Verily," says our Lord, "they
have their reward." They have it now in the admiration of
men; they will have it by and by in the disapprobation of God.
Our Lord does not here reprobate the very natural practice of
allowing the countenance to express the sentiments and emotions
of the heart. " A sad countenance, if it is expressive of a sad
heart, and, in our secret approaches to God, has nothing in it
improper. The evil consists in counterfeit sadness and in ostentatious grief.""
Here, as in the case of alms and prayer, our Lord not only
shows his disciples how they were not to fast, but also how they
were to fast. " But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head,
84 Brewster.                              85 Fuller.




228             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.              [EXP. IV.
and wash thy face;8` that thou appear not unto men to fast, but
unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in
secret, shall reward thee openly.""7
The general meaning is quite obvious:'When you devote a
portion of time to extraordinary private devotion, let there be
nothing in your dress or in your general appearance to indicate this to others.  It is not necessary-it may not be properin every case, sedulously to conceal the fact that you do observe
such seasons; but make no ostentatious display of your performance of this religious duty, which, from  its nature, ought to be
secret; make no show of your feelings; claim no notice from
men at these times of peculiar devotion.' This exhortation certainly does not mean that, on these occasions, men should
assume a cheerfulness they do not feel, but that there should be
nothing in the dress or in the appearance calculated to attract
notice; that there should be no abatement in the ordinary attention to cleanliness of person or propriety of apparel; and that,
when having brought the solemn services of the closet to a termination, they go out to society, there should be nothing to tell
the world how they have been engaged.8"
In these solemn services, it is with God you have to do, and not
with men. To him let your views be directed; to him let your
hearts be unfolded; "weep and make supplication before him."
It is his pardon and favor you are soliciting. Such exercises,
when engaged in from right principles, are at once salutary to
the soul, and acceptable to God. Your Father who seeth in
secret-he marks your humiliation of spirit-he accepts of the
sacrifice of a broken heart —he " looks to, and he will dwell with,
the man of a humble and contrite spirit, who trembles at his
word"-he graciously approves now of such a fast, and on the
most eventful day of the world's history "he will reward you
openly."
From these injunctions of our Lord, we may warrantably draw
the conclusions, that Christians while they ought to manifest a
habitual seriousness, should carefully avoid everything like affected solemnity of manner; and that " if, even when engaged
in those religious services which, from their nature, are most
fitted to sadden the countenance, they are to guard against all
external display of melancholy, surely much more is it their duty
to manifest, in their general deportment, the natural symptoms
of a cheerful, contented, happy mind.""9 Few things injure religion more than the moroseness and apparent inward unhappiness of its professors. Wherever the religion of Jesus is understood and believed, it sheds over the mind a peace which passeth
all understanding, and gives to the whole manner the air of quiet
86 The ascetics give a mystical meaning to these words. They explain the
%nointing the head and washing the face to mean the putting away of sin. With
a principle of interpretation like this, " black" may mean " white," and " anything"
may mean " anything," " everything," or "nothing."
87 Matt. vi. 17, 18.     s8 Brewster.           59 Broewster.




PART V.]    HAPPINESS, AND HOW TO OBTAIN IT.           229
satisfaction and tranquil happiness. We do not call on professing Christians to assume the appearance of a peace and happiness
they do not possess; but we do call on them to open their minds
to the blessed influence of the truth they profess to believe; and
by a natural display of the effects of this influence on their hearts
and characters, to "adorn" and recommend "the doctrine of
God our Saviour." Oh, it ill becomes a Christian so to yield, it
may be, to the power of a constitutional tendency to melancholy,
or it may be, to mistaken apprehensions and unbelieving fears,
as to give plausibility to the calumny of the infidel and scorner,
that Christianity, after all its boasting, is at least as incapable as
anything else to make men happy.
Let us all, my brethren, who in any measure know the truth,
make it evident that the truth has not made us slaves, but
"made us free,' and that when we "keep God's commandments," we then "walk at liberty."  Let us show that "in keeping these commandments we have indeed a great reward," that
our Saviour's yoke is "an easy yoke, and his burden a light
burden," that "'his ways are pleasantness and his paths peace,"
and let the rational happiness, " the rest and the refreshing," we
obviously enjoy from our religion, not proclaimed in words, but
exhibited in our mien and conduct, form as it were an invitation
to all around us, to "' come and taste" with us "that God is
good." Even while we are silent, let our holy, happy lives, say
to the worldly and the wicked around us, " Come with us and
we will do you good, for the Lord hath spoken good concerning
Israel."
V. THE OBJECT OF SUPREME DESIRE TO CHRISTIANS, AND
THE MEANS OF OBTAINING IT.
MATTHEW vi. 19-34.
I have had occasion to remark repeatedly to you, since I began
these expository discourses on the " Sermon on the Mount," that
the key to it is to be found in the word " REPENT"-change your
mind —that it is an extended illustration of the general exhortation which held so prominent a place in our Lord's preaching, as
well as in that of his forerunner. The Jewish people expected
in their Messiah a temporal prince, and the happiness which
they anticipated under his reign was merely a very high degree
of worldly prosperity. They expected to enjoy in abundance
riches, and honor, and pleasure. In the passage before us, our
Lord informs them that such anticipations were founded in error
-that the happiness to be enjoyed under the Messiah is spiritual,
not carnal, in its nature-that it is to be found in perfection, not
on earth but in heaven-that just views on this subject are of infinite importance —that the attainment of this happiness ought to
constitute their chief end-that this end could be gained only by
strenuously prosecuting it-and that in making the pursuit of




230            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.           [EXP. IV.
this happiness their principal employment, there was no ground
for anxiety about things seen and temporal, to those who I "seek
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness," for everything
they need shall certainly be given them. Such is the outline of
this interesting paragraph, which commences with the 19th verse,
and reaches to the end of this chapter.
Let us proceed more minutely to examine its various parts:"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth
and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and
steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not
break through nor steal; for where your treasure is, there will
your heart be also."90
Some have interpreted the command, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth," literally. One class of these interpreters understand the command, without any limitation, as a
prohibition of accumulation in any measure, as a declaration that
in no case it is lawful to add to our property, but that our expenditure should keep pace with our gains, and that no man should
ever allow himself to become rich.
This, however, does not seem to be its meaning. It has been
very justly said, that they who condemn all accumulations, to be
consistent, "should not stop here, but go on to'sell all that they
have and give it to the poor,' for the one is no less expressly
enjoined than the other. But this were to overturn all distinctions of rich and poor, and all possession of property; which is
as contrary to the whole current of Scripture as inconsistent with
the welfare of human society."'
The other class of interpreters -who understand the words
literally, consider our Lord as saying merely,' Do not bestow
your principal attention on the accumulation of earthly treasures, but on the attainment of heavenly happiness,' as when he
says-" Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for the
meat which endureth unto eternal life," that is,'Let not the
attainment of material bread which nourisheth the dying body,
occupy so much of your time and attention, as the attainment of
spiritual food which sustains the never-dying soul. Be not so
anxious to heap up wealth as to secure heaven.' This idea is, I
have no doubt, contained in the words, but it is contained in
them merely because they are expressive of a much more comprehensive sentiment.
The phrase "lay up treasures " in the first injunction, is, I
apprehend, figurative, as it obviously is in the second. To " lay
up treasure in heaven " cannot mean, to make heaven, not earth,
the repository of the wealth we may accumulate. It means
obviously to seek for, and expect, happiness in heaven. In like
manner, to " lay up treasures on earth" is to seek, or expect,
happiness on earth, or in earthly objects, in the wealth, in the
honors, in the pleasures of the present state. It is as if our
-90 Matt. vi.  19,'20.                      91 Fuller.




PART V.]    HAPPINESS, AND HOW TO OBTAIN IT.           231
Lord had said,'I know you are looking for happiness on the
earth under the Messiah s reign, that you are expecting it in a
state of worldly prosperity; but you must "repent," you must
change your mind, or you will be miserably disappointed. The
happiness which the Messiah brings is spiritual happiness. It is
to be enjoyed in perfection not on earth, but in heaven, and it is
of a far higher, and more excellent, nature than that earthly happiness which you are making the chief object of affection and
pursuit.  "Lay not up treasures on earth," do not attempt to
build a permanent residence for yourselves here. Do not set
your hearts on anything seen and temporal as worth your
supreme attention, or capable of satisfying all your wishes.'
The reason our Lord assigns for this injunction is appropriate
and forcible: " All things material are liable to change and destruction; they may be wrested from us by the arm of violence,
or they may moulder away in our possession."
There is a peculiar beauty and propriety in the figurative language used by our Lord: "Moth and rust corrupt-thieves break
through and steal." In oriental countries, and in an age when
commerce was comparatively in its infancy, the rich were distinguished from the poor, chiefly by large wardrobes of costly garments, by hordes of the precious metals, either in small pieces for
the purpose of exchange, or formed into vessels of curious workmanship, and by richly-stored repositories of grain and fruits,
and similar provisions. These treasures were peculiarly liable to
be consumed by the moth, and by rust, and in danger of being
carried off by the thief or the robber.
The idea intended to be conveyed is,'All happiness of a
worldly kind is uncertain, all earthly enjoyments are at once perishable in themselves, and in danger of being lost by innumerable accidents.' All the possessions and pleasures that are to be
found in this life, are unquestionably, in their own nature, liable
to decay, and " perish in the using." Even when they are not
taken from us, how often do they lose the qualities which originally fixed our regard, and though they do not cease to exist,
cease to please! Like faded flowers, they become offensive, instead of pleasant. Even if they were more satisfying and less
corruptible than they are, how difficult-in many cases, how impossible-it is to retain them long! " They take to themselves
wings, and fly away as an eagle towards heaven;" and though
they continue, how easily can the stroke of disease render us
totally incapable of enjoying them, and how suddenly may, —how
certainly must,-the stroke of death separate us at once and for
ever from them, and send us away " naked as we came."
The uncertainty of worldly treasure, in one of its most coveted
forms,. wealth, is most graphically described by our Lord. "The
ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: and
he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I
have no room where to bestow my fruits?  And he said, This
will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and




232              THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV
there will I bestow all my fruits and imy goods. And I will say
to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years;
take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto
him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then
whose shall those things be which thou hast provided? So is
he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward
God."92
Is it not folly, then, to seek for happiness in earthly things?
Let us thankfully receive, let us temperately enjoy, that portion
of the good things of this life, which our Father who is in heaven
is pleased to bestow on us. But let us not set our affections on
them. Let us not seek our happiness in them. Let us not take
up with them as if they could be a satisfying portion to our rat.ional immortal natures.
Instead of seeking happiness on earth, let us seek it in heaven.
"Lay up," says our Lord, "treasures for yourselves in Hleaven,
where moth and rust do not corrupt, nor thieves break through
and steal." As to lay up our treasures on earth, is to expect and
seek for happiness in earthly things, so to lay up our treasures
in heaven, is just to expect and to seek happiness in heavenly
things, things unseen and eternal. The happiness of a being
like man, spiritual and immortal, and intimately related to God,
consists in as perfect a knowledge of God, as complete a conformity to God, as close an intercourse with God, as his capacities admit off and this maintained throughout the whole eternity
of his being. This is man's true happiness. This is to be obtained only in heaven. God is in heaven, and " with him is the
fountain of life."'9
This happiness is placed beyond the reach of accident or
change. Force cannot wrest it from us; fraud cannot beguile
us of it. It forms part of the very nature, intellectual and moral,
of him who possesses it, and he can no more lose it, than he can
lose himself. The inheritance above is " incorruptible, and undefiled, and fadeth not away."T There is nothing in its own
nature to cause decay, and it is secured from all external violence.
It is at once incorruptible and eternal. It is thus suited to the
immortal spirit. Instead of weakening and wearying our powers,
it exalts and strengthens them. "The appetite grows with what
it feeds on." The satisfactions rising out of these celestial enjoyments are not lessened by repetition, nor disturbed by the fear of
their coming to an end. They shall endure for ever, and shall
not merely never be diminished, but shall grow with the enlarging capacity for excellence and happiness, throughout eternity.
Surely, then, our Lord's exhortation is a most reasonable one.' Seek for happiness, not on earth, but in heaven.'
It is of the utmost importance, that we form a just estimate of
what is necessary to true happiness, a just judgmnent as to where
true happiness is to be found, for the whole tenor of our thoughts,
and affections, and active pursuits, will be regulated by that
2 Luke xii. 16-21.    93 Psal. xxxvi. 9.   94 1 Pet. i. 4




PART V.]    HAPPINESS, AND HOW  TO OBTAIN IT.                  233
estimate and judgment.  " Where the treasure is, there will the
heart be also."  Whatever we consider as our chief good,-that
which is at once necessary and sufficient to make us happy,will, from the very constitution of our nature, employ our principal thoughts, draw forth our most earnest desires, fix our fondest affections, stimulate and guide our most active and persevering pursuits. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance, that we
form  a just judgment where our treasure lies.  If we think
happiness is to be found in wealth, or in honor, or in power, or
in worldly pleasures, whether sensual, intellectual, or social-if
we think it is to be found in anything earthly-then our whole
character will be "of the earth, earthly;" our thoughts, our
affections, our desires, our pursuits, will all correspond with the
object of our supreme estimation. And, on the other hand, if
we be persuaded happiness is to be found in heaven, and only in
heaven, in knowing God, in loving God, in being loved by God,
in knowing that we are loved by God, in being like God-thinking along with God, willing along with God, choosing what he
chooses, finding enjoyment in what he finds enjoyment, then our
whole character will be spiritual and heavenly, our thoughts, and
affections, and desires, and pursuits, will correspond in their
nature to the object of our supreme esteem. Of so much importance is it to place our treasure right, that is, in other and plainer
words, to have right views of what is necessary and sufficient to
make such beings as we are truly happy.
This truth our Lord illustrates by a very significant figure.
" The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye
be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore
the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!""'
The meaning of these words will be plain, if a slight alteration
in the rendering-which, I apprehend, is not only warrantable,
but necessary —be adopted. " The light of the body is the eye,
if then thine eye be sound, the whole body is full of light; but
if thine eye be distempered, then thy whole body is full of darkness: and if even the light in thee is darkness, how great will be
that darkness!"" The eye is not the source of light,-that is, the
sun; but it is necessary to the man deriving any advantage from
the sun.  It is, as it were, the window of the body.  If the eye
be sound, the whole body is full of light; that is, all the members of the body enjoy the advantages of the light-the hands
and the feet know, as it were, what they are about-the man
knows what he is doing, and where he is going; but if the eye
be distempered, —if the man be blind altogether, or if his eyes be
95 Matt. vi. 22, 23.
96 HIovlpcSf eXeLv, and KatKS!Xetv, are the opposite of viytaiveLv.'A7r26v~S is the
translation of the Hebrew,;,~, which is also rendered by 6;Xc6K7Xpor, a word
equivalent often to healthy, whole, and sound. Theophylact expounds &r2toVS
by sVytflr, and 7rovr/pbf by voaodr7. It is a beautiful but fanciful thought of Quesnel-" The mystic eye does not see double. It sees only God as the object of
esnreme affection."




234              THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.             [EXP. IV.
so distempered as to mistake one object from another, the whole
body is full of darkness; his hands and his feet can be of comparatively little use to him; he is in constant hazard of stumbling
and falling, and when he thinks himself in perfect safety, he may
be in extreme danger.  He stretches out his hand to lay hold of
something that he accounts valuable, and grasps the empty air;
he moves forward, thinking himself on level ground, and he falls
over a precipice.97
If that which is the light of the body be darkness, if the eye
be quenched, or darkened, how great is the darkness thus produced! The only access which light can have to the body is
closed, and of course all is darkness.  This seems the literal
meaning of our Lord's words. Now, for their figurative signification.
Truth is the light of the mind; and the faculty which apprehends truth, howsoever it be denominated, is the eye of the
mind. If this mental eye be sound, the whole inner man is full
of light. If we have just views, if we have a clear perception,
and a firm belief of the truth, then all the powers of our nature
will be influenced by this, and perform their various functions
properly-our desires, our affections, our active exertions, will
be what they ought to be; but if the mental eye be blinded by
ignorance, and distempered by error, then the whole inner man
will be full of darkness. If we do not know and believe the
truth, we cannot be influenced by it. If we believe error, we
shall be influenced by it. If we do not know God as the fountain of excellence and happiness, we will not love him, we will
not seek after his favor, and image, and fellowship, and enjoyment. If we suppose that the world in any of its forms can
make us happy, then our thoughts, and our desires,- and our
affections, and our pursuits, will all take a wrong direction; and
if that which is the light of the mind be darkened, " how great
is that darkness I" If we mistake error for truth, the whole of
our affections and pursuits must be misplaced and misdirected.
This is most important general truth; but it is brought forward by our Lord with a peculiar reference. It is as if he had
said,'True happiness is of a spiritual, not of a carnal nature.
It is to be found in perfection, not on earth, but in heaven. A
firm conviction of this is absolutely necessary to your thoughts,
and affections, and pursuits, taking that direction which is necessary, in order to your obtaining true happiness. You are expecting happiness from the Messiah, but it is worldly happiness
you are expecting: while your minds are occupied with this
delusion, you can never obtain the happiness which the Messiah
has to bestow. Indeed, while your minds are occupied with this
delusion, you have no proper notion of its nature, and all the
97 "'Orav ydp o KUv/3epvi7rTf vo/3p6xtog y7vr77at, scai 6O XZXvoSf o'DeafO, Kat 6'yejuvW
aIX/Ia2Lro7 y~v~lrat,'roja Xotzrv 2a rat'rol VTryKc6otf t'Xrig;"~-CHRYSOSTOM. "When
the pilot is drowned, and the light extinguished, and the captain taken prisoner,
what more hope is there for the crew?"-Quoted by TaoLUCo.




PART V.]   HAPPINESS, AND HOW TO OBTAIN IT.            235
doctrine of the kingdom  is "foolishness" to you. But, when
you come to see plainly that your treasure is in heaven, your
heart will soon be there also: as soon as you apprehend the true
nature of the happiness which you need, and the Messiah has to
bestow, then a flood of light will be poured on every other subject-your affections will go forth towards this happiness, and
all the active powers of your nature will exert themselves, according to the appointed method for obtaining it.'
A Jew, with his carnal views, could not possibly obtain the
happiness which the Messiah came to bestow. He must "repent,"
he must change his mind, he must be "born again," in order to
his "seeing," in order to his "entering into the kingdom of
God." And the same thing is true still. While men labor under
the notion, that happiness is to be found in "things seen and
temporal," everything in Christianity must be confusion and
darkness to them. Its doctrines must appear uninteresting, unintelligible, and incredible; its precepts hard sayings; its duties
burdensome observances; but, let a man be deeply persuaded
that his happiness is in God, then the doctrine of the atonement,
as the means of restoring him to God's favor, and that of Divine
influence, as the means of fitting him for God's fellowship, which
were formerly "foolishness," appear to be " the wisdom of God;"
and reading the Scriptures, and prayer, and other religious exercises, are attended to, and delighted in, as, in their own nature,
fitted for communicating, in some measure, true heavenly happiness even here, and for preparing for the full enjoyment of it
hereafter. When the eye becomes sound, the whole body becomes full of light.
I conclude my observations on this subject, with the judicious
and forcible remarks of Mr. Scott:-" The words in the text immediately relate to men's practical judgments of earthly and
heavenly things. The worldly man mistakes, in his first principle, and therefore all his reasonings and calculations must be
erroneous; and the farther he goes the more fatally is he bewildered.  But it is equally true in reference to false religion.
When that which a man deems extraordinary illumination,
whether from philosophy or enthusiasm, is a mere delusion, his
very light is thick darkness from the bottomless pit-all his inferences and proceedings lead him farther-from God, from truth,
and from holiness, and plunge him still deeper into error, prejudices, spiritual pride, and the snare of the prince of darkness."
It is not only necessary that the mind be enlightened in the
fact that happiness is of a spiritual nature, and to be found in
perfection only in heaven, but the desire and pursuit of this happiness must be supreme, and cannot be conjoined with an equal
intensity of desire and pursuit of happiness in things seen and
temporal. The impossibility of making both worldly and heavenly
happiness the object of supreme affection and pursuit, is the sentiment expressed in the next declaration of our Lord: —" No man
can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love




236              THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.               [EXP. IV.
the other: or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other,
Ye cannot serve God and mammon."'9
There is an obscurity cast on these words, from their seeming
to indicate a contrast between loving a master, and holding to
him-between hating a master, and despising him. It is difficult
to see in what the contrast lies. Some interpreters have endeavored to remove the difficulty by rendering it thus: " Either he
will hate the one, and love the other; or, at least, he will hold
to the one, and despise the other." But this is not satisfactory.
I apprehend, the particle rendered either, and or, is not here disjunctive at all, but, as it often is, interrogative, or affirmative."9
I think our Lord's meaning may be given thus:' No man can
serve two masters; for will he not love the one, and hate the
other-will he not cleave to the one, and despise the other?' or
thus:' For surely he will love the one, and hate the other-surely
he will cleave to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve
God and mammon."~~
The object of our Lord is plainly to illustrate, by a figure, the
impossibility of making, at the same time, earthly and heavenly
happiness, the objects of esteem  and pursuit:-" No man can
serve two masters."  To understand the force of our Lord's illustration, two things must be observed.  First, That the word
" serve " does not signify to do an occasional act of obedience,
but to be a bond-servant, a slave, the property of his master, and
entirely subject to his will: no one can be thus a servant to two
masters; and, secondly, That the two masters are plainly presumed to be of different and opposite characters; and, consequently, that course of conduct, which would be accounted service
by the one, would not be accounted service by the other.
With these explications, as the meaning of our Lord's statement is plain, so its truth is indubitable.  A  man may be a servant to two masters in succession, even although they should be
of very different and directly opposite characters.  A  man may
serve two masters of opposite characters-the one in profession,
the other in reality. A man may serve two masters unequallyoccasionally doing an act of service to the one, while he usually,
habitually, serves the other. A man may serve two or more
masters, if they are all on one side, all subordinate to one another: a soldier may serve his king, and, at the same time, his
commanding officer, and his inferior officers, for, in obeying
them, he is obeying his prince; but no man can be at the same
time, in reality, habitually the servant of two masters, who are
hostile to each other, and whose interests are entirely incompati93 Matt. vi. 24.
99, —vide Robinson in verb. Matt. vii. 9; xx. 15. Rom. iii. 29. 1 Cor. i. 13.
Ileb. vi. 14. Gen. xlii. 16. Numb. xiv. 23. LXX.
l'O Fritzsche, after Erasmus and Beza, gives a somewhat different exegesis,
which is plausible: —"Sensus hic est'aut enim unum ilium spernet, alterunm
curabit, aut unum ilium curabit, et alterum spernet.' Sicuti recte dicas'aut
amo 0, et odi X, aut amo X, et odi 0,' absurde autem blateres:' Aut amo O et
odi X, aut odi X et amo 0.'"




PART V.]    HAPPINESS, AND HOW TO OBTAIN IT.             237
ble. In this sense our Lord says, " Ye cannot serve God and
mammon."'
To serve God, is the same thing as to "lay up treasures in
heaven."  By a Divine appointment true happiness is to be
found only there, and he who has made this appointment, has
also ordained certain means, by the use of which man may attain this happiness. He who makes the attainment of this happiness, by these means, the great object of life, is the servant of
God: he does the will of God.
To serve mammon, is the same thing as " to lay up treasures
on earth." Mammon is a Syriac word, signifying riches or gain.'
It is seemingly equivalent to the word "world," as it is often
employed in the New Testament-" things seen and temporal."
These are often personified, and represent a God whom men worship, or a master whom they serve; and their influence over our
minds and affections in leading us to seek happiness in them, and
to use the appropriate means of obtaining that happiness, is the
power of this prince and master, and our yielding to that influence is the service we render him.
The general truth here stated is, " that the course of sentiment
and conduct which is necessary, by Divine appointment, to obtain
the heavenly happiness, and the course of sentiment and conduct
that is necessary to secure what is ordinarily termed earthly happiness, are quite incompatible; and cannot be conjoined,-at the
same time, in the same individual."
The Jews had some indistinct notions of happiness in a future
world, under the Messiah; but their minds were chiefly occupied
with dreams of carnal prosperity on the earth; and they thought
the expectation of worldly prosperity and future happiness perfectly consistent. But our Lord informs them they are in a mistake-they must " repent"-they must change their minds.
And so it is in every age. There are many men who hope
that, while they are seeking their happiness in earthly objects, it
may be possible, at the same time, to secure the enjoyment of
the heavenly felicity. But, no!-there is no serving, at the
same time, two such masters-there is no serving God and
Mammon.
There is a possibility of serving them in succession. Indeed,
all who serve God, once served Mammon. They once "served
divers lusts and pleasures;" but now, " being made free from sin,
they are become the servants of righteousness" —the servants of
God.
There is a possibility of serving the one in pretence, and the
other in reality. Alas! how many call Jehovah Lord, and yet,
in reality, worship Mammon; how many professors of Christianity, as to their hearts, are thoroughly worldly-completely
1 Jay.
2 "The word occurs frequently in the Targum and among the Rabbins, and
also in Syriac authors, and in the Samaritan version. Augustine says,'Lucrum
Punic6 mammon dicitur.' "-TIoLucE. Vide Clem. Alex. Strom., lib. vii.




238            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
secular in all their affections and desires, and'schemes and pursuits! Their very religion is worldly. Such persons are, however, not the servants of God. Men may suppose them to be so,
though generally even men are not imposed on in such cases.
But, however this may be, God is not deceived, and he will not
suffer himself to be mocked with impunity.
There is a possibility of a man doing occasionally what is in
itself agreeable to the will of God, while habitually he disobeys
God in serving Mammon; but such occasional acts are not service-they are not obedience-they are not done because God
requires them, nor as God requires them.
There is a possibility of obeying parents, and e'arthly masters,
and lawful magistrates, and obeying God at the same time. In
obeying those whom God commands us to obey, we obey himself;
but Mammon is not God's vicegerent. He is the usurper of his
throne; and, therefore, cannot be obeyed, without treason against
our legitimate sovereign.
The thing is perfectly plain: God says, " Give me thine
heart;" and the world says,' Give me thine heart;' and we have
but one heart to give. God says,' Give me all thy heart-" thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul;"' and though the world, or Mammon, often pretends that a
share of the heart will satisfy his demands, he well knows that,
if he gets a part of the heart, he is sure of the whole of it; and
his having, in a single department, the supremacy, totally unfits
the person for being a servant to his divine rival, if I may use
the expression.
Indeed, as has been strikingly remarked by a living writer,
" Their orders are diametrically opposed. The one commands
you to walk by faith, the other to walk by sight; the one to be
humble, the other to be proud; the one to set your affections on
things above, the other to set them on the things that are on the
earth; the one to look at the things unseen and eternal, the
other to look at the things seen and temporal; the one to have
your conversation in heaven, the other to cleave to the dust; the
one to be careful for nothing, the other to be all anxiety; the
one to be content with such things as ye have, the other to
enlarge your desires as hell; the one to be ready to distribute,
the other to withhold; the one to look at the things of others,
the other to look only at one's own things, the one to seek
happiness in the Creator, the other to seek happiness in the creature. Is it not plain there is no serving two such masters?'If
you love the one, you must hate the other; if you cleave to the
one, you must despise the other. You cannot serve God and
Mammon.' To serve Mammon, to lay up treasures on earth, is
to make present, sensible, worldly things, the great subjects of
our thoughts, the great objects of our affections. To serve God,
to lay up treasures in heaven, is just to make things divine and
heavenly the great subjects of our thoughts, and the great objects
of our affections  The two things are obviously incompatible.




PART V.]   HAPPINESS, AND HOW TO OBTAIN IT.            239
The covetous man is an idolater. The friendship of the world is
enmity with God;' whosoever will be a friend of the world, must
be an enemy of God.' ""
The words of our Lord, while they distinctly state that the
service of the world, and the service of God-the seeking of
happiness on earth, and the seeking it in heaven-are quite incompatible, obviously imply, that all must either serve the world
or God; all must seek happiness, either on earth or in heaven.
Man is not, cannot be, independent; he is not self-sufficient, he
must seek for happiness, and seek for it out of himself. Those who
will not serve God, must serve mammon. Such persons often
think themselves truly free, and regard with contempt the loyal
subjects of Jehovah, as a set of mean-spirited slaves; but " while
they promise themselves liberty, they are indeed the servants of
corruption; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he
held in bondage." He who is not the subject of humility, must
be the vassal of pride; he who is not the servant of meekness,
must be the slave of passion.
The following picture of the vile slavery, and the degrading
service, in which mammon holds and employs those who will not
submit to the divine law of liberty and love, is very striking.
May God render it effectual for making some of these miserable
vassals feel the weight of their chains, and long for the liberty of
God's children. "O ye votaries of the world, think of your privations, and sacrifices, and submissions; think of the numerous
and arbitrary laws you have to obey, —-the laws of opinion, the
laws of custom, the laws of extravagance, the laws of folly. Yes,
I sometimes think if religion were to require of me such services,
as the world imposes upon its enslaved followers,-if it required
me to turn day into night, and deprive me of seasonable repose,
-if it required me to embrace indecent and injurious fashions,
and to expose at once my modesty and my health,-if it required
me to adopt expensive modes of life, which devoured my substance, and involved me in pecuniary disgrace,-if it required
me to spend my evenings from home, and to resign domestic
enjoyments, in order to rove from one insipid amusement to another,-if it required me to give up all that is easy and simple,
and natural, for ceremonies, and visits, and crowds, where all is
artificial, and studied, and forced,-if it required me to convert
my dwelling into the confusion of a rout, to stoop to the absurdity of a masquerade, to hazard my own life and the life of my
Cellow-creatures, because I had received an offence, it may be,
unintentionally given, and allowed me not the choice of a refusal,
-then I should conceive a disgust, then I should sigh for
liberty. You tell us our Master requires us to deny ourselves.
Does your master require no self-denial? As-to self-denial, we
are nearly on a level; but here is the difference, —Our Master
requires us to deny what is false and vain, yours what is solid
and true; ours requ:res us to deny what would make us miser3 Jay.




240             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
able, yours what would render you happy; ours requires us to
deny the craving of passion and appetite, yours the demands of
reason and of conscience; ours requires us to deny the body for
the sake of the soul, yours to deny the soul for the sake of the
body; ours requires us to give up nothing but what we are the
better for wanting, and for which he will richly recompense us,
yours to part with what will make you poor indeed, for ever and
ever."4
To make the attainment of earthly happiness, and of heavenly
happiness at the same time, the objects of supreme esteem, affection, and pursuit, is in the nature of things impossible. To attempt it, is to attempt to serve at the same time two masters of
different, of opposite characters, and with different, opposite, interests. It is thus not only foolish and wicked to attempt, but it is
impossible to accomplish, the conjonining of the service of God, or
laying up treasures in heaven, and the service of mammon, or
laying up treasures on earth.
But if the service of God is to be exclusively our business; if
we are to seek for happiness, not on earth, but in heaven; if the
attainment of this is to be our supreme object,-if everything is
to be subordinated, if everything is to be sacrificed to this, —then
what is to become of us, in reference even to the necessaries of
the present life, without which, we not only cannot exist in comfort, but cannot exist at all?
To meet this thought, which was very likely to rise in the
minds of those who, dreaming of carnal happiness under a temporal prince on earth, were now told, that if they would share in
the advantages of the Messiah's reign, they must seek a spiritual
happiness, to be enjoyed in perfection in heaven, and that to the
attainment of this everything else must be sacrificed, our Lord
adds the striking and beautiful statements which follow: —
" Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life,
what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body,
what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the
body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow
not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them? Are ye not much better than they?
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his
stature?  And why take ye thought for raiment?  Consider the
lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they
spin: and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory,
wats not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe
the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into
the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, 0 ye of little faith?
Therefore take no thought saying, What shall we eat? or What
shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  (For
after all these things do the Gentiles seek;) for your heavenly
Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But
seek ye first the kingdom  of God, and his righteousness: and
4 Jay.




PART V.]    HAPPINESS, AND HOW  TO OBTAIN IT.                  241
all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no
thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought
for the  things of itself.  Sufficient unto  the day is the evil
thereof."'
The particle "therefore " generally looks backward, and indicates that what follows it is an inference from what has gone
before.  Understood in this way, its import in the passage before
us is-' Since happiness in heaven ought to be the supreme object
of your esteem, affection, and pursuit-since it is impossible
at one and the same time, to make both earthly and heavenly
things the principal subject of our thoughts, and the principal
object of our affections-all anxiety, even about what may be
termed the necessaries of life, must be at once improper and
useless.'
In the New Testament, however, the particle here rendered
"therefore," sometimes looks forward, and  indicates that the
reason of what is said is just about to be given. In this case it
is equivalent to,'For the reasons I am about to state, you
ought not, while devoting yourselves supremely to the attainment of heavenly happiness, to be anxious about the supply of
your earthly wants.' It is not a matter of much consequence in
which of these ways the import of the connective particle be here
understood.
Food is necessary to the support of life —clothing, in most
climates, is necessary to the comfort of life-and in many climates
not only to its comfort, but to its continuance. Our Lord is
plainly speaking of the necessaries of the present life, and of the
temper which his disciples, who were laying up treasures for
themselves in heaven, should cultivate in reference to these necessaries.  That temper is briefly described in one word-" Take
no thought"6 about these things.
The English words, here, do not accurately convey the meaning of the original terms.7 The necessaries of life are, in ordinary cases, to be obtained either by bodily or mental labor; and
in either case, a certain degree of thought must be exercised in
reference to them. The simplest mechanical employment cannot
be performed without in some measure, " taking thought." The
not taking thought about the proper means of providing for
themselves and their families, is one principal cause of the vice
and misery which prevail so extensively among mankind; and
it is an important duty, in a Christian, to " provide for his own,
especially for those of his own household," and to " provide things
honest," honorable, respectable, "in the sight," in the estimas Matt. vi. 25-34.
6  MEpttLva must not be confounded with a well-regulated care for rci &tr6deta
roD CulaTof (James ii. 16), such a care being without i'ptULva."-THOLUCK.
7 It is remarkable that the Vulgate, which the English and all the modern
European versions all but slavishly follow, very happily translates the word here
" soliciti sitis;" but, at verse 27, it strangely changes the rendering for " cogitans."
The English translators have taken the wrong translation, and kept by it. It is
a very just remark of Chrysostom, o, raV'ro' 6arL pYptyva Kai Epyuaia. Carefulness,
and diligence are not the same thing.
VOL. 1.                      16




242            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
tion "of all men."' It was not our Lord's design to make men
thoughtless, in any sense of the word.8
The word translated, "Take no thought," properly signifies,
"Be not anxious."'Be not overwhelmed with perplexing cares,
and painful fears. While making the attainment of heavenly
happiness your great object, and subordinating everything to
this, indulge no unbelieving doubts —nor harassing cares —no
tormenting fears-with regard to the obtaining what is necessary
for the present life.' Our Lord does not forbid, here, what his
apostles elsewhere enjoin-the use of lawful means to obtain for
ourselves, and those who depend on us, the necessaries of lifenor that exercise of thought which is requisite for this purpose;
but he does forbid us, while we use these means, or after we have
used these means, to be anxious and fearful as to their being effectual for the purpose for which they are intendled.
"( Be not anxious for your life,"-for what is necessary for the
support of life, that is, food-" what ye shall eat, or what ye
shall drink."  "Be not anxious for your body,"-for what is
necessary for the comfort of your body, that is, clothing-" what
ye shall put on."
Our Lord's meaning is not-what the words taken by themselves might mean-' Do not allow food and dress to occupy
many of your thoughts,' though I may be allowed to remark, by
the way, that for any person to do so, is to act a part not only
incompatible with genuine Christianity, but unworthy of a
rational being. Such conduct is contemptible as well as criminal.
But our Lord's meaning is,-' When, in prosecuting your great
object-the heavenly happiness-the attainment of the necessaries of life for yourselves and your families may seem to be
difficult or even impossible, be not anxious; God will provide
for you. He has gven you life; He has given you a body; and,
while it is his will that you should continue to possess this life,
and this body, he can and will take care of them.  "Is not the
life more than meat, and the body more than raiment?"' He can take care of you. Surely he who gave life can give
food; surely he who gave you a body can give you clothing for
that body. To give life, is obviously more difficult than to give
food; to create a body, is obviously more difficult than to furnish
c;lothing for it. He who has done the greater can do the less.'But he not only can, he will. To give life, is a far greater
favor than to give food; to give a body, than to give clothing.
Is not the breath of life a more valuable blessing than the bread
of every day? is not the formation of the body a greater favor
than a garment for its covering?  He who has given the more
valuable blessing, will not withhold the less.'Food is necessary for the prolongation of life-clothing is
necessary, in ordinary cases, to the body's health and activity.
While God means you to live, he will furnish you with food;
while he means your bodies to be employed in his service, he
8 1 Tim. v.'8. Rom. xii. 17.




PART V.]    HAPPINESS, AND HIOW TO ATTAIN IT.            243
wlil furnish you with clothing; and when he sees'fit that your
mortal life should terminate, you will have no more need of food;
and when he separates your bodies from your souls, they will no
longer have need of clothing.' The power of God, as manifested in giving you life and bodies,
makes it evident that he can provide you with food and clothing;
and his kindness and wisdom, manifested in giving you life and
bodies, make it evident that he will provide you with these necessaries, so long as you stand in need of them.'
Our Lord now proceeds to point out, somewhat more in detail,
the unreasonableness of anxiety, with respect either to life or to
the body, to food or to raiment.
And first, with regard to life or food:-" Behold the fowls of
the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into
barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them: are ye not much
better than they?"' Nothing can be more beautiful in description, nothing more conclusive in reasoning, than this. Few
things are more satisfactory to a reflecting mind, as evidence of
the constant superintendence of a Being of infinite power, wisdom,
and benignity, over the universe, than the unerring certainty
with which the lower animals are directed to their proper food.
Destitute of reason,-unprovided with, and to a great extent incapable of, instruction,-they are yet enabled, by what we call
their instincts, to provide for their security, and to supply their
wants with a foresight, regularity, and perseverance, which, in
many cases, shame man's boasted intelligence.~0 To an enlightened
mind, these instincts of animals appear just the settled regular
way in which God supplies their wants.
The statements of the psalmist are as philosophical as they are
pious:-" The eyes of all wait on God, and he giveth them
their meat in due season. He opens his hand, and satisfieth the
desire of every living thing." "The young lions roar after their
prey, and seek their meat from God. He giveth to the beast his
food, and to the ravens that cry.""
It is probable that our Lord borrowed this illustration from
what was before the eyes of his audience:'Look at these birds,
now flying in your sight, how active, how healthy, how cheerful
they are! How free from care, and fear; and, though incapable
of providing for themselves, how well, how surely are they provided for! Your heavenly Father feedeth them; are ye not his
creatures? shall he not also care for you? nay, are ye not
better, much better than they, and shall he not much more
feed you?'
The question, "Are ye not much better than they?" admits
of a twofold interpretation. The words taken by themselves,
might mean,'Have ye not greatly the advantage of them?
They cannot sow, they cannot reap, they cannot gather into
9 Hilary explains the fowls, of the unclean spirits; the lilies, of the good
angels; and the grass, of the heathen destined to perdition!
1u Brewster.              1 Psal. civ. 21, 27; cxlv. 15, 16; cxlvii. 9.




244            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.           [EXP. IV.
barns-you can. If the birds of the air are supported, without
any means used by themselves, is it not reasonable to expect,
that He who has qualified you for employing suitable means for
securing your support, will render the use of these means effectual by his blessing?' This is a good argument, but it does not
seem to be our Lord's.
The question, viewed in its connection, is obviously equivalent to,' You are much better than they: as men, you occupy a
far higher place in the scale of being. You are creatures of a
nobler order than they, and designed for a higher destiny. You
are created in God's image-you are acknowledged as "his
offspring." He has taught you more than the beasts of the field,
and made you " wiser than the fowls of heaven." "' And if we
consider our Lord as addressing those who are laying up treasures
for themselves in heaven, the argument is still more forcible, as
such persons are the objects of his peculiar love; and he has
bound himself by promise that they shall want no good thing.
Will the God who cares for and feeds these birds, overlook you,
and allow you to perish for want of food?'
The 27th verse is an argument against anxiety about our life,
drawn from the utter powerlessness of anxiety to prolong life.
It does not wear this appearance to an English reader; and, I
am sure, the more intelligent among you must often have wondered, in reading this verse, what bearing the statement it seems
to contain has on our Lord's exhortation, which he is enforcing,
"Be not anxious about your life."  With the exception of
children, in the very dawn of reason, there are few people anxious
about extending their stature; and it is is not easy to see, how the
incapacity of persons, by anxiety, to increase their height-a
thing very little connected with their happiness in any way-is a
reason why they should not be anxious about what is absolutely
necessary for the continuance of their life. A cubit too is out of
proportion; for it is plain that our Lord's design called for the
mention of a very minute increase. He is a tall man who is four
cubits high. The addition of a cubit, even to a dwarf, would
make him a giant. The truth is, the word rendered " stature,"
signifies also " age," or length of life.'3    I shall. give you an example or two of this use of the word:-" But by what means he
now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know
not: he is of age, ask him; he shall speak for himself. Therefore said his parents, He is of age, ask him."'4  "Through faith
also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was
delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged
him faithful who had promised.""  I have little doubt that this
is its meaning here, and that our Lord's question, rendered literally, is,'Which of you, by your a axiety, can add a cubit to his
age, or life?''A cubit of time' seems to us a very odd expression, though it
12 Acts xvii. 28. Job xxxv. 11.  13 icZta. Erasmus, Hammond.
4 John ix. 21, 23.           15 Heb. xi. 11.




PART V.]    HAPPINESS, AND HOW TO OBTAIN IT.             245
is to be found in an old Greek poet, to denote a very short space.
It is by no means uncommon for us to apply measures of length
to time, and to human life particularly. We speak of the span
of human life, and of lengthening or shortening that span:"Behold," says the Psalmist, "thou hast made my days an handbreadth."'" Human life is often, in the classical poets, represented as a thread spun by the Fates, the cutting of which terminates life."
Our Lord's meaning, then, seems to ue,' Which of you, by
anxiety, can add to your life a single hour?' Understood thus,
these words contain a strong argument why we should not be
anxious about life or food. It serves no purpose; no anxiety of
ours can protract life. If we cannot, by all our anxiety, secure
that object, for which a supply of food is chiefly desirable-the
lengthening out of life-why should we be anxious for that which
is valuable, only because it is fitted to gain this object? As long
as it is the will of the Most High that you should remain in life,
and be possessed of its comforts, he will render your endeavors
effectual to provide for your wants. But when the hour comes
when he has determined that you shall cease to live, all your
anxieties will not protract your life a single moment. Though
you had all the means of life in abundance, they would not, in
these circumstances, in the slightest degree avail you."
Our Lord now goes on, by a similar illustration, to show the
uselessness of anxiety about clothing: —" And why take ye
thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they
grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto
you, That even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like
one of these. WThereforec if God so clothe the grass of the field,
which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he
not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?""
HIere, as in the former case, our Lord seems to have drawn
his illustration from objects which presented themselves to the
senses of his audience.  Turning their attention to the green
earth on which they sat, enamelled with flowers of every hue, he
says: "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil
not, neither do they spin." They neither practise the labors of
husbandry, to procure the materials of clothing, nor engage in
the processes of art, to form them into raiment, and yet they are
clothed in garments of beauty, far surpassing anything which the
wardrobe of royalty can display. Solomon-in the estimate of a
Jew the most illustrious of sovereigns-Solomon, in all his glory
-decked out in purple, and gold, and jewels —was not arrayed
like one of these. "If God so clothe" such short-lived, and such
comparatively useless vegetables; if God so clothe " the herbage
of the field"-for the word rendered "grass " signifies herbage
16 PsaL xxxix. 5.
17 Tholuck rather thinks the image is borrowed from life conceived as a raceeourse. —Job ix. 25. 2 Tim. iv. 7. A cubit bears a small proportion to a racecourse.
Is Brewster.                          9 Matt. vi. 28, 29, 30.




246              THE  SERMON ON THE MOUNT.                [EXP. IV.
generally, including the lilies of the field-the flowers which
grow up among the grass; if God so clothe this herbage, " which
to-day is" flourishing in all its beauty, and by to-morrow, " cut
down " and withered, is employed as fuel-for, in eastern countries, where fuel is scarce, herbage is often employed to heat the
ovens and baths —" shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of
little faith?""2
These words require no explication. From the appellation,
" O ye of little faith," it is obvious that our Lord's address was
made to those who were in a state of mind like that of Nicodemus,
when hemcame to Jesus by night-persons disposed t;o admit his
divine mission, yet afraid of the consequences of acknowledging
this, and delivering themselves entirely up to be guided by him
-disposed to lay up treasures in heaven, yet not qu ite sure
about abandoning all hope of the treasures on earth, which they
had long so fondly anticipated. It is as if our Lord had said,'Why should you, while seeking the heavenly happiness, be
anxious about worldly happiness? You are secured of all you
need in this world: he who feeds the birds can, and will, feed
you; he who clothes the lilies can, and will, clothe you.'
" Therefore take no thought," that is, be not anxious, " saying,
What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal
shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles
seek;) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all
these things.""'
In  these words, our Lord gives two additional reasons why
they should not be thus anxious. Such anxieties were characteristic of the heathen. They had very obscure and incorrect
views of the Divine character and government. Some of them
believed that all was fixed by fate; others, that all was left to
chance. The one considered the gods themselves as subject to
fate; the others thought that they took no interest in the concerns of mortals. With such views, how could they trust in
these gods?  Of a future world, they had no distinct knowledge.
This world was everything to them, and it was not wonderful
that they should he anxious about obtaining its necessaries and
comforts, and making the most of them all.T' But it is unworthy
of a Christian to be distinguished by a mode of thinking and
feeling which is emphatically heathenish.
20 "The lily, with us usually white, in the East more frequently red, orange,
and yellow, grows there in the open field. The broad and fertile pasture-lands
of the plain of Sharon were covered with that flower. It grows wild-it soon
withers. The splendor of the dress of the flower is the more striking, the more
its existence is precarious. Let the reader only think of the East, where a wind
from the south often makes everything fade in twenty-four hours. Horace calls
the flower'breve lilium.' "-CARM. i. 36, 16. Jerome's note on Lam. v. 10, illustrates this passage: "Solebant furni incendi non tantum ramalibus arborum, sed
et floribus, postquam exaruerunt, quemadmodum et palea et lilio."
21 Matt. vi. 31, 32.
22'" The leading feature of heathenism, according to G6the, in his Life of Winkelman, is'living for the present;' or, as Chrysostom expresses it-T&a k6vh, ois 6
w6voI.(&Trag!car- rbv wap6vra fQ io,, lf A6yoc o.dieTSpi repiv  eX2X6.rcv, oV6A ivv~ow
GVP-v (iX(.v"-oLux..




PART V.]      HAPPINESS, AND HOW  TO OBTAIN IT.                247
The other additional reason is, " Your Father knows that ye
have need of these things." He has made us; he knows our
frame; and if we regard him as our Father, who, we know, is
able to bestow them, can we imagine that they shall be withheld
from us, when he knows that we need them?
"But,"-that is, "instead of being anxious about these things,"
-" seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all
these things shall be added unto you.""3
"The kingdom  of God," is the new spiritual economy.  To
seek it, is to make the attainment for ourselves and others, of the
holy spiritual happiness which it secures to all its genuine subjects, our great object, to lay up treasures for ourselves in heaven.
The " righteousness of God," is obviously neither the justice of
the Divine character, nor the Divine method of justification, but
the righteousness of the kingdom required by God; that righteousness which far exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and
Pharisees.  To seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, is to make the attainment of that holy happiness for ourselves and others, which is to be perfected in heaven, and the
cultivation of that spiritual religion and morality, which is indissolubly connected with this holy happiness, our great, our principal business, to which everything else is to be subordinated, to
which everything else is to be sacrificed.'2
In doing this, ev rything really necessary and useful shall be
secured for you; "all these things shall be added:"" whatever is
really good for you, you shall receive.  "The Lord is a sun and
shield; he will give grace and glory, and no good thing will he
withhold from them that walk uprightly.  Godliness is profitable
for all things; having the promise of the life that now is, and of
that which is to come. All things shall work together for our
good."26 You shall have food and raiment, of the kind, in the
degree, and during the period, which seems meet to your Father
in heaven, who knows what is really good for you, who loves
you, and who has power to do whatever his wisdom sees to be
for your benefit, and his parental affection disposes him to bestow
on you. " It is, indeed, quite a possible thing, that one who seeks
first the kingdom  of God may perish of hunger from want of
food, or of cold from want of raiment. In this case, it must
just be considered as the appointed manner of his death, He
23 Matt. vi. 33.
24 It is not improbable that duKatoavnr, like Xdptf and 6d;XOeta, is a general
description of the kingdom of God, and that icKa is exegetical. To seek the kingdom is to seek to promote the reign of God both in ourselves and others. In that
case, the sense is, in Fuller's words, "Take care of God's interests, and he will
take care of yours."
25 1 Kings iii. 11-13.-Solomon had riches and honor "added" to what he
sought-" wisdom." The kingdom is the great thing-all the rest is 7rpoaOprn7,supplement " appendix," as Bengel says, " vitae et corporis, v. 25, ac potius regni."
-Luke xii. 32. 1 Tim. vi. 8. Mark x. 30. Origen's paraphrase is good: "Seek
the great things-the little things will be added; seek the heavenly things-the
earthly will be added."
2s Psal. lxxxiv. 11, 12. 1 Tim. iv. 8. Rom. viii. 28




248             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
must die by some means or other, and his death by hunger or
cold would be no more an objection against the care of God over
him, than his death in any other way. It is substantially the
same thing, whether God take a man out of the world by some
disease, or by withdrawing the necessary supports of life; and
we have no more cause to be anxious in providing against want,
than in guarding against any other cause of death."'2
Our Lord concludes this section of his discourse with these
emphatic words:-" Take therefore no thought for the morrow:
for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."28'Be not anxious about future events.  To-morrow shall take
thought for the things of itself.'  These words are often considered as equivalent to,'When to-morrow comes, to-morrow's
necessities will be provided for.  If new wants arise, new supplies will be furnished; if new difficulties occur, new direction
will be granted. To-morrow will look after its own concerns;
let to-day be devoted to to-day's duty.'
This is excellent sense, but I cannot bring it out of our Lord's
words. The two clauses in this verse, according to the Hebrew
idiom, express the same general idea.  " To-morrow will care
for the things of itself,"-is equivalent to —'To-morrow will
bring along with it its own anxieties.'' Do not then unnecessarily anticipate them. Every day has enough to do with itself;
"sufficient to the day is the evil thereof."  Do not double the
burden of to-day, under the idea of lightening the burden of tomorrow. The evils we apprehend may never arrive; but by
anticipating them, we suffer as much from them as if they were
present: or if they do arrive, by feeling them before they come,
we, as it were, suffer them twice, and double our distress. Instead of anticipating future evils, let us perform present duty.
Let us not perplex ourselves, especially with thinking about the
probable events which may result from  our "seeking first the
kingdom of God and his righteousness." Let us fearlessly obey
God, and leave the consequences to him, certain that the path of
duty is the path of safety; and that in opposition to all contrary
appearances, everything of a worldly kind that is really good for
us, will be bestowed on us while thus engaged.' Oh, how
happy might we be, if we would but avail ourselves of the kind
invitation.  "Be careful" —be anxious-" for nothing: but in
everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let
your requests be made known unto God." How exceeding great
and precious is the promise that is connected with this invitation!
" The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep
your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."28
27 Brewster.
f2 Matt. vi. 34. Vide "Howe on Thoughtfulness for the Morrow."
29 Phil. iv. 6, 7.




PART VI.]        DETACHED EXHORTATIONS.                249
VI. DETACHED EXHORTATIONS.
MATTHEW VII. 1-12.
The great leading design of our Lord's Sermon on the Mount
is still clearly recognizable. That was to show that his religion
was something radically different from what passed for religion
among the Jews, and that a man must undergo a thorough
change of mind-he must "repent," he must be "born again,"
he must become "a new creature," if he would "enter into the
kingdom of God." The whole frame of his thoughts and affections must be altered.  Old things must pass away, and all
things must become new. The idea which binds together the
miscellaneous and apparently unconnected remarks contained in
this section, is —' There is an essential difference, a strong contrast, between the character of a disciple of the Messiah, and the
nominal religious character of that age'-between "the righteousness of the kingdom and that of the Scribes and Pharisees."
The Pharisees were the sect which held the highest places in
public estimation among the Jews for religion. They were the
strictest sect of their religion; and to be a Pharisee, or as strict
and exemplary as a Pharisee, was about as high a character as,
in the judgment of the great body of the Jewish people, could be
given to an individual. But our Lord distinctly states that,
unless a man's righteousness exceed that of the Pharisees, he
can, by no means, enter into the kingdom of God.  Nothing
seems to have been more characteristic of the Pharisees than a
very high esteem of themselves, and a malignant contempt of
others.  They "trusted in themselves that they were righteous,
and contemned others."30  They were very sharp-sighted to
other men's faults, and very dim-sighted, if not altogether blind,
to their own; and they took credit to themselves for their severe
judgments of others, as if these were evidences of their own
piety and zeal. In this respect, as in almost every other, the
character of a disciple of Christ must be the exact opposite of
that of a disciple of the Scribes.  The Pharisee was fond of
judging, and rash and severe in judgment; tender to his own
faults, and harsh to the failings of others. The Christian, on the
contrary, with a far higher standard of judgment, was not to
pronounce judgment on the state and character of mnen without
being called to do so; and when called to do so, was to judge
candidly, and as favorably as the circumstances would admit,
influenced by that charity which "hopeth all things, believeth
all things; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth "
-more disposed to be a reformer of himself than a censor cf his
neighbors. Such is the conduct which our Lord enjoins and
enforces in that portion of the Sermon on the Mount, at which,
in the course of our exposition, we have now arrive(d.
30 Luke xviii. f




250             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
~ 1. With respect to judging others.
" Judge not, that ye be not judged.  For with what judgment
ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it
shall be measured to you agfain."TM
It is scarcely necessary to remark that this prohibition, like
many others in our Lord's discourse, is not to be interpreted in
its utmost latitude.  The capacity of judging, of forming an
estimate and opinion, is one of our most valuable faculties, and
the right use of it one of our most important duties. " Why do
you not of yourselves judge that which is right?" says our Lord.
"Judge righteous judgment."  If we do not form judgments as
to what is true and false, good and evil, how can we embrace
the one and avoid the other?
The judgments here referred to obviously respect personal
actions and characters; and the command is as plainly addressed
to the disciples of Christ as private individuals. It is one of the
first duties of civil magistrates to form, and pronounce, and act
on, just judgments respecting all matters which come before
them for determination; and it is one of the first duties of ecclesiastical rulers to form judgments respecting all who apply for
admission to the communion of the church, and, like Paul and
Silas, in the case of Lydia, to admit only those whom they
"judge to be faithful," or believers; and also to censure and
exclude those who disgrace their profession. It cannot be supposed that our Lord here forbids his disciples to form a judgment of the state and character of men from their avowed principles, and their visible conduct; for, in a subsequent part of
this chapter, he directs them to judge by this rule."3 We are to
"have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness;"`
but, in order to this, we must exercise judgment as to what are
unfruitful works of darkness. We are to "withdraw ourselves
from every brother who walks disorderly;""' but, in order to this,
we must judge as to what is disorderly walking.  We are to
" mark them that cause divisions and offences, and avoid them;""3
but to do this, we must judge what is calculated to cause division
and offence.
When our Lord calls on his disciples not to judge, he calls on
them not to be officious, rash, presumptuous, severe, or partial in
forming their judgments, nor hasty in declaring them.
We are not to be officious in intermeddling with what we have
no concern with-it is a Christian's duty to "mind his own business.""T  There are many subjects on which we are not called to
have any judgment at all.
We are not to be rash in our judgments. Even when called
to judge, we are not to decide till we have carefully examined
31 Matt. vii. 1, 2.  32 Matt. vii. 20.   33 Eph. v. 11.
34 2 Thess. iii. 6.  35 Rom. xvi. 17.    3G 1 Thess. iv. 11.




PART VI.]        DETACHED EXHORTATIONS.                  251
the subject-" He that answereth a matter before he heareth it,
it is folly and shame unto him.""'
We are not to be presumptuous in our judgments, pronouncing
on things beyond our reach-such as the views and motives
of another, and acting as if our conjectures were infallible
truths.
We are not to be severe in our judgments.  We are surely
not, as some people seem to think, bound to believe that an
avowed infidel or an open profligate is a good Christian; but we
are bound to put the best construction on doubtful actions; and
never, without full proof, to trace apparently good actions to bad
motives.
We are not to be partial in our judgments; we are not to condemn in one what we approve, or at any rate pass by, in others.
We are not to condemn in our neighbor, what we overlook in
ourselves.
And as we are not to judge officiously, rashly, presumptuously,
severely, or partially, so neither are we to be hasty in proclaiming our judgment. An official judge, whether civil or ecclesiastical, is commonly bound to declare his judgment. But a
private individual should, in every case, have a very obvious
call before he proclaims an unfavorable judgment. Indeed, I
apprehend the command, " Speak evil of no man,"38 absolutely
requires us steadily to avoid giving an opinion to a man's disadvantage to any one but to himself, except when duty demands
it. To be fond of judging, savors of pride; to be prone to condemnation, savors of malignity. It is very difficult to obtain
possession of all the materials that in any case are necessary to
form a correct judgment; and to pronounce judgment without
this, is to run the hazard, at least, of doing cruel injustice. What
I hastily condemn, if I knew all, I might only pity, perhaps approve. To pronounce on motives and principles, is an invasion
of His prerogative who searches the heart. In a being so liable
to error himself, to condemn with rigor and apparent selfcomplacency, is unseemly and inhuman; and to be harsh and
severe in their judgments of each other, is peculiarly unbecoming
in those who must equally stand before the judgment-seat of
God, each one to give an account of himself; and all of whom,
if strict justice is the only principle attended to, must be condemned in that judgment. Such seems to me the import of our
Lord's words "judge not," and so reasonable and right is the
prohibition they contain."T
Our Lord expresses this prohibition by a most weighty consideration, "Judge not that ve be not judged."  It is plain that
the word "judge" is here, as in some other passages of the New
Testament, equivalent to judge unfavorably-that is, to condemn. In the parallel passage in Luke, " Judge not that ye be
37 Prov. xviii. 13.                         38 Tit. iii. 2.
39 " Nolite judicare, sine scientia, sine amore, sine necessitate. Tamen eanis
pro cane, porcus pro porco est habendus."-BENGEL.




252            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.           [EXP. IV.
not judged," is explained by " Condemn not that ye be not condemned."
Some have supposed that these words, and those that follow in
the 2d verse, refer to what a man may expect in the ordinary
intercourse of human life. One who is a severe judge of others,
is likely to be severely judged by others. He who condemns
very generally, is likely to be very generally condemned. But I
do not think it at all probable, that in a discourse, one design of
which is to show the spiritual character of Christian morality, in
contrast with the worldly character of Pharisaic morality, a merely
secular motive would be brought so prominently forward. It
refers not to the judgments of men, but to the judgments of
God; not to the judgments of time, but to the judgments of
eternity.
We are not, however, to suppose that the idea is-' If you are
lenient in your judgments of your fellow-men, God will be lenient
in his judgments concerning you. If you are severe in your
judgments of your fellow-men, He will be severe in his judgments concerning you.' Whatever our judgments of each other
may be, his judgment of us all will be according to truth. The
sentiment seems to be this-' Beware of wrong judgments,
especially false and hasty judgments, of your fellow-men, for all
your judgments are to be reviewed, and by these judgments you
are yourselves to be then judged.' Not that the judgments we
form of each other are to be the only, or the principal test by
which our character is to be tried and our doom fixed, any more
than our words are to be the only test, though it is said, " By
thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be
condemned;4""0 but our judgments shall be one of these tests, and
our words shall be another.' Take care that your judgments be
such as will bear judgment, for if they will not, they must lead
to condemnation.'
"By what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; by what
measure ye mete, it shall be measured out to you again."'Your
judgments of others shall afford materials for your being judged,
and the measure you have dealt to others shall be employed, in
part, as the ground of determining what measure should be
awarded to you.' It is just as if our Lord had said-' Judging
is a serious matter, it brings after it fearfully important consequences.' What the apostle James says of teachers, is true of
judges: —"Be not many" judges, "knowing that ye shall receive the greater condemnation,"'4 or rather, the severer judgment.
The impropriety of rash and severe judgments, is peculiarly
glaring in the case of those who are guilty themselves of the
same fiaults, or greater, than those which they censure in others.
Most demonstrably is he inexcusable who "judges another, if he
himself do the same things."  "In judging another he condemns
himself."'"  This is very strikingly taught us by our Lord in the
4O Matt. xii. 37.    41 James iii. 1.     42 Pom. ii. 1.




PART VI.]        DETACHED EXHORTATIONS.                  253
3d, 4th, and 5th verses.  " And why beholdest thou the mote
that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is
in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let
me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is
in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out
of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the
mote out of thy brother's eye."43
Let us first endeavor distinctly to apprehend the emblem, and
then inquire into its meaning.  Two men are represented as
laboring under a disorder in the eye.  Each has a disordered
eye, but the one is much more severely affected than the other.
The respective degree of disorder corresponds with the cause.
The one has a mote," or rather a splinter, a small portion of
woody matter in the eye; the other has a much larger portion of
woody matter, which, when compared with the other, may be
termed a "beam,"45 or rafter.  The one has a disordered eye;
the other has one much more disordered. The sight of the one
is slightly impeded; the sight of the other is all but destroyed.
He who has the principal obstruction, instead of seeking to get
rid of it, employs his almost extinguished vision in peeping into
his fellow's eye, and proposes to do, what it would require a very
perfect vision to enable a person to do rightly —to extract the
small, almost imperceptible, mote which is to be found there.
Can anything be more preposterous and absurd? That is the
emblem.
Now for its signification: A person is supposed to be characterized by some minor fault, it may be an irritable temper, or a
talkative disposition.  Another is distinguished by some decidely immoral habit, intemperance, dishonesty, or falsehood.
The last of these sets up to be the censor, and the reformer of
the first. Can anything be more absurd than his fixing his attention on his neighbor's infirmity, while he turns away his
attention from his own sin?  How would the murderer or the
thief become the judgment-seat, especially if the pannels be tried
for minor offences against mere statute law! How incongruous
for Satan, as an angel of light, to commence reproving the world
for sin!46
But the thing is not merely incongruous and absurd. Such
reprovers cannot, in ordinary cases, be at all successful. How
can the man who is all but blind perform the delicate operation
of removing a mote out of his neighbor's eye? To reprove for
sin, with effect, requires, on the part of the reprover, that the
sarcastic proverb should be inapplicable,-" Physician, heal thyself.""47 A mind under the influence of gross sin, has its spiritual
perspicacity obscured, and its spiritual sensibility blunted. Such
a person is no fit judge on moral subjects, and is peculiarly unqualified for acting the part of a censor of the minor faults of
temper and conduct. His opinions are not likely to be correct;
43 Matt. vii. 3, 4, 5.  44'idpOf.         45 6OKF'.
46 Brewster.                                47 Luke iv. 23.




254             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.             [EXP. IV.
and most people will be disposed to disregard them, just because
they are his opinions.
The course for such an individual, if he will reprove, and
wishes to do so with success, is perfectly plain.  First, let him
get free of his intemperance, or dishonesty, or falsehood, and then
let him try to cure his neighbor of irritability or loquacity.
While he acts otherwise, he proves himself a "hypocrite"-a
stage-player-the actor of a fraud.  He pretends to be zealous
in the extreme for religion and morality, while he is living in the
neglect, or in the violation, of its plainest laws. The caustic
remonstrance of the apostle Paul, in the second chapter of the
Epistle to the Romans, precisely suits such characters, which,
alas, are to be found in our days as well as in those of our Lord
and his apostles.  " Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in
the law, and makest thy boast of God, and knowest his will, and
approvest the things that are most excellent, being instructed
out of the law; and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of
the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, an instructor of
the foolish, a teacher of babes, which has the form of knowledge
and of the truth in the law. Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man
should not steal, dost thou steal? thou that sayest a man should
not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? thou that makest thy
boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonorest thou
God?"'" "And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them
which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape
the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his
goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering; not knowing that
the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But, after thy
hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up unto thyself wrath
against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his
deeds.""9
We must not conclude from this passage, that it is not our
duty to reprove sin, of whatever form or aggravation, and to endeavor to rid our neighbors of every moral infirmity. It is our
duty " not to suffer sin on our brother, but surely to rebuke him."
Even that brother, who has acted so disorderly, as that we are
not familiarly to associate with him, we are not to count an
enemy, but to admonish as a brother. But we are taught by it
that the indulging in any sin unfits us for the discharge of this
duty, and that if we would be useful as reprovers, we must endeavor to keep our "conscience void of offence towards God
and towards man."90
This instruction is peculiarly applicable to ministers. The re48 Rom. ii. 17-23.                        49 Rom. ii. 3-6.
50 " Ergo tacebimus et neminem omnino corripiemus I Corripiamus plane, sed
prius nos. Proximum vis corripere: nihil est tibi te ipso propinquius."AUGUSTIN.




PART VI.]          DETACHED EXHORTATIONS.                       255
marks of Mr. Scott are weighty  and powerful.  "How  unfit
must unconverted men be for the ministry, yet how many such
enter into that arduous office, and attempt to take motes out of
the eyes of others, without considering the beam  that is in their
own eye!  The ministers of Christ must rebuke with all authority. It is peculiarly necessary, therefore, that all who aspire
to that office, should cast out the beam out of their eye, before
they attempt to pull the mote out of their brother's eye; and all
engaged in the work should be very careful not to expose themselves to the retort,-' Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam
out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out
the mote out of thy brother's eye.' It should, however, be observed, that a discernible mote in a man's eye, does not disqualify
him  from  casting out a beam  out of another man's eye: Yet
many harden themselves in gross sins, or wholly neglect the
cautions and reproofs of these ministers, beeause they see that
they also are liable to imperfections."
~ 2. Wlith regard to instruction and reproof
The 6th verse is one of those passages which are somewhat obscure, not because we cannot perceive their meaning, but because
we cannot fix their reference.  "Give not that which is holy unto
the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they
trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you."5'
The literal meaning of these words is obvious.'It is an incongruous and foolish thing to, give the sacred food of the prieststhe flesh which has been sanctified by being laid on the altar of
God-to dogs, unclean animals, which, after devouring it, may
very probably turn on you and rend you; or to lay pearls, beautiful and precious as they are, before swine, which, totally incapable of estimating their beauty or their value, will trample them
under their feet.'52
Some have supposed that these words have no connection with
what goes before, but are a general advice given to the apostles,
as teachers, not to obtrude their instructions on those impious
persons, who clearly show that the only effect would be to drive
them to greater extremities of impious madness and outrageous
blasphemy. There can be no doubt that such was the duty of
51 Matt. vii. 6.
52 This interpretation goes on the principle that there is here an instance of
the figure termed " hysteresis," according to which, of two verbs coupled together,
the first relates not, as usual, to the first of the two preceding nouns, but to the
second, and the second verb to the first. It is, however, not unnatural to refer
both the verbs to the "swine:" for the wild sow is a ferocious animal, and is
likely not only to trample a pearl under its feet, but, disappointed in not finding
in it something to eat, to turn, and, by a side snatch, wound and rend the unwise
giver. The "turning" is picturesque. "Verres obliquum meditans ictum."tIORAT. "Obliquo dente timendus aper."-OVID. The pearl is mentioned not
only for its preciousness, but, as the learned Jesuit Maldonatus remarks, for its
resemblance to the acorn on which the sow feeds. A semicolon put after " dogs"
brings out the sense.




256              THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.               [EXP. IV.
the apostles, and they acted accordingly: —" But when the Jews
saw the multitude, they were filled with envy, and spake against
those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspherning. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold and said, It
was necessary that the word of God should first have been
spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.""3
"And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed,
after that Paul had  spoken one word, Well spake the Holy
Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, saying, Go unto
this people and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: for the heart
of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing,
and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their
eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart,
and should be converted, and I should heal them.  Be it known
therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the
Gentiles, and that they will hear it.""4
But there is nothing to lead us to think that these words have
any exclusive reference to the apostles.  They seem  naturally
connected with what goes before. We are not only to take care
that we be qualified for reproving, but that the persons we
reprove be such as there is at least some probability of our reproof not being worse than lost on them. There are persons who,
like Nabal, are such sons of Belial, that a man cannot speak to
them."5 Warning, reproofs, or counsels, are resented, as if they
were injuries and insults. Such men are so enraged at them, that
they not only trample them  under foot, but they are ready to
turn again and tear their friendly reprover. In the case of reproof, " wisdom  is profitable to direct," and to show the propel
medium between sinful timidity, and foolish rashness.
The dog has been considered as the emblem  of the profane
persecutor, the sow of the impure lover of sensual indulgence.
Whatever there may be in this, the general character of the
persons referred to is, that they cannot be reproved without the
hazard of subjecting both truth, and him  who  speaks it, to
outrage."6
It is plain, from this passage, that there are such persons as
are no proper subjects of reproof. It may injure, but it cannot
do them good, while they are in their present temper: we may
weep for such persons in secret, we may pray for them, we may
warn others against them, but we cannot, with advantage to
them, and without danger to ourselves, reprove them.67 Let us,
my brethren, cherish another spirit.  Let us receive with gratitude the reproof of pious friendship.  It is one of the  most
53 Acts xiii. 45, 46.  54 Acts xxviii. 25-28.  55 1 Sam. xxv. 17.
56 To (iytov has been interpreted of church fellowship. TI'ti'/ta ud2ioft was the
cry of the deacons in the ancient church, before the communionl.
57 "The witness for the truth must needs be zealous and courageous, but he
need not be (he ought not to be) imprudent or indiscreet."-NI'ANDnEF.




PART VI.]         DETACHED EXHORTATIONS.;               257
certain tests of true friendship. Many, who call themselves our
friends, do not love us so well and so wisely as to reprove us,
even when we need reproof.  The proper temper, when reproof
is needed and received, is that expressed by the psalmist: —" Lt.
the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness; let him reprove
me, it shall be an excellent oil."58  " As an ear-ring of goli,
and an ornament of fine gold; so is a wise reprover upon a 1
obedient ear."59
~ 3. With regard to Prayer, as the means of obtaining Blessings.
The object of our Lord in that beautiful paragraph which
follows, is, I apprehend, to show his hearers how the righteousness, without which a man cannot be a subject of the Messiah's
kingdom-the righteousness, so far superior to that taught by
the Scribes, and exemplified by the Pharisees-was to be obtained."0 If an obedience, so spiritual and so extensive, be
necessary in all who would enter into the kingdom of' God, can
any of the family of frail and depraved man ever become its
citizens?   "Who is sufficient for these things?"  How shall
conformity be obtained to that law of the Messiah, which forbids
an opprobrious word, a malignant wish, an impure desire, a
revengeful thought-which requires a devotion so rational, so
spiritual, so unostentatious-which demands the entire surrender
of the whole man, obedience the most explicit, submission the
most profound? To these questions, which must naturally have
arisen in the minds of our Lord's hearers, the answer is to be
found in the words before us.  "Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto vou;
for every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth;
and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. Or what man is
there of you, whom, if his son ask bread, will he give him a
stone?  Or, if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If ye
then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children,
how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good
things to them that ask him?""'
In order to' do good things,'-things in conformity to the laws
of the Messiah,-we must obtain'good things,' that is, as it is explained in our Lord's discourse on the same subject, recorded in
the eleventh chapter of Luke, we must receive " the Holy Spirit,"
the enlightening, enlivening, guiding, strengthening, comforting
influences of the Holy Spirit, from our heavenly Father; and if
we would obtain these good gifts, which are absolutely necessary
to the right discharge of our duty as Christians, we must seek
them by frequent, fervent, persevering prayer; and, if we do thus
seek them, we shall assuredly find them, and in them we shall
find the effectual means of being all that the law of the kingdom
59 Psal. cxli. 5.                            59 Prov. xxv. 12.
60 This is the view of the connection given by Chrysostom and Luther.
61 Matt. vii. 7-11.
VOL. I.                    17




258            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.           [EXP. IV.
of God requires us to be-of doing all that the law of the kingdom of God requires us to do. Such, I apprehend, is the general
design and meaning of this very interesting passage.
What lies at the foundation of the whole train of thought, is
the principle, that the Holy Spirit-that divine influence which,
in the economy of salvation, is always represented as exerted on
the mind by the Holy Spirit, the divine person who, along with
the Father and the Son, exists in the unity of the Godhead;
that this divine influence is absolute y necessary, in order to
man's yielding obedience to the law of the kingdom of God, and
exemplifying that righteousness which exceeds the righteousness
of the Scribes and Pharisees.
Just views on this subject are of the last importance.. Man
labors under no such inability to obey the spiritual and exceeding broad law of the kingdom of heaven, as can lay any foundation for excusing him  from  obedience, or for vindicating, or
apologising for, his disobedience. No physical faculties different
from, or superior to, those possessed by men in their present state,
are at all requisite in order to that obedience which the law of
the new economy requires. Its first requisition is faith in Christ,
or a belief of the testimony which God has given us concerning
his Son. To believe this testimony, no other faculties are necessary than to believe any other testimony. The testimony is a
plain statement, which any man possessed of reason may understand; and a statement, accompanied by such evidence, that any
man, who makes a right use of his reason, must believe.
And all the other requisitions of the law of Christ are equally
reasonable, as this primary and fundamental one. There is not
one of them that man is unable to comply with, if he were but
disposed to comply with it. Examine carefully all the particular
injunctions of the law of the kingdom, contained in the preceding
part of this discourse on the Mount, and say if there be one of
them, that a man can reasonably refuse to obey, on the ground
that it is physically impossible; that is, on the ground on which
the lame man might justly refuse to obey a command to run a
race, or the blind man to read a book, or the dumb man to make
an oration. The law of the kingdom is a just law; it requires
of men nothing that is impossible-nothing that should be difficult-nothing but what is practicable —nothing but what ought
to be easy.
But while this is truth, and not only truth, but most important
truth, which ought to be " affirmed constantly," as that which
alone affords firm footing for establishing in the conscience a
charge of guilt against the man who neglects or refuses to yield
obedience to this law, yet it is not less certainly true, and it is of
equal importance, that this should be distinctly stated, that man,
left to himself, never will yield obedience to the law of the kingdom, never will be what he ought to be, never will do what he
ought to do. Human nature, as it now exists, left to the operation of its own propensities and impulses, as called forth by the




PART VI.]        DETACHED EXHORTATIONS.                 259
objects and events of the'present world, is so utterly indisposed
to that mode of thinking, and feeling, and acting, prescribed in
the law of the kingdom, that it is just as certain as the operation
of any physical law, that it will never be conformed to that law.
There is nothing to prevent any man, to whom the claims of the
new dispensation and its author are presented, from complying
with these claims, but his own depravity, his own carnal mind,
his own wicked heart; but that depravity, that carnal mind, that
wicked heart, will, if not counteracted and overborne by an opposite influence, most certainly prevent him from  complying with
these claims.
It is this depravity-this depravity alone-which renders such
an influence as we are speaking of necessary; and it does render such an influence absolutely necessary. To the question,
Can man do any, can man do all, of the things which our Lord
here enumerates, as included in the righteousness of the kingdom? the true answer is, He can: who, what hinders him?
To the question, Will man, left to himself, do all, or any, of
these things, in the manner in which they are required to be
done? the answer is, No; he will not, " For his carnal mind is
enmity against God;" "his depraved heart is deceitful above
all things, and desperately wicked." This spiritual, moral weakness or inability, is man's calamity, but it is also his fault-it is
guilt as well as misery. It thus affords no shield from the fearful denunciations of righteous vengeance for wilful transgression;
but it does render us absolutely dependent on divine influence,
in order to our obtaining that righteousness, without which no
man can enter into the kingdom of heaven-that "holiness,
without which no man can see the Lord."
To yield obedience to these commandments, all right and
reasonable as they are, we must receive " good things," " good
gifts," "the Holy Spirit," from our Father who is in heaven;
and this is one of the great characteristic excellences of the new
economy, that it is " the ministration of the Spirit"62 to men. It
makes known to us "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus."6' If it includes in it by far the clearest, and the most
extensive revelation of the Divine will, as to what men should
be and do, it also includes in it the revelation of the efficient
means of making them what they should be, and enabling them
to do what they should do.
The atoning sacrifice of Christ was intended to open a channel
through which this influence might find its way to man, in a
manner consistent with the holiness of the Divine character, the
honor of the Divine law, the stability of the Divine administration. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law," by
becoming "a curse" in our room, "that we might receive the
promise of the Spirit through faith,"'" that is, the promised Spirit,
by believing. And while the atonement of Christ thus opens up
a way for the communication of that divine influence which is
62 2 Cor. iii. 8.  61 Rom. viii. 2.    64 Gal. iii 13, 14.




260            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.           [EXP. IV.
necessary to induce man, in his present state, to yield true, acceptable, obedience to the law of Christ, it forms a part of the
new economy that the communication of this influence is usually
made in answer to prayer.
From its very nature as divine influence, it can be obtained
only from God, and there is an obvious propriety in the arrangement, that he who needs this influence should ask it of Him who
has it, and who is always far more ready to bestow it, than we
are ever desirous of receiving it. Hence, says our Lord to those
who, on hearing his illustrations of that righteousness which so
far transcends the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees,
and without which, no man can be a citizen of the kingdom of
God, might be disposed to say, " How shall we work this work
of God?"-' Your heavenly Father will give good things, he
will give the Holy Spirit to them who ask him.' "Ask, and it
shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall
be opened to you: for every one that asketh, receiveth; and he
that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be
opened." If you would be citizens of the kingdom of heaven,
you must have the righteousness of the kingdom; if you would
have the righteousness of the kingdom, you must have the Holy
Spirit; if you would have the Holy Spirit, you must ask him
from your Father in heaven; and if you ask him from your
Father who is in heaven, you shall most assuredly obtain him.
In order to your thus asking this Holy Spirit, whose influence
is at once absolutely necessary and abundantly sufficient, to your
obtaining the righteousness of the kingdom, do you not see most
clearly, that a faith of the truth with regard to the fatherly character of God is essentially requisite-a belief that he is "rich in
mercy," "ready to forgive;" that he is "in Christ reconciling
the world to himself"-his Father, and our Father-his God
and our God; who has " not spared his own Son, but delivered
him up for us all, and who, with him, will assuredly give us all
good things," if we will but give him credit for the kindness
which is in his heart, and which he has proved to be there, and
show this by asking him, " nothing doubting," for the blessings
which he has promised to bestow? There cannot be acceptable
prayer for divine influence, nor, indeed, for any blessing, where
this faith of the truth respecting the fatherly character of God is
wanting.
But then why should it be wanting in any of us? Has not
God given us most satisfactory evidence that he is our Fatherour loving, forgiving Father, after all our most unnatural and
wicked behavior? and why then should any of us not say,
"Abba Father "?
The first communication of divine influence is not in answer
to our prayers, but in answer to the prayers of him whom the
Father heareth always. The first communication of divine influence is not to faith, and the prayer of faith. It produces
faith, and leads to the prayer of faith. But in the economy of




PART VI.]         DETACHED EXHORTATIONS.                   261
grace, the established order is, and it is plainly founded on the
reason of things, on what is true and right, that further communications of divine influence are granted in answer to believing
prayer,-are communicated to him who, feeling his want comes
to Him who alone can supply it.
The words " ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened to you" —require little explication.
Three different words are employed to designate prayer, "ask,"
" seek," "knock;" and three different corresponding words are
employed to describe the answer of prayer, " ye shall receive,"
"ye shall find," "it shall be opened."  This triple representation
obviously teaches us the high importance of the sentiments here
taught, which are these,-that the divine influence necessary in
order to our yielding obedience to the law of Christ, is not to
be expected without prayer; and that by prayer this influence
will most certainly be obtained.
There is something like a climax in the phraseology-" seek,"
seems stronger than "ask," and "knock," than "seek.""  It is
probable that our Lord means thus to intimate, that to secure
those aids of the Holy Spirit, which are absolutely necessary to
the formation of the christian character, and the performance of
christian duty, our prayers must be frequent, fervent, persevering; we must be "instant in prayer," we must "continue to be
instant in prayer," we must "pray and not faint.""'
The injunction to frequent, fervent, persevering prayer for the
good gifts of the IIoly Spirit, which are at once absolutely
necessary, and completely sufficient, to enable us to yield obedience to the law of the new economy, is enforced by the declaration-" For every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh
findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."
These works may be considered as a statement of the general
truth-That asking is the natural means to be employed if we
would receive; seeking, if we would find; knocking, if we would
have the door opened.'In religion, use the means you would
in ordinary life; if you wished for a favor from your father,
would you not ask it? —if you needed something you had lost,
would you not seek for it? —if you wished the door opened,
would you not knock at it? Use your common sense in religion
as in everything else; and if you do, you will abound in prayer.'
This is fitted to meet a common but absurd idea, that prayer is
a meritorious exercise-a work by the performance of which we
are to propitiate God, and secure his favor-instead of being
the natural means of expressing our wants, and having them
supplied. Prayer, or rather saying prayers, with very many who
not unfrequently engage in it, is not at all the means of obtain65 Operose quidem, tria ista quid inter se differant, exponendum putavi, sed
longe melius ad instantissimam petitionem omnia referuntur."-AuGUSTIN. Ennar.
in PsaL cxviii. (cxix.) 48. This is certainly much better exegesis than when
4~ 7rvv expounded it thus: "Petite, orando; quierite, disputando; pulsate,
rogando; id est interrogando."       66 Rom. xii 12. Luke xviii 1.




262              THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
ing what they feel they need, and wish to obtain. They have
often no feeling that they need, no wish to obtain, the things
asked for in the words they utter. They are merely doing something which they have been taught to believe is right, pleasing
to God, the neglect of which would interfere with their good
opinion of themselves, and the performance of which keeps them
on good terms with themselves, and makes their conscience comparatively easy as to their religious duties. What monstrous
absurdity-what fearful impiety-is this! and yet this is the
religion of a large body of men, who pass, not only with others,
but with themselves, for being religious!
Or, the words may be considered as an express promise that
such prayers-prayers to our Father in heaven for good gifts, for
the Holy Spirit-shall assuredly be answered; as if he had said,'Rest assured that, if you use the appropriate means for obtaining the Holy Spirit, you shall not employ them in vain. He that
asks, shall receive; he that seeks, shall find; he that knocks, shall
have it opened to him.'
From  this passage, and a number of similar passages in the
New Testament, ill understood, some have deduced the absurd
principle, that we may have anything we please from God for
the asking, if we but ask it in faith; and, asking in faith, in
their estimation, is just working ourselves up to the persuasion,
that we shall obtain what we ask. The passage before us teaches
us no such absurdity. It teaches us, that if we ask of God, as
our Father in  heaven, "good  things," that is, "the Holy
Spirit," to enable us to do his will, we shall not be disappointed.
The other passages, often quoted in support of such irrational
expectations, are equally ill fitted to serve that purpose. Whatsoever we ask " in faith," we are sure to obtain sooner or later:
but we can-ask nothing "in faith," without a reference to some
Divine promise, in which the blessing we solicit has been pledged
to us. To " pray in faith," is not to pray, expecting that God
will give us whatever we may wish or ask, but that he will give
us whatever he has promised us. The duty of praying in faith
rests on the plain principle that, " if we ask anything according
to his will, he heareth us."
To encourage his hearers to apply to God for these good gifts
of that Holy Spirit, which were at once necessary and sufficient
in order to their exemplifying the righteousness of the kingdom,
our Lord makes an appeal to their paternal feelings, and reasons
from  what an  earthly father, with all his imperfections and
faults, would, or would not do, to what might be expected from
our all-perfect and all beneficent Father in heaven:-" Or"' what
man is there of you, who, whom, if his son ask bread,68 will he give
him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If
67 "'H contrarium designat:'an contrarium aecidere solet?'"-FRITZSCHI.
68 " It is more picturesque, and equally accurate, to render dprov, a loaf: there
is a similarity between a loaf and a stone. On the same principle, dlrTOi, in
Matt. iv. 3, should be rendered loaves."-CAmPB mT.




PART VI.]           DETACHED EXHORTATIONS.                      263
ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your
children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven
give" the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?9
Parental affection, by the wise and kind arrangement of God,
is one of the most powerful of all the active principles of the
human mind. It is absolutely monstrous for a father not to
supply the wants of his children, when he has it in his power:
it would be more monstrous still, were he not merely to refuse
to comply with their entreaties for what is beneficial and necessary for them, but to give them, in its place, what is useless or
noxious. The man who could act in this way, would justly be
considered as a disgrace to the species. Even though in many
respects evil, though hard-hearted and close-handed in reference
to others, fathers are commonly kind to their children.  Their
being fathers, in. ordinary cases, secures kind treatment of their
children.
Now, says our Lord, what may not be expected from  the
infinitely excellent and amiable Divinity towards those, in reference to whom he is pleased to take the appellation of Father?0
In knowledge, in wisdom, in kindness, in wealth, in liberality,
our heavenly Father infinitely surpasses all earthly fathers, and
therefore we may ask him, with the absolute certainty of obtaining our request, that he would give us "good things," " good
gifts," " the Holy Spirit."  He knows that the Holy Spirit, in
his saving influences, is as absolutely necessary for our souls, as
food is for our bodies, and he never will, he never can, without
denying his fatherly character, refuse this to those who ask him.
This is most conclusive reasoning —most persuasive exhortation
-well calculated to shame into annihilation the jealousies of
guilt, the fears of unbelief:" "And is it possible that, after all
this, we should ever feel reluctant to draw near to God? Oh,
what must be that alienation of heart, which can make light of
such a privilege-that guilt and  shame, which make it seem
almost a duty to stand aloof-and that distrust of God, which
gives to our approach before him an appearance of presumption!"'M
It is plain, however, that this is an argument which can have
no effect on a mind which does not believe the truth with regard
to the fatherly character of God. So long as men look on God
69 Matt. vii. 9-11.-We have a specimen-certainly not a favorable, and, taken
by itself, not a fair one-of patristic exegesis, yet one full of serious import to
all, in these times of growing admiration of "ancient," not "primitive" Christianity, in the following passage from Augustine, "facile princeps" of the Latin
fathers: —" The'fish' means faith in the ocean billows of the present life; the' bread' the nutritive power of love; the'egg' is believing hope, which anticipates the future." What a refreshment to turn from these'aniles nugae' to suhell
a pregnant interpretation as that of Bengel — Toi atrovCa, "ubi vera rogatio, ibi
divinla replicatio." See Note I.
7U "This comparison is, in the highest conceivable degree, opposed to all pantheistical and deistical notions of the relations between God and creation."NEANDER.
71 "Though we had no motive or incentive to prayer, except this kind and
precious saying, it should be enough of itselfU" —TEra.  72 Fuller.




264               THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.                [EXP. IV.
merely as a righteously-displeased Judge, they cannot come to
him " in the full assurance of faith." They must believe his own
declaration, that he is "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and
gracious, long-suffering,and abundant in goodness and truth.
keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty;,773 who
hath "set forth" his Son "to be a propitiation through faith in
his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins
that are past, through the forbearance of God: to declare at this
time his righteousness; that he might be just, and the justifier
of him which believeth in Jesus"74-" God in Christ, reconciling
the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them,
seeing he hath made him who knew no sin, to be sin for us.'""
As I have already remarked, it is strange, after all that God
has said and done, that there should be any doubt on that subject, among those to whom the word of the christian salvation
has come. Has he not declared that " He willeth all men to be
saved"?  Has he not sworn that "He has no pleasure in the
death of the wicked"? Has he not glorified his grace, in that
he "hath not spared his Son, but delivered him up for us all"?
Is he not proclaiming, "Return to me, ye backsliding children,
for I have redeemed you"?  "Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye
die?""7  Is it not strange, that, after all this, we should doubt
whether God be our Father?""
Till we believe this-the love which God has to worthless,
self-ruined man-till we know him, as " God in Christ, reconciling the world to himself," our prayers cannot be the prayers of
faith, and therefore cannot be acceptable; and the more clearly
we perceive, the more firmly we believe, this truth, the more
readily shall we go to God for the supply of all our need, and
the more abundant evidence shall we have, in our own experience, that he indeed gives liberally, and upbraideth not.  The
reason of our being so destitute of the Holy Spirit, is not to be
traced in any degree to the backwardness of God to confer the
Holy Spirit, but entirely to our " not asking," or to "our asking
amiss."'8 We thus arrive at the point to which, in all our illustrations of christian doctrine and duty, we so often find ourselves
brought-the necessity of the faith of the Gospel. The importance of the knowledge and belief of the truth, respecting the
character of God, as rich in mercy, ready to forgive-in other
words, the faith of the Gospel-cannot be overrated. It lies at
the foundation of all acceptable duty, of all true holiness, of all
73 Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7.    74 Rom. iii. 25, 26.    75 2 Cor. v. 19.
76 1 Tim. ii. 4. Ezek. xxxiii. 11. Rom. viii. 32. Jer. iii 22.
77 Calvin's words are beautiful:-" Paternus amor vitium (QtxavTia) superat,
ut homines sui obliti se in filins plus quam liberaliter effundant. Unde autenl
est nisi quia Deus, a quo descendit omnis paternitas, particulam sune bonitatis
eorum cordibus instillat?  Quodsi tantum ad beneficentiam valent guttulm, quid
ab ipso mari inexhausto sperandum est? An restrictus esset Deus, qui hominunr
corda sic aperit? Interea tenendum est illud Iesaie,'Etiamsi mater filios ejua
obliviscatur,' Dominum tamen fore sui similem, ut se Pater semper exhibeat"
78 James iv. 3.




PART VI.]        DETACHED EXHORTATIONS.                 265
solid consolation, of all permanent happiness: "Lord, show us
the Father;" "Lord, increase our faith."
~ 4. Comprehensive rule for relative duties, illustrative of the dgfference between the righteousness of Christians, and the righteousness
of the Scribes and Pharisees.
Interpreters have found some difficulty in apprehending and
unfolding the connection of the beautiful practical maxim which
follows, with what precedes it in our Lord's discourse. That
there is connection, seems plain from the particle rendered
" therefore;" but what that connection precisely is, it is not so
easy to discover.
Some would connect it with what immediately precedes it, the
command to ask, and seek, and knock, under the assurance that
if we do so we shall receive, and find, and have it opened to us.
The train of thought seems to them to be the following,-'All
unkind and injurious treatment of our fellow-men, is ultimately.
to be resolved into inordinate and mistaken self-love, an excessive
attachment to worldly good in some form or other, and this has
its root in ignorance and distrust of God. If we were seeking
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and, in the faith
that all other things would be added, asking, and seeking, and
knocking, assured that we shall not ask, and seek, and knock in
vain, then we should be freed from the inordinate desire of
worldly good, freed from all inclination to covetousness or injustice,-confident of the care of the Lord our Shepherd, we should
be anxious about nothing. But when, "like beasts of prey, we
set off as it were to forage for ourselves, and learn to grudge at
the good of our neighbors, when that seems in any way to interfere with our interest; and make it our great object to secure
what we think useful or necessary to ourselves, though it should
be at their expense-such conduct is utterly unworthy of those
who are the children of our Father in heaven. Since we have
One who knows what we need, who can give us what we need,
who is disposed to do so, who has promised to do so, let us not
conduct ourselves as those who are seeking a portion on earth
for themselves, and who therefore scruple not to use the means
that seem most likely to secure that for them, however much
this may trench on the comforts, and rights, and interests of
their fellow-men; but let us show our confidence in our heavenly
Father, by treating all our fellow-men with that equity and kindness with which we could wish ourselves to be treated by
them."9
This is ingenious, but it does not seem to me satisfactory. I
am disposed to consider the words before us not so much connected with what immediately precedes them, as with the general
scope and purpose of the preceding part of the discourse. I
79 Fuller.




266              THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT,             [EXP. IV.
consider them  as a farther illustration of the difference of the
righteousness of the kingdom from, and its superiority over, the
righteousness taught by the Scribes and exemplified by the
Pharisees.  The word rendered "therefore,"80 does not by any
means necessarily imply that what follows is, strictly speaking,
an inference from what goes before. It merely implies connection of some kind; it intimates, in the most general way, coher.
ence of thought, and might be rendered, "whatsoever then ye
would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for
this is the law and the prophets.""'
The morality taught by the Scribes and exemplified by the
Pharisees, seems to have been-' Do to others as they do to you
-Love your neighbor, hate your enemy-Love them  that love
you, do good to them that do good to you-Lend to them from
whom you hope to receive again; and as to those who do you
injuries, the rule is, An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.'
But our Lord, the great Legislator of the kingdom  of heaven,
gives forth a very different statute:-"Whatsoever ye would
that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the
law and the prophets."82
Some excellent men, in their zeal for strict literal interpretation,
have, I apprehend, entirely misconceived the meaning of this
maxim of our Lord. They have considered him as saying,'Every
man is bound to do to or for another person, whatever he wishes
that other person to do to or for him.' This is, no doubt, the
literal meaning of the words, strictly interpreted; but the language is plainly what may be called proverbial or apothegmatical
language, which is very generally to be interpreted with limitations, not specified, yet obviously understood. To interpret it in
the way proposed, is to deprive the maxim of the character of a
general rule of conduct towards our neighbor, which it seems
obviously intended to bear, and makes it a check on unreasonable
expectation, instead of an injunction to equitable and beneficent
conduct.  Our Lord's design is to say,' Be kind and just to all,'
and to furnish men with an easy method of finding out, in any
particular case, what the law of kindness and justice requires;whereas this mode of interpretation makes him in effect say,'Take care not to expect too much from your fellow-men, for
your obligations will necessarily rise with your expectations.'
Besides, the injunction, understood in this strict mode of interpretation, implies the gross absurdity, that if I wish another to
do what is sinful, in order to gratify or serve me, I am bound to
do what is sinful in order to gratify and serve him.8'
It is obvious that the words are to be interpreted with the
80 ov.                                   81 Matt. vii. 12.
82 Neander considers the " ovv here as connecting this verse with verse 5, and
that, in it, our Saviour gives a criterion to distinguish true from pharisaic righteousness."
83 For many of the thoughts in the remaining part of the exposition of this
verse, I am indebted to Dr. John Evans' sermon on it. in his "Discourses on the
Christian Temper"-ofie of the best books on christian ethics that we have.




PART VI.]' DETACHED EXHORTATIONS.                     267
latitude in which proverbial language is usually interpreted.
They are to be understood with certain conditions and limitations.  What these are, it is by no means difficult to discover.
The words are equivalent to a command to do to others whatsoever we could in reason and justice wish them to do to us, on the
supposition that our position to each other were reversed —that
we were in their place, and they were in ours.
The limitations are plainly of two kinds,-first, such as rise
out of the nature of the actions to be performed; and, secondly,
such as rise out of the relative situation in which men stand to
each other.  It does not by any means follow, that I am  bound
to do, or to abstain from doing, anything to my neighbor,
merely because I may wish him to do, or to forbear from doing,
the same thing to me. I may wish my neighbor to violate the law
of justice, or truth, or chastity, or temperance, to please me; but
that is no reason why I should violate any of these laws to please
him. I may be very well pleased that my neighbor should not
reprove me for sin; but that is no reason why I should not reprove him  for sin.  My unreasonable and wicked wishes can
surely never render conduct, in itself unreasonable and wicked,
reasonable and right. It is only whatsoever is reasonable and
right, which I wish from another, that I am bound to do to another.
The other limitation is just as easily drawn with distinctness,
A father is not bound to do to his children the very same things
which he reasonably expects from his children. A master is not
bound to do to his servants the very same things which he
reasonably expects from his servants. To say this were to confound all the relations of society. But a parent is bound to do to
his child, what, if he were a child, he could reasonably expect
from  his father.  A  master is bound to do to his servant, what
he, if he were a servant, could reasonably expect from his master.
The maxim before us is plainly to be understood in the same way
as the apostle's injunction to masters. After having stated the
obligations of servants, he adds, "And ye masters, do the same
things unto them;"4 that is, not precisely the same actions of
cheerful and conscientious obedience, but as they are bound to
do their duty to you, you are equally bound to do your duty to
them. Such is the meaning of our Lord's maxim —whatsoever
you can reasonably expect from another, you are bound to do to
another, were he in your place, and you in his.85
No precept can be more obviously equitable than this. It is
84 Eph. vi. 9.
85 Gibbon remarks, with a sneer, in reference to this maxim, "I read it in a
moral treatise of Isocrates, written four hundred years before the publication of
the Gospel-A 7r6axovre7 9p' ErTp(ov OpyieoOe, ravcra roiC'iAotl prj rotrOtrr." It is
finely said by Trench, "This is an old precept, as old as the creation itself, written
originally on the heart of man; which, when men, fugitives from themselves, and
from the knowledge of their own hearts, had lost the power of reading, Christ
came ill the flesh to read to them anew."-Exp. of the Sermon on the Mount,
pp. 143, 144.




268            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.           [EXP. IV.
just requiring a man to act in every case according to what is
reasonable and right. It is founded on the principle, that all are
equally bound to regulate themselves by the dictates of sound
reason and the law of God; and that, of course, whatever would
be the duty of any one, in particular circumstances, to us, must
be our duty to him, if he were in our circumstances, and we in
his. The law of God-the reason of things-is immutable.
Duty remains the same, though the individuals be different.
Our changing places with our neighbor cannot alter the eternal
obligations of truth and justice-cannot make that evil which
before was good-cannot make that wrong which before was
right-cannot destroy, cannot even lessen, the obligations of
what was duty.86 The thing is so plain, that, in illustrating it, I
feel as if I were holding up a taper to enable you to see the sun.
The words of our Lord are not only a general summary of
our duty to our neighbors, but they are a rule admirably fitted
for enabling us, in particular cases, to discover and to perform
this duty. The rule is this: Suppose yourself in the case of
an individual, and then ask yourself what you would or might
reasonably expect from him, were he to bear the same relation
to you that you do to him. This is a rule easily understood,
easily remembered, easily applied.  The person of the most
ordinary faculties and education can turn this rule to use, if he
is but dispossd.- He has but to consult his own convictions and
feelings: —' How should I desire to be treated, if I were in the
situation of this individual? What should I think my claims on
an individual in my situation?' It may be applied even on a
sudden emergency, when we have no time nor opportunity for
much consideration —when we are required immediately to act.
It may well be said of this law, " It is not hidden from thee,
neither is it far off: it is very near thee; it is in thy heart, that
thou mayest do it."8'
This rule has this great advantage: it shows both what we
should do, and what we should not do. It holds both negatively
and positively. Though it wears only the positive form in the
passage before us, we are as much bound not do to others,
what we would not have others to do to us; as to do to them
what we would have them to do to us. To neglect to do what
we would expect from others, is equally wrong in nature, though
it may not be equally wrong in degree, as to do to them whait we
would not wish them to do to us.
As this rule is well fitted to be a universal directory, it may
serve a good purpose to go a little into detail here. In the ordinary intercourse of life, our conduct ought to be regulated by
this maxim. We ought to treat others with the same respect,
courtesy, and kindness, as we would wish to be treated by them.
We must not subject others to those slights and neglects, which,
were we in their circumstances, and they in ours, we should feel
to be undeserved and unpleasant. How much is the happiness
s8 Brewster.                   87 Deut. xxx. 11-141.




PART VI.]        DETACHED EXHORTATIONS.                269
of domestic life, and of general society, embittered by forgetting
to apply this rule, even when none of the more obvious requisitions of truth, or equity, or even love, are violated?  What a
happy world would it be, if this were the great regulating principle of social intercourse!
In the management of the business of life, we cannot have a
better rule. It would lead to the most exact justice in all our
dealings. There would be no dishonest debtors, no hard-hearted
creditors. The light weight, the scanty measure, the adulterated
commodity, would be unknown. The rich would not take advantage of the necessities of the poor, nor the poor impose on the
ignorance or good nature of the rich. What a vast number of
practices, which obtain in commerce, and which, from their commonness, have ceased to be considered as improper, when touched
as by the Ithuriel spear of this maxim, would stand forth in all
their.moral deformity and loathsomeness!
It is not only fitted to guide us in matters of strict right, but
also in claims made on our compassion and assistance. It would
prevent the poor man from becoming, without absolute necessity,
a burden on his wealthier neighbors, and it would prevent the
wealthy from hardening his heart, and shutting his hand against
his poor brother.
It is well calculated to show us our duty with regard to the
reputation of our neighbors. It would not only prevent all
malignant and false statements, but it would make men take
heed how they take up and circulate a bad report respecting a
neighbor. It would put down all busy intermeddling in matters which do not concern us, all speaking evil of another, even
when he deserves to be spoken evil of, unless duty plainly calls
on us to make the disclosure.
In the ordinary relations of life, this rule may be of the greatest
use. Were husbands and wives, parents and children, masters
and servants, often applying this rule, how full of peace and happiness would be the domestic scene! Husbands would love their
wives, and wives love their husbands. Parents would not provoke their children to wrath, and children would not be disrespectful and disobedient. Masters would give to their servants
the things which are just and equal, and servants would identify
their masters' interests with their own. Governors would never
be tyrannical, and subjects never turbulent.
I shall mention only one other case in which this rule, if
honestly applied, would lead to the happiest results: I refer to
differences in religious opinions. Had this principle been acted
upon, persecution in all its forms would have been unknown.
For where is the man who thinks that it would be right to punish
him for his conscientious convictions, or for that conduct which
is the necessary result of them? Religious controversies must be
agitated so long as men differ in their views, and feel that truth
is valuable; but they would wear a very different aspect from
what they do, were those who engage in them to act according to




270            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.           [EXP. IV.
this golden rule. Imputation of unworthy motives, opprobrious
language, personal abuse, malignant insinuations, with all the
other poisoned weapons, with which the armory of polemic discussion is so abundantly furnished, would be thrown aside for
ever; and clear statement and fair argument take their place.
It is a peculiar exeellence of this rule of our Lord, that it not
only shows us our duty, but its obvious tendency is to persuade
us to perform it. It brings duty before the mind in a peculiarly
inviting form. It not only enlightens the mind, but inclines the
heart. Self-love is the great obstacle in the way of our doing
our duty to our neighbor. Our Lord makes even self-love become, as it were, the hand-maid of justice and charity. Having
led us to change places with our neighbor, to feel what are our
rights, and how unreasonable it would be to withhold them, he
then says,' These are his rights, and will you be the unreasonable
person to deprive him of them?' We are made, as it were, to declare what is our neighbor's due, when we suppose we are only
considering what was our own; and we cannot, without the
shame of conscious inconsistency, refuse to him what we clearly
see, were we in his place, we should account it unreasonable and
unjust to be deprived of.
Our Lord enforces this comprehensive precept by the declaration,- " For this is the law and the prophets."  " The law" here,
is the Pentateuch,-the five books of Moses. "The prophets,"
are the rest of the inspired books of the Old Testament. When
our Lord says, "This is the law and the prophets," he does not
mean that the whole information contained in the Old Testament
Scriptures, is summed up in this maxim; but he does mean, that
all which these divine books teach respecting the duty of man to
man, is included in this maxim. Just as the apostle says, that
"love is the fulfilling of the law."88 He who does to all, in their
various relations, that which he could reasonably expect from
them, were their situation exchanged, has obviously performed
all relative duties.
I think it not improbable, that our Lord meant to convey, too,
this idea,' This is not the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, but it is the righteousness of Moses and the prophets.'
Let us examine ourselves. Have we conducted ourselves according to this rule,-this most righteous and reasonable rule?
Who does so?  Is not every one constrained to say, "who can
understand my errors?" Does not every one feel how much has
been wanting, how much wrong? Were we under no obligations to God at all, or had we strictly discharged them, our shortcomings and wrong-goings, with regard to our neighbor, are
enough to condemn us; "every mouth must be stopped and all
the world must become guilty before God."89 We need pardon.
Pardon may be obtained, and the faith of the same truth by which
pardon is obtained, is the grand, the only effectual, cure of
inordinate selfishness, and means of making man both love
9s Rom. xiii. 10.                 89 RoiL  iii, 19,




PART VII.]    APPLICATION OF THE DISCOURSE.            271
God whom he has not seen, and his brother whom he has
seen.
Let all who habitually neglect or violate this law recollect,
that whatever be their profession, they are not Christians. Even
now, Christ is saying to them, "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord,
and do not the things which I say?" And by and by he will, if
they remain in impenitence, say to them before an assembled
world, "Depart from me, I never knew you, ye that work
iniquity.""9
VII.-APPLICATION OF THE DISCOURSE.
MATTHEW Vii. 13-23.
The concluding verses of this chapter may be considered as
the applicatory part of our Lord's Sermon on the Mount. They
are not to be viewed, as they very generally have been, as unconnected advices or statements, but they naturally rise out of
the previous part of the discourse. One leading design of that
discourse is to show the spiritual nature, and the wide extent, of
that obedience which is characteristic of the true subjects of the
Messiah, and which is absolutely necessary in order to the enjoyment of that state of ultimate blessedness which is provided for
them-to show that the righteousness of the kingdom far exceeds
"the righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees."
To Jews, who expected that they all were to be subjects of the
Messiah,-that all the descendants of Israel would, as a matter
of course, be heirs of the kingdom, and who considered " the
righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees"-that system of religious and moral duty taught by the Scribes, and exemplified by
the Pharisees-as fully embracing and answering all the requisitions of the Divine law,-the statements of our Lord must have
appeared hard sayings. It was natural for men, with these views,
to say within themselves,'Who then can be saved?  This is
indeed "a strait gate;" this is indeed " a narrow way." 
Our Lord, who often speaks to the thoughts of his audience,
meets this state of mind by saying, in effect,'The gate is strait,
the way is narrow; yet it is your wisdom, your interest, as well
as your duty, to enter by that strait gate, to walk in that narrow
way. There is, indeed, a wide gate, soliciting your entrance,there is a broad path, inviting your steps to walk in it; and
multitudes are passing through that gate, and walking along that
way; but that gate is the gate of perdition, that road is the road
to hell. The strait gate is the only gate of life; the narrow way
is the only way to heaven. Few indeed, comparatively, enter
by that gate, and walk in that way. But that is just an additional
reason why ye should seek that ye be among that little flock;
for to them alone "is it the Father's good pleasure to give the
kingdom."'
90 Luke vi. 46. Matt. vii. 23.




272               THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.                 [EXP. IV.
~ 1. This is the only way of escaping perdition, and securing
salvation.
"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and
broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be
which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is
the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.""
These words consist of an exhortation, "Enter in at the strait
gate,"-enforced by two considerations.  "Enter in at the strait
gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to
destruction." " Enter in at the strait gate, for strait is the gate,
and narrow is the way, that leadeth unto life:" that is,'Enter
in at the strait gate, for the wide gate, through which so many
enter, leads to destruction. Enter in at the strait gate, through
which so few pass, for it alone leads to life.'92
To " enter in at the strait gate," is to embrace those views of
truth, and duty, and happiness, which our Lord unfolds, and of
which we have an admirable specimen in this discourse; and to
walk in the narrow way, is habitually to regulate our temper and
conduct by these views. To embrace these views, is represented
as entering through a strait gate, through which the person with
difficulty presses, finding it impossible to take anything along
with him, because these views are naturally, in the very highest
degree, unpalatable to the human mind and heart, and cannot
be embraced without a relinquishment of sinful pleasures, connections, pursuits, and interests-without that sacrifice of former
habits of thought and feeling, which our Lord elsewhere represents as a man's  "denying," renouncing, "himself;" and to
regulate our temper and conduct habitually by these views, is
represented as walking in a narrow encumbered path, because
this implies our steadily prosecuting a course of implicit faith in,
and obedience to, our Lord and Master, whatever opposition, and
whatever temptations, we may meet with.
Our Lord's exhortation is,'Embrace these views, however
opposite to preconceived opinion-follow this course, however
inconsistent with your worldly interest. It is no doubt much
easier, much more agreeable, to hold fast fondly-cherished prejudices-to  indulge  natural propensities-to  follow  a  course
which promises to secure for you worldly honor, wealth, and
pleasure. This is a wide gate, this is a broad unencumbered
way. It is easy to enter on this way, and few obstructions are
91 Matt. vii. 13, 14.-The figure has been thought that of a narrow way, leading
through a strait gate to a fortress or palace-eternal life. The similarity of this
figure to that in the famous iriva5 of Cebes is striking:-oN'KOV'I Op'Ld Olpav rtvd
LttKpdv, Ka'i  66v riva rrpibc  OC BOpag, iTltf oe, lro)) 6,x eierat, dZiX  rw(vv 62iyot
iropebovrdt- avTr Cartv 4 66kO, ii ayovaa 7rpbf r7v diaytvPv 7ratdeiar. Bengel, however, seems right in his remark —" HIIbv  ponitur ante 6d6f." The gate is the
entrance; the way, the prosecution, of a religious course.
92 " The Hebrew repeated his,z when w e wou'd use and, especially in impassioned diction. See Gesenius, in which are cited as examples:-Isa. vi. 5; i. 29,
30; iii. 1-6; ix. 3-5. Job iii. 24, 25; viii. 9; xi. 15, 16." —TaoLurcK.




PART VII.]     APPLICATION OF THE DISCOURSE.              273
to be expected in prosecuting it. The transition from sin to sin,
from occasional transgressions to habitual indulgences, is easy,
and in this way you will be in no want of company. The old
and the young, the rich and the poor, the learned and the unlearned, walk there. It is "the course of the world," in whiclh
all men naturally walk, "fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, and of
the mind."  But this path, inviting as it may seem, frequente(l
as it is, is indeed ruinous.  It "leads to destruction," it terminates in hell.  "The end of these things is death."  If you are
wise, then, "enter not in at this gate, walk not in this way."'
The other course, however repulsive to natural inclination, is
incomparably the more eligible one.  "Enter in at the strait
gate; for strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leadeth
unto life."  This way of implicit faith and obedience certainly
conducts to life, to true, satisfactory, permanent happiness.
This is the onward way of well-doing, which leads to "glory,
honor, and immortality."  The glories and felicities in which
it terminates, will far more than compensate for the sacrifices,
made in entering on it, and for the difficulties met with in prosecuting it.
To heighten the force of the motive, our Lord adds, " Few
there be that find it." Comparatively few men are religious.
Many neglect religion altogether-others rest in external forms
and empty notions-others are deluded into some of those more
soothing, flattering, fashionable species of religion, which Satan,
transformed into an angel of light, and his servants transformed
into ministers of righteousness, propose to them when they are
roused to a state of alarm in reference to the interests of their
souls. They are deterred by the difficulties of entering through
the strait gate, and walking along the narrow  way; they are
terrified at the idea of being counted precise and singular.
They hope to get to heaven at an easier rate, and they do not
know that this narrow way has its peculiar supports, and consolations, and joys, that far more than counterbalance its toils, and
difficulties, and discouraoements.9'
Stripped of its figurative dress, and expressed in plain language, our Lord's exhortation is-' Be religious, by embracing
my doctrine and obeying my law; for irreligion, in all its forms,
necessarily ends in everlasting ruin, and vast multitudes in this
way perish. Be religious, for religion is at once the only, and
the certain, way to everlasting happiness; but ah, how few
are there, comparatively, who in this way obtain this happiness!'
These awfully solemn words of our Lord are as applicable to
us as they were to those to whom they were originally addressed.
The two gates, the two ways, still stand before us,-the one
leading to destruction, the other to life. The broad road, with
all its endlessly diversified tracks of irreligion and false religion,.
apparently quite distinct, yet in reality all leading in the same:
93 Scott
VOLI. I.                   18




274             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.           [EXP. IV.
direction, down to the chambers of eternal death, continues to
be crowded by travellers. The narrow path, often beset with
snares, often rugged with difficulties, but always onward and
upward, continues to be trodden by only a small and despised
group of pilgrims. These are the only two paths, and one of
them we must choose.
There has been always a very earnest wish-a very eager
endeavor-to avoid the necessity of making this choice, by
joining the two roads into one, or by forming a third road which
should have the recommendations of both,-or, at any rate, by
so combining them, as that the traveller may have the comforts
of the broad path during his journey, and the safety of the narrow one at its close. Men would fain escape the pains of selfdenial here, and of hell hereafter. They would fain have the
enjoyments of self-indulgence in time, and of heaven in eternity.
They often seem to succeed in deluding themselves, so far as to
persuade themselves that they have accomplished this impossibility. But it is a delusion; and, if persisted in, it will prove a
fatal delusion. A religion which requires no self-denial, is not
the religion of Christ. If the gate be not strait, if the road be
not narrow, it is not the gate of life, it is not the road to heaven.
In all ages of the world, the way that leadeth to life is narrow.
It is not, it cannot be, easy or agreeable to our corrupted nature.
It requires attention to find it, self-denial to enter upon it, and
labor and resolution to persevere in it.
And in all ages, too, the broad way is the way that leadeth to
destruction. A period may come, we trust a period shall come,
when the majority of mankind shall be truly religious, but that
period has not yet come; and in every past age to think, and feel,
and act in religion, along with the multitude, has been the same
thing as to think, and feel, and act wrong. The truly religious
are, and ever have been, a minority-comparatively a very small
minority. That man has great reason to fear he is fatally wrong,
who finds nothing in his religious principles and feelings to
separate him from the great body of mankind, and who can approve of the pursuits, and partake of the pleasures, of almost all
around him. He is " of the world," and continuing to be of it,
bhe must perish with it.
The announcement, "Few  there be that find it,"-that is,
find life by entering in by the strait gate,-has often been misapprehended. It has been supposed to teach the doctrine, that a
very small minority of the human race are to be saved. Our
Lord did not see fit to answer the inquiry, " Lord, are there few
that shall be saved?" when the question was put to him; but
from other passages of Scripture we know that there are to be
" nations of the saved," and that they are to form " a multitude
whom no man can number." Scripture leads us to a joyful hope
respecting all who die in infancy, and in the age of millennial
glory the converts to true religion will be very numerous. But
in our Lord's time, in our time, in every intervening age, there




PART VII.]    APPLICATION OF THE DISCOURSE.            275
can be no doubt, few cc mparatively have found life by entering
in through the strait gate.
These words have also been supposed to intimate that many
who are very anxious to be saved may, notwithstanding, come
short of salvation. But if men do not find eternal life, it is
because they do not seek it in the way in which God has appointed it to be sought. No man who thus seeks it shall seek
it in vain. You will observe that, in the parallel passage in
Luke, the persons here spoken of, and who are there represented
as seeking to enter in, but not able, are persons who become
desirous of eternal life when it is too late-" When once the
Master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and
ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying,
Lord, Lord, open unto us; he shall answer and say unto you, I
know you not whence ye are."94 "Now is the accepted time;
now is the day of salvation." Few find life, for few seek it.
None seek it aright but they who are entering through the strait
gate, and walking in the narrow way. None who thus seek it
shall come short of it.
~ 2. Caution againstfalse teachers, and the means of discovering
them.
Our Lord now proceeds to warn his hearers against those
teachers whose doctrine might prevent them from entering in at
the strait gate, and walking in the narrow way.'" Beware of
false prophets."99
The word " prophet," in its literal etymological signification,
denotes one who predicts future events. It is frequently, most
frequently perhaps, employed in Scripture to signify an inspired
teacher,-one divinely commissioned and qualified to make
known the will of God. It sometimes, however, seems used
to describe a religious instructor, even though he lays no claim
to supernatural qualifications.9" This, we rather apprehend, is its
meaning here. False prophets do not here seem to mean persons making a false pretension to a divine mission, but persons
teaching false doctrines in religion. I can scarcely doubt that
our Lord directly refers to the Jewish Scribes, who not only
would not enter in themselves into the kingdom of the Messiah,
but, by their false doctrines, did all in their power to hinder from
entering in those who were inclined to do so. The object of
their teaching was to prevent men from becoming disciples of
Jesus, —to keep them in the broad way, by making them believe
it was the way to life,-and to prevent them from entering in
through the strait gate, and walking in the narrow way.
They " came in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they were ravening wolves."  " They had the appearance and the profession of
being humble, harmless, disinterested and devout,-but they were
9 9Luke xiii. 25                     95 Matt. vii. 15.
96 2 Pet. ii. 1.  1 John iv. 1.  2 Cor. xi. 13.




276             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.               [EXP. IV.
in reality under the influence of some unworthy principle, actuated by a selfish love of profit or of praise."97
Our Lord gives his hearers a mark by which they might know
these false prophets, —" Ye shall know them by their fruits."
The fruits of the false prophets are commonly considered as
referring to their moral dispositions and behavior. This appears
to me unduly to restrict the meaning of the phrase, which, I apprehend, refers to their doctrines, as well as to their tempers and
actions.' Do not give implicit credit to their professions: examine their doctrines by the test of inspired Scripture; and
observe, too, what influence their doctrine has on their own character and conduct.' This is the common-sense plan of judging:' Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?"  It is the
vine from which men gather grapes-it is the fig-tree which alone
produces figs. Sound doctrine, and a holy life, are the best
proofs that a religious teacher is worthy of the name; and, on the
other hand, unsound doctrine, and an unholy life, are sufficient to
discredit all pretensions to a claim on our attention, and belief,
and obedience: "Every good tree bringeth fort! good fruit."
Every really trustworthy religious teacher teaches sound doctrine,
and exemplifies the influence of that doctrine in a holy life. " A
corrupt tree bringeth forth corrupt fruit;" an unprincipled, selfish, time serving, religious teacher, will discover his character in
the doctrine he teaches, or in the manner in which he teaches it,
and also in the prevailing tenor of his disposition and behavior.
"A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit; neither can a corrupt
tree bring forth good fruit:"' Every teacher, who really knows
and believes the truth himself, cannot but, in his teaching, declare that truth, and, in his character and conduct, exemplify its
influence.' And, on the other hand, "A  corrupt tree cannot
bring forth good fruit:"' A false teacher cannot but, in his teaching and conduct, exhibit what, to a careful observer, will be found
a sufficient proof of his true character.'  " Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire:"'Every religious teacher who does not publish the truth, and exemplify it, shall, sooner or later, be punished by God.'
"Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."  It is not by
their profession, but by their doctrine, and by their conduct, that
you are to judge of the claims which religious teachers have on
your attention, faith, and obedience.'
These words, as uttered by our Lord, had, no doubt, a peculiar
reference to the circumstances of those to whom they were originally addressed; but, like every other part of this admirable discourse, they are replete with important instruction to his followers,
in all countries and ages.  "As there were false prophets among
the people of Israel," so, says the apostle Peter, under the influence of the Spirit of prophecy, "there shall be false teachers
amnong you." In every age of the church, this prediction has
been fulfilled. Men, bearing the name of christian ministers,
97 Brewster.




PART VII.]    APPLICATION OF THE DISCOURSE.            277
" Have brought in damnable heresies; and have not only brought
on themselves swift destruction," but have "drawn many after
them, in their pernicious ways." It is the duty and the interest
of all Christ's followers to be on their guard against these false
teachers, and to apply, in every case, the Saviour's rule: " By
their fruits shall ye know them."  "By good words, and fair
speeches, these men have often deceived the hearts of the simple,"
and men have been made to think themselves safe, while they
were walking in the broad way which leads to destruction. The
command of our Lord, by his apostle, exactly corresponds to the
maxim here laid down:-" Beloved, believe not every spirit, but
try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false
prophets are gone out into the world." Try them by their fruits,
by their doctrines:-" Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every
spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of
God: and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now
already is it in the world." Try them by their spirit and conduct:-" They are of the world; therefore speak they of the
world, and the world heareth them."98
The rule furnished by our Lord is substantially this:' Receive
no one as a religious teacher, whose doctrine does not harmonize
with the declarations of the word of God, however apparently
devout and holy he may be; and receive no one as a religious
teacher, however rigidly orthodox he may profess to be, who in
his temper and behavior is worldly or wicked.'
There is no doubt that there may be difficulties in applying
this rule, like all general rules. We may be mistaken, both on
the favorable and the unfavorable side; yet, as a general direction for those who sit, not as final judges, but merely for the
practical purposes of the present life, it is admirably fitted to
answer the end for which it was given.8' If a man oppose, in his
teaching, the principles of inspired Scripture, he cannot be a
teacher of truth; and he can scarcely be reasonably supposed to
be leading men to heaven, who is manifestly himself walking in
an opposite direction. False teachers endeavor to give their
errors the appearance of truth; but the man, whose eye is single,
will seldom find it difficult to see through the disguise; and the
virtue, and arniableness, by which teachers of error are not unfrequently distinguished, when carefully examined by the touchstone of the Divine word, will be found to consist chiefly of such
things as are highly esteemed in the sight of men, and to be cornected with the habitual disregard of many duties, and the
habitual indulgence in many practices, which, though the world
approves of them, are indeed abominable in the sight of God.
He who conscientiously applies our Lord's rule, will run very
little risk of being imposed on by false teachers."'
The times in which we live are characterized by a great dis93 1 John  iv. 1 2, 3, 5.  99 Fuller.         "0 Soott.




278             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.             [EXP. IV.
position, on the part of many professors of Christianity, to " give
heed to seducing spirits," to attend to every one who assumes to
himself the character of a christian teacher, either from the pulpit
or the press, if he but bring forward something new or strange.
With regard to these self-constituted teachers, it may very justly
be said, that whatever is true in their doctrine, is not new; and
whatever is new, is not true. The command has seldom been
more seasonable: "Be not carried about with divers and strange
doctrines. Be not tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine,
and cunning craftiness of men, who lie in wait to deceive." And
seldom has the wisdom of our Lord's rule been more strikingly
exemplified, than in what has occurred, and is occurring, in reference to those men, who, by their strange opinions and M ild pretensions, have drawn upon themselves so unenviable a notoriety:
"By their fruits shall ye know them."
~ 3. Caution against self-deception.
Our Lord proceeds to caution his disciples against self-deception, and to impress on their mind that nothing short of repentance, proving itself by its appropriate fruits-nothing short of a
real change of mind, producing a real change of conductwould serve the purpose; that a mere acknowledgment of the
truth of his doctrine, a mere profession of obedience to his authority, would be utterly profitless in the way of obtaining a portion ii the peculiar blessings of the new economy.
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my
Father which is in heaven."'
In explaining this passage, the first thing to be done, is to
ascertain the meaning of the phrase, " To enter into the kingdom of heaven." The kingdom of heaven, as I have often had
occasion to remark, is the new order of things introduced by the
Messiah. This new order of' things may be contemplated as begun in the present state, and xcr'fected in a future state; and the
phrase, "' kingdom of God," or " of heaven," sometimes has a direct reference to the one, and sometimes to the other, of these two
aspects of the same economy. Many, perhaps most, interpreters
consider the phrase here, as referring to the last of them, and as
an equivalent to the state of celestial blessedness.  "Not every
one shall enter into the kingdom of heaven," is, i i their estimation, just equivalent to,' Not every one shall get to heaven, and
enjoy that state of perfect holy happiness which is reserved for
the subjects of the Messiah, in the world to come.' They consider the entrance into the kingdom, and the entrance into life, as
the same event; and this event is to take place in " that day" of
which our Lord speaks in the verse that immediately follows,
which seems plainly to refer to the day of judgment.
1 Matt. vii. 21.,




PART VII.]    APPLICATION OF THE DISCOURSE.             279
I am disposed, however, to understand the phrase in what appears to me its ordinary meaning, as equivalent to, participating
of the peculiar blessings of Christianity, whether these are enjoyed
on earth or in heaven; blessings which, from their very nature,
can be enjoyed only by the man who repents, who is converted,
who is born again,-and who proves all this, by exhibiting in his
temper and conduct, the fruits of this repentance, conversion, and
new-birth.
The expression,'to call a person lord,' is equivalent to' to acknowledge him as master.' If there be any emphasis in the repetition of the word "lord," it is intended to expressf not merely
profession, but a decided, open, habitual profession. Our Lord's
declaration, then, is, that a profession of embracing his religion,
however explicit, public, and often repeated, does not open the
way to the enjoyment of the peculiar blessings of his kingdom,
unless it is proved to be the result of true repentance, a real
change of mind,-by a corresponding course of conduct in doing
the will of his Father in heaven.2
The words before us obviously imply, what is very distinctly
stated in other parts of Scripture, that a profession of discipleship,
an acklnowledgment of our submission in mind and heart to
Christ Jesus, is absolutely necessary in order to our enjoying the
privileges of discipleship. No person who does not call Christ
"Lord, Lord," can "enter into the kingdom  of God:" no man
who is ignorant of His claims, who treats these claims with neglect, who rejects these claims, or who, though he may be all but
persuaded that these claims are just, yet from worldly motives
does not acknowledge them,-no such person can participate in
the peculiar blessings of His disciples, either on earth or in
Heaven.
While this important truth is plainly implied in our Lord's
words, the truth which they directly teach is, that profession,
however necessary in connection with faith and obedience, cannot
of itself secure a participation in the peculiar blessings of the new
economy. The man who says " Lord, Lord," while he does not
"do the will of our Lord's Father," shall not "' enter into the kingdom of God."
Many of the Jews, struck by our Lord's miracles, were disposed to become his disciples, while ignorant of, and strongly
opposed to, that manifestation of the Divine will respecting the
salvation of men, which formed the doctrine and the law of the
kingdom of God.  To prevent such men from supposing, that
their merely acknowledging him as a teacher sent from God, or
even as the Messiah, in the sense in which they understood that
word, would secure for them the blessings he came to bestow,
seems to have been the object of our Lord in making this declaration; and it affords a fine illustration of his determination to
take no unfair advantages of men's prejudices, —of that thorough
2 There is a calling Christ, Lord, that is necessarily connected with salvation.' Cor. xii. 3. Rom. x. 13.




280             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
plain dealing which is so strikingly characteristic of the whole of
his transactions with his countrymen.
The declaration, though primarily addressed to his countrymen, is full of important instruction to all, in every country and
in every age, where his religion is presented to the examination
and reception of men.  It is still true, it will always be true,
that " not every one that saith, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of his Father
who is in heaven,"-that some, that many, professors of Christianity, will come short of the enjoyment of the blessings of
Christianity.
There are many persons who may with propriety be denominated mere "nominal" Christians.3   They bear the name of
Christ, and that is all. They have been born in a country where
Christianity is the prevailing religion; they have received probably some kind of instruction in what are considered as the elements of that religion; they may belong to some religious society
bearing the name of a christian church. If questioned respecting their faith, they readily declare that they are Christians; but
that means little more than that they are not Jews, Pagans,
Mohammedans, or professed infidels. Such persons often are,rrossly ignorant of the doctrines of Christianity; they often live
in habitual neglect of the institutions of Christianity.  They
would be greatly puzzled to give an answer to the question,
WVhat is it to be a Christian? and, if possible, still more so, to
the question, Why do you profess to be a Christian? Surely
such persons cannot enter into the kingdom of God. They cannot participate in its spiritual blessings, either on earth or in
heaven. The blessings would not be spiritual if these men could
enjoy them.
There is another numerous class who may be styled " formal"
Christians. They are able to repeat some catechism, and can give
something like an intelligent account of the doctrines and the
laws of Christ. They profess submission to his authority, and
-with, it may be, exemplary regularity, observe all the external
acts of worship which characterize his followers; but their religion is just a system of speculative opinions and external observances. They have a form of Christianity, but they know
nothing about its power. They have no wish to experience its
governing influence on their affections and pursuits, and indeed,
very generally view as deluded enthusiasts or canting hypocrites,
all who seem to consider an experimental Christianity as the only
genuine Christianity.  It is equally plain, that these persons
shall not enter into the kingdom of God. They do not understand and believe that truth which, when understood and believed, influences the whole nature, and transforms the whole
character; and which, by doing so, puts the individual in pos3 For this division of those who call Christ "Lord, Lord," I am indebted to Dr.
Brewster.




PART VII.]    APPLICATION OF THE DISCOURSE.            281
session of the heavenly and spiritual blessings which are in Christ
Jesus.
There is a third class included in the general declaration of our
Lord, who may be termed " hypocritical " Christians. Like the
formal Christian, the hypocritical Christian acknowledges the
truth, and observes the ordinances, of Christianity; and, in addition, is usually zealous, even to rancor, in the defence of the
one, and exact, even to scrupulosity, in the observance of the
other. Not content with a dull formal round of duties, he assumes the appearance of a deep interest in religion, while all the
time, his object is to obtain the honors of supposed saintship, or
to pacify his conscience while living in the neglect of known duty,
and the commission of known sin.  This is incomparably the
vilest of the three characters I have sketched; and surely it needs
no proof nor illustration that such a person, notwithstanding the
loudness and frequency of his protestations that Christ Jesus is
his Lord, cannot be recognized by him as a genuine disciple, and
cannot, while he continues what he is, participate in the privileges
of genuine discipleship.
To all who belong to these three classes, it may well be said
by our Lord —" Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the
things which I say to you?"
To the mere nominal Christian it may be said,-' Your conduct is utterly unworthy of a rational being; what can be mlore
absurd than than to bear a name, of the meaning of which you are
ignorant, —to pretend to believe a revelation, of the contents and
the evidence of which you are equally ill-informed? If you will
not yield that attention to Christianity which is necessary in
order to understand and believe it, it would be an act of respect
for yourself, and of justice to that system which you degrade by
pretending to be its adherent, to renounce the name, which in
your case is a mere name.?
To the formal Christian it may be said, —' How inconsistent
it is to profess to believe doctrines which, if true, are infinitely
important, and yet remain unimpressed by them; how absurd
to observe ordinances, and yet be altogether careless about the
sentiments of which these acts of worship are intended to be the
expression,-the habits of thought and feeling which they are intended to produce and strengthen! How foolish to take up with
the husk instead of the grain; the shell instead of the kernel;
with a dead carcass instead of a living body!'
To the hypocritical Christian it may be said,-' Your conduct
as it is more contemptible, so assuredly it is not less irrational
and absurd, than that of your nominal and formal brethren.
Know ye not " that all things are naked and opened before Him
with whom you have to do," and that few affronts will be more
severely punished by him than dishonor done to his omniscience.
" Be not deceived, He is not mocked."  Instead of being admitted into the kingdom, the hypocrite's portion will be in




282            THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
"outer darkness, where there is weeping, and wailing, and
gnashing of teeth."'
When a person looks, with an observant eye, through what is
but too appropriately called the christian world, what vast multitudes appear to arrange themselves under these three classes;
and how awfully emphatic do the words of our Lord appear to
be, "not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven"?
While our Lord thus declares, that a profession of belief in
his doctrines, and of submission to his authority, unconnected
with subjection of mind and heart to him, manifested in disposition and conduct, will be utterly ineffectual in the way of obtaining for a man a participation in the blessings of the heavenly
kingdom, he with equal plainness asserts, that the man whose
profession is verified by his behavior, shall be mnade a partaker
of these blessings. "H He that doeth the will of my Father in
heaven, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven."
The designation is plainly equivalent to,'He that not only
calls me Lord, but does the will of my Father in heaven.' The
" will of God," as the Father of our Lord and Saviour, is "that
men should be saved through the knowledge of the truth," and
"to do" the will of God, is just to seek for salvation through
the knowledge of the truth. It is his will that men, believing
the truth respecting Jesus Christ, and the way of salvation
through him, should rely entirely on his atonement and grace;
and, acknowledging his supreme authority, " walk without fear
before God, in all his commandments and ordinances blameless."
The fundamental part of the will of God is revealed in these
words:-" This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased:
hear ye him." When this is complied with, everything else
follows.4  Without it, sinful man cannot in any degree do the
will of God. From  the time that a sinner, by believing the
truth, relies on the Saviour's atonement, embraces his salvation,
and submits to his authority, his habitual employment is to do
the will of God. He is far from yielding a perfect obedience to
that will, but it is the prevailing bent of his mind, the constant
object of his endeavor, to be " perfect and complete in all the
will of God;" to have his mind brought into complete accordance with God's mind, his will into complete accordance with
God's will. The person who, in the faith of the truth, habitually
seeks conformity to -the will of God, in heart and in life, whose
aim it is to make the will of God the rule of his thoughts, and
feelings, and actions,-that man, and that man alone, is a true
subject of the Messiah; he, and he alone, enjoys the peculiar
immunities and privileges of the kingdom of God, both on earth
and in heaven.
This awfully interesting truth is presented in a form peculiarly
impressive in the words which follow, in which our Lord unfolds
the principle according to which the final states ~f men shall be
4 Scott.




PART VII.]     APPLICATION  OF THE DISCOURSE.                283
fixed, " Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in thy name?5 and in thy name have cast out
devils?' and in thy name done many wonderful works? And
then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from
me, ye that work iniquity."7
In these words our Lord obviously goes on the principle, that
he was the appointed Judge of all, —that, according to his sentence the final state of men was to be fixed. By "that day" we
are to understand what is ordinarily termed the day of judgment
-" the day in which every man's work shall be made manifest;
being tried by fire."'
I do not think that we are to consider the words before us as
a literal description of what is then to take place. It seems impossible that the persons referred to should continue, during the.
period of their separate existence in the unseen world, under the.
delusion that they were so connected with Christ, as to have
reason to expect on the judgment-day, that they are to share in
the happiness which he is then to bestow on his people.  The
hope of the nominal, formal, hypocritical professors of Christianity,
must perish at death.  We are to consider the words just as a
striking and picturesque statement of the truth, that multitudes
of men, who made a profession of Christianity, and who were
even possessed of the supernatural gifts by which the primitive
age of that religion was distinguished, and who flattered themselves to the last that they would be saved, shall, in consequence
of their not having done the will of Christ's Father in heaven,
be shut out from all participation in the happiness of the genuine
followers of Christ, and a clear demonstration then given that he
never considered them'as belonging to that class.9 Many who
have prophesied in his name, who in his name have cast out
devils, and done many wonderful works, shall, in the day of
judgment, be rejected by him, as persons whom he had never
acknowledged as his disciples."~
That miraculous gifts did not necessarily infer the true christian character of those who possessed them, is quite evident, and,
in itself, does not seem more wonderful than the undoubted fact,
that uncommon intellectual endowments are by no means necessarily connected with moral worth. We have no reason to
doubt that Judas performed miracles as well as the rest of the
apostles.
All who have not done the will of God, though they may have
been members of the christian church, though they may have
5 "Adde: Commentarios et observationes exegeticas ad libros et loca V. et
N. T. scripsimus, homilias insignes habuimus," &c.-BENGEL.
6 aLtu6vla, demons. There is but one -Devil, 6 &6di3oxo, but many demons,
daty6vla.- Vide CAMPBELL'S Diss.  7 Matt. vii. 22, 23.    8 1 Cor. iii. 13.
9 "Iypocrisy here appears, at the same time, in the light of self-delusio.
That a bandying of words on the day of judgment is out of the question, must be
understood as a matter of course."-OLSHnASEN.
v, There is no room for Augustine's question, Whether this is not an additiecsl,
lie?




284             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
been ministers in it, though they may have been singularly gifted,
and even miraculously endowed, shall, in the day of judgment,
be rejected and condemed.
Their rejection and condemnation is described by the Judge
saying to them, "Depart from  me: I never knew you, ye
workers of iniquity.""  The word "knew" here is used in a
somewhat peculiar sense. In the ordinary sense of the word,
our Lord knew them all along. They imposed on others, —they
imposed, perhaps, on themselves; but they never imposed on
him, he was "not deceived," he was "not mocked."  From
the first, "all things were naked and opened before him;" —he
searched their hearts, he tried their reins, he knew what was in
them.  "Knew" is here equivalent to acknowledged, or approved,
-a sense of the term of not unfrequent occurrence in Scripture.
"The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous,"'"-he approves,
and gives tokens of his approval, of their way. "You only have
I known of all the nations of the earth,"-acknowledged as my
peculiar people."'  "I know"-acknowledge-"my sheep, and
am known"-acknowledged-" of mine. As the Father knoweth"-acknowledgeth-" me, even so know"-acknowledge-" I
the Father."'4
It will be made evident, then, that whatever place these persons held among his people, he never recognized them as his;
for while "in words they acknowledged him, in works they denied him." Their being workers of iniquity,-that is, their
habitually doing anything inconsistent with the will of God,has far more weight, as evidence that they did not belong to
Christ, than all external privileges, and miracles, and mighty
works have, that they did belong to him.
The general truth taught in these words is one of the most
awfully impressive in the word of God. Let us allow it to sink
into our ears, into our minds, into our hearts. Let us beware of
concluding ourselves Christians-let us beware of supposing that
the interests of our eternity are secure, because we belong to a
christian church, however pure-because we even hold office in
it, however high-because our attainments in religious speculative knowledge are extensive, and we can display them so as to
secure the good opinion, and even command the admiration, of
our fellow church-members. Let us do the will of our Father
in heaven. In a firm  belief of the truth, let us rely on the
Saviour's atonement, submit to the Saviour's authority, seek the
aid of the Saviour's Spirit; and while we gladly and gratefully
receive eternal life as the gift of God, through Jesus Christ our
Lord, let us, in a " constant continuance in well-doing, seek for
glory, honor, and immortality." Oh, let all of us who profess to
have " received the Lord Jesus, walk in him;" and, professing
to love him, let us " keep his commandments."
11 The words that are added, Luke xiii. 25, 7r6oev Earc, rendered in our translation, "Whence ye are" —should be given interrogatively, "Whence are YE f"oIKC U'VOEV.  12 Psal. i. 6.    13 Amos iii. 2.    = 14 John x. 14, 1&




PART VIII.]                PERORATION.                         285
VIII. PERORATION.
MATTHEW vii. 24-27.
~ 1. General illustration.
These impressive words form the peroration of our Lord's
Sermon on the Mount. The statement they convey is deeply
important, and the language in which it is expressed is remarkable alike for its beauty and its force. The different, the opposite,
fates of those who do, and who do not, regulate their characters
aind their hopes according to the principles contained in this wonderful discourse, are represented under images, calculated to
strike universally, but peculiarly fitted to make an impression on
the minds of those to whom  they were originally presented, as
being borrowed from  natural phenomena with which they were
familiarly acquainted.
In Judea, as in other oriental countries, the rains are periodical. WnAhen they descend, they often descend in torrents, and
continue to do so, with unabated violence, for a number of days.
In consequence of this, the most trifling  mountain brook becomes
a mighty river-a deluge rushes down with dreadful impetuosity
from the high grounds to the plains, converting them into one
wide waste of waters. The huts of the inhabitants, generally
formed of clay hardened in the sun, are exposed to great danger.
They are often literally melted down by the heavy rains, or overturned by the furious gusts of wind; and, when not founded on
the solid rock, undermined and swept away by the resistless torrent."' In such a country, it is the part of a wise man to take
good care that the foundation on which he builds his habitation
be solid. He who attends to this precaution, is likely to find the
advantage of doing so; and he who neglects this precaution, is
likely to pay dear for his folly. Such are the facts to which our
Lord refers, and from which he draws an illustration of the wisdom of the man who " hears and does his words," and the folly
of him " who hears them, but will not do them."  Let us examine that illustration a little more particularly: "Therefore,
whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them,'" I will
liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock;
and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew,
and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded
upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine,
15 "I enjoyed yesterday a delightful prospect of the whole plain and the surrounding scenery under a glorious sun, with a most serene atmosphere; but, today, I beheld it in the wildest and most terrific grandeur. I was unluckily
overtaken by a storm, as if the flood-gates of heaven had been set open, which
came on in a moment, and raged with mighty fury, conveying a just idea of the
end of all things: during this time, there was a solemn gloom, and darkness
spread over the whole land."-RAE WILsoN's Travels in the Holy Land, p. 310;
quoted by Tholuck.
16 The construction is peculiar. The nominative case seems put absolutely.




286             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.          [EXP. IV.
and doeth thenl not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which
built his house upon the sand; and the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and
it fell: and great was the fall of it"'7
The connective particle translated " therefore,'"" does not necessarily imply, that what follows it is a logical inference from what
is previously stated. It very often merely marks transition of
thought; but, in the case before us, it seems to import more than
this. For, surely, if "Not every one who calls Christ, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he only who
does the will of his Father who is in heaven,"-if, to all workers
of iniquity, even although they should have " prophesied, and
cast out devils, and done many wonderful works," in the name
of Christ, it shall at last be said by our Lord, determining by his
judgment the final state of men, "Depart from me; I never
knew you,"-then it certainly follows, that he who hears and
does our Lord's sayings, is a wise man, and that he who hears
them, and does them not, is a fool. The one secures, the other
loses, the salvation of the soul, the happiness of eternity.
The first thing, then, to be done here, is to ascertain what our
Lord means by "hearing and doing," and by " hearing and not
doing, his words." Our Lord obviously refers to the di.scourse
which he was concluding, and of which, I apprehend, as of most
of his discourses, we have only an imperfect account; but what
he says of these words of his, is equally true of all his words,
whether spoken by himself personally, or made known through
the medium of his inspired apostles.
To "hear" is often, in the New Testament, used in a very extensive sense, as equivalent to,-to listen, attend, believe, obey.
Such is its meaning in phrases like the following:-" This is my
beloved Son, hear him."  " They have Moses and the prophets,
let them hear them." " He that hath ears to hear. let him hear.'"8
1In the case before us, it seems used in a more confined sense. To
hear our Lord's sayings, is just to have them addressed to us, to
have an opportunity of becoming acquainted with them.
To " do" our Lord's sayings, is often interpreted as if it meant
merely to perform those actions which our Lord requires. This
is, however, very improperly to limit its meaning. To do our
Lord's sayings, is just to conform the whole inner and outward
man to these sayings-to form our whole character by them-to
fashion our habits of thought, of feeling, and of action, in accordance with them. The man, then, who " hears and does these sayings" of our Lord, is the man who not only has them addressed to
him, who not only listens to them, who not only understands their
meaning, but who, believing them, learns to think, and feel, and
act, according to them: who through these sayings, understood
and believed, repents, changes his mind, is "converted," is radically changed, is " born again," becomes "a new creature," being
17 Matt. vii. 24-27. Ls orv.
19 Matt. xvii. 5. Luke xvi. 29. Matt. xi. 16.




PART VIII.]              PERORATION.                     287
"transformed by this renewing of his mind." This is the one
character.
The other is described as hearing, but not doing, these words
of olir Lord. Under this description, a variety of characters are
included, having all, however, one distinctive mark,-that, while
they hear the words of our Lord, they do them not. One class,
to whom our Lord's words are addressed, pay no attention to them
— they make light of them.  Another class listens with some degree of attention, profess to inquire, and, after a very partial inquiry, refuse to believe and obey them. Another class profess to
believe his words, and declare their determination to obey them;
but while they " call him Lord, Lord, they'do not the things which
he says" to them. It is not unlikely that our Lord had a special
reference to this last class, when he used these words.
All these classes have this in common, that, while they have the
means of obtaining acquaintance with our Lord's words, they refuse that subjection of mind, and heart, and conduct to them, to
which they are entitled, and without which, from the very nature
of the case, saving advantage cannot be derived from them.
Having thus ascertained who they are who hear and do our
Lord's sayings, and who they are who hear and do them not, let
us inquire into what our Lord says in reference to these two classes
of men:-" I will liken the man who hears these savings of mine,
to a wise man,20 who built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon
that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock."
And "I will liken the man who hears these saying of mine, and
doeth them not, to a foolish man, who built his house upon the
sand; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds
blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the
fall of it."
These words obviously imply this general truth,'The first class
of men, notwithstanding all the trials and dangers to which they
may be exposed, shall assuredly obtain final happiness; the second
class of men, shall no less assuredly involve themselves in complete and everlasting destruction.' In other words, there is no
other way of being saved but by repenting, and being converted,
-no "entering into the kingdom of God," without being "born
again."  Nothing different from, nothing short of, a surrender of
the mind and heart, to the authority of Christ Jesus, speaking in
his word, can secure salvation. If, on hearing his word, you refuse to attend to it, or reject it as false, or while you profess to consider it as true, you in consequence of not really understanding
and believing it, continue strangers to its transforming efficacy,
you must perish. If, on hearing his words, you understand and
believe them, and yield yourselves up to their influence, you shall
assuredly be saved. This is the great general truth which these
figurative representations are intended to convey.
20 9p6VLzo~. The ao~5oi has the right end in view, the p6wvt/or chooses also the
right means for gaining the right end. Matt. xxv. 2. Luke xvi. 8. Matt. x. 16.




288             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.            [EXP. IV.
~ 2. Miore particular illustration.
But I apprehend, that in the present case, as in most others,
even the minuter parts of the figurative illustrations employed by
our Lord are replete with instruction, and it may serve a good
purpose to inquire, in reference to both the wise and the foolish
builder, What is the foundation? What is the superstructure?
What is the trial to which it is exposed? and, What is the result
of the trial?
(1.) The wise builder and his fate.
First, then, What is the foundation of "rock" on which the
wise builder-that is, " the man who hears and does the sayings
of our Lord,"-places the edifice he is about to raise?  I apprehend the foundation is just the sayings of our Lord, understood
and believed. These sayings are the dictates of eternal truth and
righteousness; and the everlasting mountains shall be sooner
rooted up than any one of them  shall be falsified. This is the
foundation on which the wise builder places his edifice; not his
own conjectures or reasonings, not the conjectures or reasonings
of other men, but " the true and faithful sayings of God."
Now, what is the building which he erects on this foundation?
The building, I apprehend, shadows forth either the character
which he cultivates, or the hopes he cherishes.
By character I understand the whole frame of a man's sentiments, and affections, and active habits.  The wise builder having, by the faith of the truth, found the only sure foundation,
erects on it an edifice of thoughts, and feelings, and actions.
He is moulded according to " the form of doctrine into which he
has been delivered."21
The building, in the figurative representation now under consideration, may have a special reference to the hope which the
hearer and doer of the sayings of Christ cherishes. That hope
is entirely founded on these sayings. He has a "hope of eternal
life"-a " good hope through grace"-but that hope rests entirely
on what Christ has said to him. It is indeed an essential part
of that spiritual character, which we consider as the edifice
which the wise builder raises on the rocky foundation.
The next inquiry is, What is the trial to which this building
is to be exposed? " The rain descended, the floods came, the
winds blew, and beat upon that house."
Some interpreters seem to think that these are emblematical
of the afflictions of life, or of the temptations of Satan. I cannot
help thinking they are intended to represent the final trial at the
general judgment. The whole of the paragraph points the mind
to the transactions of " that day."22 The solstitial rains were the
severest trial to which a Jewish house could be exposed, and
21 Rom. vi. 17.                       22 2 Tim. i. 18.




PART VIII.]              PERORATION.                     289
they seem to shadow forth the severest trial to which human
character and human hopes can be subjected. Sometimes to denote the same idea, the final judgment is represented as a trial
by fire. Men's characters and hopes must all undergo an ex.
amination before the judgment-seat of God.
This is, I apprehend, the trial; and what will be the resul!,
when the edifice of the wise builder is thus tried?  "The hous,:~
fell not, for it was founded upon a rock." That spiritual character
which was formed under the influence of the sayings of Christ,
understood and believed, will meet with the Divine approbation.
There will be found much wanting and much wrong, and that will
be freely forgiven for Christ's sake; but the frame of character,
of thought, feeling, and action, formed by the faith of the truth,
will meet the unqualified approbation of God; and the hope
founded on these sayings will prove to be a " hope that maketh
not ashamed," a hope which He who is faithful and just will completely fulfil. The building stood firm, for the foundation was
firm. The spiritual character of the believer will meet with the
approbation of God at last, just because it is in accordance with
that revelation of perfect truth and righteousness, which was made
by Jesus Christ. The hope of the believer will be realized, just
because he hoped for what God, who cannot lie, had promised.
Such, I apprehend, is the fill import of the figurative representation of the hearer and doer of Christ's sayings, as a wise builder.
(2.) The foolish builder and his fate.
Let us now institute a similar inquiry, in reference to him who
hears, but does not do, the sayings of our Lord, and who is represented as a foolish builder. What is his foundation?  What is
his building?  What is the trial it must be exposed to, and what
will be the result of that trial?. What is the foundation of the foolish builder? If our general
apprehension of the figurative representation be correct-his'foundation is whatever is the basis of his character, and the
ground of his hopes for eternity. This is not the true and faithful sayings of the Saviour, for though he hears them, he does
not conform his mind to them-he does not believe them. His
foundation is that sect of false principles, whatever they may be,
or wherever they may have been got, which regulate his temper
and conduct, and are the basis of his character, the ground of
his hopes. These vary in different individuals. In the case of
those whom our Lord was addressing, the traditions of the fathers,
the doctrines of the Scribes and Pharisees, were probably the
foundation on which they were building.
The edifice itself is just that character, that mode of thinking,
feeling, and acting, which such false principles naturally produce,
or those hopes which thley naturally inspire. That character has
often a great degree of plausibility, and gains in no ordinary
measure the esteem and approbation of men. Those hopes are
VOl,. I.                   19




290             THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.              [EXP. IV.
often very confidently3 entertained. But the stability of the edifice
must be tested.
Both the character and hopes must be subjected to the test of
the Divine judgment. Weighed in the balances, they will be
found wanting.  "That which was highly esteemed among
men," will be found to be "abomination in the sight of God,""2
and all the fondly-cherished expectations of happiness will vanish
in the darkness of everlasting despair. The house will fall, and
dreadful will be its overthrow.  No character will stand the
Divine judgment, but that which is formed in accordance with the
sayings of Christ.  No hope will in that day be " gladness," but
the hope which these sayings warrant.
From  this passage, ill-understood, some false and dangerous
conclusions have been drawn.' It appears from this,' say some,'that it is by doing, and not by believing, that we are to be
saved.' They do not observe, that what our Lord contrasts, is
not believing and doing, but hearing and doing; nor, that in the
doing of Christ's sayings, believing these sayings is necessarily
implied; nor, that our Lord is not here discoursing on the ground
or mode of justification, but on the principles and procedure of
the final judgment.'It appears from this,' say another class,'that it matters but
very little what doctrines we believe, if we have a good life.' It
would not be very easy to show how a man is to live a really
good life, if he does not believe true doctrine; and in the passage
before us, Christ's sayings, understood and believed, are plainly
represented as the only foundation on which a character and conduct pleasing to God can be reared.
The discourse of our Lord produced a strong impression on
the minds of those who heard it.  The people "were astonished
at his doctrine."
The word " doctrine" may be considered as descriptive both
of the matter and of the manner of his teaching.  The people
were astonished, both at what he taught, and the mode in which
he taught. What he taught bore the impression of truth and
importance. Nothing was doubtful, nothing trivial. And his
doctrines were perspicuously and energetically expressed. We
can have no doubt they were also delivered in a natural, dignified, earnest, and pleasing manner; and besides, they were in
many instances attended by the divine energy of his Spirit, and
thus secured of their appropriate influence over the mind and heart.
What particularly excited the astonishment of the people,
was the contrast between his doctrine, or teaching, and that to
which they had been accustomed, the doctrine of the Scribes,"he taught them24 as wiih authority, and not as the Scribes."25
23 Luke xvi. 15.
24 "'Hv dL6adKwv avTrozv-periphrasis Hebraica, Grecis etiam familiaris, eujus
tamen interdum ea vis inest, ut moram significet et perseverantiam in aliqua re
facienda."-BEzA.
25 "The Scribes frequently spake truths, but they wanted the eSovaia 7rvievua7L1Tij.




PART VIII.]             PERORATION.                      291
The teachers among the Jews, having the law and the prophets, might therefore have taught certain and important truth,
and had they been themselves influenced by it, must have taught
it in a manner somewhat impressive, and ought to have taught
it authoritatively as being a revelation from heaven; yet they in
fact employed themselves more about the traditions of the fathers,
than about the doctrines of Moses and the prophets; and when
they made the Scriptures the subject of their discourses, did not
dwell on the great principles of religious truth and duty, but on
the lesser matters of the law.  "The tithing of mint, and anise,
and cummin" —the comparative obligation of an oath by the
temple, and the gold of the temple-by the altar, and the gift on
the altar"-these seem to be a fair specimen of their subjects of
teaching. In speaking of these things, they did not speak with
authority. In one sense, they spoke with too much authority,
for " they taught for doctrines the commandments of men "27
they required men to believe what they could give no sufficient
reason for their believing. They did not manifest the authority
of God, and truth, and duty.  They appealed chiefly, if not
solely, to the traditions of the elders, and the opinions of the
Rabbis.
Our Lord, on the contrary, taught with "authority."'They
were accustomed to introduce their teaching with, It was said by
the ancients: He introduced his with, "But I say unto you,"" Verily, verily, I say unto you."  In all he said, he taught as
one who had full authority from God to teach. His whole manner was that of one who spoke in the name of God, and who
well knew that what he uttered was eternal truth,-what he enjoined, eternal righteousness.
Let us recollect, my brethren, that to us these words of authority have come, as well as to those to whom they were originally
addressed. We are very stupid if we are not astonished at them.
But we must not only be astonished at them,-we must believe
them if we would be saved by them. To us, they come if
possible with more authority, than to those to whom they were
originally addressed. He spoke to them on earth. By inducing his apostles, under the influences of his Spirit, to record these
doctrines in a permanent revelation of his will, He " speaks to
us from heaven." Let us take good " heed to the things which
we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For
if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward;
how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at
the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto
Their discourses were pictures painted on the air, without being possessed of anx
essential or life-bestowing power. This the words of Jesus breathed forth; ana,
by means of them, he laid hold of the hearts of his hearers in their innermost
depths; hence, wherever there was dormant in the interior of any person an echo
for truth, there this echo was necessarily awakened."-OLSHAUSEN.
26 Matt. xxiii 18.                            27 Matt. xv. 9.




292                          NOTES.                      [EXP. IV.
us by them that heard him." " See that ye refuse not him that
speaketh: for if they escaped not who refused him speaking on
earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him
speaking from heaven."28
Let us consider his words as, what they indeed are, " the will
of our Creator, the commands of our Sovereign, —the laws of our
Judge, the counsels of our Father, the entreaties of our Saviour."29  Let us turn this wonderful discourse to its appropriate
purpose.  Let us employ it as an instrument for promoting that
" repentance," that " conversion," that entire change of mind and
of heart, without which we cannot be saved, and in which so
much of salvation consists.
Let us seek the Divine Spirit, that the sentiments which it
teaches, and the affections which it breathes, may, through that
faith which is of his operation, be so engrafted into our minds
and hearts, as to form a part of ourselves; so that we may not be
among those who sav, "Lord, Lord," but do not the things which
he says to them, to whom he will at last say, " Depart from me;"
but that, conjoining consistent conduct with open profession,
cheerfully doing and suffering the will of our Father in heaven,
we may at last receive the transporting invitation, " Come ye
blessed of my Father," " Well done, good and faithful servants,
enter ye into the joy of our Lord."38
NOTE A, p. 115.
"The fautlsla T0o  Oeov, —in Matthew always,aulsia' 7.v o Pori,, —
is again mentioned in the sequel of the sermon on the Mount, at verses
10, 19, 20; vi. 10; vii. 21. To discuss, on all the sides which it presents, an idea so pregnant in meaning as this, calls for a separate work.
But as the phrase here requires no very detailed investigation, we content
ourselves with stating the leading traits; nor can we refer to any book
where the subject is handled in a manner in every respect satisfactory.
Fleck has amassed a variety of materials, it is true; but with great prolixity, he mixes what is foreign, and is deficient in the talent for combination and arrangement. If C. Gottfried Bauer had executed the whole
plan, of which he made a commencement in the essay'De Causis quibus
nititur rectum super ratione Regni Divini in N. T. passim obvia judiciumrn,' something satisfactory might have been expected; at least no
modern author who has handled the subject has equally weighed it on all
sides. Much excellent matter is also contained in the Treatise of Sartorlus,' Ueber den Zweck Iesu bei Stiftung eines Gottes-Reiches.' Amidst
all that the doctrinal works of modern times have said upon the subject,
the hints thrown out in Baumgarten Crusius''Biblische Theologie' p.
149-157, seem to me to merit particular consideration. For the most
23 Heb. ii. 1; xii. 25..    29 Brewster.  3o Matt. xxv. 21, 34, 41.
31 Commentationes Theol. ed. Rosenmuller et Maurer, i. p. 2.




EXP. IV.]                       NOTES.                               293
part, writers have been taken up with pointing out the connection of the
New Testament doctrine with that of the Rabbins, which, however, is, at
all events, a task of less consequence, the moment it is conceded that the
Saviour connected with the expression different ideas from theirs.
"Two kinds of defects ard to be found in the usual treatment of this
doctrine.  At one time the different sides and allusions of the  i(xalisri,,rob HEON are ranged together as diverse significations of the phrase, without any attempt to show their identity, by discovering the fundamental
idea; and, at another, what is still worse, one single aspect of the idea is
exclusively seized, and all the rest disregarded. To mention an ancient
commentator, the first defect is exemplified in Euthymius, who, upon
Matt. iii. 2, after having previously said that Christ himself is here called
the {uaatefla Yco0 oavqdn, remarks:  i BalutlEla obQa~vv.iyelt atv noLXtoitasy
riv d(yyE'Iv, i'v o6 XeQurS oGa o OVT 3AOsOrEIET)i' E"PUFhis 6lC T&P  8V'YYA4tX&Y'vzoI6' a6yTi ixt C& Jaotiela ov'q(x(;v XaI (l q7 &dndaOUUtg T(v IiV O(a0VO6? (iYra(Oo'.'q4AOLE 65 Matl Gla At)1iova 7 TO6 8Ouoa 1ng flxatl)l'ag z6  ot)oe(XCov no7rXvUullual'oG
-, d; eqo4'r-vE; sErqaouEv.32  From the expositors of the middle period,
we may here quote the note of Zwinglius upon John iii. 3:' Capitur hie
regnum Dei pro doctrina ccelesti et praedicatione Evangelii, ut Luca
xviii. Capitur aliquando pro vita eeterna, Matt. xxv. Luc. xiv.  Quandoque
pro Ecclesia et congregatione fidelium, ut Matt. xiii. 24.' Even the later
lexicographers, Schleusner and Bretschneider, however, have not advanced
beyond these indefinite statements; and the article on the'subject by the
latter is particularly defective HI-e sets out with the Rabbinical idea,
which he also finds in the New Testament, and enumerates a multitude
of texts, from which it is impossible to make out in what sense the term is
used!  Matt. iv. 17; v. 10; xix. 23; vii. 21; xvi. 19, 28; xviii. 3, 4,
23; xii. 28, et passim.  He farther states the meaning,'Felicitas Christianorum post resurrectionem,' and then, with a cceterum, the very diverse
meanings of,'res Christiana, vocatio ad regnum  Christi, Christus ipse,
nuntii Regni divini.' How the word comes to have all these significations
he does not explain."" Wahl is much more correct, when he comprises all
the significations of the word in the following formula:' Felicitas nunc et
olim per Iesum obtinenda.' But although the unity of the idea is thus
preserved, the particular sense of #ualAuel is lost. The second of the
faults we mentioned. which consists in giving undue prominence to one
side of the subject, and neglecting the rest, appears, to cite examples in
the Treatises of IKoppe and Keil, according to whom the word refers only
to the future kingdom of the Messiah, which has still to be erected; in
Storr, who says it is to be understood solely of the reign of the glorified
Christ; and in Teller, who makes it the constitution of the Chritian religion. In explaining this name, we shall begin with aatls.ela ro OEso, by
32 Or by the kingdom of heaven he means the commonwealth of the angels,
which Christ was about to rule, as never was done before, by gospel precepts.
The fruition of celestial blessings is also called the kingdom of heaven; and many
other things besides does this name, the kingdom of heaven, imply; for it is very
significant, as we shall find in the sequel.
33 " Both Bretschneider and Schleusner seem to have entertained the idea, that
Christ merely employed the expression by way of accommodation. But thus to
disregard so much that is comprised in it, is a crying injustice, of which Semler
was first gtiilty, and against which Baumgarten Crusius rightly says (Bib. Theol.
s. 152),'It was no mere accommodation, but the only term suitable for the thing
and system in question.' The Wolfenbiittel fragments, however, have treated the
expression worst of all, and audaciously assert that Jesus used it in no other sense
than the ambitious Jews, and thereby betrayed his own aspiring designs."




294                            NOTES.                          [EXP. IV.
which the variations, fatLiEa,Tir  oo0avYv, and falaxtita Tos XQtUroT, will
also be explained. According to my view, none have brought forward
the fundamental notion more correctly than Origen among the ancients,
and Calvin among the Reformers. The particular aspect of the idea which
the several Fathers of the church seized and stated, can be best seen in
their explanations of the second petition of the Lord's Prayer; Augustine
especially develops the subject with great depth and fulness. Most of
them understand by it the kingdom qf glory, thefitture revelation of Christ.
Origen alone (in the book ns;e sEixr5i) endeavors more specifically to
unfold the idea of,aouttea.: Jqo',6rl 6 0i EVusivo; 6dOF  Tv T i,,xa,)tauv IoD
OEO, nFitq ToM I v iv UtI3 PaUteloaXv,TOD &9EOo &'arlEiaLt xal xoenoQpoqUaa&
XOtai TIELtwOiaLt, s&UO6'w)U EljZSTrtL. notL'Vi6 /li' dylolJ Vi'n  OEO9  PaoTlsuouEvov
xal Tot;?7vEUvUXTLXO; 1',0UOtL 70O Q9sOD 7EtOo/UE'VOV, OiOV  E EOIrUOVI/E8YPV7 n71&Y
olxobvTrog it)VTOD' nrav6orog avrTi P'oD 3arTq6  Xal UVL OVEiEorI'O; TS 7t10l TOV
XQLUIO I  Ev PT 3    T I  ylUE3' JUXV  XtXt 70 ~  QUEJ'OV, OV'  710 0TEOIXTEO  EE0_
sEVov. rrXg20 t         8i1v 1/Eia(')'f xe[ l   TO EIj napr1 rv, o noU T  r iS?1x'of);U.34
"After some intermediate illustrations, he proceeds: The more the
hallowing of God's name takes place, the more also will his kingdom
come, and that be fulfilled which is written, 1 Cor. xiii. 9, 10; and then
he adds, Tr o0v E'v P ar la&iffllrl 70 r O 4 OEOi i(. XXQO6; dS  AI7rwgS in7ox6roVult
ivrraaevauL, orav rwqotoOi to rraq& 7-T'Anoar6ol  EIQ7UlErOY,'rtL  XelaTroc,
nFlYTovP (XiTW r6)v xO6 v   nora3vTrw', naQelSa91U 7Tv Paa lA113a T3  01, xal
Tnoel, iTa,   6 a ob i i niv-Ta tv nari&t.3s5  With these admirable words let
the reader compare what he says upon the same subject in another place,
Hom. xiv. in Matt.,36 where he calls Christ in his own person, viewing
him as the principle by which sin is to be vanquished, the flautlslFi; for
of the  uaatliEla in our text he says,' That properly it is Christ himself
who is promised to the poor as the auto qaoLXeIa' In accordance with
these views of the ancient fathers, Calvin, in the Commentary to his
Harmony upon Matt. vi. 10, has the following words:'Regnare enim
dicitur Deus inter homines, quum  came sua sub jugum  redacta et suis
cupiditatibus valere jussis illi se regendos addicunt et tradunt.
Quare summa hujus precationis est, ut Deus verbi sui luce mundum irradiet, Spiritus sui afflatu corda formet in obsequium justitiee sume, quicquid
est dissipatum in terra suis auspiciis in ordinem restituat, exordium vero
regnandi faciat a subigendis carnis nostrse cupiditatibus. Jam vero, quia
regnum Dei per continuos progressus augetur usque ad mundi finem,
necesse est quotidie optare ejus adventum.'  With this is to be compared
his comment upon Mlatt. iii. 2, and John iii. 3, where, among other things,
he says: Falluntur qui regnum Dei pro coelo accipiunt, cum potius spiritualem vitam significet, quee fide in hoc mundo inchoatur, magisque in dies
adolescit, secundum assiduos fidei progressus.' What Calvin, guided by
a systematic consideration of texts of Scripture, here expresses, Luther,
34 ", It is clear, that whoever prays for the kingdom of God to come, prays by
due inference for that kingdom to be set up, and bear fruit, and reach perfection
in himself: Inasmuch as every saint who is under the dominion of God, and
obeys his spiritual laws, dwells, as it were, in the well-governed city of himself,
the Father being present with him, and Christ giving counsel with the Father in
the perfect soul, according to that text, of which I cited a little ago,'We will
come unto him, and make our abode with him.' "
3 " For those who incessantly advance, the consummation of the kingdom of
God within us shall commence when that saying of the apostle has been fulfilled,'That Christ, having put all enemies under his feet, shall deliver up the kingdom
to God, even the Father, that God may be all in all.'"
36 Ed. de la Rue, T. iii., p. 929.




EXP. IV.]                     NOTES.                          295
following the dictates of his pious heart, handles in the beautiful sermon,
On the kingdom of God, of the year 1524,3' with which we may compare
his exposition of the eighth Psalm, ~ 22, 23.38  We lay down, accordingly, as the fundamental notion of the kingdom of God: A community
in which God reigns, and which, as the nature of a right government involves, obeys him not by constraint, but from free will and affection; of
which it follows, as a necessary consequence, that the parties are intimately
bound to each other in the mutual interchange of offices of love. To establish a community of this kind, was the purpose for which the Saviour appeared upon the earth; and forasmuch as it can only exist in perfection
after the defeat of all his enemies, I Cor. xv. 28; Heb. x. 13, the chief
seat of this kingdom of Christ is, doubtless, in the world to come; and
it is a gross error, when Usteri, in the 4th edition of his'Paulinischer
Lehrbegriff,'39 follows Rosenkranz, and would persuade us, that the kingdom of Christ belongs only to the world that now is. The prophets,
whose glance, it is true, took in the whole extent of the Messiah's kingdom, but was chiefly fixed upon the period of its completion, were thereby
led to place it at the end of time, and, in like manner, most of the texts
of the Naw Testament promise it as something beyond the grave. See
this done, for example, by the Evangelists, Matt. xiii. 43; xxv. 34; xxvi.
29; Mark ix. 47; Luke xiii. 29; and equally so, though many call this
into question, by the apostles, 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10; Gal. v. 21; Eph. v. 5;
1 Cor. xv. 50; 2 Thess. i. 5; 2 Tim. iv. 1, 18; 2 Pet. i. 11; Acts xiv.
22. Those expositors, accordingly, who, like Koppe and Keil, understood
by the iunTleiu ITo 6eso, Christ's kingdom in the world to come, take what
is certainly a partial view; stiil, however, they have more truth on their
side than their opponents. But it was a very awkward evasion of the
contrary texts to which they had recourse, when they, moreover, added
that'sometimes the term denotes the institutions preparatory to God's
kingdom in the world to come,' and expounded such passages as Mark
xii. 34, as follows:' Thou art upon the right way to the kingdom of God
hereafter.' They would have done much better to allow that the 3uiatl.,Ia
is unquestionably represented in the New Testament as already come, although but in its commencement. The kingdom of God has hereafter in
fact become existent in time, by the appearance in human nature of him,
who could say of himself,' I always do the things that please the Father.'
He who is the king is likewise the first citizen of the kingdom of God;
and if we interpret the ~irl; in the text Luke xvii. 21, among, which is
the right way, then Christ himself declares, that with his person God's
kingdom in eternity first became a kingdom in time. He commands us,
moreover, daily to pray that his kingdom may come; and the more that
that life which is in him is diffused among mankind, the more do they cease
to be disobedient subjects of God. As now present, the kingdom of God
is represented in Matt. xi. 12; xii. 28; xvi. 9; Mark xii. 34; Luke xvi.
16; xvii. 20; and in the Epistles, Rom. xiv. 17; 1 Cor. iv. 20; Col. i.
13; iv. 11. Heb. xii. 28. Now, when we consider that thus both the
first Gospels and Paul represent the kingdom of God as future, and yet
at the same time speak of it as having already come, we perceive a remarkable point of coincidence between them and John with respect to
the doctrine which has ever been regarded as peculiar to that apostle
viz., That life eternal commences here in time.40
37 Walch, vol. xii., p. 1938.  33 Walch, vol. v., p. 294.  39 p. 371.
40 " The two passages in which this Evangelist mentions the paatXeia rov Oeo,




296                             NOTES.                       [EXP. IV,
"'After thus defining the aiUtIstXf  T 0o v   E o ~,V we learn how  the
faaetla T o D X Q t a X v o L   and the HUalAhah  T (E  o 0 Qa V O. v in Matthew
are to be explained. The kingdom of Christ denotes just the reign of
God, conceived as carried on through the mediation of Christ.4" Hence
the more power God acquires over us, and the more we become his
children, the more does the Son deliver up42 the kingdom to the Father,
until that full delivery, whereof St. Paul speaks, I Cor. xv. 28.  Ou;'(,xol
is not, according to the Rabinnical usus loquendi, synonymous with
God,43 but denotes the world that lies beyond, and is elevated above th~
present sphere of time and sense.  Some passages in the Epistle to the
Hebrews are explanatory of this, particularly c. xii., and the expression
of St. Paul, ~ (xw'IEeovuaZUl.
" In order fully to elucidate the idea, we should now necessarily require to enter upon a similar consideration of the terms which are in
various respects analogous:  tr1'v juiJF.m1,, o1xovullEIq ypE.ovuua, xxnlajfa.
This, however, would carry us too far." —THoLucK.
NOTE B, p. 131.
The following remarks on four of the beatitudes are just and beautiful. " Happiness or rest of soul, our Divine Saviour well knew, was
the great object of man, and to this, therefore, he ever applies himself.' Happy,' says he,' are the poor in spirit; happy are the meek; happy
are the merciful; happy are the pure in heart.' The plainness and simplicity of these sayings may lead the superficial to overlook their force
and fulness. But if ever there was weight of sentiment and language it
is here; or if ever truth was rendered attractive by the mode of exhibition, it is in these instances. It is common to inculcate good temper and
right conduct, as matter of duty; but here they are pressed upon us as
the ingredients of inward happiness. And on a moment's calm reflection, we do not ourselves see them to be so?  Humility is the parent
of contentment, because it restrains all arrogance of demand, all exorbitance of desire.  It fits d man to his situation, and makes him  content
with what he hath. Meekness consists in equability of temper, in gentleness of mind, in immovable self-possession.  Is not this itself a
security for happiness? for how many of the miseries of life do we clearly
see arising from  the want of this invaluable temper?  Mercifulness,
too, is another great component of happiness.  We are made for
action and for society; and what can so secure to us the happiness
of active and social beings, as a taste for, and a delight in, doing
good?' It blesseth him that gives, and him  that takes,' says a great
master of human nature. But a far greater master has carried it still
higher.' It is,' said he,'more blessed to give than receive.' Purity of
heart implies a superiority of soul to everything low and brutish, to
everything selfish and mean, a freedom from little views and sinister
ends, and, on the contrary, a relish and love of everything really great
iii. 3; xviii. 36, have been usually referred to the life hereafter, but unjustly; the
latter merely affirms that the dominion of Christ did not take its rise from the
relations of the present life-onlc E[rtv b TO K6OUOtV 7TOrova —and hence is not in
its appearance like an earthly government. Luke xvii. 20 is a parallel."
41 J. Gerhard's Loci Theologici, tom. xx., p. 122, 123.
42 rrapad&, restore, bring back.  Vide "Storr, De not. cal. reg."  Opuse. i., 274,
275.-J. B.
43 Baumgarten Crusius, Bib. Theologie, p. 151.




EXP. IV.]                    NOTES.                           297
and good  Thi3 our Redeemer places next after mercy, because it is
necessary to the reality, as well as the duration, of mercy: a wrong end
spoiling the temper as surely as it warps the principles; on which St.
James has given the noblest comment, when he says, that'the wisdom
from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated,
full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy;'
a sentence which deserves to be written in letters of gold." —ALEXANDER
KNox, Remains, III., 386, 387.
NOTE C, P. 168.
"'Pax& from the Syriac, "P', which is from the Hebrew 7P, meaning an empty, insignificant, worthless fellow.  M1wOE, from  the IIebrew,7, which signifies a rebellious man —an apostate; a more bitter term
of reproach than the former. Both these terms should be preserved in
a translation, as they were used in a general and indecisive acceptation.
The latter word, EIwo, from being rendered in an expression by no
means equivalent, has occasioned embarrassment to some, as our Saviour
himself calls the Pharisees' fools;' Matt. xxii. 17, 19; and employs the
word on other occasions, and so does his Apostle Paul." " In a treatise of
Maimonides,'concerning offences of ignorance and inadvertency.' iii. 7,'the man who commits a sin in-direct violation of the law of God, and
in perverse opposition to his express will, is called'7, a rebel or an
apostate-a term implying the highest enormity, and most aggravated
guilt. What a mortal antipathy the Jews bore against an apostate from
their religion, may be seen from the conduct of Mattathias, as related in
the first book of Maccabees, and Joseph. Antiq. Jud. xii. 8.' "-WAKEFIELD.
" It seems odd, that when the Jews had been just before reprimanded
f)r calling any one Raka, a Syriac term of reproach, they should here be
warned against calling him uoFi, thou fool, as more aggravating. There
is not the same scale in the crime as in the punishment.  Nay, two,io in
Greek, does not signify so much as Raka in Syriac; and therefore should
not be interpreted at all any more than Raka, or at least should not have
been interpreted by the Greek word puoo}, thou fool.  It is properly
Syriac, and comes from  the Hebrew,~=, which signifies rebellious,
stubborn, apostate.  Deut. xxi. 18, 20; Numb. xx. 10; Psal. xxviii. 23."
SYKES.  "This observation is certainly just."-Dr. HENRY OWEN.
BISHOP PEARCE also accords with this exegesis.
NOTE C,'2 P. 180.
SWEAR NOT AT ALL.-' Let your communication be yea, yea; nay, nay.'
"Not one of the oaths which our Lord chooses as an illustration of his
prohibition, is a judicial oath. Every one of them is just the kind of
oath which, from the analogy of other nations, we should suppose would
be used in familiar discourses. The communication (t)o).or), which is to
be'yea, yea; nay, nay,' cannot, without a most strange use of language,
include a formal legal procedure." —"There are some of vou who think
that you must be very careful of using the word God in your familiar
talk, because God hath set apart that for solemn purposes; but you do
not think much of swearing by heaven, or by earth, or by Jerusalem, or
by your head, —you do not care how lightly you use these oaths. Now,
whether you knew', or not, this arises from want of reverence of God.




298                           NOTES.                       [EXP. IV.
You think it is just the name that is sacred. Oh, no! Everything is
sacred. God is in everything. Look up to the wide heaven over your
head, God is there; the sun speaks of him; the firmament speaks of
him.  Look at the earth, God is there; every tree, and plant, and flower
speaks of him. Go into Jerusalem, there is the temple in which God
has promised to dwell. Think of your head, there is a witness for God;
it is he who preserves every hair of it. I say, then,'Swear not at all.'
If you trifle with an oath, you trifle with God. in whose presence you
are living, and moving, and having your being."-MAURICE, iii. 34,
35-42, 43.
NOTE D, p. 186.
"The question, whether a really absolute universality and literal fulfilment pertain to these words, must be determined, first, from  the
whole Christian doctrine, then from the connection, and in fine, from other
declarations of Scripture, especially Christ's own behavior, and that of
his disciples.
"'In regard to the first of these topics, it may be said as follows:
The Christian, in the perfected state, is the child of his heavenly Father;44
and, consequently, X.otlri)g TiS On l,; fQueFUlS, 2 Pet. i. 4.  Goodness in
him must hence resmble that of his original, and thus his love bear the
character of the love of God. The love of God, however, is always accompanied with holiness and wisdom, and being so, it stands in its rela.
tion to evil, not merely in attitude of defence, but also of restraint and
punishment, partly according to the inward necessity of the Divine
nature, partly for the good of the sinner himself, and partly for the advantage of human society. In the same way, then, the love of the Christian in relation to evil must not manifest merely passive submission, except in such measure as not to compromise the honor and holiness of
God among men, in the first place; the good of the sinner in the second;
and, in fine, the interests of human society.  On the contrary, when this
is the case, even the Christian's love in relation to evil, must become
restraining and punitive. Considering, however, that in a community,
the exercise of this restraining and punitive love cannot be conceded to
every individual, inasmuch as the individual wants the power, or, by
reason of excited passion, the wisdom requisite, the office of punitive love
has, by Divine appointment, been devolved upon the magistracy, in
which those qualities necessary for its exercise are united, and has continued with individuals, as e. g. with the father of a family, only in such
measure as the magistracy invests them with.45 Thus, viewed with
reference to the whole system of Christian truth, our saying acquires the
following import:' To such an extent ought ye, my disciples, to be free
from the desire of revenge, as that, except where the honor of God, and
the good of your injurer and the community, exact of you the contrary,
you ought, in patient self-denial, to do more than even what insolence
demands fromn you.'
"To this restriction, the context is at least not opposed, for the aim of
the precept is not to limit the punishment of the wicked, but the desire
of vengeance in Christ's disciples.  Nay, that the restriction much rather
emanates from the spirit of Christianity, will be established by other
Biblical declarations. Here we have chiefly to consider the kind of way
in which the apostle Paul expresses himself, in the particular passages
44 See ver. 45, and p. 145, &c.  45 This is a questionable theory. —J. B.




EXP. IV.]                       NOTES.                              299
where he delivers admonitions referring to the commandments of Christ.
At 1 Cor. vi. 7, he does not call it a rx&urTU),UW  of the Corinthian Church,
that they had gone to law with one another, but a  rr',uu -. JdI It, says
he, o0Xz t,,~lXop  eLiXauO....L)*C tu FT; &  zxYF.T&....  xT(X TLxr
dfes~qo6;. Here the precept of Christ appears, in that less harsh form in
which every reader of sound sense takes it up at the first approach, with
an ov6zi il&ov. With this we have to conjoin the well known diet. prob.
in Paul and Peter, respecting the magistracy: Oeo9   t&6xo6Od;  otl',
fXS&X0g fi; 6eiOlV T, 10 XT, X~5 X rquOX OTr; and moreover, the passages
where Jesus permits his followers to withdraw from persecution by
fligh t.
" As regards Christ's own behavior, and that of the apostles, we have,
John xviii. 23, the example, that when he was smitten upon the cheek,
he does not literally fulfil the precept; but, on the contrary, asks of him
who did the violence,'If I have spoken well, why smitest thou me?'
Paul, too, everywhere acts in such a way, as to recognize the punitive
office of the magistrate, and when exposed to injustice, in place of suffering patiently, appeals to them, Acts, xvi. 35-40; xxii. 23-29; xxv.
9-1 1." —-THOLUCK.
NOTE F, P. 190.
Chrysostom's view of the course of thought in this paragraph is finely
conceived, and most felicitously expressed.  " EJse Ojuovg 0,al S  fixuoos,
xcXl 7165 s15 Ut&3 V  hutd; tV XOQUVQrYJV E`UT76 a<j; &dsTi8; Ux6nE1 R~ I'rWEY
detOiuv. no))rod;g E arleOuog,?u  da4Ptv 0Ltxtag' &4TFeQO;, iET(, TO U& oaaXOt,
top duCLXOuPrTX  TO?; i'aotL 1?q yI,UwEUoLxt' Iefog, lq GQua O vL 6TePO6FOYroa
taXIr a  ~itaOes, dA).' (UaVX('U(XL 7ETrOZOC, TO' X(l 7Qa(XUreYV  (XvUTrv Fiet 7O
7ra(X0EP XXc. 7Xl;,u.,oc,6 7TOCa i naov  1aO( XQ,,L, a txbZ'o foi,).sEToIL 6 7oL'ra'
%,erog, io,  610 i0rUa &ivro0 VT'VE us ov0  B4OUO, 70 Xal dyofncrr iUv& OO;.
~ o xal eTegpysratol elrao, EOTOC 7T0 XU1 OElOV Kn Oe ADIO~ naeaxs,(Av- ECSS {.o;
aqioo(pocpax;"  "Do you observe the scale he has ascended, and how he
has placed us upon the pinnacle of virtue? Contemplate the enumeration from  the beginning.  The first step is, not to begin injuring; the
second, after injury has been done, not to retaliate like for like upon the
injurer; the third, not to inflict the same on the offender that one has
suffered, but to be quiet; the fourth, to yield ourself to suffer evil; the
fifth, to yield more than he who did the evil wishes; the sixth, not to
hate him who did such things; the seventh, even to love him; the eighth,
to do him  good; the ninth, to pray to God for him.  Do you mark the
summit of philosophy?"
NOTE G. p. 211.
"On the richness of the contents of this prayer, Tertullian, in his day,
expresses himself with great force,'De orat.' c. 1:'Brevitas ista.
magnve ac beatie interpretationis substantia fulta est, quantumque substringitur verbis, tantum diffunditur sensibus, neque enim propria tantumn
orationis officia complexa est, venerationem Dei, aut hominis petitionem,
sed omnem  paene sermonem  Domini, omnem  commemorationem  disciplinme, ut revera in oratione breviariuum totius Evangelii comprehendatur.'
" We must beware of underlaying with logical schemes, according to
the forms of the school, the discourses of the Lord and his apostles. In
the language of God to mankind, sounding from the kingdom of grace,




300                 i           NOTES.                         [EXP. IV.
equally with that which addresses us from the kingdom of nature, an
order of a loftier kind than the formally logical prevails. Just at the
point where the square of our logic will no longer fit, commence the confines of a higher realm. The discourses of men of God do not need to be
dressed into French gardens by the scholastic shears of a Lampe and a
Baumgarten, in order to acquire order and connection.  They are like an
English park, where grove and meadow variously alternate, but where,
through all the seeming confusion, the law of beauty and order of a
higher sort is yet maintained.  It would, however, be running into
extremes on the opposite side, were we to discard every proof of a strict
logical arrangement.
"This prayer contains a sacred heptad of petitions, which separate into
two halves. The first expresses God's relation towards us, the latter our
relation towards God. The three opening petitions unfold gradually one
thought: 1. God must be acknowledged to be what he is; 2. Then does
he reign over man; 3. Thereby will the earth be at last glorified into
the kingdom of heaven. In like manner, the four last petitions contains
a progression which runs parallel. Supplication begins with what is
inferior, entreating first for earthly necessaries, and then for spiritual
blessings: 1. for the removal of past guilt; 2. for protection from guilt
to come; 3. for final deliverance from all sin and evil.46 Hereupon is
appended an epilogue, belonging, indeed, to a later period, but exceedingly well suited to the place it occupies, and which, once more in a triad,
states the grounds of the Christian's assurance of faith. This train of
ideas is set forth, still more strictly arranged, in the following scheme by
Dr. Weber, in the program of 1828, to which we have referred.
Hpo6?oyoc.                A6yoc.'E 7rYioyoc.
ebXat.              ai7w7Lara.
1) 7raTep.     1) aytaaOro0 rT    1) TbV apTirov REutSv Tr6  1) OT71 UOV taOvoPC aov.        CiottoVatov 6d6  iiatv     rtv } 3aaj7/UEpov.                atseia.
2) 1za(5JV.     2) ktZO1W  l /3a-  2) Kai per tv i r       2) aoVi  artv
ateXzia cod.        pet;2udira KrTt.         7 dvvoltuf.
3) o tv ro1f   3) yevyriTor TO7    3) Ka' /zt  eTayevy,     3) aofi  EarLv
ovpavoiE.     6Oudev aev          71/    t ec repaa/uov     i 665a.
KArC.      T       r2L.
The first eZy1 and the first at'r7iua, Dr. Weber refers to theology, the
second E)' and al'r,,ua to Christology, the third ezxi, with the third,ci'r? uj, to pneumatology, or angelology and demonology.  It is more
correct to say, that the disposition of these petitions is founded in the
economy of Father, Son, and Spirit, which economy here, as is also often
the case elsewhere, appears as the deeper basis of our logical order of the
triad.  The acknowledgment of the nature of the Godhead as holy, relates
nainly to the Father, as the (l,     His reign in mankind is carried on
through the mediation of the Son. It attains its completion through the
Spirit, in which the Father and Son preside in the church, so that the
Divine will is executed upon earth as it is in heaven. In the same way,
the support of the bodily existence relates to the' opus creationis et conservationis,' consequently, chiefly to the economy of the Father, the
46 Bengel: " Tres reliquse rogationes spectant vitse spiritualis in mundo initium,
progressum, exitum, rogantesque confitentur non solum de sua indigentia, sed
etiam de reatu, periculo et angustiis. Quum hsec amota sunt, Deus est illis omnia
in omnibus, per rogationes tres primas." Compare Augustine and Calvin.




EXP. IV.]                     NOTES.                             301
doing away of the guilt of sin, to the economy of the Son, protection
from the power of temptation, and ultimate subjective redemption from
evil, to the economy of the Spirit."-TsIoLucK.
"Considered as a whole, our Lord's prayer contains only one thought,
or idea, the longing after the kingdom of God,47 to which all the prayers
of the children of God (as those whom Jesus here teaches to pray) aspire.  But this one idea must be viewed as having two references; first,
with regard to the relation of God to men, which is expressed in the
three first petitions, which represent the kingdom of God as still perbecting itself, wherein that which is God's highest object is uttered in the
form of a wish; secondly, with regard to the relation of men to God,
which is expressed in the four last petitions, in which are reviewed the
obstacles to the progress of the kingdom  of God.  In the first part,
therefore, the discourse begins with the riches of God.
"Thy name be hallowed,
"Thy kingdom come,
"Thy will be done.
"In the second part, on the contrary, it commences with the poverty
of man.
" Us give daily bread,
"Us forgive our debts,
" Us lead not into temptation,
" Us deliver from evil,
"In the very significant doxology is expressed the certain hope that
the prayer will be heard, a hope which is founded on the nature of the
unchangeable God himself, who, as the highest good, will realize the
good at his appearance (the kingdom of God)."-OLSHAUSEN.
It is impossible to express in too strong terms, pity and disapprobation at the want of spiritual perspicacity and sensibility, and the impious
arrogance, manifested in the judgments given of this prayer, by two rationalist German theologians, Shulz and M(ller.
The former theologian is of opinion that " The want of all coherence
and all natural connection between the several petitions, which could
scarcely be excused in a suppliant praying with the most unbridled
fancy, far less in one so reflective and considerate as Jesus, makes it impossible to suppose that the prayer forms a connected whole."48   And
Muller says, " In short, the moment we regard the prayer as connected,
we perceive in it so many defects, that one does not understand why
Jesus did not deliver something more perfect."!!
The best expositions of this prayer we are acquainted with, are to be
found in " Chemnitii Harmonia Evang." Tom. I.;' Amyraldi Exercit.;"
and "Witsii Exercit. Sac.," of which we have, what is a very uncommon
thing, a really good translation by my esteemed friend, the Rev. William Pringle. Augustine's short commentary, and Nisselt's notes in
his "Exercitationes," are worth consulting.  Stapfer's and Brunning's
47 Luther, therefore, justly says: "The true Christian says an everlasting'Our
Father,' namely, in so far as all his longing is concentrated in the idea of the
kingdom of God."
43 "Schulz supposes that the prayer is to be taken up as follows-' When you
want to make a prayer of adoration to the Father of universal nature, thus
speak: 0 thou, who art our Father, and the Father of all thy creatures, highly
exalted, let thy praise be our continual employment.' 2.'Or when you wish to
pray for the acceleration of the commencement of my religion, speak..'
3.'Or when you wish to pray to God for the utmost happiness of mankind, consisting in the willing observance of his precepts, say  "'




302                          NOTES.                      [EXP. IV.
learned and ingenious dissertations, in the first and second volumes of
the " Tempe Helvetica," are curiosities of their kind. These good men
find all the minute particulars of a very artificial system, and all the
leading events of the future history of the Christian church, in this simple prayer. I am afraid, they have rather put them into, than drawn
them out of it. The brief exposition of the Lord's prayer, in the Westminster Assembly's Shorter Catechism, is admirable.  That in their
Larger Catechism is excellent also, only not a very few sincere Christians would rather deprecate than supplicate, as they direct us to do under the second petition, that " the church should be maintained by the
civil magistrates." The Rev. David Duncan's little volume deserves to
have for its motto, "Multum in Parvo."
Some learned interpreters-among the rest Lightfoot, in his " Hore
HIebraicae et Talmudicee;" Witsius, in his " Exercitationes Sacroe;"
Schottgen, in his "Horee Hebraice;" Vitringa, in his work " De Synagoga;" and Wetstein in his "Commentary,"-have endeavored to
show, that in his prayer are many forms of expression, which the Jews
of that age were accustomed to use in their prayers.  Some have even
gone so far as to hold, that the whole of the petitions are to be found
word for word nearly in the liturgies which it is supposed the Jews
about this period began to use in their synagogues. With regard to
this question, I am much disposed to acquiesce in the opinion of the judicious and eloquent Vernede: —Divers sqavans ont sontenu qu'il jugea
a propos d'en emprunter tous les articles des anciennes liturgies des
Juifs, ou des ecrits des docteurs de cette nation. Mais d'abord on auroit
de la peine a prouver que des lors il y eut des liturgies universellement
reques dans cette eglise. De plus, il est certain que plusieurs des
ouvrages, auxquels on en appelle, sont posteirieurs a l'ere chretienne: Et
les passages qu'on en produit en preuve n'ont rien moins qu'une conformit6 exacte et frippante; quelquefois n'ont qu'un rapport asses eloigne
avec ceux qu'on pretend en avoir e6t deduits.  Ainsi nous ne sqaurions
adopter cette hypothese." —Sermons sur le discours sur la montagne.Vol. III., Ser. XXII,, pp. 42, 43.
NOTE H, P. 222.
" The Epilogue, Or, aoi iTTL,] flaIAEUla x.T.I.  The authenticity of
these words has been strongly assailed by criticism. Taking the data as
they at present lie before us, we, too, can do nothing else than decide
against their genuineness, inclusively of the &,,qj.  Were we, however,
to proceed entirely upon internal evidences in answering the question,
our verdict would certainly be very different.  Nothing could be a
greater mistake than for Wetstein to think of demonstrating the spuriousness of the epilogue from the circumstance, that it puts the 14th
verse too far from the first petition, which, however, it should help to
elucidate, as if the sixth and seventh petitions did not intervene to separate them-and further, by saying, that, when coupled with the sixth
petition, the words appear inapposite, and, when referred back to the
three first, tautological.  Much more does this epiphonema finely express the foundation of hope, on which all the prayers of the suppliant
rest, so that we acquiesce entirely in the opinion of Calvin, who says
of the clause:'Tam apte quadrat.  Neque enim,' he proceeds,'ideo
solum addita est, ut corda nostra ad expetendam Dei gloriam  accendat




EXP. IV.]                      NOTES.                           303
et admoneat, quisnam esse debeat votorum nostrorum scopus, sed etiam
ut doceat, preces nostras, quve hic nobis dictatse sunt, non alibi, quam in
Deo solo fundatas esse, ne propriis meritis nitamur.' Bengel, however,
comes to the aid of the Latin codices, which omit the words, with the
observation drawn deep from the spirit of Christianity:'Celebramus
eum (patrem coelestem) tali fere modo, quo peregrinantes et militantes
contenti esse debemus. Ubi ad metam pervenerit universitas filiorum
Dei, mera fiet in ccelo doxologia; venit regnum ejus, faecta est voluntas
ejus, remisit nobis peccata, &c.; praesertim tempori illi, quo Dominus
hanc formulam  discipulis praescripsit, convenientior erat rogatio, quam
hymnus.  Jesus nondum erat glorificatus,' &c. But in this observation,
the point is overlooked upon which most depends, viz., that we have
here, according to Heumann's correct remark, the doxology under an
aitiological form.  It is not a burst of emotion swelling over into a
hymn.  It is much more an intensified d~Uq, specifying the basis upon
which the suppliant places his confidence. The internal evidences, accordingly, could not make us at all dubious of the authenticity of the
words-barring the single circumstance, that the order of the three predicates #aaLtEta, svuts and 60Sa would correspond better with the three
triads of petitions, if the J~vvul; stood before the fuaatlEla. It is evidence
of an external kind which determines the point.
"The critical proofs of the spuriousness of the passage are to be found
developed in Bengel, Appar. crit. p. 459, Jac. Breitinger, Museum Helvet.
XI. 370. XVI. 591. XVIII. 719, in Wetstein and Griesbach's Comment.
crit. d. 68, sqq., from the two last of which Roidiger has collected them,
enlarged by some remarks, in the third appendix to his Ed. of Griesbach's
Synopsis.  We confine ourselves here to a statement of the main results.
1. To be sure, a very few, but these the most eminent Greek codices, as
the Cod. Vxat. and Cantab., omit them. The Cod. Alex. is defective just
at this place. The most of these codices are of western origin. That
the words were wanting in them, is corroborated by the Latin translation,
and by the most ancient Latin fathers. Neither Tertullian nor Cyprian,
nor Jerome (who yet retains the Amen), nor Augustine read this doxology. Tertullian expressly calls the sixth petition the clausula of the
prayer. 2. The Alexandrine codices, moreover, did not contain the
words, and they are wanting in Origen and in the Coptic version.  3. In
other authorities they are also missing, in the Arabic translation of the
ed. Rom. of the four Evangelists, of 1591, from  which the Paris and
London Polyglott has borrowed them, and in the Persic translation, edited
by Whelock from three Persic codices in 1652, in Cyrill of Jerusalem,
Gregory of Nyssa, Maximus and Caesarius.  Euthymius reproaches the
Bogomilians with rejecting the,nl,~,~wtixu of the Lord's prayer, appended
by the fathers of the church' 70 uraq&   76A Oeiwv cFoFariQ(Avw  xxl 7S EixXilulao
xu(X0lJyrTC)v 7nolUrEN6h dxeorelEiEVo    Eltvqp0 —[ oft Cr? TooUTlV  flr ot),l4i(
xui 71 0Ot0 710V 1TXQ; xCXl 70V) VL'OU X(Xl 70) dY'iou 7rEl5V/10;lo, OV3& dXONUut,vtxorrUat.  4. As the practice gradually crept in of supplementing the
less, from the more complete, reports of Christ's sayings, what Matthew
contains over and above what is given by Luke, was likewise added to
the text of the Lord's prayer in the latter evangelist. Nevertheless, the
doxology is wanting in it, according to all the codices. 5. It is, moreover,
easy to make it appear how the addition could have arisen. Even among
the Jews responses were customary. In the public recitation of prayers,
the people pronounced either an amen, or a doxology similar to that
which we find, I Chron. xxix. 11. This practice of antiphonies was trans



0A04                           NOTES.                      [EXP. IV.
lated into the Christian church, and, what is very remarkable, wie are even
able to point out the progressive steps by which the epilogue attained its
present form.  In one passage of the Constit. Apost. 1. VII. c. 24, we find
the Lord's prayer with the shorter doxology, o;rt ao n er  ii # t  t(DslaE r   ISroil; u15i,, c &irv, whereas in another, 1. III. c. 18, the formula is complete.  Thus the Sahidic, or Upper Egyptian version, reads the abbreviated formula ~ RVI'"t,g xa TO.o(iTo;.  See Cramer's' Beitrage zur BefOrdlerung,' &c. Th. III. p. 60. The doxology underwent a still greater
enlargement, after the fifth century, at which time, the allusion to the
Trinity that became ever more and more frequent in liturgical formulas,
appears.  Thus cod. 157 and 225, in Griesbach have, after JY6lx, the addition 70DU 7TcXT0 Xal TOU vloU xOl ToU cTO tou 2EPIVUoTO;, and it is to this that
Lucian's Philopatris, c. 27, seems to allude, where it says, Tjrv sE',zX,' dUro'TO  71(UTQObg  o6L(X,1UEVo', aol  7lV ro.vUPOvUo/ 1'0 Il;v e1; TiO  iont0;-.  Hence
the ed. Complut. in its day, and afterwards Erasmus and Beza, express
the conjecture, that the formula has passed over into the text of the New
Test., from  the usage of the liturgies.  In the same way, in the'Ave
Maria,' the'quia perperisti servatorem  animarum  nostrarum,' was appended to the'benedicta tu in mulieribus.' In the same way, too, do our
ministers extend, in a variety of modes, the Mosaic benediction; and
thus, in the Romish church,'per Iesumn Christum dominum nostrum,' was
frequently annexed to the'libera nos a malo' of the Lord's prayer itself.
Besides those we have already specified at p. 303, the following older
authors have regarded the words as spurious::-Zwinglius (not Calvin),
(Ecolampadius, Pellicanus, Bucer, Melancthon, Camerarius, Drusius,
Schultetus, Walton, Grotius, Mill, Grabe, M. Pfaff, whom almost all
follow. Luther, too, has passed over the doxology in both of his Catechisms.
"Among the advocates for the authenticity of the formula, we have to
name Wolf, Olearius, Witsius, Heumann, S. J. Baumgarten,' de auth.
doxol.' Halse, 1753, Heinr. Benzenberg in the'Symbolse Duisb.' 1784,
T. II. P. 1, p. 97, Matthai in the Anm. zu s. N. T.,' Weber, in the dissertation already referred to. All that they produce in favor of their opinion, however, can never be brought into comparison with the facts already
stated.  Benzenberg enters most minutely into the subject; but the shifts
to which he has recourse, some of them of a very violent character, have
already found an opponent in the editor of the'Symb.,' the learned P.
Berg. The witness of greatest weight in favor of the authenticity, is
doubtless the Peschito. The three Syrian translations, viz., the Peschito,
the Philoxenian, and the Jerusalem, contain the doxology.  The two last
as belonging to a later date, cannot here be taken into consideration.
With regard to the authority of the Peschito, however, even it is not
above the suspicion of certain interpolations or additions by the Lectionaries. The passages in it, by which this is evinced, have been collected by
Griesbach,'Meletemata de vetustis textus N. T. recensionibus,' p. li.
The.Ethiopic, Armenian, and Gothic versions, along with the Arab. Erp.
and the Persic in the London Polyglott, did not take their origin prior to
the fourth century, and hence possess no force as evidence.  Matthai insists that it was Origen who first introduced the depravation into the text,
for which assumption, however, there is a total want of plausible proof;
and he fancies he can annihilate the authority of the Vulgate by 1 John
v. 7. For just as at that passage, the Latins have, for doctrinal reasons,
made an addition, so, on grounds liturgical, did they proprio Jfiarte banish
the words in question from the Greek Text.' Nov. Test. Graece,' T. I.




EXP. IV.]                    NOTES.                           305
p. 23. II. p. 297.  Whereas, on the contrary, Bengel found in our passage
no slender contirmation of the partial opinion he entertained of the Latin
version, in order the more powerfully to justify his favorite text, 1 John
v. 7. But even were Matthii successful in setting aside the authority of
the Vulgcate, that is by no means the sole evidence for the omission of
the passage. Benzenberg goes still more arbitrarily to work, endeavoring to raise a suspicion that all the ecclesiastical fathers who omit the
words have been corrupted by the Paris editors into conformity with the
Vulgate.
"Now, even although we should, on the grounds advanced, discard
this doxology from the text, it will still maintain its place undisputed in
the use of the church.  For, if we only have not, as above shown, to
restrict ourselves scrupulously to the precise words of the prayer, as if it
were a magical formula, we are at liberty to extend it.  Now, that the
extension here presented to us in the doxology, has been made entirely
in the spirit of the Lord, is what can in nowise be called in question."
-THOLUCK.
NOTE I, p. 263.
"Augustine observes how those who are addressed here as'being
evil,' are the very same into whose mouths but just now the Lord has
put that word,' Our Father;' to whom he has made the promise,' Ask
and it shall be given you;' so that every faithful, i. e., believing man,
has a double aspect, he is' evil' through his old nature, he is good
through participation with him who is the highest good, who is in some
sense the alone good (Matth. xix. 17), the good in himself, and altogether
good, while others are good through him, and only as they are sharers
of his life.  So that we may perceive here, that he has seized the
right interpretation of the'being evil,' which they fail to catch who
take the epithet'evil,' not as the designation of all men, of human
nature in general (Gen. viii. 21), as it is opposed to the goodness
and holiness of God, but of some particular men deeper sunk in corruption than the rest; as if Christ would say, even the worst among
you (even the no,'ioo.), do not extend their malignity to their children,
but in their relations to them show themselves bountiful and good.
But the other is the truer and deeper explanation, embracing the
whole race of man under this charge of evil, who, being such, have
yet natural affections, the yearnings of a parent's heart towards their
children, and, according to their ability and knowledge, impart unto
them good gifts, which, if not in the highest degree deserving the
title of'good,' are yet good for the necessities of the present life.
How much more certainly will the heavenly Father impart the true
goods of his kingdom, for it is those that the Lord has prominently
in his eye, as is plainly shown by a comparison with the parallel
passage in St. Luke (xi. 13), where, instead of'good things,' it is his'Holy Spirit,' which is promised to them who ask. This view of the
reference and meaning of 7norpool will come clearly out, if we note how
r(.-.i 6iu. 60w7rog110  is not pleonastic, as we make it,'What man of
you;' but there is a silent opposition between the dr0qwnros here, and
the  orarT  1 E'v oiT; oOquvoig; of verse 11; "Who of you, though he be
but a man, &c.; and the being but a man will plainly appear equal to,
nolv7g; (i"'." —TRENCH.
VOL. I.                      20




EXPOSITION V.
FAITHFUL DENUNCIATIONS.
LUxE xi. 37-54.
MILDNESS of disposition and gentleness of demeanor were striking features in the character and conduct of Jesus Christ. No
malignant passion disturbed the tranquillity of his bosom, no
intemperate rudeness ruffled the even tenor of his behavior.
Affectionate to his friends, forgiving to his enemies, condescending to the poor, compassionate to the miserable, courteous to all
men, he exhibited a perfect pattern of those amiable virtues,
which, if generally cultivated and exemplified, would produce so
happy a transformation on the state of human society. He did
" not strive nor cry, neither was his voice heard in the streets.
A bruised reed he did not break, and the smoking flax he did
not quench." To instruct the ignorant, to warn the unwary, to
comfort the sorrowful, to relieve the afflicted, were the employments most congenial to his dispositions; and in these and simi.
lar exercises did he spend the period of his residence among
mortals. Malignity was a feeling to which he was entirely a
stranger. The unparalleled sufferings to which he was exposed
excited in him no desire of revenge. Instead of hating his ene-.mies, he pitied them; and their grossest insults, and most outrageous cruelties, but drew forth from him sighs for their folly
and wickedness, and prayers for their pardon and salvation.
The gentleness of the Saviour's character was, however, no
way akin to that weak undistinguishing good nature, which
seems to survey all mankind with an equal and inactive goodwill, without reference to their moral qualities. It was associated
with an unconquerable detestation of moral evil in all its various
forms, and an unquenchable zeal to promote the cause of holiness and of God. Accordingly, we find him unfolding, not
merely the consolations, but the terrors of religious truth; we
find him speaking in alarming, as well as in soothing accents;
we find him not only promising peace, and pardon, and salvation,
to him who will gladly and gratefully receive what is "freely
given him  of God," but declaring that a miserable eternity
must be the portion of the finally impenitent, unbelieving, and,disobedient.




EXP. V.]         FAITHFUL DENUNCIATIONS.               307
It is one of the peculiarities of our Lord, that he unites in
himself qualifications, not only different, but apparently opposite.
The man, the leading feature of whose character is gentleness, is
generally deficient in the sterner virtues; while, on the other
hand, he who is remarkably endowed with unbending integrity,
not unfrequently seems a stranger to the softer feelings of our
nature, and is distinguished by a severity of deportment which
goes far to make his undoubted excellencies unamiable and useless. But in the character of the Saviour, the amiable and
estimable qualities, the lovely and the venerable virtues, so supported and softened each other, that his gentleness never degenerated into weakness, nor did his integrity ever assume the appearance of repulsive severity. While he pitied men's miseries,
he condemned their sins; while he reproved their faults, he commiserated their sorrows.
Of the compassionate kindness of our Lord, both in word and
deed, there are recorded, by the evangelists, many beautiful examples. In the passage which now lies before us, we have a
striking display of that holiness which " cannot bear them that
are evil"'-that integrity which knows not how to palliate sin,
or flatter the sinner. The severe reproof, and indignant reprobation, of men distinguished for their wealth, their rank, their
learning, and their reputation for sanctity, which these words
breathe, may, on a cursory view, appear scarcely compatible with
the declaration of our Lord, that he was "meek, and lowly in
heart." The incongruity is, however, merely apparent. These
words are not the ebullition of mortified pride, or disappointed
ambition, cloaking personal malignity under the pretence of zeal
for truth and holiness. They are the expression of the loathing,
which the contemplation of moral evil, in some of its vilest forms,
excited in a perfectly holy mind; and a declaration, by a divinelyauthorized revealer of the purposes of God, of the signal punishment which is awaiting such as habitually and wilfully oppose
truth, from unworthy motives, and for unworthy ends.
The Pharisees were a numerous and influential body among
the Jews. Their rulers or leading men, to whom our Lord's
remarks have a primary and principal reference, were possessed
of a large portion of the learning of their age and nation. They
were characterized by a remarkably strict attention to the ritual
of the Mosaic religion, as explained and enlarged by the traditions of the elders, and by a high degree of external decorum,
and apparent sanctity of deportment and manners; and they
occupied many of the most important and dignified offices connected with the teaching of the laws of their nation, and the administering them both in the supreme and municipal judicatories.
Owing to these circumstances, they possessed an extensive and
powerful influence over the public mind; and, generally indignant at the subjugation of the holy people to a foreign, a Gentile
yoke, they were disposed to use that influence in procuring for'Rev. ii. 2.




308             FAITHFUL DENUNCIATIONS.          [EXP. V.
them emancipation from that yoke, in the hope of bringing them
more completely and securely under their own dominion.
These men seem to have hoped when John the Baptist, and
Jesus appeared, that they might be converted into instruments
for promoting these objects. With the fervid eloquence, and
overawing severity of the former, and with the winning manners, and miraculous powers, of the latter, what might not be
expected in rousing the prostrate energies of the nation, and in
realizing the long fondly-cherished dream of the sovereignty of
the holy people over the Gentile nations, under the Messiah,
while the existing rulers secured a large share of the power and
dignity connected with the administration of this new and better
order of things?
But when John repelled all their advances, addressed them as
" a generation of vipers,"' and, with unsparing fidelity, exposed
their hypocrisy, and denounced their doom; when Jesus declared that, "except a man be born again, he cannot see," or
enter into "the kingdom of God;" when he proclaimed that
that kingdom  "came not with observation," and that " except
men's righteousness exceeded the righteousness of the Scribes
and Pharisees, they could not enter it,"2 they were not only constrained to relinquish all hopes of turning such men into tools
for accomplishing their object, but, perceiving that the prevalence
of such sentiments must be the annihilation of their own influence,
and the disappointment of their own hopes, they regarded them
with the most inveterate dislike, and, without being at all
scrupulous as to the means employed, labored to accomplish
their destruction. John had already fallen a victim to the
malignity of a profligate woman, practising on the easy temper of
her princely paramour; and all danger from him was, of course,
at an end. But, from the commencement of his ministry, these
crafty men seem to have discovered that Jesus was a still more
formidable opponent than John; and, believing it impracticable
to bend him to their purposes, they determined, if possible, to
effectuate his ruin, by making him the object of odium to the
Jewish people, or of suspicion to their Roman rulers, that so, by
popular tumult, or by public execution, they might free themselves from one, who would not co-operate with them, and whose
growing influence could only be established on the destruction of
theirs. In consequence of this, we find the agents of this powerful body dogging our Lord wherever he went. Whoever may
be absent from his discourses and miracles, some of the Pharisees
are sure to be there, and there with the intention to cavil and
entrap, to throw suspicion upon his objects, and to misrepresent
his doctrines-" Urging him vehemently, and provoking him to
speak of many things, laying wait for him, and seeking to catch
something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him."
In prosecution, it would seem, of this systematic endeavor to
ruin him, after a vain attempt to raise a prejudice against him,
2 Matt. iii. 7.   3 John iii 3, 5. Luke xvii. 20. Matt. v. 20.




EXP. V.]         FAITHFUL DENUNCIATIONS.               309
as a degraded instrument of infernal power in the miraculous
works which he performed, one of these Pharisees, pretending
respect for him, invited him to partake of the hospitality of
his table; but with the design that, alone in the midst of
his crafty opponents, he might be the more readily entangled
in their toils, or if, as lately, he should tear to pieces their
cunningly woven nets, they might, at least, be saved from the
infamy of a public exposure. With a thorough knowledge of
their intentions, our Lord accepted the invitation; and it was in
these circumstances that he uttered the striking words which lie
before us for consideration. Let us recollect they are the words
of one who knew the heart-of one immaculately holy-of one
who clearly saw all the guilt these miserable men were incurring,
and all the danger in which they were involving themselves.
Let us not forget the numerous and varied methods he had
employed to bring them to a better mind —" How often he would
have gathered them, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her
wings." Let us recollect all these things, and any appearance
of an undue severity, little according with the general mildness
of his disposition, and gentleness of his demeanor, will entirely
evanish.
How far we are to consider our Lord's conduct as an example,
in.thus going into the company of the wicked and worldly, is a
question of considerable interest. It is quite certain he did right
in whatever he did; but it is not quite so certain that we would
do right, were we in every case to imitate, to the letter, his conduct. He knew that, whether these men were or were not the
better for his company, he could not be the worse for theirs.
That is more than, in similar circumstances, we can usually be
sure of. There is more probability of a Christian getting harm
than doing good, when, without a very plain call in providence,
he mingles in convivial intercourse with the decidedly worldly
and wicked. There can be no doubt, however, that a Christian
may have such a plain providential call; and, when it is so, it is
his duty to obey it, tristing that He who brings him into trying
circumstances, will enable him to act such a part as will secure
him from damage, and religion from reproach, and as may be
useful to those with whom he is called on occasionally to associate:
" If any of them that believe not bid" a Christian " to a feast,
and" he be "' disposed," for sufficient reasons, "to go," let him
go, only let him take care that he conduct himself there like a
Christian.4"  Generally speaking, however, familiar association
with the worldly and the wicked is to be avoided by Christians:'" Enter not in the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of
evil men." If we would not "practise wicked works with them
who work iniquity," it will be wise in us not to "eat of their
dainties."'
It was an ordinary custom among the Jews to wash the hands
before meals:- "For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except
I 1 Cor. x. 27-33. a See Note A  5 Prov. iv. 14. PsaL cxli 4.




310               FAITHFUL DENUNCIATIONS.              [EXP. V.
they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the
elders. And xwhen they come from the market, except they
wash, they eat not."'  This, as a matter of convenience and
cleanliness, was unobjectionable and proper; but they, following
the traditions of the elders, seem to have considered it as a religious rite.  They thought well of themselves for observing it,
as if they had performed a duty; and they found fault with those
who did not observe it, as if they had committed a sin.
Our Lord never manifested a diseased scrupulosity of mindhe never affected an unnecessary singularity of manners. But
when he saw men elevating what is indifferent into a matter of
duty, he would not, by his conduct, give countenance to any
such unwarranted addition to God's law; and, accordingly, when
the other guests were all performing their ablutions, according
to the tradition of the elders, he, without going through any
such ceremony, took his place at the table. His host, the Pharisee, observed this with surprise and displeasure, and probably
manifested this by looks, or by words.  Our Lord seized the
opportunity of attacking the principle which lay at the foundation
of this over-estimate of the importance of washing the hands before meat.
THE PHARISEES CONDEMNED.
The Pharisees were characterized by their attaching the
greatest importance to observances, which were either altogether
unsanctioned by Divine authority, or, though commanded of
God, were obviously of a secondary or subordinate kind, while
they altogether omitted, or very negligently performed, the most
essential duties of religion and morality. They preferred the
little to the great, the external to the internal, the extrinsic to
the essential; and worse than all this, they substituted the one
for the other, and considered their sedulous attention to uncommanded usages, and mere instrumental duties, as giving them a
dispensation from  the most sacred obligations of religion and
morality.
Our Lord's illustrations of truth and duty, were generally distinguished by a character of great familiarity; and were frequently
borrowed from, and, as it were, suggested by, the objects which
were before him at the time. Looking at the nicely clean vessels
which covered the dinner-table, he said, "Now do ye Pharisees
make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness."'
The meaning of the whole passage depends on the manner in
which you explain the phrase, rendered "your inward part."'
6 Mark vii. 3, 4.? Luke xi. 39.
s To  e'aev 6iiSv. "By Eaodev, we are to understand the contents of the dish
as acquired by acts of wickedness." —OLSIHAUSEN. To ad0Oev iVruCv. "Omines quoa
vidi interpretes exponunt haec verba puod int'a vos est, i. e., animus vester; veruna
id, si quid video, cunI scopo Domini, arationisque structura, omnino minus coavenit." —SGAAR.




PART I.]         THE PHARISEES CONDEMNED.                    311
Most interpreters have supposed it to mean, the' inward part of
the Pharisees,'-that is, their minds and hearts, their thoughts and
their desires; as if our Lord had said,' Ye are very careful of
vour outside, but very careless of your inside.  Your bodies are
very clean, but your souls are very impure; or, in appearance you
are very good, but in reality you are very bad.' This was truth;
and truth which, at other times, our Lord very plainly told them,
-as, when he termed them, "whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones,
and of all uncleanness."" But it seems quite plain, that the contrast here, is between the outside and the inside of'the vessels now
on the dinner-table; on the physical purity which characterized
their outside, and the moral turpitude which was connected with
what was in them. This is obvious from the parallel passage in
Matthew. " Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for
ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within
they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee,
cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also."'"' Your inward part," here, is
either equivalent to "the inside of your cup and platter," or the
word " your," may be joined with the following clause, thus, " the
inside is full of your ravening and wickedness.""
The meaning of our Lord seems to be,' You are very attentive
to external cleanliness, but very careless of moral purity.  These
vessels are very carefully cleaned, but what is in these vessels?
abominable pollution.  They are full of "your ravening and
wickedness;"' that is,'the provisions which fill these vessels have
been procured by improper means. Our Lord accuses the Pharisees, generally, of " devouring widows' houses;"'" of getting gain
by dishonest means.'You are very scrupulous about the cleanness of your vessels, but you are not so scrupulous about the
means of having these vessels filled.'
The absurdity of their conduct in being so superstitiously scrupulous about the physical purity of their vessels, while they were
so careless as to the moral purity of the means by which they
were filled, is strongly asserted by our Lord in the words that follow, " Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without, make
that which is within also?"'3
From misapprehending the object of our Lord, these words have
generally been misinterpreted. They have been considered as
equivalent to,'God made both the body and the soul; and if it
be right to keep the body physically clean, it is still more obligatory to keep the soul morally pure. Both the body and the soul
are God's work, and they ought, according to their respective natures, to be kept in good order.' But it seems obvious, that what
9 Matt. xxiii. 27.                          10 Matt. xxiii. 25, 26.
11 " Prononem ipSv referri debet ad spwrayT et ~rovnpiag, cujus generis trajectiones scriptoribus sacris pariter atque profanis haud inusitatm sunt. Matt. v.
16; x. 30; xiii. 16. Vide Kypki ad h. 1."-KuIsNOEL. Markland ap. Bowyer.
12 Matt. xxii. 14. Mark xiii, 40. Luke xx. 47.   13 Luke xi. 23.




312                FAITHFUL DENUNCIATIONS.                 [EXP. V.
is without, and what is within, in the 40th verse, refer to the same
thing, as the outside, and the inward part, of the 39th verse. Indeed, in the original, they are precisely the same words; and we
have seen that, in the 39th verse, the outside, is the outside of the
dinner vessel, and the inside, their contents.
The true interpretation appears to depend on the somewhat peculiar sense which the word "make" has here.  It is equivalent
to'put in proper order;' that is, in the case before us,'to make
clean.' We find the word used in this way in the Septuagint.
Mephibosheth is said not to have "trimmed"-literally "made,"
-his beard from the time David left Jerusalem."'4  We use the
word make in a somewhat similar way,-to make a bed is to put
it in proper order for sleeping in."
The meaning seems to be,'How foolishly do you act in being
so much taken up about the cleanliness of material things, and so
little about the propriety of moral actions! Does not he who
makes clean the outside, make clean the inside also? Is not a man
of ordinary sense fully as careful about the cleanness of what is
put into the vessel, as about the cleanness of the vessel itself?
It is to little purpose that the vessel is clean, if the provision be
polluted. If you would act consistently, and like men possessed
of reason, you would be much more concerned that what fills your
vessels should be free from the contamination of injustice, than
that the vessels themselves should be free from  physical impurity.'
The words that follow in the 41st verse, "But rather give alms
of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto
you,"'6 are, perhaps, still more difficult of interpretation than those
in either of the verses which precede it. It is necessary to remark,
that the phrase rendered " such things as ye have,"" literally signifies, " the things which are within;" and, when looked at in its
connection, is obviously descriptive of that which is in the cup
and platter, that which our Lord pronounces unclean, because
procured by "ravening," that is, rapine and wickedness.  It is
the difficulty of making satisfactory sense out of the passage,
which has led our translators to give what is, at any rate, a very
unusual meaning to the phrase. Some have supposed our Lord to
say,' You may ask me, how are the things within the cup and
platter to be made clean? I answer, give your ill-gotten gains in
alms, and then what remains of your property, will enable you to
14 2 Sam. xix. 24.'1 This is a common classical use of the word, as Elsner, Kypk6, Michlelis, and
Eichorn have shown. The Hebrew word, of which wrotd is the representative,
tr', is used in a similar way. Gen. xviii. 7; xix. 3; xxi. 8. Judges xiii. 15.
I Sam. xxv. 18. 2 Sam. xii. 4; xiii. 10. Esther v. 12. Deut. xxi. 12. Vide
Gesenii Thesaur.-2 d.
16 Luke xi. 41.
17 ra'ivvra. "Plerique inter quos et cl. L. Bos, Ta iv6vra explicant, quantumi
res, sive facultates ferunt, pro facultatibus. Ego cum Belgis, aliisque malo, quce in
poculis patinisque sunt, i. e., potum cibumque. Tam solide hoc mihi probasse
videtur Raphelius ut extra controversiee aleam positum ait." —SEaaaL Raphelium'
note (vol. i., p. 512-13) is well worth reading.




PART I.]         THE PHARISEES CONDEMNED.                313
fill your vessels with food free from pollution.' It is not, however,
at all probable that our Lord would have expressed such a sentiment. He would rather have said,'Give back to their proper
owners what you have obtained by dishonest means,' than,'give
it in alms.' He would certainly never have bidden men give what
was not their own to give. He hates robbery for alms, as well as
for burnt-offering.
I apprehend the word sare spoken in grave irony by our Lord.'"
It is as if he had said,'But you have an easy way of purifying
what is in your vessels, however polluted it may be by the way
in which it has been acquired.  Give a portion of it to the poor,
and " to you"-that is, in your estimation, —" all will be pure."
You will sit down with an easy conscience then to the enjoyment
of your ill-gotten property.'
The Pharisees had the most extravagant notions as to the merit
of alms. One Talmudical writer says, "Alms preserve from sudden death, and deliver from the condemnation of hell;" and another says, " If an impious man object to you,' If God loves the
poor, why does he not feed them?' answer him,' That by giving
alms, we may be delivered from the condemnation of hell."'
The Pharisees have not been alone in supposing, that ill-gotten
wealth may be purified by giving to religious, falsely so called,
and charitable purposes. How many churches and hospitals, in
the dark ages, were endowed on this principle; and is there not
reason to fear, that there are still not unfrequent instances of
men's attempting thus to bribe their conscience to silence, that
they be enabled to enjoy their morally polluted possessions in
peace!
Such seems to me the meaning of this somewhat obscure passage. The train of thought appears to be this,' You are very
careful about the external cleanliness of your vessels, but ye little
consider that your daily food, which fills these vessels, is polluted,
in consequence of its being procured by unworthy means-rapine
and wickedness. You are fools; making clean the outside will
not make clean the inside, which is the principal matter; and when
you do set about purifying what is within, you foolishly suppose
that giving a part of your ill-gotten property to the poor, will
sanctify the rest.'
Our Lord proceeds to expose, still farther, the wretched inconsistency of the Pharisees by another instance. " But wo unto you,
Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue, and all manner of herbs, and
pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have
done, and not to leave the other undone."'9
In the article of paying tithes, they were minutely exact.
They not only paid tithes of corn, and wine, and oil, but of
" mint and rue, and all manner of herbs." It is worthy of remark in passing, that this is one of a number of passages in
18 This is the view taken by Drusius, Erasmus, Lightfoot, and others. "Verse
41 is evidently only to be understood ironically."-SCULEEmRMAcHra.
19 Luke xi. 42.




'314              FAITHFUL DENUNCIATIONS.             [EXP. V.
Scripture, which go to prove, that the payment of tithes, though
obligatory by a divine law, was yet not compulsory, but ~oluntary.~0 But whilst so strict in these little matters, they were
very loose in great matters.  They "passed over," they neglected,
they transgressed, the great laws of religion and morality.
"Judgment," is just equivalent to'righteousness' or'justice.''You are guilty of fraud and dishonesty, you do not render to
every man his due. You are strangers to the love of God,
"with the heart and the mind, the soul and the strength."
"These,"-that is, the great duties of religion and morality,"ye ought to have done;"-they ought to have been first attended to; while, at the same time, the others, the paying tithes
of " mint and rue, and all manner of herbs," " ye ought not to
have left undone "' —they are duties too, though duties of a far
inferior order.'
The elements of human charater are in all ages the same, and
the more striking combinations of these elements are the same
also. How often do we still find men admitting, generally, the
obligation of God's law, yet habitually strict in some points, and
habitually loose in others, and apparently cherishing the hope,
that their attention to one set of duties will compensate for their
neglect of others Wo, everlasting wo, will be to all such persons. The whole law has the same authority, -the authority of
the "'; one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy."" What
he has not commanded has no authority at all, and obedience in
such a case is not duty; but whatever he has commanded is
equally obligatory; and he who trifles with such obligation, in
any case, does it at his everlasting hazard. His partial obedience
is an acknowledgment of the authority of the law and the Lawgiver, and will be adduced in evidence against him in judgment.
The partial payment will be employed as proof of the whole
debt. Out of his own mouth he will be judged.  WYhy did he
pay tithe of mint, anise, and cummin?  The answer is, God commanded it; —well then, why did he neglect judgment and the love
of God?  Did God not command these also?  Men attend public ordinances, and say it is because they are of Divine appointment; but why do they live in the neglect of secret prayer?
Has he not commanded that also?  This they ought to have done,
and not to leave the other undone.
Want of consistency is the fatal fault of the religion of vast
multitudes besides the Pharisees. Happy is that man who can,
with an enlightened mind and a safe conscience, say, "I esteem
all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate
every false way."  Let this be the sincere and fervent prayer of
us all. " Let my heart be sound in thy statutes, that I be not
ashamed."22
20 " It seems that the people were left to their own consciences in regard to the
just payment of these tithes."-KITTo's "Cyclopedia."
21'l'his admonition was given, while yet the Mosaical laws were not all expired by the'Consummaturm est.' "-SELDEN. Vide Matt. v. 18.
22 James iv. 12.                        23 Psal. cxix. 128, 80.




PART I.]        THE PHARISEES CONDEMNED.                 315
Our Lord nev w proceeds to reprove the Pharisees, and to declare, that a wo rests on them  for their extreme desire for
worldly distinction and honor.  "Woe unto you, Phariseesl
for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings
in the markets."24 The idea is more fully brought out in the
parallel passage in the twenty-third chapter of the gospel by
Matthew, where a discourse of similar import, but delivered at
another time, is recorded. " They love the uppermost rooms at
feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the
markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi."2
The uppermost seats in the synagogue were appropriated to
the rulers, so that "to love the uppermost seats in the synagogue," may be equivalent to-' to have an eager desire to possess spiritual power, honor, and authority.' The synagogues were
fashioned in imitation of the temple, with a central erection supported by pillars, and a space surrounding it. In the centre of
this, a place was prepared for reading the law and the prophets
-an elevated platform, next to which were the seats for the
rulers, which were raised above the other seats. There can be
no doubt that the words, thus understood, were very descriptive
of the Pharisees. But as it is not improbable that the Pharisees
our Lord was addressing, were all rulers, perhaps "the uppermost seats" here may refer to the highest of the seats appropriated to the rulers-the highest of the uppermost seats. For
those who were rulers to occupy the seats set apart for them was
in no degree wrong, but to be eager to get the most honorable
of these seats showed a vain-glorious mind. This is self-idolatry,
which, as Mr. Henry says, is "bad anywhere, but especially in
the synagogues. There to seek honor to ourselves, where we
come to give glory to God, is to mock God, instead of to serve
him. It savors much of pride and hypocrisy, when people do
not care to go to church unless they can look fine, and make a
figure there."
"By greetings or salutations in the streets or market-places,"
we are to understand the tokens of respect generally given to
men of rank and reputation by the great body of the people.
In receiving these there was nothing wrong; but to "love"
them, to court them, to put a person's self in the way of receiving them, to be mortified if they are withheld, and to be elevated
by their being bestowed,-all this showed a mind which unduly
estimated the value of human approbation or applause. Such a
temper is not only contemptible, as the token of a weak, illjudging mind, but it is, in a moral point of view, condemnable.
It is a radical defect and fault in a character, and, in a high degree, is utterly inconsistent with the very elementary principle of
a truly good character-supreme regard to what is true and
right, whether it pleases men or not. Accordingly, our Lord
traces to this, as to one of its causes, his rejection by the Jewish
rulers.  "How can ye believe," says he, "which receive honor
24 Luke xi. 43.                 25 Matt. xxiii. 6, 7.




316              FAITHFUL DENUNCIATIONS.            [EXP. V.
one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God
only?7"26
The ruling disposition of the mind may be manifested in
trifling actions; and actions, in themselves very insignificant,
become important when they indicate character. The general
truth intended -to be conveyed in these words is of general and
everlasting importance. The man who makes the approbation
of his fellow-men his great object, and who subordinates everything else to the attainment of this, acts not only a very contemptible, but a very criminal part,-is an object of the Divine
disapprobation,-and, if he does not repent, will assuredly be an
object of the Divine vengeance.
In the next verse,'"Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men
that walk over them  are not aware of them.""27  Our Lord
charges those whom he was addressing with at once great moral
depravity and great hypocrisy, and represents them, on account
of the union of these two qualities, as peculiarly dangerous members of society. We are not to think of the Scribes and the
Pharisees as two distinct classes of men. " Scribes and Pharisees" is just equivalent to pharisaic Scribes-Scribes who are
Pharisees. Pharisee is the name of the sect,-Scribe, of the
profession. A scribe,28 a lettered man, was the distinctive apellation of those whose employment it was to interpret and administer Jewish law; and many of this profession belonged to the
sect of the Pharisees.
Our Lord represents these pharisaic Scribes as "like graves,"
receptacles of corruption and loathsomeness. The words are
equivalent to-' You are as morally abominable and polluting in
a moral sense, as the putrifying remains of a dead carcass are in
a physical sense.'
But he represents them, farther, as "like graves that are not
seen." Walking over, or touching a grave, was considered by
the Jewish doctors as equivalent to touching a dead body; and,
therefore, as inferring ceremonial pollution. To prevent persons
from incautiously incurring this, which exposed them to many
inconveniences, the stones which marked graves were generally
whitened. When this was not the case, a person might incur
ceremonial pollution, and the inconveniences connected with it,
without being aware.29 Now, says our Lord,'you resemble such
unwhited, and therefore unseen, graves. With all your inward
depravity, you make the profession, and wear the appearance, of
sanctity; you are not openly profligate, you conceal your true
character, so that men are in peculiar danger from you. The
poor widows, whose houses you spoil, are deluded by your pretensions to wisdom and worth. Many, deceived by your assumed
sanctity, resign themselves to your guidance, and are led by you
26 John v. 44.                     27 Luke xi. 44.
28 ypalyarevf.                    29 Numb. xix. 16.




PART II.]        THE LAWYERS CONDEMNED., 317
into error and ruin, who, if they knew your real character, would
choose safer guides.'
The same, or at least a very similar truth, is illustrated by
another, and in some measure an opposite figure, in the gospel
by Matthew: —" Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed
appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones,
and of all uncleanness.  Even so ye also outwardly appear
righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and
iniquity."30  The general sentiment is, that those persons are
peculiarly criminal and dangerous, who, while they are under the
influence of the most depraved principles, yet maintain a decent
exterior, and that, however they may impose on their fellowmen, they are regarded with disapprobation, and will, if they
repent not, be visited with punishment by Him who "requires
truth in the inward parts," and who, as he " searches the heart,
and tries the reigns of the children of men," " all things being
naked and open before him,"-cannot be deceived, and will not
be mocked.
It also follows, from what is said here, that he who, in doing
his duty, is the means of unmasking the hypocrite, and making
him appear in his true colors, performs an important service to
society. By making the seat of moral pollution apparent, he
diminishes the risk of extending moral contamination.
II.-THE LAWYERS CONDEMNED.
On hearing these remarks by our Lord, one of the Pharisee's
guests, who is denominated a "lawyer," addressed our Lord.
" Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master,
thus saying thou reproachest us also.""' These words may be
understood either as a question, or as an assertion. To understand them aright, we must first endeavor to discover to what
class the speaker belonged. It has been the opinion of some
learned men that the " Scribes" were public expounders of the
law, and that " lawyers," or " doctors of the law," were private
expounders of the law. Others have supposed that the Scribes
were teachers of the law belonging to the sect of the Pharisees,
and lawyers, or doctors of the law, teachers of the law belonging
to the sect of the Sadducees. But such a distinction is unsupported by any satisfactory evidence; nor is it at all probable,
from the inveterate dislike existing between the sects, that a
Sadducee should be found at a Pharisee's table.  The terms
" scribe " and " lawyer " seem to have been synonymous, or, at
any rate, to have been given to the same class. The person
who, in Matt. xxii. 3, is termed a "lawyer," is, in Mark xii. 28,
termed a "scribe;" the persons who are called, at Luke v. 17,
~o Matt. xxiii. 27, 28.              3l Luke xi. 45.




Si8               FAITHFUL DENUNCIATIONS.              [EXP. V.
"doctors of the law and Pharisees," are, at the 21st verse, called
" Scribes and Pharisees.""
The facts seem to have been these:-One of the company,
who had in silence heard our Lord censure the manners of the
Pharisees generally, lost his temper when he brought home his
accusation to the doctors of the law, to which class he belonged,
and exclaimed,'In making that statement, you cast a reproachful stigma on the order to which I belong;' or, as a question,'Do you mean, by this statement, to cast a reflection on our
order?' The appellation, " Master," or Teacher, was used, probably, sarcastically. The man seems astonished that he should
be so daring as to throw out a reflection against an order so
venerable as the clergy —if I may use the phrase-of the dominant sect.
Jesus had spoken only the truth, and he was not the person
to eat his own words. He immediately replied, " Woe unto you
also, -ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be
borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your
fingers;""  as if he had said,'My remarks do apply to your
order with peculiar force.' To " lade men with burdens grievous
to be borne," signifies, that in their interpretations of the law,
which, as the apostle says, was " a yoke " which neither his contemporaries nor their fathers were able to bear,34 they were very
rigorous; and, in addition to what was enjoined in the law, they
required that all the traditions of the elders should be strictly
complied with. But while they were strict in enjoining, they
were lax in performing. They said, but did not. Perhaps the
words refer to their rigor in those impositions which were of
mere human authority. However they made void God's laws,
they insisted that their traditions should be attended to.  How
different from  the conduct of our Lord! The burden he laid on
his followers was light, and his apostles followed his example."
How these men excused themselves from many of the onerous
observances they exacted from others, our imperfect acquaintance
with the history of the times puts it out of our power to give a
definite explication by well-authenticated examples.  Perhaps
the best illustration we can give of it is to be found in the second
chapter of the Epistle to the Romans:-" Behold, thou  art
called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of
God, and knowest his will, and approvest the things that are
more excellent, being instructed out of the law; and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them
which are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of
babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the
law,  Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not
thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou
32 Camero, Trigland, and Hoffmann in his Notes to Pritius, may be consulted as
to the meaning of the term voILK6f. It is remarkaple that Luke alone, of all the
evangelists, connects voltKcoi with paptalot. Ch. vii. 30; xiv. 3.
33 Luke xi. 46.   34 Acts xv. 10.   35 Acts xv. 28; 1 Cor. vii. 28.




PART II.]        THE LAWYERS CONDEMNED.                319
steal? thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost
thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? thou that makest thy boast of the law, through
breaking the law  dishonorest thou God?  For the name of
God is blasphemed among the Gentiles -through you, as it is
written."3"
An inconsistent public teacher of religion, whose practice does
not correspond with his teaching, is one of the most contemptible
and criminal of men.  "What greater hypocrisy can there be
than to press that upon others, to be believed and done, which
they themselves live in unbelief of, or disobedience to? who pull
down in their practice, what they build up in their preaching;
who, when they are in the pulpit, preach so well that it is a pity
they should ever come out; but when they are out of the pulpit,
live so ill that it is a pity that they should ever come in; like
bells that call others to church, but hang out of it themselves;
or like direction posts that point the way to others, but stand
still themselves?""' To him the words of our Lord apply with
awful emphasis.  " Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee,
thou wicked servant."  What will such a one say when God
punishes him? Ah, he must be speechless!
What follows is rather of difficult interpretation:-" Woe
unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your
fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the
deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build
their sepulchres.""8 The difficulty does not originate in the
obscurity of particular words or phrases, for in this respect all is
easy enough, but in the apparent want of consecutiveness and
coherence, in the thoughts and argument.
On a cursory reading of the words, it would seem that our
Lord pronounces a woe on the Pharisees, because they erected
splendid monuments to those prophets who had in former ages
died martyrs to the truth, and victims of the irreligion of their
contemporaries; and that he adduces the fact of their thus building magnificent tombs for these prophets, as evidence of their app)robation of the conduct of those who put them to death.
Now, though building monuments to the prophets was by no
means so meritorious a work as the Pharisees seem to have considered it, yet, in itself, it does not appear to deserve so severe reprobation; and instead of proving that they thought their ancestors right in putting the prophets to death, it seems a very decided
proof that they thought them wrong. It looked like an endeavor
on their part to compensate the wrong done to the persons of these
martyred saints, by doing justice to their memories. Their fathers put them to a disgraceful death, and they place them in an
honorable tomb. We should not think of accusing Joseph of
Arimathea, of allowing the deeds of the Jews in crucifying
Jesus, and adducing as evidence of this, that he gave him an
honorable burial in his own sepulchre.
3s Rom. ii. 17-24.  37 Henry.     38 Luke xL 47, 48.




320              FAITHFUL DENUNCIATIONS.           [EXP. V.
Various plans have been fallen on by interpreters, to get rid
of these difficulties.  One of the most ingenious of these"' is
grounded on the supposition, that'to build sepulchres,' is equivalent to the expression,'to dig graves,' in the sense of plotting
the death of the persons referred to.' Woe to you, for you are
preparing graves for the prophets, the divinely-inspired and commissioned teachers, such as John and myself, and my apostles
who are sent to you, just as your fathers killed the prophets, the
divinely-inspired and commissioned teachers who were sent to
them. You give very satisfactory evidence, that you are of the
same opinion with your fathers, and approve of their conduct.
They killed the prophets of their age, and you dig the graves,
you prepare the tombs, of the prophets of your age-you are,
both literally and figuratively, the children of the murderers of
the prophets-you are prosecuting the same course-you are
filling up the measure of their iniquity-you are completing the
work they began.'
This is no doubt ingenious, but, like many such interpretations, it is too ingenious. Had this been the only place where
our Lord expressed the sentiment uttered here, we might have
been less indisposed to admit this interpretation; but in the discourse recorded by Matthew, in the twenty-third chapter of his
gospel, we find our Lord using the following language, and we
can have no doubt that his object was to express the same idea as
the words before us are intended to convey:-" Woe unto you,
Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs
of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and
say, if we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not
have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the
measure of your fathers."40 Now it is quite plain that in the
phrases, "building the tombs," and "garnishing the sepulchres,"
the reference is to the ancient prophets, whom their fathers
wickedly put to death, and that the erecting and embellishing
these structures were intended as tokens of respect for them, and
of disapprobation of their murderers.
I apprehend the difficulty has originated principally in overlooking the great object of our Lord in the whole paragraph,
which is to expose and denounce the hypocrisy of the pharisaic
Scribes. It is on account of their impious hypocrisy, that he
pronounces a wo on them; and the particulars referred to are
not so much the crimes that exposed them to this wo, as the
evidence proving that hypocrisy, which made them the objects
of the peculiar abhorrence of that God who " desireth truth in
the inward parts," and which, if repentance intervened not, would
certainly draw down on them the most fearful proofs of his displeasure. Of their hypocrisy he had already given striking
proofs.' You are very careful about the physical purity of your
39 Storr.                     4o Matt. xxiii. 29-22.




PART II.]       THE LAWYERS CONDEMNED.                 321
vessels, while you care not for the poisonous taint of God's curse
which defiles their contents, from the unlawful means by which
they have been filled. You tithe mint and rue, and all manner
of herbs, but pass over judgment and the love of God. You are
very strict in enjoining duties on other men, and very lax in performing them yourselves.' He now adduces an additional evidence of their hypocrisy-' You profess great respect for the
memory of the martyred prophets, and great disapprobation of
your ancestors who put them to death, and yet you cherish the
same malignant dispositions, and are about to imitate the very
conduct which you so loudly condemn. How does your conduct
contradict your professions? Here is another proof of your
hypocrisy. Ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your
fathers killed them;' that is, as if he had said, —' You build the
sepulchres of the prophets whom your fathers killed-you profess a great reverence for their characters and doctrines, and
high disapprobation of their persecutors and murderers. That
is the natural meaning of building and adorning their tombs, and
that is the meaning you wish to put on these actions. For ye
say,-" If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not
have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets."
Yet, notwithstanding this, ye truly bear witness that ye approve
of the deeds of your fathers.'
This witness does not refer to their building and adorning the
tombs of the prophets, but to the manner in which they had
treated John, and were treating himself, and were to treat both
him and his inspired messengers.' You persecute, and ere long
will imbrue your hands in the blood of men possessed of the
same characters, invested with the same authority, and teaching
the same doctrines, as those on whom you heap posthumous
honors, and of whose murder and murderers you profess so
strongly an abhorrence.'
The only difficulty connected with this mode of interpretation,
is the connective particle "for,""' which joins the two clauses in
the 48th verse together. The building the sepulchres of the
prophets whom their fathers had killed, appears to be adduced as
the evidence that they allowed the deeds of their fathers, when
in reality it seems in its own nature, as well as in their intention,
evidence of the very reverse. The true way of getting rid of this
difficulty is by adverting to the fact-that the particle rendered
Jr' not unfrequently, like the Hebrew particle which it represents,4' is equal to although. I shall give a few examples of this;
"And this is the condemation, that," although, "light is come
into the world, and," yet "men loved darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil."4' "And the Lord smelled a sweet
savor; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse
the ground any more for man's sake; for," although, "the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth: neither will I
again smite any more everything living, as I have done.'"'
4' 6it.   4t Ac.    43 John  iii. 19  41 Gen. viii. 21.
VOL. I.                   21




322               FAITHFUL DENUNCIATIONS.              [EXP. V.
"And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that
God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines,
although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the
people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.""4
" Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or
tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the Lord our God,
to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be
among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood; and it come
to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless
himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace though I walk in
the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst."'5
"And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do?  Though
thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee
with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise
thee, they will seek thy life."" The meaning, then, seems to be
this,'Although you build the tombs of the prophets whom your
fathers put to death, yet do you, by your conduct, witness that
you allow, that you approve of, their conduct;' as if he had said,' Your conduct to me, in devising my death as you are doing
just now, can be vindicated only on principles which would vindicate the conduct of the opposers, and persecutors, and murderers, of the ancient prophets.'
In following up this charge, our Lord proceeds to say:
"Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them  prophets and apostles,'8 atid some of them they shall slay and persecute,
that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; from the
blood of Abel, unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall
be required of this generation.""  To the satisfactory exposition
of this passage, the first question that must be answered is,'Are
these our Lord's words, or are they a quotation?' There can be
no doubt that the words do not resemble our Lord's ordinary style,
and that they do very much resemble the style of the Old Testament prophets.  The only word that does not suit them is "' apostles," but we know that that word is just equivalent to'messengers,' and might have been so translated.  The prefatory clause,
too, " Wherefore also said the wisdom of God," looks very like
the introduction of a quotation.
Indeed, had it not been for the want of some corresponding
phrase, such as, "Said the Lord," or, "Said the Lord by the
prophet," in the parallel passage in Matthew, and the difficulty of
saying whence the quotation is taken, I rather think there would
never have been any doubt on the subject. To suppose that our
4' Exod. xiii. 17.   46 Deut. xxix. 18, 19.      47 Jer. iv. 30.
43 - It appears remarkable that, according to Matthew, the Redeemer designates
some of those to be sent 7paJuparei —- the Hebrew vtin:i. The expression is
used in contrast with the pharisaic Scribes, q. d.,' I will send you men truly acquainted with the word of God.' "-OLSuAUSEN.
49 Luke xi. 49-51.




PART II.]         THE LAWYERS CONDEMNED.                    323
Lord here speaks of himself as " the wisdom of God," and that
the words, " Wherefore, the wisdom of God said to you," are
equal to,' Wherefore, I say to you,' seems to me a very harsh and
unsatisfactory way of getting over the difficulty. I think it far
more likely, that the usual formula of citation, "saith the Lord,"
has been omitted in the corresponding passage in Matthew.  Such
omissions occasionally occur in Scripture:-Mal. iii. 1 (where the
phrase, " saith the Lord," is obviously to be supplied, as it is expressed in chap. i. 2, 13); Matt. xvii. 11; and xviii. 16. I am,
therefore, disposed to consider the words before us as a quotation.
But the question naturally occurs,'A quotation from whom,
or from what?'6~  Some have supposed that " the wisdom of God"
is the name of a book, now lost, from  which the quotation is
made. I think it more likely, that " the wisdom of God" is used
here for the wise God. We say of a wonderful event, "That
was the work of the power of God- nothing but the power of
God could have done that;" when the meaning obviously is, " The
powerful God has effected it." We say of a valuable blessing,
" It is the gift of the goodness of God," when we mean, " The benignant God has given it;" and here " the wisdom of God said,"
is just' the all-wise God had said'-he who knows the end from
the beginning.
Calvin, who was a judicious interpreter, as well as a profound
theologian, considers the phrase as equivalent to, " Long ago God,
by the prophetic spirit, declared the truth with regard to your
character and doom."  He adds, "I acknowledge that you will
not find this sentence, in so many words, in any of the ancient
prophets; but everywhere, in the Old Testament Scriptures, God
declares the contumacy of his rebellious people, and our Lord
collects, in one short sentence, as it were, an epitome of what
God, by his prophets, had said of the wickedness of that incurable
people."
There is a passage in one of the Apocryphal books, somewhat
like that now before us:-" I sent unto you my servants, the
prophets, whom ye have taken and slain, and torn their bodies
in pieces, whose blood I will require at your hand.""' But there
is no reason to think that book so ancient as the days of our Lord.
It seems plainly the forgery of a later age; and the passage I have
quoted, as well as others-especially the beautiful passage about
gathering the Jews together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, — appears to have been borrowed from the New
50 These words are not to be found, either in the Old Testament or in any
Apocryphal book. There are, however, some very kindred passages: for example, 2 Chron. xxiv. 19. The similarity between our Lord's words, and the version
of the LXX., is striking. Olshausen remarks that, "As the account of Zacharias
immediately follows 2 Chron. xxiv. 20, it is still a question whether our Lord had
not the citation of the Old Testament in view, and merely expanded it a little."
The strongest objection to t} is is, that the passage in Chronicles is history. That
quoted here is propheey.
51 2 Esdras i. 32.                            52 2 Esdras i. 30.




~324                FAITHFUL DENUNCIATIONS.               [EXI. V.
Testament. We must, then, acquiesce in Calvin's view, or consider it as like Enoch's prophecy, in the epistle of Jude, either as
an unwritten prophetic oracle, or an oracle contained in some
book no longer extant, but of undoubted, and, at the time, generally admitted, authority.
Let us now inquire into the meaning of this prediction, and its
bearing on our Lord's object.  The connective particle, "therefore,"n does not seem intended to intimate that this is an inference
from what had been stated before, for, on looking carefully at it,
it does not appear to be this.  It is equivalent to,' With reference
to this thing.' This is not an uncommon meaning of the term."'In reference to this thing, the all-wise God has made a declaration-I will send them prophets and apostles, or messengers, and
some of them they shall slay and persecute.'
The 50th verse describes, not the purpose for which God was to
send these prophets and messengers, but the consequence of the
Jews slaying and persecuting them. It is as if he had said,' So
that"6 the blood of' all the prophets, that has been shed from  the
foundation of the world, shall be required of this generation, from
the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias, who perished between
the altar and the temple.'"
Interpreters are divided as to who this Zacharias is, of whom
the ancient oracle spoke. The most probable account of the matter is, that it is the Zechariah of whose death we have an account
in 2 Chron. xxiv. 1'7-22. It is not unlikely that Zechariah's father
had two names,-Jehoiada,'and Barachiah,-as to have two names
does not seem to have been an uncommon thing among the Jews;
or he might be the grandson of Jehoiada, by a son called Bara-'chiah."' The reason why he is mentioned as the last of the prophets that had been killed probably is, that the oracle quoted was
published soon after this event.  The general meaning is, that the
Jewish nation, by persisting in disobeying Godj and in maltreating
his inspired messengers, would, at last, draw dowvn upon themselves a punishment so awfully severe, that it might be considered
as the concentrated vengeance due for all the murders of martyred
prophets and holy men in all ages.
T'he concluding words of the 51st verse seem to be spoken by
our Lord in his own person.  They are an emphatic confirmation of the awful oracle: " Verily, I say unto you, it shall be
required of this generation."  T'le accumulated guilt of ages
was, as it were, to become theirs, by the murder of the Messiah
and his apostles; and awfuil was the retribution which awaited
them.  How accurately the event corresponded with the predics3 dlai ro0ro.   54 Matt. xiii. 13, 52; xviii. 23; xxi. 43. John xix. 11.
55 " The Ecbatic sense of bva has been called in question by Fritzschlle and others,
but has been abundantly established by Titmann, in his admirable work,'De usa
Particularum in IN. T.' Hermann's note to Vigerus, and Winer's Grammar, may
be consulted." —RoBINsoN, in verb.
56 Zechariah was stoned at the command of King Joash g v au2,/ oilcov Kvpiov.
The Ovataarrzptov referred to is the great altar of burnt-offering, that stood in the
open air, at the entrance of the buildings properly called the Temple — va6C.
67 Vide Wetstein and Kuinoel.




PART II.]       THE LAWYERS CONDEMNED.               325
tion, who does not know? Never was there a generation so
guilty, and never was there a generation so punished. Read the
history of the last days of the Jewish republic, as recorded by
their own unbelieving historian, Josephus, and then sav, if the
judgments executed on the Jewish nation were not such as to
fill, to the fall, human nature's capacities of suffering, and if our
Lord's own emphatic words were not literally fulfilled: —" For
in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation, which God created, unto this time, neither
shall be?"'
The best illustration of these words is to be found in the parable of the vineyard and husbandmen, and in the words of the
apostle Paul to the Thessalonians:-" A certain man planted a
vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the
wine-fat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and
went into a far country.  And at the season he sent to the
husbandman a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. And they caught him, and
beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent unto
them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded
him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. And
again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others;
beating some, and killing some. Having yet therefore one son,
his well-beloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They
will reverence my son. But those husbandmen said among
themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. And they took him, and killed him, and
cast him out of the vineyard. What shall therefore the Lord of
the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and
will give the vineyard unto others.9 The Jews "both killed
the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us;
and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles, that they might be saved, to fill
up their sins alway: for the wrath is come Upon them to the
uttermost.'""
Our Lord brings still another charge against the pharisaic
Scribes:-" Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the
key of knowledge: ye enter not in yourselves, and them that
were entering in ye hindered.""  He charges them with taking
away " the key of knowledge" —that is, knowledge, which is the
key.  "The key" here is the key of the kingdom; this is plain
from the parallel passage in the gospel by Matthew, where they
are said to "shut up the kingdom of God against men,"6' and
from what is said to follow from their taking away the key.
They locked the gates of the kingdom, so that there was no entrance. The key of the kingdom is knowledge-knowledge of
the truth in reference to the design of the Messiah's advent, and
the nature of his kingdom. That knowledge was to be got in
53 Mark xiii 1.  59 Mark xii. 1-9.  60 1 Thess. ii 15, 16.
61 Luke xL 52.   62 Matt. xxiii 13.




826                        NOTES.                    [EXP. V.
the Old Testament Scriptures. But the pharisaic Scribes misinterpreted these Scriptures, and taught their countrymen to expect
in the Messiah a temporal prince, and worldly honor, power,
and pleasure, as the blessings of his reign. By their false views,
they excluded themselves from  the blessings of the new and
better economy; and, so far as these views prevailed, they prevented others from participating in these blessings. They thus
became the authors of destruction, both to themselves and to
others.
These faithful statements, instead of reclaiming, irritated our
Lord's opponents:-" They began to urge him vehemently, and
to provoke him to speak of many things; laying wait for him,
and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they
might accuse him.""6 But their insidious arts were vain. He
opened his mouth in wisdom; and, while he fearlessly spoke the
most unpalatable truth, he carefully avoided everything which
might give them an advantage over him, by affording them  the
means either of exciting the multitude to destroy him by violence,
or of drawing down on him the vengeance of the Roman government, as a seditious disturber of the public peace.
I conclude, in the words of a respected elder brother:64 " Let
us not turn away from this benevolent severity unprofited. Let
us shun that pharisaic religion, which was, and still is, the ruin
pf the Jews. Let us view the law of God as the rule for the
heart, as well as for the life; and as it is too broad, and strict, and
spiritual to give justification or life for our imperfect obedience,
let us learn by it to flee to Christ, who' is the end of the law for
righteousness to every one that believeth.' At Christ's bidding,
let us beware of lofty pretenders to sanctity, who arrogantly
assume authority over the souls of men. Meekness, modesty,
mercy, and active benevolence, are the characteristics of genuine
religion, in every age, and under every dispensation. Let us
counteract the cruelty of those who would shut the kingdom of
God against such as are desirous of entering; promote the free
circulation and use of the Holy Scriptures; and unfold the grace
of the Gospel, in opposition to the insufferable law of works; and
having well improved the key of knowledge for ourselves, let us
act in the spirit of the purest and loftiest zeal for the universal
diffusion of the wJcd of God.""6
NOTE A, p. 310
The remarks of ALEXANDER KNOX on the subject appear to me singularly just. Speaking of a Christian of a higher order of spiritual at,
63 Luke xi. 53, 54.
64 Dr. Bennet, the friend and biographer of the venerable Bogue.
66 Lectures on Christ's Preaching, p. 231.




EXP. V.]                     NOTES.                           327
tainment, he says, "The man I speak of has separated himself from the
pollutions of the world, without withdrawing from its common intercourse. This, however, requires much discriminative wisdom, and unremitting watchfulness, as well as tenderness of conscience: but when
the habit is gained it is invaluable.  He will not go into worldly company for pleasure, because his taste is of another kind; but he will not
shrink from calls of duty or propriety, because he scarcely fears the
world more than he loves it. He fears it enough to make him ever watchful against its seductions, and ever solicitous to take to himself'the
whole armor of God.' But with this safeguard, he has no dread of any
of its scenes; except when he should be, in any respect, a partaker'in
the unfruitful works of darkness.' When, therefore, such a person does
mingle with the people of the world, he knows why he does so. It is no
stealthy advance beyond the limit of his conscience, no widening of the
circle which he once prescribed to himself. It is, as concurring circumstances have fully shown him, an actual part of his duty.'In the
calling,' merely,' wherein he was called, therein he abides with God.'
Acting in this simplicity, he finds frequent opportunities for useful conversation, of which he avails himself with the wisest management he can
use. Being accustomed to view religion itself as in the most harmonious agreement with nature, providence, and all the higher tastes of man,
ne can graft wise and pious observations on subjects that would leave
no opening whatever to the theological dogmatist; and, not having
caught religion by the means of any party, he speaks of it solely in the
language of plain sense, without danger of exciting their risibility or
disgust, by any uncouthness of phraseology. But if he should find it expedient even to be wholly silent on religious subjects (in which case he
will make his stay as short as decorum or duty will allow), he will still
have comfort in reflecting that he has shown by his behavior, that
what the world deems over-strictness, does not necessarily contract the
brow, or damp the spirits, or cramp the intellect, or blunt the mental
taste, or make a man less capable of holding his place among mankind (as far as he himself judges it proper), with ease, with respectability, with courtesy, and yet with an independence of mind which no
mere man of the world ever did or could exemplify."-Remains, Vol. I.,
pp. 152, 153.




EXPOSITION VI.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY; AND THE CHARACTER AND DESTINY
OF ITS OCCUPANTS-WORTHY AND UNWORTHY.
LUKE Xii. 35-37, 41-47. —"Let your loins be girded about, and your lights
burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will
return from the wedding; that, when he cometh and knocketh, they may open
unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord, when he
cometh, shall find watching: verily I say unto you, That he shall gird himself,
and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them." *
*   *   *     e " Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this
parable unto us, or even to all? And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful
and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give
them their portion of meat ill due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his
lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, That he
will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his
heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the men-servants
and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; the lord of that servant
will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not
aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the
unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not
himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes."
A DISTINCT apprehension, and a deep impression of the varied
and awful responsibilities of the christian ministry, in all who
are aspiring to that office, and in all who fill it, are of the greatest importance to the general interests of Christianity, as well as
to those individuals themselves, and to those portions of the
christian church with which they are more immediately connected.
The want of, or the deficiency in, such apprehensions and impressions, in ministers and candidates for the ministry, may be
justly considered as one cause, and a powerful one, of the low
state of religion in our own country and in the christian world at
large, and the general prevalence of an opposite state of thought
and feeling would be at once a symptom of begun, and a security
for continued, revival. At all events, just views and corresponding feelings on these subjects would prevent men from entering into the christian ministry with inadequate preparation, or
from worldly or selfish motives, and would also prevent those
who have entered it, from  disgracing their high and holy calling, and bringing on themselves " a double destruction" by their
error or immorality, their indolence or unfaithfulness.
A most impressive view of the responsibilities of the christian




EXP. VI.]        THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.               329
minister, in an account of the nature and design of his office,
and of tile character and destiny of its occupants, worthy and
unworthy, is presented to our minds in the words of our Lord,
which I have just read. That these words have a direct reference to christian ministers, seems obvious from an attentive examination of the context. They were spoken in the presence of
a promiscuous crowd, but they were plainly addressed to a very
small and a completely distinct section of that crowd. When
our Lord had come out of the Pharisee's house where he had
dined, "there was gathered together an innumerable multitude
of people," but he did not begin to address them; he began to
speak "to his disciples" (ver. 1); and from the nature of the
statements made to them, there can be little doubt that the term
disciples is to be understood in its restricted sense, as equivalent
to his apostles, or as at farthest including along with them " the
other seventy whom he had appointed to go before his face into
every city and place whither he himself would come." On
"one of the comrnpany" (ver. 13) interrupting him by a very unseasonable request to act the part of a civil judge, in a dispute
about property, he seized the opportunity thus presented of addressing the whole multitude (ver. 15) on the extreme folly of
expecting real happiness from the possession of wealth, however
abundant; and then turning himself again to his disciples (ver.
22), he gave them a variety of exhortations, including those which
form the first part of our subject of discourse. As some of these
exhortations seemed to be of a general character, Peter put the
question to our Lord (ver. 41), whether they were to be considered as addressed to him and his brother disciples, or to all the
multitude, and received an answer which distinctly enough intimated that they directly referred to those who stood to him in
the relation of confidential servants. We conceive ourselves
then not merely warranted, but obliged to consider the whole
passage before us as referring to the christian ministry.
The officials of the church of Christ are represented as the
confidential servants of a prince or nobleman, who having gone
from home, without informing them of the period of his return,
has entrusted to them the management of his household during
his absence. One class of these servants are " faithful and wise:"
they regularly perform their duty to the household, giving to
them their portion of meat in due season, and are constantly
employed as persons expecting and preparing for their master's
returh. Such servants shall receive from their returned master
the most substantial proofs of his approbation. Another class of
these servants are unfaithful and unwise: they become during
their Lord's absence careless of his will, and destroyers of that
peace and good order of the family of which they were constituted
guardians, smiting their fellow-servants, and eating and drinking
with the drunken. Such persons shall be by their indignant
master, ignominiously discarded from his service, and severely
punished for their self-indulgence, oppression, and breach of




330              THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.           [EXP. VI.
trust. It is not my intention to give a minute exposition of the
interesting paragraph I have read, nor to illustrate all the important principles which are contained in, or may be deduced
from it, but merely to take a cursory glance of the great truths
thus figuratively taught us respecting the Christian Ministry,
and the character and destiny of its occupants-worthy and unworthy.
I.-THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.
With regard to the Christian Ministry as an order in Christ's
chuPch, they are represented under the figure of a set of servants,
constituted by the master, stewards, and rulers over his households during his absence.
They are "servants," not lords.  "We preach," says the
apostle, " not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves
your servants for Jesus' sake."''We do not announce ourselves
to you as your masters. We proclaim Christ Jesus to be the
Master, and mindful of his words, "-One is your Master, even
Christ,"2 we announce ourselves to you not your masters, but
your servants for his sake. We seek not to make you our property that we may rule over you, by dictating to your faith, and
controlling your conduct; but considering you as his unalienable
property, which he "' purchased with his own blood,"' and which
having so dearly bought he highly values, we wish to serve Him
by ministering to your improvement.' This is a view of the
sacred office with which they who fill it cannot be too deeply impressed. They are Christ's servants. They have no authority,
separate from his authority. To promulgate and administer his
laws, not to make and execute laws of their own, is their legitimate province.
But while they are, in all the extent and emphasis which can
belong to the term, Christ's servants, and also in a limited and
important sense of the word, the church's servants, for his sake,
yet they are here represented as servants who, by the Lord of the
household, have been made "'rulers" in the family. They are
entrusted by him with the subordinate management of the church.
They are not princes, but they are'stewards;" they are not
" lords," but they are guides; they must not prescribe new ways,
but they are to direct to and in "the old path, and the good
way;" they are not to appoint the work, but they are to instruct,
as they have been instructed, in the right performance-of the task
which the Master has prescribed.
This subordinate rule is all derived from Christ.  It is the
Lord who makes them rulers in his household. In that family
none has authority in the strict sense of the term but IHE. No
king, no parliament, no man, no body of men, has any right to
constitute men stewards over the family of God. That belongs
to HIM who is by Jehovah " set as his King on the holy hill of
12 Cor. iv. 5.    2 Matt. xxiii.- 8.  3 Acts xx. 28.




PART II.]      CHARACTER OF ITS OCCUPANTS.              331
Zion,"4 to Him who is set as " a Son over his own house."' All
church power comes forth from Him. He directly appointed the
first office-bearers in the spiritual society which he established, and
none are rightly constituted but those who are so in accordance
with the principles laid down in the apostolical epistles, and exemplified in the practice of the apostolical churches.
It is of importance, however, to remark, that though called to
office by the instrumentality of their brethren, their authority is
derived, not from them, but from their master: by him, not by
them,, are they to be directed in the performance of their duties,
and to him, not to themrn, are they accountable for the manner in
which they discharge them. It is his doctrine they are to teach
-his laws they are to administer. The steward or overseer,
though chosen, if such be the appointment of the Master, by his
fellow-servants, is to be guided in managing the household, not
by their will, but by the will of their common Lord. The minister of Christ who forgets this, and seeks in his official proceedings primarily to please those who have been committed to his
charge, has lost sight of his high character as a servant of Christ.
A fitter object of mingled blame, contempt, and pity, does not
exist, than a man, bearing the name of a christian minister, who
instead of fearlessly proclaiming and impartially administering
the laws of Christ, is the slave and the executioner of the prejudices of his people.
But though the christian minister is not to be ruled by those
whom he is appointed to rule-is not to take laws from those to
whom he is appointed to declare the law, he is never to forgetwhat the very names of his office are all intended and fitted to
keep constantly before his mind —that he holds office in the
church, not for his own aggrandisement and selfish interests, but
for the benefit of his brethren —not to gratify his own ambition
or love of ease, but to promote their spiritual improvement, to
secure their ultimate salvation; and under the influence of this
conviction, like the steward who finds that in promoting his
master's interest, and the happiness of his fellow-servants, in the
good order of the household, it is of great importance to be on
good terms with those under his care, he will endeavor to
" please his brethren to edification;" nay, he will seek to " please
all men in all things, not seeking his own profit, but the profit of
many, that they may be saved."" Such is the view here given us
of the general nature and design of the christian ministry.
II. —THE CHARACTER OF THE OCCUPANTS OF THE CHRISTIAN
MINISTRY.
Let us now turn our attention to the view which the text gives
us of the character of the occupants of the christian ministryworthy and unworthy. The two characters are placed in contrast.
They have one thing in common: They "know their Lord's
4 Psal. ii. 6.     3 Heb. iii. 6.      6 1 Cor. x. 33.




332              THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.             [EXP. VI.
will."  They have the means of ascertaining what he requires of
them. In everything else, the one is just the reverse of the other.
The characters are so drawn in the passage before us, as that to
have a full view of either we must look at both. Wrhat the one
wants the other has-what the one has the other wants. The
negative assertions respecting the one must be converted into
positive assertions respecting the other, and the positive assertions
respecting the one must be converted into negative assertions respecting the other. The two characters then stand thus: The
worthy occupant of the christian ministry, " knowing his Lord's
will, prepares himself, and does according to his will." So far as
the household is concerned, he does not "smite his fellowservants, beating the men-servants and the maidens," but he
"gives them their meat in due season." In reference to his Lord,
he does not " eat and drink with the drunken," but with "loins
girded about and lamp burning, he watches f'or his return," he
continues in the discharge of his duties till the appointed period
of his official service-in all this approving himself " a faithful
and wise" servant.  On the other hand, the unworthy occupant
of the christian ministry, though " knowing his Lord's will," does
not "prepare himself," neither "does according to his will," but
instead of " giving to the household their meat in due season,"
" beats his fellow-servants," and instead of standing " with loins
girded about and lamp burning," waiting his Lord's return, havinog "said in his heart my Lord delayeth his coming," "eats and
drinks with the drunken," thus showing himself as a servant to
be both unfaithful and unwise. These are the outlines of the
two contrasted portraits.  Let us attempt in some measure to
fill them up.
~ 1. Worthy.
The worthy occupant of the christian ministry "knows his
Lord's will." Though the Master of the household is absent, he
has left full and particular directions for the conduct of all his
servants, and especially of his stewards. These are not to be
found in " the traditions of the elders," in the canons of councils,
or in the decretals of popes. They are to be found in " the Scriptures of truth," —"the word of Christ."   "All Scripture is
given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the
man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good
works."7 Possessing this repository of the doctrine and law of
his Lord, the good minister endeavors to make himself master of
all its stores.  He "searches the Scriptures," and becomes "a
scribe instructed unto the kingdom of heaven."' This is requisite to his being " like unto a man who is a householder, which
bringeth out of his treasure things new and old."
Thus knowing the will of his Master, the faithful servant
" prepares himself."  These words may either mean'gets ready
7 2 Tim. iii. 16.                   s Matt. xiii. 52.




PART II.]      CHARACTER OF ITS OCCUPANTS.             333
to meet his Lord,' or,'makes preparation for doing the will of
his Lord.' We apprehend the last of these phrases brings out
our Lord's meaning. The will of the Lord is the good order
and happiness of his household, and, in order to secure this, the
stewards must " prepare themselves." The minister who would
be useful must prepare himself for usefulness. He must not act
extempore, trusting that the circumstances of the case will suggest the proper mode of conduct on any particular occasion.
The good minister is a devoted student. He " gives himself to
reading, meditation, and prayer," thus making himself acquainted
thoroughly with the great truths he is to teach his people, the
great principles which are to regulate him in his conduct towards
them, and the specific laws of his Master, so that when a crisis
occurs he knows what is to be done. To borrow the language of
the wise son of Sirach, "he gives his mind to the laws of the
Lord, and he is occupied in the meditation thereof; he seeks out
the wisdom of all the ancients, and he is occupied with prophecies; he seeks out the secrets of grave sentences, and is conversant in dark parables; he gives his heart to resort early to the
Lord who made him, and prays before the Most High."9
And thus preparing himself, " he does according to his Lord's
will." He is not a mere student. His lamp trimmed and fed
with the pure oil of the sanctuary, carefully prepared in the
recesses of his closet, burns brightly, and is not " put under a
bushel," but "placed on a candlestick." He turns to account
his secret acquisitions in the conscientious discharge of the private and public duties of his function, his duties to the household, his duties to the Master of the household.
With respect to his duties to the household, he does not " beat
his fellow-servants." He does not usurp an authority over them
which he does not possess. He does not attempt to impose on
them his private opinions as law, and, on their refusing to pronounce his "shibboleth," apply to them "the scourge of the
tongue," or beat them with the rod of a tyrannical discipline.
On the contrary, he devotes himself to the humble duty appointed him by his Lord, " he gives to the household their meat
in due season."  The direct reference here seems to be to the
communication of christian truth to the members of the church.
That is the proper nutriment of the immortal mind. It is by
"the words of faith and sound doctrine" that Christians are
"nourished up" and "strengthened to every good work."  The
good christian minister endeavors to bring before the mind of
his people pure christian truth, and all christian truth so far as
he knows it; " not the poison of false doctrine, not the stones of
unprofitable doctrine, but the wholesome nourishing food of
sound doctrine." And he endeavors to bring this before their
mind in as clear and impressive a manner as possible,-desirous
that the food may be palatable as well as nourishing, —presenting
the "dainties" of divine doctrine, if not " in a lordly dish' "in
9 Ecclus. xxxix 1, &c.




334               THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.            [EXP. VI.
a clean vessel," and, like the ancient "Preacher" while teaching
the people knowledge, " seeking to find out acceptable words."'1
Farther, he takes care that the food shall not only be wholesome
but seasonable.-H-e "gives them their meat in season;" clear
exposition for the ignorant, satisfactory evidence for the doubting, cogent persuasion or strong stimulus for the indolent, abundant consolation for the afflicted. He "preaches the word, is
instant in season and out of season,'" and, though he will not
" beat his fellow-servants," yet does he not spare "to reprove and
rebuke," to " warn them that are unruly," as well as to " comfort
the feeble-minded and support the weak."'2
While the direct reference is to instruction, I have no doubt
that is mentioned as the leading duty to the household, to intimate
that the good steward attends to all his duties, that he looks to
the order and peace of the household as well as to their comfortable maintenance. And indeed the most effectual way in which
a christian minister can promote these, is by endeavoring to
bring his people under the sanctifying, pacific influence of " the
truth as it is in Jesus."
With respect to his duties to his Master, the christian minister
is like a servant who does not " eat and drink with the drunken,"
but who stands " with loins girded about and lamp burning,"
waiting the return of his Master. His spirit is not the spirit of
self-indulgence, which leads a man " to please himself;" it is his
Master's spirit-a self-sacrificing spirit. He is'a true disciple, and
has well learned the first lesson of discipleship, " to renounce himself.""  It is not a worldly spirit, leading him to find his happiness
in secular pursuits, pleasures, and associations; on the contrary,
doing violence to the natural desire of ease, "mortifying his members which are on the earth,""4 and yielding himself up to the
" powers of the world to come," —the influence not of " the things
that are seen and temporal, but of the things that are unseen and
eternal," he stands in an attitude of expectation and preparation.
He believes that his Lord is coming, and that " his reward is with
him;" and he performs all his duties with a reference to his coming. The Judge is in his estimation "before the door;" the Redeemer is " on his way," and though his arrival may be at the
distance of many an age, Faith's piercing eye beholds the prepared
triumphal procession already marshalled, and proclaims incessantly
in his heart, "Behold, he cometh."  He knows that if he be a
steward, then will be his reckoning; if he be a husbandman, then
will be his harvest; if he be a soldier, then is he to receive his
crown. Whoever then may doubt " as to the coming of the
Lord," and ask, "Where is the promise of his coming? for, since
the fathers fell asleep, all things remain even to this day,"" he resists the suggestions of "the evil heart of unbelief," and, under
the power of that principle which makes future things present,
and unseen things visible, he " holds fast the confidence and relO Eccles. xii. 10.   1 2 Tim. iv. 2.     12 1 Thess. v. 14.
1' Matt. xvi. 24.     1' Col. iii. 5.     15 2 Pet. iii. 4.




PART. II.]     CHARACTER OF ITS OCCUPANTS.               335
joicing of his faith," that "He who should come will come, and
will not tarry."'"
And this expectation of the Lord leads to preparation for the
Lord. He faithfully delivers his Master's message, and performs
all the duties assigned him, for he knows that when the Lord
comes, fidelity will be abundantly rewarded, and unfaithfulness
severely punished. He is diligent as well as faithful, knowing that
when He cometh "he will give to every man according to his
work;""-that " he who hath sowed sparingly shall reap sparingly;
and he who hath sowed bountifully shall reap bountifully."'  He
is not " weary in well doing," but is " stedfast and unmovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord;" knowing that when
the Lord comes, " his labor" shall be found not to have been " in
vain."'9  He is not moved from his duty either by the fear of human censure, or the hope of human applause, for he feels that " it
is a very little thingo for him to be judged of man's judgment:
there is one that judgeth him, that is the Lord.2""  He cherishes
a cordial regard for all his brethren in Christ. He dares not
" grudge" against any of them. "The Judge standeth before the
door."" He is not impatient amid the trials and afflictions-some
of them, it may be, very annoying —to which he is exposed; but
" as the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruits of the earth,
and hath long patience for it, till he receives the early and latter
rain" —so he also is "patient and stablishes his heart, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.'"22
Such was the conduct of Paul and his apostolic brethren.
"We labor," says he, " that whether present or absent we may be
accepted of Him, for we must all appear"-we must all be manifested" " before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may
receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath
done, whether it be good or bad."'4 It was this which gave so
deep a pathos to their exhortations to perishing sinners.  "K nowing the terrors of the Lord," "when he shall come in flaming
fire," "they persuaded men.""  It was this which made them so
indefatigable in their labors for the salvation of the elect of God.
"Knowing that He which- raised up the Lord Jesus, shall raise up
us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you;" "for which
cause we faint not."" With the coming of the Lord constantly
before the mind, they "renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, not handling the word of the Lord
deceitfully,'"'7 but cheerfully " spending and being spent" in their
Master's service desirous above all things that they might be
"found of him in peace at his coming," and receive his approving
smile and cordial welcome —" well done good and faithful servant,
enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
The good minister continues in the discharge of his duty till
16 Heb. x. 37.       17 Rev. ii. 23.       is 2 Cor. ix. 6.
19 1 Cor. xv. 58.    20 1 Cor. iv. 3.      21 James v. 9.
22 James v. 7.       23 OavepwOrevat.      24 2 Cor. v. 10.
25 2 Cor. v. 11.     2 2 Cor. iv. 14, 16.  27 2 Cor. iv. 2.




336               THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.            [EXP. VL
the appointed period for the termination of his service. When
the Lord comes, lie finds the faithful servant workinog and watching "with his loins girded and his lamp burning."  The good minister does not abandon his post, nor relinquish his work, nor intermit his watching. He not only " gives himself wholly"28 to his
duties, but he " continues in them."  "He endures to the end."
His spirit is finely expressed in the reply of the great reformer of
Geneva, when urged by his friends to remit somewhat of his
ministerial labors-"What, would you have my Master find
me idle?"
In all this the good minister of Christ acts the part of "a
faithful andl wise steward."  The word "faithful" is used in two
senses in the New Testament-" full of faith," and " distinguished
by fidelity." In both senses it is applicable to the good minister.
He " believes, and therefore speaks:" and he is not only a believer, but " full of faith;" he has clear extended views of divine
truth, and its evidence. His mind is full of the Gospel —and his
heart penetrated by its influences. He is also distinguished by
his fidelity.  He is " faithful" like his Lord, " to Him who appointed him"29-" He keeps the faith."30 The two things are
closely connected; the first produces the second, and both are
strongly manifested in the consistent conduct of the good minister of Christ, for in the course of his ministry, both faith and
faithfulness are strongly and variously tried.  "It is required of
stewards that they be found faithful,""' and the worthy occupant
of the christian ministry is faithful. In the well-chosen words
of an old divine, "He seriously designs the honor of Jesus
Christ, and not his own-delivers'the whole counsel of God,'
and not his own fancies and conceits, follows Christ's institutions
and adheres to them; regards the meanest, reproves the highest,
and is no respecter of persons.""
But he is not only faithful, but also wise. He manifests- much
wisdom in the manner in which he performs his duties. There
are very few situations in which a higher degree of wisdom is
required, than in teaching the doctrine and law of Christ, and
discharging the various duties of the pastoral office; and many
a humble christian pastor shows a depth of penetration and a
soundness of judgment, which, exercised in other circumstances,
might have made him celebrated as a philosopher, a judge, or a
statesman.  "In guiding the flock of Christ," as Mr. IIenry says,
there is need of "skilfulness of the hands" as well as of "integrity of heart." Honesty and diligence may be enough in
some situations, but wisdom is necessary in a good steward.
The good minister also proves himself to be wise in preferring
the laborious, self-denying, course which he follows. He has
made a just calculation. The proverb is true in reference to
him, "He that is wise shall be wise for himself.""3  It often appears even now, it will be made very evident hereafter, that
23 1 Tim. iv. 15, 16.  29 Heb. iii. 2.    30 2 Tim. iv. 7.
31 1 Cor. iv. 2.       32 Henry.          33 Prov. ix. 12.




PART II.]      CHARACTER OF ITS OCCUPANTS.               337
in preferring the toils and anxieties of a faithful, to the comparative ease and enjoyment of an unfaithful ministry-he has chosen
the good part. Those are "wise who win souls,"'3 and their
wisdom, though often questioned in a world of fools, shall be
universally acknowledged in the regions of perfect knowledge.
"Those who are" thus "wise shall shine as the firmament""they who have" proved their wisdom  by "turning many to
righteousness, as the stars in the firmament for ever and ever.'""
~ 2. Unworthy.
Let us now turn our attention to a less inviting, but not less
interesting and important, subject of contemplation,-the character of the unworthy occupant of the christian ministry. He,
too, "knows his Lord's will."  By this expression, we are not to
understand that unfaithful ministers are always, or usually, well
informed with regard to the will of Christ as revealed in his
word. The reverse is generally the truth. They are, for the
most part, men of very limited attainments in biblical and theological knowledge; and where it is otherwise, their views of divine truth are generally dangerously mistaken. They are often,
usually, "blind leaders of the blind;"" though there are not
wanting instances of men distinguished for their acquaintance
both with  Scripture and theology as a science, Maintaining
orthodox views,- too, and zealous, even to rancor, in their support, who have exhibited in their temper and conduct an exact
counterpart of the description here given. In every case they
have the means of knowing their Master's will. They have the
Bible in their hands. Their previous training gives them peculiar advantages for understanding it. They have time for studying it, and, indeed, their leading duty is to seek to know theiI
Master's will, that they may teach it to others. At any rate,
they all know that this is his will, that they should " occupy till
he come,"" "feed the flocks over which they are made overseers,38 and " make full proof their ministry.""
With this knowledge, which he cannot but have, the unfaithful minister" does not prepare himself."  He is genera4lv negligent in his studies; his mind is occupied with pursuits which do
not well harmonize with literary occupations; or, if he be given
to study, the objects of his research are not such as are fitted to
prepare him for doing his Master's will, —they generally lead in
an opposite direction. And not " preparing himself," he does not
do his Master's will. He neglects his public and private duties,
or performs them in so perfunctory, deficient, or positively improper a manner, as makes them useless, or worse than useless.
Instead of giving meat to those of the household under his
care, he beats them. He assumes an authority to which he has no
claim. Instead of administering the law of their common Lord,,
34 Prov. xi. 30.   35 Dan. xii. 3.           36 Matt. xv. 14.
37 Luke xix. 13.  39 1 Pet. v. 2. Acts xx. 28.  39 2 Tim. iv. 6..
VOL. I.                   22




338              THE CHRISTIAN M'INISTRY.           [EXP. VI.
he insists on giving law himself; and if his fellow-servants will
not submit to his dictates, he calumniates them as heretics and
schismatics; applies to them the scourge of the tongue, " even
sharp and bitter words;" prostitutes the ordinance of Christian
discipline by excommunicating " those who are of the household
of faith;" and, when circumstances permit, calls in the aid of
the civil power to attack the property and injure the persons
of those who will not submit to his usurped authority. It is
most humbling to think that men calling themselves christian
ministers should have acted such a part. But there can be no
doubt of the fact. Witness the persecutions of the Waldenses
and Albigenses by the Popish clergy; witness the persecutions of
the Puritans and Nonconformists by the prelatic clergy in England; witness the persecutions of our Covenanting ancestors by
the same clergy in Scotland. Alas! how exact a picture does
the following passage in ancient prophecy exhibit of what has
often taken place,-of what is at this moment taking place in
nominally christian churches:-" Wo to the shepherds that do
feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool; ye kill them
that are fed, but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not
strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither
have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye
brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye
sought that which was lost: but with force and with cruelty have
ye ruled them."4" The cases referred to in the text are extreme
ones, but wherever there is a heady, high-minded, overbearing,
unforbearing, persecuting spirit breaking forth in malignant insinuation, railing accusation, and contemptuous abuse against
brother ministers and fellow-Christians, there is "beating the
fellow-servants;" and this forms a very common feature in the
character of the unfaithful minister.
As he acts inconsistently with the will of his Master in his
behavior towards the household, so he equally disregards those
duties of which the Master himself is the direct object, Instead
of " standing with girded loins and lamp burning," he " eats and
drinks with the drunken." For self-denial there is self-indulgence, and instead of subjection to "' the powers of the world to
come," there is entire subjugation of mind and heart to " the
present evil world." A minister not under the influence of the
religion he professes, naturally seeks for associates among worldly
men. He is "of the world;" he "loves the world," and " the
world" loves him, for it "loves its own.""'  Nothing more de.
cidedly marks the character of a minister as unfaithful, than
habitual, exclusive, chosen, association with worldly men.
But he not only associates with them, he goes along with them
in their criminal pursuits.  "He eats and  drinks," ay, "is
drunken with the drunken." He feasts and carouses with them.
This statement has often been literally verified. In the worst
40 Ezek. xxxiv. 2, &c.               4a John xv. 19.




PART III.]       DESTINY OF ITS )CCUPANTS.             339
ages of the Roman Catlholic ChurcEb the intemperance and impurity of the clergy were a proverb; and it cannot be denied,
though it must be spoken with sorrow and shame, that it is by
no means impossible, in our own favored country, Great Britain,
and in churches calling themselves reformed, to find in the ministry men of whose character and conduct the words before us
exhibit but too accurate a portrait. The character here sketched
in bold relief belongs, however, to many whose exterior deportment in no degree trespasses against decorum. Every minister,
though neither persecutor, nor glutton, nor drunkard, in the
ordinary sense of the words, incurs the guilt here described, who
is overbearing and tyrannical, who is intoxicated with the love
of the world in any of its forms, and who spends that'time and
devotes that attention to the pursuits of worldly literature, ambition, or pleasure, which ought to be dedicated to the " feeding
the flock of Christ," and preparing for meeting with him as " the
chief Shepherd."
By acting in this manner, the unworthy occupant of the sacred
office makes it plain that he is neither " faithful nor wise."  He
is " not full of faith;" he is an unbeliever, not it may be an infidel,
in the ordinary sense of the word, but a man to whom the realities of the Gospel have never bee;, anything else than mere
words or abstract notions, to whom "the words of the truth of
the Gospel" has never " come with demonstration of the Spirit
and with power."" He is not faithful. No, his whole character
and conduct is a lie to God and to man. ITe is unfaithful to
him whom he acknowledges as his Master, and equally unfaithful
to the solemn pledges which he has given the Church and the
world by assuming the sacred profession. And he is not wise.
Oh! it must be fearful miscalculation which can bring such a man
into, or keep such a man in, the christian ministry. Contempt is
very often the sentiment which his conduct draws forth even here,
to an extent that he is little aware of; and of all the victims of
everlasting shame in the regions of retribution, the most pitiable,
and the least pitied, is likely to be the unfaithful minister of
Christianity. Double will be the perdition of the false Christian,
-tenfold the perdition of the false christian minister.
III.-THE DESTINY OF THE OCCUPANTS OF THE CHRISTIAN
MINISTRY.
It only remains now that we shortly attend to the view given
in the text of the destiny of the occupants of the christian ministry, worthy and unworthy.  The faithful servant shall be
"blessed when his Lord comes."  His Lord shall " gird himself
and make him sit down to meat, and shall come forth and serve
him." "He will make him ruler over all that he hath." The
unfaithful servant shall be "cut asunder," "have his portion
42 1 Cor. ii. 4.




340               THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.           [EXP. VI.
appointed him with the hypocrites and unbelievers," and be
beaten with many stripes." The reward and the punishment
here referred to are represented in the parable as conferred and
inflicted at "the coming" of the master. There can be no reasonable doubt that "the coming of the master" represents "the
coming of our Lord." By some, "the coming" referred to has
~been considered as the destruction of the Jewish polity: by
others, the death of the individual minister. There are insuperable objections to the first mode of interpretation, and I do not
think that the death of individual saints is ever represented in
the New Testament as "the coming of the Lord."  They go to
be with Him then. The coming of the Lord here, as usually in
the gospels and epistles, is His final coming to judge the world,
and put a solemn termination to the present order of things.
At the same time, as no change of character takes place in the
intermediate state-as judgment finds men as death leaves them,
the Saviour is represented when coming, as finding his servants
just in the attitude in which they left the world. The descriptions apply in all their extent to the state of things consequent
to the resurrection; it is then that the reward will be fully conferred-then that the punishment will be fuilly inflicted; but
immediately on death, the faithful servant is rewarded, and the
unfaithful servant punished; and the reward and the punishment
in the intermediate period between death and the resurrection,
and after it, differ rather in degree than in kind. Keeping these
observations in view, let us attend to these two most impressive
statements.
~ 1. Worthy.
And first of the destiny of the faithful minister. "He is
blessed" —emphatically " blessed."  "Blessed are" all " who die
in the Lord; yea saith the Spirit"43-but peculiarly blessed is
the minister of Christ who dies at his post-" with his loins girt"
as a servant-or with his shield on his arm, and his sword in his
hand, as a soldier.  "Next to the honor," as Mr. Henry says,
" ofthose who die on the field of battle, is the honor of those who
die on the field of labor." To die for Christ's cause is the highest
glory; the second is, to die in Christ's service. The faithful minister is blessed, for he shall not only " rest from his labors," but
be abundantly rewarded. His reward is described in a manner
suited to the whole parabolical representation. His Lord shall
" gird himself and make him sit down to meat, and shall come
forth and serve him." Who can read this, and remember who
that Lord is, who acts so condescending and kind a part-" the
Only-begotten of God," " the brightness of the Divine glory," " the
King of kings, the Lord of lords," " the great God our Saviour
Jesus Christ,"44 without in devout astonishment exclaiming, " Is
this the manner of men, 0 Lord God?"~" The general idea is
43 Rev. xiv. 13.       4, Joh i 18. Rev. xvii. 14. Tit. ii. 13.
4t 2 Sam. vii. 19.




PART III.]      DESTINY OF ITS OCCUPANTS.                341
plain enough, that they shall be introduced into a state of com
plete repose, high honor, and rich enjoyment, that this will b6
the ol)vious work of their divine Master, and that in the manner
of doing it, he will give the most astonishing manifestations of
condescension and love. "This promise," says the learned and
pious Bengel, "I regard as the greatest of any in the Bible, and
1 take the words in a kind of literal meaning, that is, as a bridegroom on his wedding day scruples not to wait on his guests,
and to converse in affectionate familiarity with them all, so will
Jesus act in the world to come,'when the marriage of the Lamb
is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.' "4
Another figurative representation of the reward of the good
minister, is that of the faithful servant being, as a recompense
for his fidelity, made ruler over the whole of his master's estate.
"He will make him ruler over all that he hath."  Here, as in
the former figure, the minute details are hid from  us by the
dazzling cloud of brightness, which even to the eye of faith,
covers the paradise of God; but the general meaning is not difficult to apprehend. The words certainly indicate that faithful
ministers shall receive peculiar and appropriate rewards-rewards
of a kind which shall strongly mark the regard the Lord has for
them, and the confidence he reposes in them-rewards resembling
those bestowed on a faithful servant by a grateful master, when
he raises him to a station of higher responsibility and greater
honor.
We are much in the dark respecting the economy which is to
be introduced at the coming of the Lord. "It doth not yet appear what we shall be;"'7 but there can be no doubt, that in
" the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,'"4
there will be the most perfect order and happiness, and that his
faithful servants may be employed in a manner we cannot distinctly understand, as instruments in producing and maintaining
this harmony and felicity.
I cannot conclude this part of the subject without placing
before you a finished picture of the happiness of the rewarded
faithful minister, by the hand of a master.  "Such is the
mysterious condescension of divine grace, that although it reserves to itself the exclusive honor of being the fountain of all,
yet by the employment of human agency in the completion of its
designs, it contrives to multiply its gifts and to lay a foundation
for eternal rewards.  When the church, in the perfection of
beauty, shall be presented to Christ as a bride adorned for her
husband, the faithful pastor will appear as the friend of the bridegroom, who'greatly rejoices because bf the bridegroom's voice'
His joy will be' the joy of his Lord;' inferior in degree, but of
the same nature, and arising from the same sources: while he
will have the peculiar happiness of reflecting that he has contributed to it-contributed as a humble instrument to that glory
and felicity of which he will be conscious he is utterly unworthy
46 uark's Mem. of Bengel, p. 397.    47 1 John iii. 2.    4s 2 Pet i 11.




842              THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.          [EXP. VI.
to partake. To have been himself the object of mercy, to have
been the means of imparting it to others, and of dispensing the
unsearchable riches of Christ, will produce a pleasure which can
never be adequately felt or understood, until we'see him as he
is.' From that oneness of spirit, from that inseparable conjunction of interests which will then be experienced in its utmost
extent, will arise a capacity of sharing the triumph of the Redeemer, and of participating in the delight with which he will
survey his finished work when a new and fairer creation shall
rise out of the ruins of the first.'And is this the end,' he will
exclaim,' of all my toils and watchings, my expostulations with
sinners, and my efforts to console the faithful! and is this the
issue of that ministry under which I was often ready to sink t
and this the glory of which I heard so much, understood so little,
and announced to my hearers with lisping accents and a stammering tongue!' Well may it be styled'glory to be revealed.'
Auspicious day! on which I embarked in this undertaking, on
which the love of Christ, with a sweet and sacred violence, impelled me to' feed his sheep, and to feed his lambs.' With what
emotion shall they, who being entrusted with so holy a ministry,
shall find mercy to be faithful, hear that voice from  heaven-Rejoice and be glad, and give honor to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself
ready!' With what rapture shall they recognize amid an' innumerable multitude,' the seals of their ministry, the persons whom
they have been the means of conducting to that glory i" —" To
have co-operated in any degree towards the'accomplishment of
the purpose of Deity,''to reconcile all things to himself,' by
reducing them to the obedience of his Son, which is the ultimate
end of all his works; to be the means of recovering, though it
were but an inconsiderable portion of a lapsed and degenerate
race, to eternal happiness, will yield a satisfaction exactly commensurate to the force of our benevolent sentiments, and the
degree of our loyal attachment to the Supreme Potentate. The
consequences involved in'saving a soul from death, and hiding
a multitude of sins,' will be duly appreciated in that world, where
the worth of souls and the malignity of sin are fully understood;
while to.extend the triumphs of the Redeemer, by forming him
in the hearts of men, will produce a transport which can only be
equalled by the gratitude and love they shall feel towards the
source of all their good.""49
~ 2. Unworthy.
Let us now for a little turn our thoughts to the destiny of the
unworthy occupant of the christian ministry. Deep has been
his guilt, and dreadful will be his punishment. —He shall be
"cut asunder."  By some interpreters there has been supposed
49 Hall's Discouragements and Supports of the Christian Minister. Work,
voL i., pp. 263-266.




PAIr III.]       DESTINY OF ITS OCCUPANTS.               343
to be a reference here to a horrible mode of capital punishment
occasioning extreme suffering, -the cutting or sawing the living
body into pieces;" others have considered the phrase as equivalent to' he shall be destroyed.' We are disposed to think that
this figure, like all the rest, is in keeping with the parable of
which it forms a part. The servant is spoken of as alive after
he has undergone what is termed " cutting asunder." It consists
with the rule and usage of the language to interpret it of his
being'cut off," "dissevered" from the family in which he has
acted so unworthy a part." —He is " cast out," publicly and disgracefully discarded. His indignant Master says, "Depart, I
know you not."  He now feels the true import of that " excommunication" with which he attempted to punish better men
than himself. He is " ANATHEMA MARANATHA."M2
While cast out of the family " his portion is appointed him
with the hypocrites,""3 with false pretenders, a class peculiarly
hateful to him who " desires truth in the inward part,"-" with
the unbelievers," rather with the perfidious,54 who have broken
their engagements both to God and to man. And it is his fit
place; for the honor of God, the cause of truth, the interests of
souls, were put into his hands; he accepted these trusts, and
basely betrayed them all. In the prison of hell, classed with
"the basest, the lowermost, the most dejected, most underfoot
and down-trodden vassals of perdition"" must he have his everlasting abode. "This pertaineth to him as the portion of his
cup."
And there "he is to be beaten with many stripes."  His
damnation shall be no ordinary damnation, and especially his
punishment shall be much more severe than that of those who,
through his unfaithfulness, have " also come into that place of
torment." His conduct in the house of his Master necessarily
led to disorder and disobedience. Those whom he ought to have
taught the will of the Lord remaining ignorant of it, or being
led to form fatally incorrect views of it, have neglected to do His
will, and have been involved in the dreadful consequences of
disobedience. Nor is this at all unjust; they ought to have
known their Lord's will; they had the means of knowing the
Lord's will; it is therefore meet that they should be beaten.
But they will be beaten with comparatively " few stripes;" while
many and unabated shall be the strokes of Divine vengeance on
the man on whom lies the foul guilt of the blood of the souls of
unwarned or deluded sinners. They must "die in their iniquity,
but there blood will be required at the hand" of the faithless
watchman." —Such is the doom of the unfaithful minister.
The reflections which force themselves on the mind after thus
5so0 Heb. xi. 37. 2 Sam. xii. 31. Sueton. Calig. xxvii.
51 Suicer, Beza, Bonnet.  52 1 Cor. xvi. 22.  53 Matt. xxiv. 51.
64 di7TTiTOt. Rev. xxi. 8. Xen Mem., 2, 6, 19.  55 Milton.
Ss Ezek. xxxiii. 8,




344               THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY,             [EXP. VI.
contemplating the  christian  ministry, and the  conduct and
destiny of its occupants, worthy and unworthy, are numerous
and interesting.  I shall content myself with merely noticing a
few of them.
1. With what solemn caution should the holy ministry be
approached and entered on! Oh, how heavy are its responsibilities! how difficult are its duties! how tremendous are its results!
The words of the apostle James should be constantly sounding
in the ears and pressing on the hearts of all who are preparing
for the sacred office:-" Brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive greater condemnation."" In this apostolical injunction the word masters is opposed not to servants,
but to scholars or disciples; condemnation means judgment, and
the force of the whole exhortation may be thus given:-' Be not
many teachers, knowing that we-we that are teachers-shall be
subjected to a stricter scrutiny, a severer judgment, than those
who occupy a private station in the church.' The caution seems
to have been drawn forth by certain novices-late converts to
Christianity, more zealous than considerate, more forward than
wise, aspiring to or even assuming the office of teachers, when,
to say the least, they were but very imperfectly qualified for discharging its duties; but, like all inspired exhortations, though
rising out of, and peculiarly suited to, an existing conjecture of
circumstances, it embodies a great general principle, applicable
in all countries and in all ages,-the principle that the christian
ministry has awful responsibilities.  And it is meet that it should
be so.  The honor of the great Master, and the interests of
eternity-of the eternity of numerous-innumerable men, are
most deeply involved in the right or the wrong discharge of its
functions.
The station of a christian minister is an honorable one; the
most honorable, likely, in the estimation of an angel, that man
can be invested with; but it is proportionally  difficult and
hazardous. It is dangerous to undertake it rashly, as it is ruinous to occupy it unfaithfully. Ministers, as well as their people,
must be subjected to a solemn investigation, to an impartial
judgment.  Both the work and the workmen -must be tried.;' Every man's (i. e. plainly every minister's) work shall be made
manifest; for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed
by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it
is. If any man's work abide he shall receive a reward. If any
man's work shall be burnt he shall suffer loss, but he himself
shall be saved as by fire."" Thus even among ministers, on
the whole faithful, there will be a difference: " Every man receiving his own reward according to his own labor.""' Solemn
as are the feelings which the anticipation of such a trial of the
work, and of its results, is calculated to awaken, still more overwhelmingly awful is the prospect of the judgment of the work57 James iii 1. Erskine's (Dr. John) Discourses, voL i., p. 1, &c.
58 1 Cor. iii. 13-15.                   51  Cor. iii 8.




PART III.]       DESTINY OF ITS OCCUPANTS.               345
man, and its consequences. The secrets of their hearts will be
disclosed, their principles of action will be scrutinized, and according as they meet the approbation or disapprobation of the
Judge, shall they " enter into the joy of their Lord," to possess
" a greater degree of glory than common Christians are made
partakers of;" or have their "place appointed with the hypocrites" and "the perfidious," the most degraded portion of lost
immortals.
2. How powerful are the motives and encouragements to diligence and fidelity in discharging the christian ministry! No
office, as we have seen, can be more dignified. None affords
opportunities for a higher kind, or for a greater measure, of usefulness. In none is failure more disgraceful and ruinous. In
none does success end in equal glory and felicity. Let the
minister be unfaithful, and he will ruin himself, and those who
hear him —ruin them for ever. Let the minister be faithful, and
he will "save himself, and those who hear him,"-save them for
ever. Oh! the -withering look of disapprobation and contempt
with which "the Chief Shepherd, when he appears," will regard
the faithless pastor.  Oh! the fulness of esteem and affection
that will beam in his countenance when he turns himself towards
those "whose hearts were honest in the sacred cause."  How
awful to have lost immortals accusing and cursing us as the
authors of their destruction for ever I  How transporting to be
gratefully recognized as the instruments of conveying to our
fellow-men blessings, the true nature of which can be known
only by enjoyment, and the full value of which cannot be fully
estimated by the most enlarged faculties throughout eternal ageos!
What christian minister, allowing these realities to exercise their
due influence on his mind, does not " rejoice with trembling " in
occupying an office so holy-so big with happiness or miserywith glory or with shame to himself, and, it may be, to innumerable immortal beings? Looking merely at its difficulties and
hazards, well might he despondingly say, " Who is sufficient for
these things?" and be tempted to exclaim, "I will not make
mention of him, nor speak any more in his name;" but when he
looks at the power and grace of his Master, and at the glorious
results of faithful service, should he not say, " Having received
such a ministry, I faint not "?  Should he not resolve to "give
full proof of his ministry,"-to "be instant in season and out of
season,"-to " count not even his life dear to him that he may
finish his course with joy, and the ministry which he has received from  the Lord Jesus to fulfil it," —" to keep under his
body, and bring it into subjection, lest, having preached to others,
he himself should be a castaway,"'"-to  "be faithful to death,
that he may obtain the crown of life "?"'
3. How strong are the claims which christian ministers have
on the prayers of their people!  The importance and difficulty
of the ministerial duties, the innumerable immeasurably good or
60 1 Cor. ix. 27.                      61 Rev. ii. 10




346               THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.           [EXP. VI.
bad consequences which must result on earth, in heaven, or in
hell-in time and throughout eternity, and the deep interest
which they and their families, as individuals, have in the right
and efficient discharge of these duties; all call on the members of
christian churches to be frequent and fervent in prayer for theil
ministers, that they may be preserved from every degree ofevery approach to-unfaithfulness, and that they may be enabled
to act every part of the faithful affectionate pastor-the intrepid
and skilful soldier of Christ Jesus. The apostles frequently request the prayers of their christian brethren. Ministers in these
later ages surely stand as much in need of the prayers of their
people as the apostles did. I present a claim for myself and for
my brethren, of which I am sure you must feel the justice, and
which, I trust, you will readily grant —when I say, " Brethren,
pray for us. Pray for us, for we trust we have a good conscience,
willing in all things to live honestly. Pray for us that utterance
may be given us, that we may open our mouths boldly, to make
know the mystery of the Gospel as we ought to speak." Nay,
" I beseech you brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and
for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with us, in your
prayers to God for us "-" that the word of the Lord may have
free course and be glorified," "and that we may be delivered
from unreasonable and wicked men, for all men have not faith.""'
62 1 Thess. v. 25. Heb. xiii. 18. 2 Thes. iii. 1. Eph. vi. 19. Rom. xv. 80.




EXPOSITION VII.
FIGURATIVE VIEWS OF THE PURPOSE OF OUR LORD'S MISSION;
OF THE MEANS OF GAINING IT; AND OF HIS FEELINGS IN
REFERENCE TO BOTH.
LuKE xii. 49, 50.-" I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I if it
be already kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I
straitened till it be accomplished!"
A CAREFUL reader of the New Testament cannot fail to observe
that many of our Lord's statements respecting future events,
especially in reference to the design of his mission, and the means
by which that design was to be accomplished, could, at the time
they were made, from the figurative, and often enigmatical, language adopted by him, be but very imperfectly. if at all, understood by those to whom they were addressed; while, at the same
time, this very figurative and enigmatic style which occasioned
the obscurity, was fitted to excite attention and secure recollection, so that, when the events predicted actually occurred, not
only was the meaning of the predictions clearly unfolded, but the
supernatural knowledge and the divine mission of him who uttered
them were satisfactorily established. I refer to such declarations
as the following:-" Destroy this temple, and in three days I will
raise it up." " As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of man be lifted up." " When the Son of
man is lifted up, then shall ye know that I am he."  "And I, if
I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth
alone: but if it die. it bringeth forth much fruit."  "A  little
while, and ye shall not see me: and again a little while, and ye
shall me."'
These things our Lord spoke "in proverbs." He knew that
those whom he addressed were not at the time able to bear the
truths couched under these figurative expressions, had they been
stated in plain terms. He did not mean such sayings to be fully
understood at the period they were spoken; but he did mean,
that, though not understood, they should be remembered. He
meant that his sayings should sink into the ears and into the
hearts of his disciples, that when the light of fulfilment made the
meaning of the prediction palpably obvious, they might recollect
1 John ii. 19; iii. 14; viii. 28; xii. 32, 24; xvi. 19.




348      FIGURATIVE VIEWS OF OUR LORD'S MISSION. [EXP. VII.
what he said to them, and, instead of being stumbled at events
very different from, in many cases directly opposite to, what
their national prejudices, and misapprehension of Old Testament
prophecy, had led them to anticipate, might find in these events
a corroboration of his claims, and a confirmation of their own
faith. "In this they partook of what may be considered as a
general character of our Lord's teaching, —the impressing indelibly,
by parable, proverb, maxim, or seeming paradox, truths but very
imperfectly understood, but which would grow clearer as the
divine life was formed within, and become an ever-increasing
source of spiritual light."'
To this remarkable class of passages referred to, our text
obviously belongs. "I am come to send fire on the earth; and
what will I if it be already kindled? But I have a baptism to be
baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!"
These words must have excited eager attention, they must have
been heard with deep interest, by those to whom they were originally spoken; but they could convey to their minds no very distinct meaning. The disciples must have felt equally that they
could not understand them, and that they could not forget them.
It was not long till the mystery was unfolded, the enigma solved.
The event explained the prediction; and it then became evident
at once why the prediction had been given, and why it had been
given in so peculiar a form.
Let us endeavor, in the light of accomplishment, to ascertain
the meaning of this very remarkable oracle. It naturally divides
itself into two parts: the first referring to the design of our Lord's
mission, and his feelings in reference to that design,-" I am come
to send fire on the earth; and what will I if it be already kindled?"
the second, to the means by which this end was to be accomplished,
and his feelings with regard to these means,-" But I have a baptism  to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be
accomplished 1" I shall turn your attention shortly to these two
parts of the divine oracle in their order.
I.-OF TIE DESIGN OF OUR LORD'S MISSION, AND HIS FEELINGS
IN REFERENCE TO IT.
Let us first, then, consider the view here given us of the design
of our Lord's mission, and of his feelings with regard to this desirgn. "I am come to send fire on the earth;' and what will I if
it be already kindled?"
And first, here, of the design of our Lord's mission,-" I am
come to send fire on the earth." The design of our Lord's mission
is often stated in plain terms by himself and his disciples. The
substance of all these statements is, that he came to destroy ignorance and error, sin and misery-those works of the Devil, and
2 Neander.
3,, Ignis ille non est nativus terrce. Elf non Ev ut in versu 51." BENGEL




PART I.]                ITS PURPOSE.                   349
make men wise, and good, and happy, by restoring them to the
knowledge, and favor, and fellowship of God.
The description of the design of our Lord's mission contained
in the text is highly figurative. The first step towards obtaining
possession of any truth intended to be conveyed by a figure, is a
distinct apprehension of the figure itself. Let us inquire, then,
what is the literal meaning of the words rendered " I am come to
send fire on the earth." It may mean-' I am come to cast fire
on the earth, to strike the earth with lightning, to call down fire
from heaven to consume its guilty inhabitants;' or,'I am come
to kindle a fire on earth.' Neither of these senses seems to be
satisfactory. The first would naturally enough describe what shall
be one design of our Lord's second coming, when he shall come
"in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God,
and that obey not his gospel."" But whatever misery, through
man's unbelief and impenitence, may be occasioned by our Lord's
first coming, its design is wholly benignant;-" God sent not his
Son into the world to condemn" or punish " the world; but that
the world through him might be saved;" "I came not," says our
Lord, "to judge," i. e., to condemn and punish, " the world, but
to save the world."" The second sense, that of kindling a fire on
the earth-i. e., somewhere on its surface, whatever mystical meaning might be given to the words-seems at once too indefinite and
too limited, to answer the exigencies of the passage.
I am disposed to think that the true literal meaning of the
words is,' I am come to set the earth on fire; I am come to produce a general conflagration.' If this be admitted to be the literal
meaning of the terms, there can be very little difficulty in fixing
on their spiritual signification. They indicate that his religion,
his doctrine, accompanied by his Spirit, should rapidly, and at
length universally, overspread the world, diffuse itself among
mankind, and either thoroughly impregnate with its own spirit,
or utterly consume, all human institutions,-purifying whatever
will submit to purification, and destroying what is incapable of
purification.
" Fire" is, in Scripture, the emblem both of the word and of the
Spirit of God. "hIs not my word a fire and a hammer, breaking
the rock in pieces?" The cloven tongues of fire, the forked lightning flames, which sat on the heads of the apostles on the day of
Pentecost, were appropriate representations of the rapid dissemination of the doctrines they were to propagate, and the powerful
destructive energy, with which they were instinct, against all the
varied forms of evil.6 In an Old Testament oracle, giving an account of the Father "bringing in his first-begotten into the world,"
— in other words, of Jesus Christ establishing, by divine power,
his kingdom among men,-it is said, " Fire goeth before him."
" His lightnings enlighten the world."' And in the Apocalypse
fire is said to proceed out of the mouth of the mystic witnesses,
4 2 Thess. i. 8.              5 John iii. 17; xii. 47.
6 Acts ii. 3.                 7 Psal. xcvii. 3, 4.




350     FIGURATIVE VIEWS OF OUR LORI S MISSION. [EXP. VII.
who speak his truth under the influence of his Spirit, and to consume their and his enemies.8  The words before us, then, seem
just equivalent to,' My religion shall rapidly and irresistibly diffuse itself among mankind; and wherever it does so, it shall, like
a consuming fire, destroy ignorance and error, depravity and
misery —those works of the devil-and utterly annihilate everything which counteracts its influence and opposes its progress.'
How remarkably has our Lord's declaration been accomplished! How striking is the fulfilment which even now is taking place! How rapidly did the sacred fire diffuse itself in the
primitive ages! how did it purify! how did it consume! Where
is "over-dated Judaism," and its magnificent temple?  Where
is pagan philosophy, with its groves and porticoes? Where is
idolatry, with its innumerable shrines, and altars, and temples?
Where is imperial Rome, with her invincible armies, and all but
unbounded empire? They have been burnt up by this fire of
the Lord,-they have been " consumed by the brightness of his
coming."
For a season-long, as we count duration, but short with Him
with whom " a thousand years are as one day,"-the holy fire
seemed arrested in its'progress, and even in hazard of being extinguished. But the dark, bleak middle ages passed away, and
at the period of the glorious Reformation, blown on by the
breath of God, it burst forth with new vigor, and in an incredibly short period, throughout the best portion of Europe,
consumed the errors and superstitions of Papal Rome.
In our own age we have seen, with delight, the progress and
the power of this heaven-lit conflagration.  We see it kindled
up in numerous widely-scattered regions of our earth, and everywhere manifesting its energy in destroying what is evil. And
its fire must be lighted up in, -— ay, it must be diffused overevery land, trying, purifying, destroying,-and it must glow with
intenser ardor, till every human institution, civil, literary, or
ecclesiastical, which embodies false principle and cherishes depraved feeling,-which in its character and tendency opposes the
truth, the purity, and the benignity of the Gospel of Christ, become fuel to its flames. This conflagration must become universal. This deluge of holy lustral fire must cover the whole
earth; and all human systems of government, philosophy, and
religion, must, by it, be either purified or consumed.
The same great and glorious event is predicted by the prophets Daniel and John, under different sets of emblems.  The
stone cut out of the mountain without hands strikes the stately
image on the feet; and the iron and the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, are broken in pieces, and become like the chaff
of the summer threshing-floor, and the wind carries them away,
and no place is found for them; while the stone which smote the
image becomes a great mountain, and fills the whole earth. The
kingdom set up by God in the days of the fourth great Gentile
8 Rev. xi 5.




PART I.]              ITS PURPOSE.                      351
kingdom shall break in pieces and consume all t'nese krugdons,
and shall stand for ever.' "I saw," says John, "heaven opened,
and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called
Faithful and True; and in righteousness he doth judge and
make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head
were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man
knew but he himself: and he was clothed with a vesture
dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white
horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his
mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the
nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he
treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty
God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name
written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." And what
shall be the result of this celestial war against the powers of evil?
" Voices in heaven" shall ere long proclaim  it: " The kingdom
of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his
Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.""~
So much for the illustration of the view here given us of the
design of our Lord's mission,-to kindle a conflagration which
shall pervade the earth, assimilating all things to itself-purifying or destroying them.
The feelings of our Lord in reference to this design, are expressed in the words, "what will I if it be already kindled?",
Some consider these words as expressive of a feeling of exultation. They consider our Lord as exulting in the hold which his
word had already got of some human hearts; he saw in the faith
of the little flock, that the heavenly flame in his bosom had
caught on kindred material, and though it was but a little spark,
~bknew that it was inextinguishable, and that that smoking flax
would yet kindle a blaze which would wrap the whole earth in
flames. He sees the unquenchable element, as it were, bursting
forth, and exclaims,' What will I more? the object of my ministry on earth is so far accomplished.'' Just as when the Greeks
were introduced to him, seeing in them the first fruits of the fulness of the Gentile nations, he exclaimed, " The hour is come,
that the Son of man should be glorified."'"
Others, with whom we are disposed to agree, consider the
words as expressive of desire, rather than of exultation. " VVWhat
will I?"-or' what do I wish? but that it were already kindled'
— or'what do I wish? O, that it were already kindled.' The
word rendered "if," is sometimes used to express desire; thus
Balaam says, "I would there were a sword in mine hand,""-14
literally,' if there were a sword in my hand.' In Isaiah, the word
very properly rendered by our translators, "0, that thou hadst
hearkened to my commandments,'" is literally,'If thou hadst
9 " Dan. ii. 34, 35, 44, 45.  10 Rev. xix. 11-16; xi. 15.
I "  rVolo pro vellem."-BEsNGEn.  12 Neander.
13 John xii. 20-23. 14 Numb. xxii. 29.  15 Isa. xlviii. 18.




352     FIGURATIVE VIEWS OF OUR LORD'S MISSION. [EXP. VII.
hearkened.' And our Lord's words, "If thou hadst known, at
least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!"16
are obviously equivalent to,'0, that thou hadst known, at least
in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace.' The
meaning then seems to be,'I am come to set the earth on fire0, that the conflagration were begun.' When we consider how
clearly this was connected with the glory of God, and with the
happiness of man, we cannot wonder that it should be an object
of intense desire to him of whom it is said, " The zeal of thy
house hath even consumed me;" and who so loved men, as not
to love his own life to the death, in order to obtain their salvation.
The intensity of his desire for the accomplishment of the great
design of his mission, is strikingly expressed in the manner in
which he speaks in reference to the means by which it was to be
accomplished; means which involved an amount of exertion and
suffering to him, which no created mind can estimate. " But,"
in order to that fire being kindled, "I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished?""'I so intensely desire it, that I am willing to undergo all that
suffering, which I know must be endured, in order to the kindling this salutary purifying fire. I am indeed restless till I have
sustained it.'
IL-OF THE MEANS OF GAINING THE DESIGN OF OUR LORD'S MISSION, AND HIS FEELINGS IN REFERENCE TO THESE.
This brings us to the second part of our subject: the view
given us, in the oracle, of the means by which the design of our
Lord's mission was to be accomplished, and of his feelings in reference to these means. The means are described in these words,
-"I have a baptism to be baptized with;""8 the feelings are
described in these words,-" How am I straitened till it be accomplished 1"
And first, of the means by which the design of our Lord's
mission was to be accomplished. "I have a baptism to be bap.
tized with." " But"-the force of this particle plainly is,' These
intense desires cannot immediately be gratified. In order to my
doing what I am come to do, I must suffer, severely suffer.'
That the baptism or submersion that our Lord speaks of refers to
his sufferings, there can be no doubt. His own words to James
and John explain it, when they through their mother requested
to be allowed to sit, the one on his right hand and the other on
his left, in his kingdom.  "Can ye drink of the cup that I drink
of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?""'
i. e.,'Can ye endure the sufferings I must endure, in order to
my entering on my kingdom?' There are two things we must
X6 Luke xix. 42.
17," Accensionem praecessit lucta. Accensus est Act ii." —BENGEL.
18 Luke xii. 50.'9 Mark x. 3&




PART II.]     MEANS OF GAINING ITS?URPOSE.             353
do here. We must show what truths with regard to our Lord's
sufferings, are indicated by their being termed his baptism, and
we must show how this baptism of sufferings was necessary in
order to his kindling that conflagration; which was the object of
his intense desire.
In calling his sufferings a "baptism," our Lord may refer
either to the ORIGIN, to the NATURE, or to the DEGREE of his
sufferings.
He may refer to their ORIGIN. The baptisms under the law,
to which no doubt there is a reference, were Divine appointments. In this respect our Lord's sufferings were a " baptism."
"Truly," said our Lord, "the Son of man goeth as it was determined."  He " was fore-ordained," says the apostle Peter in
his Epistle, a propitiatory sacrifice "from the foundation of the
world." —" When," said the apostles in their solemn song of
thanksgiving and triumph, "When Herod and Pontius Pilate,
with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together" against " God's holy Child Jesus," it was " to do whatsoever
His hand and His counsel had determined before to be done."20
In using the word baptism as descriptive of his sufferings, our
Lord may refer to their NATURE. Baptism marked the person
and thing baptized as sacred, devoted to God. Our Lord's sufferings marked him out as the " elect, righteous servant of God,"
employed by him in the great work of man's redemption. When
we contemplate him as the absolutely innocent, all-righteous one,
treated as if he had been a sinner, the chief of sinners, we, as it
were, hear Jehovah proclaiming-" Behold my servant whom I
uphold, my beloved in whom my soul delights."  "Behold the
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world.""'
Finally, in using the word baptism in reference to his sufferings, our Lord may intend to indicate their SEVERITY. Some,
though not all, the legal baptisms, were immersions, submersions.
When we consider the nature, the number, the variety, the severity, the early commencement, the close succession, the strange
complication, the long continuance, of his sufferings, we may
well say, he was plunged into an abyss of sufferings. He " came
into deep waters, where the floods overflowed him."2' You see,
then, what are the qualities of our Lord's sufferings, indicated
by their being termed "a baptism;" —they were divinely ap
pointed;-the sufferings of a sacred person-severe sufferings.
But how were these sufferings necessary as means to our
Lord's effecting the design of his mission, which was the object
of such intense desire to him? This a wide field, but I must
content myself with a few hints. Without any suffering on the
part of the Son of God, he might have "kindled a fire in his
anger, which would have burned unto the lowest hell, which
would have consumed the earth with her increase, and set on
fire the foundations of the mountains."23 This would have been.
20 1 Pet. i. 20. Acts iv. 26-28.  21 Isa. xlii. 1. John i. 29.
22 Psal. lxix. 2.                23 Deut. xxxii. 22.
VOL. I.                   23




354     FIGURATIVE VIEWS OF OUR LORD'S MISSION. [EXP. VII.
but the execution of righteous judgment against man the sinner.
But to kindle a fire, which should purify and save man, and destroy only what is hostile to his best interests, this required something more than a mere act of power. It had to be made a
righteous thing in God to forgive sin, and save the sinner. It
was only through expiatcry suffering, in the room of man, that
our Lord could ascend the throne of the universe, as the divinelyappointed deliverer from sin and its consequences. He must redeem by price before he can redeem by power. Purchase must
precede conquest. The foundations of the mediatorial throne
can be laid only in the blood of Him who is to sit on it. He
must be lifted up on the cross, in order to his being lifted up on
the throne, so as that the world may be judged by him, the
prince of this world cast out by him, and all men drawn to him.
It was because he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto
death-the death of the cross, in the room of men, that the
Father'" highly exalted him," giving him " power over all flesh,"
-" all power in heaven and on earth."
It only remains now, that we say a few words respecting our
Lord's feelings, as expressed in the text, in reference to his sufferings as the means of gaining the great design of his mission.
These are described in the very emphatic exclamation, " How
am I straitened till it" (that is, my baptism of suffering) " be
accomplished!"
The word rendered "'straitened," when applied to mental affection, is descriptive of that internal struggle, that mingled
emotion of aversion and desire, fear and hope, which is produced
by the contemplation of some situation of extreme difficulty and
suffering, in which we foresee we must be placed, and in which,
from the important advantageous consequences likely to arise
from our occupying it, and not otherwise attainable, we cannot
help wishing ourselves to be placed. It expresses the feelings
with which we look forward to an event, in itself extremely disagreeable, absolutely inevitable, and which, when taken in connection with its consequences, we do not wish to avoid. This is
a state of mind more easily conceived than described. We may
be assisted in forming a conception of the Saviour's state of
mind, at the moment he used the words under consideration, by
endeavoring to realize the feelings of an advanced christian in
the immediate prospect of dissolution,-dissolution likely to be
the result of agonizing suffering. He looks forward to death,
and the sufferings which are to produce it, as in themselves most
undesirable. He instinctively shrinks from pain, and death,dissolution. He cannot choose " strangling and death" for their
own sakes. Had he it in his option, he would prefer getting to
heaven by a painless translation; he would rather be " clothed
upon," than " unclothed;" instead of life being swallowed up of
mortality, he -would wish that " mortality were swallowed up of
life."  But he knows that " flesh and blood cannot inherit the




PART II.]     MEANS OF GAINING ITS PURPOSE.             355
kingdom of God."2  He knows there is no entrance for him into
life, but through death; and that that presence with the Lord
which he so ardently longs for, can be obtained only by that
divorce from the body which he cannot but regard with aversion
and fear. To be where Christ is, to be with him there, to behold and share his glories, are, in the estimation of such a one,
the highest of blessings, blessings well worth dying to obtain;
and the assured hope of obtaining these, as the result of dying,
makes him more than willing to die, desirous "to depart, to be
with Christ, which is far better." Still this desire has a verv
peculiar character, easily distinguishable from the desire of unmixed good. He is, as the apostle says, using the same word as
that before us, "in a strait betwixt two," even when desiring to
depart.2"
Let us remember, that our Lord's bloody passion, in all its
strange complication of bodily agony and mental anguish, was
viewed by him as at once inevitable and at hand, and that, at
the same time, the glorious results of that passion-results which
could be secured in no other way-were fully before his mind,
that he had a clear distinct idea, both of the sufferings he was to
undergo, and of the glory that was to follow them to him and
his; and then we shall have some apprehension, necessarily a
very imperfect one, of that painful struggle of antagonist emotion, which stirred to its depths the Saviour's heart, and probably
gave a very peculiar expression to his countenance, and tone to
his voice, when he said, "I have a baptism to be baptized with;
and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!"
The Captain of our salvation surveyed the opposing host of
the enemies of God and man,-their number, their power, their
craft, their malignity, were fully apprehended by him. The decisive struggle was at hand. He knew that it would be arduous
and mortal. But he equally knew, that final success was not
doubtful, and that the agony of the conflict would be richly recompensed in "glory to God in the highest," "salvation with
eternal glory" to millions of redeemed men. In painful, eager
expectation, he waited the signal from Him who appointed him
to enter the field of toil, and blood, and victory.
The words intimate a full conviction that he must suffer. Not
that his sufferings, absolutely considered, were necessary,-he
suffered because he chose to suffer-but, hypothetically, they
were altogether necessary to gain the end he had in view, the
finishing transgression, making an end of sin, bringing in an
everlasting righteousness, bearing, and bearing away, the sin of
the world. They intimate, too, a clear apprehension of the magnitude of his approaching sufferings. In many cases, it would
be an alleviation of our suffering, could we but distinctly define
the dimensions of approaching evil. Those ill-defined, gigantic
shadows, which they cast before them, often excite an alarm altogether disproportioned to their real magnitude. It was, how24 1 Cor. xv. 50.                      25 Phil. i. 23.




356     FIGURATIVE VIEWS OF OUR LORD'S.ISSION.  [EXP. VIL
ever, otherwise with the Saviour. The sufferings awaiting him,
far exceeded anything which the human imagination, even when
excited by fear, could have pictured. Finally, these words intimate an invincible resolution, an unquenchable desire, to finish
" his strange work in righteousness." " He did not fail, nor was
he discouraged." The path lay straight before him, and he
pressed onward with a steadiness of movement, which calls up
to the mind the making of the tide towards the shore, or the
course of the sun through the heavens.
It is but a little while, and the baptism  is accomplished:
Gethsemane-Calvary-are at hand. The mysterious cry, "It
is finished!" is heard; and when the baptism is accomplished,
the conflagration commences. Raised from the dead, he proclaims to his chosen messengers, "All power is given to me in
heaven and earth: go disciple all nations-go preach the Gospel
to every creature"-apply the lighted torch to the prepared fuel.
Soldiers of the cross! take possession of the world-it is the purchased property of your Lord. The battle then began, which
has ever since lasted, and which shall not cease, till the shout of
victory peal through the universe: "HIIalleluiah.: the kingdoms
of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ;
halleluiah! the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."
What a glorious consummation! The fire of christian truth,
and holy spiritual influence, has burnt up the thistles and thorns,
the nightshade and upas trees of ignorance, and error, and depravity: "The heavens drop down righteousness, the earth
opens, and brings forth salvation;"72 and a renovated creation
smiles under the benignant eye of Him who, sitting on the
throne, proclaims-" Behold I have made all things new."
Let us, my brethren, remember that, though it is the work of
our Lord and King to send fire on the earth, it is a work which
he accomplishes through the instrumentality of his people. His
people act very much out of character, when, in the ordinary
sense of the term, they are fire-brands in society, whether ecclesiastical or civil. But it is their duty-their great primary duty
-to keep the fire of holy truth and love which he has kindled in
their hearts, burning brightly, and consuming in them every
false principle, every unholy desire; and it is equally their duty
to endeavor to propagate the sacred fire-to bring all individuals,
all societies, all institutions, under its purifying or consuming
power. What was the object of such intense desire to our Lord,
should draw forth our most earnest wishes. The mind is not in
us which was in him-his spirit is not in us, and, therefore, we
are none of his —if we do not take a deep interest in the progress
and triumph of truth and holiness. Wherever divine truth lays
hold on the heart, like fire, it manifests a tendency to communicate itself. Fire naturally spreads: christians cannot but speak
the things they have heard. They "believe, and therefore
speak."  When they seek to repress this natural impulse, Jeresa. xlv. 8.




PART II.]     MEANS OF GAIN1NG ITS PURPOSE.            357
miah's experience is in some degree likely to be theirs. If they
say, from false shame, fear, or any other cause, " I will not make
mention of him, nor speak of his name, his word is in their heart
as a burning fire shut up in their bones; they are weary with
forbearing, and cannot stay." Oh, that there were more of this
felt necessity among christians, to communicate what they have
received, to spread abroad that fire that burns within! If there
is no such disposition, can it be doubted there is no fire within to
spread abroad?
And as our Lord proved the intensity of his desire by cheerfully doing and suffering all that was necessary to the accomplishment of the glorious object, so must we. We never could
have done what he did; we never could have suffered what he
suffered; and without his doings and sufferings, our doings and
sufferings in such a cause would have been impossible; and, if
possible, would have been unavailing. But we too must labor,
we too must suffer, in order to the gaining of the great object of
his mission-the purifying of the earth through the fire of his
word, animated by his Spirit; and let us never think we can
labor nor suffer too much in such a cause.
Let us learn from him never to fail or be discouraged, never
to be weary in doing or suffering, in promoting the great object
for which he so labored and so suffered. Let us, like him, seek
to finish the work which the Father gives us to do, and think
nothing done, while aught remains to do. Let it be a constant
subject of desire, and prayer, and labor, that the sacred fire may
be universally diffused, and that the whole earth, purified by it,
may be presented as a sacrifice to Jehovah.
His labors were not in vain in the Lord, and neither shall ours
be. He has seen of " the travail of his soul," and is "satisfied;"
and "in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."  "Therefore,
my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast and unmovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord; forasmuch as ye know that
your labor is not in vain in the Lord."27
Let all who live under the gospel dispensation remember, that
the fire of christian truth cast among a people as it has been cast
among us, must produce effects-important effects-effects, the
full importance of which eternity only can develop. If it do not
melt the stone, it will rend it; if it do not purify, it will destroy.
It is no neutral element. It is " the savor of death unto death,"
if it be not "the savor of life unto life."  It is " a quick and
powerful word;" and, as received or rejected, it will manifest its
power in complete salvation, or in aggravated destruction.'A
neglected, despised Gospel, will, in the regions of hopeless misery,
be a fire that cannot be quenched, burning, without consuming,
the very vitals of him who has neglected and despised it. These
are weighty words of our Lord: " He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him "-that shall
judge, condemn, and punish him-" the word that I have spoken,
27 1 Cor. xv. 58.




358     FIGURATIVE VIEWS OF OUR LORD'S MISSION.  [EXP. VII.
the same shall judge him in the last day."28 Ay, it will punish
him through eternity; and one of the most earnest, hopeless
wishes of a lost soul, throughout unending duration, will be,' O
that I could forget the Gospel Mhich I heard, but believed not!'
But it cannot be; the recollection is burnt in to the very centre
of his being. In addition to the fearful voice sounding unremittingly and endlessly in the ears of all the lost, "You knew
your duty, and you did it not,""9 a still more heart-rending announcement will be constantly forced on the attention of the
Gospel neglecter and despiser —' Salvation, free, full salvation
was offered you, and you refused it. It might, it would, have
been yours, had you but received what was sincerely proffered.
It can be yours no more for ever.' Unbeliever! take warning
in time. If you persist in unbelief, it must come to this. You
cannot escape this-are you prepared to endure it?
28 John xii 48.                         29 Pollok.




EXPOSITION VIII.
TRUE HAPPINESS, AND THE WAY OF SECURING IT
JOHN VI.
THE discourse, on the consideration of which we now enter,
was, like most, if not all, of our Lord's discourses, occasional,
rising out of the circumstances in which he was placed when he
uttered it, and from them taking its particular form, and deriving
its peculiar illustrations. Its subject is the most important and
interesting which can engage the attention of the human mind.
It contains a discussion and decision of two questions, which, in
all countries and ages, have occupied the thoughts of reflecting
men, but to which unassisted reason, though applying all its
energies to the task for a long course of centuries, had failed to
find a satisfactory reply-What ought to be the object of man's
supreme pursuit? and, IHow is he to secure the attainment of this
object?
I.-INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE.
JOHN VL 1-25.
The circumstances which led our Lord to deliver the discourse
now before us, and suggested the instructive and beautiful imagery by which his doctrines are at once illustrated and adorned,
may be shortly stated.
Our Lord, on the return of his apostles from the evangelical
itinerant labors in which he had employed them, having heard of
the anxiety which Herod the Tetrarch had expressed to see him,
had left Capernaum, a city on the west side of the sea of Galilee,
belonging to that prince's dominions,-where he had chiefly resided for a considerable period, and where his time and attention
had been continually occupied by the crowds who came from all
quarters to hear his doctrine, and to experience or witness his
miraculous power; —and had crossed over to the opposite side, to
a retired spot, in a somewhat thinly-inhabited district, apparently
with the intention that the disciples might have that repose which
their fatigue required, and that he might be out of the way
should Herod show a disposition to use force in order to have his




360        TRUE tSAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURING IT. [EXP. VIII.
curiosity gratified, and his remorseful fears either confirmed or
removed.
Our Lord's departure, though private, soon became matter of
notoriety, and a vast multitude from Capernaum and the neighboring country and villages, made a hasty journey round the
north end of the sea of Galilee, and were ready to welcome him,
on his disembarking on the eastern shore. Ascending a moun
tain, followed by the multitude, whom he regarded with melting
compassion, "as sheep scattered without a shepherd," he spent
the day in performing beneficent miracles, and uttering heavenly
instructions: " teaching them many things," " speaking to them
of the kingdom of God, and healing them that had need of
healing."'
As the evening drew on, his disciples proposed to him to dismiss the multitude, that, dispersing themselves among the villages and throughout the adjacent country, they might find
refreshment and lodging. Far from acquiescing in this proposal,
our Lord replied, " They need not depart; give ye them to eat."
His disciples, astonished at these words, stated that the expenditure of two hundred denarii, (between six and seven pounds of
our money,' which probably constituted all their store,) in buying food, even if such a quantity of it could have been procured
in so retired a situation, which was not probable, would scarcely
suffice to furnish a mouthful to such a crowd; and on inquiry, it
was found that the stock of provisions which they had with them,
was only "five barley loaves, and two small fishes.'"  This information in no degree shook our Lord's determination to provide with bodily refreshment, before dismissing them, the multitude, fatigued by their journey, and faint from long-continued abstinence.
The confused mass of human beings, amounting to five thousand men, besides woman and children, was soon, by his orders,
transformed into fifty orderly companies of guests. Standing up
and holding in his hands the slender stock of provisions, he invoked the Divine blessing, which so miraculously increased them,
that he filled the baskets of the twelve apostles, and they distributed them to the multitude, and the multitude handed them
from one to another, till the vast assembly had eaten to satiety,
and " twelve baskets full of fragments" remained from the wondrous feast.
The miracle produced on the multitude a deep and general
impression, that he who performed it could be no other than
Israel's promised deliverer, and many of them were disposed to
employ every means in their power to induce him to assume
immediately those royal honors, to which, in that case, he was
entitled, and which he had shown he could so easily maintain.
I Matt. xiv. 14. Luke ix. 11.
2 " This sum, rating the denarius at 7d., would amount to ~6, 5s.; or reckoning
the denarius, as is more usual, at 7Vd., it would amount to ~6, 9s. 2d. of our
money."-BAGSTsB, "Comprehensive Bible."        3 John vi. 9.




PART I.]         INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE.               361
Aware that should such- a proposal be made, his disciples, from
their remaining prejudices, were very likely to second it, he prevailed on them, somewhat reluctantly, to embark without him
for the opposite shore, and he remained behind, probably because
he knew that had he offered to go, the multitude, in their present temper, would have attempted forcibly to detain him, and
certainly because he contemplated making a new trial of his disciples' faith, and giving them a new demonstration of his divine
knowledge, and power, and kindness.
The multitude, finding that our Lordc had not accompanied
his disciples, and concluding that, as there was no other boat on
that side of the sea, he could not leave that neighborhood without their being aware of it, were induced peaceably to disperse,
with the intention no doubt of coming together early next morning, and pressing on their chosen leader the acceptance of the
honors and allegiance they were ready to yield him. On the
multitude departing to find lodging in the villages and country
around, our Lord retired into the recesses of the mountains, and
spent the greater part of the night in devotional communion with
his Father and God.
Meanwhile his disciples encountered a storm in their passage
across the lake, and had spent a great part of the night in laboriously struggling, against a strong wind and a stormy sea, to gain
the opposite shore. While they were about the middle of the
lake, a human form appeared to them, walking on the troubled
waves, as on a solid pavement. The surprise, not unmixed with
terror, with which men have always regarded intercourse with
the inhabitants of the invisible world, was their first emotion;
but, on ascertaining that it was indeed their Lord, their fear was
turned into joy. Peter, with his characteristic forwardness,
requested permission to come to meet his Master on the waters.
His request was complied with, and he met with a very impressive demonstration of the weakness of his own faith, and of the
omnipotent kindness of his Lord. On Jesus coming aboard the
vessel, the tempest instantaneously ceased, and in a very short
period, if not " immediately," in the strictest sense of the word,
they gained the western shore. On arriving there early in the
morning, it is probable that both our Lord and his disciples, who
stood much in need of rest, retired for a season to repose.
It is obvious, however, that in this case, the season for relaxation and rest was but brief. The multitude, whose hearts were
set on making the miracle-worker their king, collected early in
the morning to carry their purpose into effect. But on seeking
for Jesus, he was nowhere to be found. This threw them into
a state of great perplexity. They knew that the only boat which,
the day before, was on that side of the sea, was that in which
Jesus and his disciples had crossed from  Capernaum. They
knew that the disciples had departed without him. They seem
to have conjectured that he who could miraculously multiply five
loves and two fishes, so as to constitute an abundant meal for




362        TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURING IT. [EXP. VIII.
more than five thousand individuals, might also, in some miraculous manner, transport himself across the lake, and, availing
themselves of boats which that morning had arrived from
Tiberias, they crossed over to Capernaum, in the hope of finding
Jesus there, where they knew he had for some time chiefly resided.
Nor was their expectation disappointed. They found him (as
appears from the 59th verse) " about his Father's business," in
the synagogue teaching the people. On entering the synagogue,
they accosted him, and inquired as to the time of his return,
hoping, no doubt, that in telling them when, he might also inform them how, he had crossed the lake. To this question our
Lord gave no reply.4 The information they wished for might
easily be got from the disciples, or from others who had witnessed
the miraculous circumstances of his passage.
Our Lord's object plainly was to disabuse them of their false
views and expectations, —to show them that he was not the kind
of Messiah they anticipated and wished for,-that it was in vain
for them to expect from him the sort of benefits on which they
had set their hearts, but that he was ready to bestow upon them
benefits of a far higher order,-benefits which he only could bestow,7-benefits at once necessary and sufficient to secure their
true happiness. He shows them that he was perfectly aware of
the real state of their minds, and preaches to them that " repentance," without which they could not enter into that spiritual
kingdom that he had come to establish,-a kingdom  altogether
different from that earthly kingdom which they were dreaming of
establishing by force.
II. —CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.
JOHN vi. 26-65.
~ 1. Misconceptions corrected.
Probably much to the mortification of these inquirers, our
Lord addressed them in these words,-" Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled."" The object of
these men in seeking for Jesus, was, that they might induce him
to become their king, and to employ the miraculous powers of
which he was possessed in realizing their ideas respecting the
secular wealth, dignity, and enjoyment which the chosen people
were to obtain under Messiah the Prince; and what induced
them thus to seek him, was, not so much the miracles they had
witnessed, as the particular kind of miracle he had last performed;
4 "Non respondit Jesus ad Judaeorum quando; et sic smepe in sermonibus ea
ues series rerum et status animorum requirit potius spectat, quam interpellationes loquentium alieras."-BENGEL.         5 John vi. 26.




PART II.]  CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE IO THE JEWS.       363
it was not so much the conviction, that he was a divine messenger, of which these miracles were a confirmation, as the conviction that he who could feed five thousand men on five loaves and
two fishes, was qualified, if he would but exert his powers, to be
their leader in revolting against their Gentile oppressors, and to
secure for them victory, conquest, universal dominion.
The words of our Lord, when viewed in their connection, seem
to be equivalent to this declaration,-' You profess, and indeed
you feel, a great eagerness to find me; but that does not spring
from an enlightened conviction that I am a divinely-accredited
messenger, to prove which is the great design of my miracles.
Had it been so, you would have come to learn of me the truth
with regard to the kingdom of God; but instead of that, you seek
me as your instrument for erecting a kingdom of this world,
which, you perversely think, would be the kingdom of God.
Had not the miracles performed been such as to suggest the idea
that I might be turned to account in obtaining the gratification
of your carnal, selfish wishes and expectations, you would never
have sought me. You have no just conception of my true character, or of the nature of the kingdom I am come to establish, and
of the blessings which I am come to communicate. It is not because I am a well-accredited divine messenger, but because I am
in your estimation a person possessed of powers which, if exerted
in your behalf, might secure for you those secular blessings for
which alone you have any relish, that you have come here in
quest of me. You need to change your minds, to " repent and
believe the gospel." You must change your minds, else you can
derive no benefit from me. If you change your minds, you will
find that I can, and that I will, bestow on you blessings infinitely
preferable to those, the hope of obtaining which from me, alone
induces you now to seek me.'
"Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat
which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall
give unto you: for him hath God the Father"' (rather, the Father,
God) " sealed."' The first thing necessary to the right interpretation of this very interesting passage, is to ascertain what are the
two things here contrasted as objects of desire and pursuit. "The
meat which perisheth," and " the meat which endureth unto everlasting life;"-the food which, perishable in its own nature, ministers only to a mortal life,-and the food which, imperishable in
its nature, supports an immortal life.
By some, the contrast has been supposed to be between the
food of the body-material nutriment, such as the loaves and
fishes, —-and the food of the mind, immortal truth: q. d.,' Let not
the attainment of the satisfaction of the appetites, the supply of
the wants of the body, by material fobod, but the filling of the
capacities of the mind by heavenly knowledge, be the great object
of your desire and pursuit.' This brings out a good sense, but it
seems unduly to limit our Lord's meaning. It seems to go, too,
6  IIarnp-6 Oe86.                      7 John vi. 27.




364       TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURIN & IT. [EXP. VIII.
on the mistaken notion, that the leading object of these Jews was
the getting their food furnished them miraculously, which does
not seem to have been the case.
We rather think the contrast is between earthly, and therefore
short-lived, enjoyments-such as wealth, honor, and pleasurefiguratively termed " meat that perisheth;" and spiritual and immortal blessings —such as the possession of the Divine favor, conformitv to the Divine image, fellowship with God —figuratively
termed " meat which endureth unto everlasting life." Such a
figurative use of the word " meat," or " food," is common in all
languages. This mode of interpretation, which is equally natural
as the former, better suits the connection. It was these earthly
blessings the Jews were seeking after. It was these heavenly
blessings which our Lord would have them to make the great
object of their pursuit.
"Labor not," says our Lord, "for the meat that perisheth."
" Labor," or severe exertion, is the natural expression of strong
desire to obtain anything.  "Labor," here, is just equivalent to-'make the object of desire and pursuit.' As if he had said,' Do
not make " the meat that perisheth,"-that is, do not make anything that has a reference merely to this frail, mortal, perishable
state-anything that is peculiar to this world, " the fashion whereof
passeth away,"-do not make secular science, wealth, power, dignity, fame, or pleasure, in any of their forms, the grand object of
your desire and pursuit; but, on the other hand, "labor for the
meat which endureth unto everlasting life,"-make the attainment of those blessings which are spiritual in their nature, and
immortal in their duration —such as the knowledge of Divine
truth, the possession of the Divine favor, the love of God, perfect
holiness in an entire conformity of mind and will to the mind and
will of God-make the attainment of these blessings the great
object of your desire and pursuit.'
With regard to the latter class of blessings, our Lord states to
them that the Son of man would give these to them. The " Son
of man" is, as you know, a descriptive denomination for the
Messiah. It is borrowed, as I have already mentioned, from
Psalm lxxx. 17, " Let thy hand be upon the Man of thy right
hand, upon the Son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself." Our Lord's statement is thus equivalent to a declaration;'These are the blessings the Messiah has to communicate. It is
not "the meat that perisheth," it is not secular benefits —it is
"the meat which endureth unto eternal life," it is heavenly and
spiritual blessings —that the Messiah comes to bestow. You
have declared that you consider me the Messiah, the Son of
man;' for, no doubt, that was the import of the declaration,
"Of a truth this is that Prophet who should come into the
world."' But in coming to me in the hope of obtaining the
meat that perisheth —worldly good things-you are indulging an
unfounded expectation.  These are not the blessings I am come
to confer. But there are better blessings, which I am ready to




PART II.]  CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.         365
bestow on you. And this is no vain boast. I bring along with
me my credentials-" Him," the Son of man, "the Father, God,
has sealed."'
It is not very easy to say what is the particular figurative allusion here: whether the reference be to the practice of authenticating deeds by affixing a person's seal, or to that of impressing
a mark on the body, to distinguish those devoted to the service
of a divinity, or whether to the fact of the high-priest having on
the front of his mitre, a gold plate engraved as with the engraving of a signet, " Holiness to the Lord."  But whatever the particular reference may be, the meaning is plain, " Him hath God
accredited, as divinely appointed to bestow these blessings."
How the Father sealed the Son of man, we are particularly
informed by our Lord, in a passage which has already been explained.8
It is scarcely necessary to remark, that these words are not to
be considered as condemning the making of worldly good things,
in any degree, the objects of desire and pursuit. What is condemned, is the making them  the supreme objects of desire and
pursuit, to the neglect of heavenly and spiritual blessings. These
words, though addressed originally to the Jews, and bearing a
speciality of meaning as referring to them, are full of important
instruction to men in all countries and in all ages. So to labor
for the meat that perisheth, as to neglect the attainment of the
meat that endureth to eternal life, is the extreme of folly. "For
what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose
his own soul?"'  " To labor for the meat that endureth unto
everlasting life," is the height of wisdom, not only as it is wise to
devote our best desires and energies to the prosecution of the
most valuable and worthy objects, but also as this is the surest
way of obtaining that measure of "the meat that perisheth,"
which is really best for us.  "Seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto
you.710
This statement of our Lord suggested to the leaders of the
multitude an important inquiry:-" Then said they unto him,
What shall we do, that we might work the works of God.""
If we look attentively at the passage, there can be no doubt,
that the object of those who put this question, was to inquire
how "this meat that endureth to eternal life," was to be procured. The question is, substantially,'How are we to obtain
this pre-eminently valuable and desirable meat of which you
speak?' That is the question we naturally look for in the circumstances of the case, and that is the question which.ur Lord
answers in the following verse. But the phraseology in which
the question is expressed is very peculiar, and requires elucidation. " What shall we do, that we might work the works of
God?"  The question  is elliptical.  In its complete form, it
8 John v. 31-39.                    9 Matt. xvi. 26.
o. Matt. vi 33.-                   It John vi. 28.




366       TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURING IT. [EXP. VIII.
obviously is,'What shall we do, that we might work the works
of God, by which this meat, which endureth to eternal life, is to
be obtained?'
By "the works oi God," it has been usual to understand,
works commanded by God, works acceptable to God; but in
that case, the question would not have been, " What shall we do
that we might work the works of God?" but,' What are those
works commanded by God, which we must do in order to obtain
this meat, which endureth to eternal life?' The difficulty was
to discover, not what the kind of works were, but how they
should obtain the capacity of doing them. I cannot help thinking, that "works of God," by which the meat which endureth
unto eternal life was, in the estimation of the Jews, to be obtained,
are here opposed to " works of man," by which the meat that
perisheth is to be obtained, and are equivalent to'superhuman
works,' —" works which no man can do, except God be with
him,"-in one word, miraculous works. I apprehend we see
here the first symptoms of that disposition to cavil, which afterwards becomes so manifest, on these men beginning to perceive
that Jesus was, after all, not their man, —not the kind of
Messiah they expected and wished for. He had said, "labor
not for the meat that perisheth, but for that meat which endureth
unto everlasting life."'Seek not meat which can but temporarily support a life, which at best will soon terminate, but seek
meat which will permanently sustain an immortal life.' Their
question is,'But how is such meat to be obtained?' The ordinary faculties of man, in their ordinary exercise, can enable him
to procure " the meat that perisheth," but it must be by some superhuman operations, such as that by which the five loaves and
two fishes became a feast to five thousand, that meat enduring
unto everlasting life can be obtained.' How are we to do such
works? You bid us seek this wonderful food, —will you tell us
how we are to do the wonderful works by which alone such food
can be obtained?'
To this question, which, as is plain from what follows, did not
originate in a sincere desire to obtain instruction, our Lord replied, " This is the work of God,'2 that ye believe on him whom
he hath sent."'3
The general meaning here plainly is,' It is by believing my
doctrine, that you are to obtain those spiritual and eternal blessings, which I have represented under the metaphor of meat enduring unto everlasting life.' But the manner in which this
meaning is conveyed, deserves attention. Our Lord's statement
seems to be,'There is indeed no miracle or mystery in the way
in which this " meat, which endureth to eternal life," is to be obtained. If you will but credit the testimony of him whom the
Father hath sent and sealed, you shall obtain it. This is the
12 The expression, ro fpyov 70ro Oeo, is used with an entirely different reference,
Rom. xiR 20. Even John iii. 21, is not a strict parallel.
1s Jlhn vi. 29.




PART. II.]  CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.             367
only way of obtaining it.  This is the certain way of obtaining
it. You speak as if there must be superhuman works performed
by you, in order to gain this end. This is the superhuman
work, —this is the miracle: Credit the plain well-attested declaration of him whom  the Father hath sent.  Do but this, and
" the meat which endureth unto eternal life" is yours.'  This is
just a summary of the Gospel,'Believe and live.'" There is no
laborious, no miraculous, work to perform, —no need of ascending
into heaven,-no need of descending into the deep.  The revelation of truth. and grace,-a plain, a well-accredited revelationis before you.  Believe it, and you are saved.  This faith is the
great commandment of the new economy." This faith, though
it is the most reasonable thing in the world, and though, to a
rational being like man, it ought to be the easiest thing in the
world, is never exercised by a single partaker of our fallen
nature, except under divine influence, so that it is really "the
work of God," though not in the sense in which the Jews seem
to have employed the phrase. It is not at all miraculous. It is
not even supernatural, except in the influence under which man
acts when he performs it. But in that sense it is supernatural.
"No man," says the Saviour, " can come to me, except the
Father, which hath sent me, draw him."  "Every man therefore
that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto
me.'7  " By grace," says the apostle, "are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."'6
It is very questionable how far the Jews understood our Lord's
metaphorical discourse about "the meat that perisheth," and
"the meat which endureth to eternal life;" but it is plain that
they perceived, that in the words which he had just uttered, he
laid claim to being sent of God, and to their implicit faith and
obedience on this ground. Yesterday, these men had declared
themselves fully satisfied respecting the divine mission of Jesus
as the Messiah.  "This is of a truth," said they, "the Prophet
that should come into the world;"" and had he concurred in
their sentiments and wishes, had he consented to become their
king, and exerted his miraculous powers in accomplishing the
work which they expected the Messiah to perform, they were not
likely to have demanded any farther evidence of his divine
mission. But in their case, as in many others, dissatisfaction
with the nature of our Lord's doctrines, manifested itself in a
14Beza's illustration is an apt one. "For what sum of money will you cure
me? says the patient to the physician. The only thing I demand, says the
benevolent physician, is confidence in me. I sincerely wish your recovery; and
if you will but confide in me, your cure is certain. What should we say of.the
patient's understanding, if he drew the conclusion,-confidence is money, and he
who confides in the physician pays him for his skill and labor? Are they wiser
who conclude from this passage, that faith is a work, in the ordinary sense of that
word, and that he who is justified by faith is therefore justified by works?"
15 1 John iii. 23.                   16 John vi. 44, 45. Eph. ii 8.
17 6  po 007-f 6o pXEpXev0of, a designab )n of the Messiah derived from Deut.
xviii. 15." -TnIOLuK.




368       TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURING IT. [EXP. VIII.
complaint, a very unreasonable one, that there was a deficiency
of proof for their divine origin.
" They said therefore unto him, What sign showest thou then,
that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?""
The principles on which these questions proceed, are true and
important-that no person has a right to expect that he shall be
received as a divine messenger, without producing appropriate
and adequate evidence that he is what he professes to be; and
that the appropriate and adequate evidence in such a case, is the
performance of miracles. But these unquestionably true principles, were misapplied in this case. The evidence had been presented in the most unexceptionable form, and in great abundance.
The works which our Lord had done, had born most distinct
evidence, that the Father had sent him. These men, only the
day before, had seen him do what no man could have done, except God had been with him.  The conclusion they had drawn
then, was the just one; and nothing had occurred to shake its
foundation. But when they drew it, they supposed that he and
they were of one mind, respecting the design of the Messiah's
mission, and the nature of his kingdom, and now they more than
doubted that their opinions and his were essentially different, and
altogether incompatible, and they found it easier to question the
validity of his claims, than to yield the implicit submission of
mind which, as " the sent of God," he demanded from them.
The miserable shifts to which men in these circumstances have
recourse, are very various. Here the Jews seek refuge in the
assertion, that our Lord had not proved his Divine mission in
the same satisfactory manner in which Moses, their great legislator, had accredited his. "Our fathers did eat manna in the
desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"'9
That is, as if they had said,'The miracle by which Moses' divine
mission was confirmed, when our fathers were fed for forty years
by manna which came down from heaven, was a far more remarkable sign than that given by you, when yesterday you fed the
multitude. Work such miracles as Moses did, and then we will
admit that God has sent you, and yield you the implicit belief
which is due to one sent by him.'
To this cavil, for it deserves no better name, our Lord does
not deign to give any direct reply. He knew that those who
were not convinced of his divine mission by the miracles he had
already performed, were not likely to be convinced by any that
could be wrought; and as his object, at this time, was less to
vindicate the evidence, than to unfold the substance, of his doctrine, respecting "the meat which endureth unto everlasting
life," he goes on to state, that the benefit which was conferred
on the Israelites, in giving them manna to eat in the wilderness,
was not to be compared with the benefit of which he had
18 John vi. 30. "Ti Tpyc yn. Reponunt Domino verbum ipyc;'eaOe. Tu jubes,
inquiunt, nos operas.; quid ipse operarisf"-BENGEL
19 John vi. 31.




PART II.]  CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.         369
spoken, under the name of " the meat which endureth unto everlasting life."
~ 2. The true spiritual provision, and the mode of obtaining it.
"Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Moses gave you not that bread from  heaven; but my Fatllc:
giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of Go(d
is he" (rather that,) "which cometh down from heaven,20 and
giveth life unto the world."2' Some have supposed that our Lord
meant to state here, that it was not Moses, but God, who gave
the Israelites the manna; and that the manna did not properly
come down from heaven, in the highest sense of the term; but
though both these statements are true, and both may be brought
out of the words, considered by themselves, yet, when the whole
passage is looked at, and when our Lord's object in making the
statement is kept in view, there can be no doubt that the sentiment intended to be conveyed, is this,'The blessing of which I
have been speaking, as "meat enduring to eternal life," which
the Father, by the Son of man, whom he has sent and sealed, is
ready to bestow on all who believe in him, is a far more valuable
benefit than that which God by Moses conferred on the Israelites, when he supernaturally supported them on manna during
their sojourn in the wilderness. That manna was not the true
heavenly bread. The true heavenly bread is that which my
Father now giveth you, now freely offers for your acceptance.
That bread, in the strictest, highest, sense of the words, " comes
down from heaven, and giveth life to the world." "'
I do not think that our Lord, in these words, meant to state
plainly to the Jews that, in employing the phrases, "the true
bread from heaven," and "the bread of God," he referred to
himself, which our version represents him as doing. He does
this in the 35th verse, after the Jews, by their request in the
34th verse, had made it evident that they imperfectly, if at all,
had penetrated through the veil of figurative representation in
which he had clothed his sentiments. Our Lord's meaning is
more exactly given by those interpreters who render the passage,
" For the bread of God is that which cometh down from heaven,
and giveth life to the world."
The Jews seem to have given the name of " the bread of
God," and " the bread of heaven," to the manna, in allusion to
a passage in the book of Psalms:-" And had rained down
manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of
heaven. Man did eat angel's food: he sent them meat to the
full."23 Our Lord's assertion, then, is,'The phrase, "bread of
20 Lucke justly remarks the difference between Kara/aivcov here, and Kara3i'a,
verse 41. The latter indicates a fact, the former rather a property."-OLsHAUSxN.
21 John vi. 32, 33.
22,, Tr KO6qaF. Non modo uni populo, uni etati, ut manna cibavit unum populum unius retatis, verse 51." —BENGE.   23 Psal. lxxviii. 24, 25.
VOL. I.                   24




370       TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURING IT. [EXP. VIII.
God," is far more applicable to what I am now speaking of than
to the manna.'
From this passage many have drawn the conclusion, that the
manna was a type of Christ. This is a conclusion certainly unwarranted by this passage; and I am not aware that it has a
satisfactory scriptural foundation anywhere else. Much ingenuity
has been displayed in tracing analogies between the manna and
our Lord. Its miraculous production has been supposed to foreshadow his miraculous conception; its pearly figure to point him
out as pure and lovely, " the pearl of great price;" its sweet taste,
to show, that " to them who believe he is precious:" its falling
on the outside of the camp, to foreshow, that they who would be
saved by him, must " go to him without the camp:" its falling
early in the morning, to typify the first promise; its being given
daily, to show that Christ should be his people's daily food; its
not being seen on the ground on the Sabbath, to indicate that
Christ should be hidden under ground on the Jewish Sabbath.
These are but a few out of the many correspondences which
fancy has discovered between the manna and our Lord. To indulge in such imaginings, appears to me something worse than
ingenious trifling. It is using a most undue freedom with Him
who says, " Add not to my words;" and its tendency is to lead
the mind away from the truth which the Holy Spirit does mean
to teach us, and which is always, when clearly perceived, and
rightly improved, " profitable for doctrine, and reproof, and correction, and instruction in righteousness," to the mere figments of
the human imagination. Of the persons who indulge in such an
abuse of the Holy Scriptures, it may well be said, " They feed on
ashes; a deceived heart has turned them aside."
Instead of occupying our time with these human fancies, let
us attend to what our Lord here says of this true heavenly bread.
It comes down from heaven, in a far higher sense than the
manna came down from heaven. The manna was formed in the
atmosphere-the aerial heavens-this bread comes down from
the heaven of heavens, the true holy place; and it not only, like
the manna, supports life, but it gives life to those who are dead,
and supports life in those whom it has made alive; and this life,
which it at once communicates and sustains, is not that mortal
life which the manna, perishing food, temporarily supported, but
a divine life, an immortal life; and this bread of God is not, like
the manna, restricted to one nation. God gives it " for the life
of the world." It is fitted and intended to make truly happy
mankind of every kindred, people, and nation, not in one age,
but in all the ages of time, and through all the ages of eternity.
These ideas, which are all obviously wrapped up in our Lord's
words, were probably but imperfectly and indistinctly discerned
by the Jews; but they saw plainly that, under the name of
"bread of life," he was speaking of something which he wished
to represent as very valuable, and they therefore asked him to




PAIRT II.]  CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.        371
bestow on them a gift so precious:-" Lord, evermore give us
this bread."24
It is impossible to say with certainty whether these words were
the expression of serious desire, or of sarcastic scepticism. Even
if they were the expression of the first, the desire was obviously
a very unenlightened one. It amounted to little more than this,' If you have so valuable benefits to bestow, we should like to be
sharers of them.' When taking the whole circumstance of the
case into consideration, I cannot help thinking it more likely that
these words, as well as the words of the woman of Samaria on a
similar occasion,25 were uttered in a spirit of infidel levity; as if
they had said,'Indeed! that is bread worth wishing for.' Taking
this view of it, how wonderful is the patience of the Divine Saviour, who, instead of punishing these contemners of his grace, proceeds to tell them, in plain words, what he means by the heavenly,
life-giving bread, and to exhibit himself as the divinely-appointed,
divinely-qualified Saviour of the world! -
In either view of the words of the Jews, they stood in need of
farther information, and our Lord proceeds to give it them:
" And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh
to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall
never thirst."26
" The bread of life" is a phrase equivalent to,' The life-giving
bread.' "Life," in the language of our Lord, implies happiness.
When he calls himself, then, the " life-giving bread," he intimates
that he is the author of true happiness; that he, that he alone,
can make men truly and permanently happy. Some good interpreters have supposed that our Lord, in these words, refers solely
to his character as a teacher,-q. d.,'M y doctrine, understood and
believed, is the appropriate nourishment of the rational, immortal
mind. It, and it alone, can make men truly wise, truly good, and
truly happy, for ever.'
This is, no doubt, important truth, and it is truth included in
our Lord's words; but we very improperly and unnecessarily
limit their signification, if we confine it to an assertion of the
salutary nature and effects of our Lord's doctrine. It is not only,
it is not chiefly, as a teacher, that Jesus Christ is the author of
salvation; and it is plain that it is not only, it is not chiefly, as a
teacher, that he takes to himself the figurative appellation of the
"bread of life."
His primary reference is to what he was to do and suffer for the
salvation of men. This is plain from what he says at the 51st
verse; " The bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give
for the life of the world." When our Lord, then, says, "' I am the
bread of life," the meaning obviously is,'I-I alone-am the
Saviour of men: I-I alone-can make them happy. Without
me, all must die of spiritual hunger; that is, must be forever miserable, for the want of those spiritual blessings, which are necessary to make such a being as man really, permanently happy.
24 John Vi. 34.      25 John iv. 15        26 John vi. 3S.




372       TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURING IT.  [EXP. VIII.
By me, from me, all may obtain, in rich abundance, these blessings; and, in the enjoyment of them, find a happiness, in variety,
extent, and duration, every way corresponding to the capacities
of their nature, and the immortality of their being.'
In the words that follow, our Lord brings the same supremelyimportant and delightful truth, that he-that he alone-is the
author of true happiness, before the mind, by two expressive
figures; while he at the same time shows how that true happiness, which he only can bestow, is to be obtained by men: " He
that cometh to me shall never hunger; he that believeth on me
shall never thirst."
To "hunger," and " thirst," are here obviously used figuratively,
for that restless and dissatisfied state, which rises out of the want
of what is necessary to our happiness-a sense of that want-and
a craving desire to have that want supplied. That is the state of
all men in their natural condition. They want what is necessary
to satisfy their understandings, their consciences, and their affections. They are, in some measure, conscious of these wants,
though, in many cases, but ill-informed of their nature and extent; and they are restlessly anxious to find something that will
quiet the cravings of the appetite for enjoyment.
Nothing, in the wide range of the material universe, can satisfy
this hunger, or quench this thirst; on the contrary, the appetite
grows with what it feeds on; and the man who has had the
largest share of worldly enjoyments, is generally the farthest
removed from real satisfaction. Life, with most men, is a series
of unsuccessful experiments to obtain satisfaction to that appetite
for enjoyment, which is the very soul of their souls-the principle, end, and aim of their being.
That satisfaction, which never has been, never will be, never
can be, found in the world, is to be found in Christ: "He who
comes to me shall never hunger; he that believes on me shall
never thirst:" that is,' He who comes to me-he who believes
on me-shall obtain true permanent happiness; he shall have
all his wants supplied, and shall be equally delivered from the,wretchedness which these wants, and the consciousness of them,
must produce, and from the painful restlessness, which the blind
desire of having them supplied must occasion.'
But what is it to " come to Christ"? what is it to "believe
on Him "? The first is a figurative, the second a literal, description; and it has been common to consider them as quite synonymous-the literal expression being intended as the interpretation of the figurative one. There can be no doubt, that he that
comes to the Saviour as the bread of life-the author, that is,
both the procurer and the bestower of salvation —and he who
believes on him, are substantially the same person. He who
comes to the Saviour, believes on him; and he who believes on
the Saviour, comes to him. But it does not, by any means, follow, that "coming" and "believing" are, therefore, precisely
the same thing; that the figurative and literal expressions,




PART II.]  CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.           373
though referring to the same individual, are expressive of the
very same mental affection or exercise."
To "believe" on the Saviour as the bread of life, is to believe
the truth about him in this character. Now, in the following
passage, it seems very plain, that " coming to God," and believing the truth about him, though they must meet in the same individual, are not the same but different things-the one the
means by which the other is produced. "IIe that cometh to
God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them
who diligently seek him."  "To come to God," in this passage,
is descriptive of that enlightened reverential love, and confidence
in God, which constitute spiritual, acceptable worship, in which
the mind as it were goes forth to him; this state of mind is not
the same thing as faith; it is the consequence, the effect, of
faith-the result of the truth believed on the mind-and hence
the apostle says,-" He that cometh to God must believe that he
is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."28
He cannot otherwise come to him.  This is the way, the only
way of coming to him.
In the same way, to come to Christ as the bread of life-the
procurer, and the bestower of true happiness-is descriptive of all
those mental affections and exercises, which may be termed the
movement of the mind towards him in this character-especially
reliance on his atonement as the only expiation of guilt, and implicit submission to his authority as the great teacher of truth
and holiness.  Now these mental affections and exercises are
not properly faith, but the consequences of faith.  He that
cometh to Christ, as the bread of life, must believe on Christ as
the bread of life. I must believe the truth respecting him as the
author of salvation, in order to my mentally going to him under
this character.  I must know who the physician is, and believe
in his skill, in order to my going to him to obtain a cure.
It may here be remarked by the way, and I apprehend that
the remark is of considerable importance, not only to the right
interpretation of Scripture, but to the right understanding of
the christian plan of salvation, that the case before us is by no
means a solitary one, in which figurative descriptions of states of
mind originating in faith, have been confounded by expositors,
with faith itself. It is common to say that, " receiving Christ"
-"looking to Christ"-" fleeing to Christ" —" laying hold on
Christ" —" eating his flesh, and drinking his blood," are all figurative expressions for faith, while the truth is, every one of these
figurative expressions is descriptive of a state of mind, in some
way analogous to the bodily action referred to, including a variety of sentiments and emotions, all of them, however, originat27 It is curious to see what a strange non sequitur the acute Calvin has given
us, in his exegesis of these two terms, which, indeed, is the common one: " Venire
ad Christum, et credere, idenz in hoc loco valent, sed in priore verbo fidei effectus
exprimitur." Surely faith, and the effect of faith, are not "idem," the same thing.
S'urely here-" bonus dormitat Homerus."
23 Ifeb. xi. 6.




374        TRUE HAPPINESS-'WAY OF SECURING IT. [EXP. VIII.
ing in the faith of the truth respecting Christ; so that it would
be more accurate, in every view of the subject-whether philological, philosophical, or theological —to consider these figurative
expressions, not as synonymous with each other, and all of them
as expressive of faith, but as each expressing-the state of mind
of which it is naturally descriptive, all of which are the result of
faith; to say, not that "receiving Christ," "looking to him,"
"fleeing to him," " layino hold on him," "eating his flesh and
drinking his blood," are faith, but that it is by faith, by faith
alone, that men receive Christ, look to him, flee to him, lay hold
on him, eat his flesh and drink his blood. The compilers of our
Shorter Catechism seem to have perceived this, when they chose
to say, not what many seem to suppose they have said, that faith
is " a receiving and resting on Christ alone for salvation;" but
that faith is that " whereby we receive and rest upon him alone
for salvation." This distinction is, if I mistake not, much more
than a mere metaphysical nicety. A distinct apprehension of it
will be found of great use in the right interpretation of Scripture,
in the right understanding of the christian plan of salvation,
and in the right guidance of those exercises of the mind and
heart which constitute the essential elements of that spiritual
religion, which is " our reasonable service"-" our rational worship."
To return from this short digression, our Lord's declaration,
then, is this-' He who, believing the truth respecting me, as
the author of salvation, exercises towards me those sentiments
and affections which naturally grow out of the faith of this truth,
shall be saved by me. He shall obtain that happiness which I,
which I alone, can confer. "He that cometh to me shall never
hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."'
Some interpreters have supposed that these words have a direct
and sole reference to the heavenly blessedness, to the christian
salvation, in its most perfect form, and that what our Lord says
is this-' He who believes the truth respecting me, as the author
of salvation, and believing that truth comes to me in the exercise
of the appropriate sentiments of mind and heart, shall ultimately
obtain from me a happiness which shall completely satisfy all his
capacities of enjoyment, and leave him nothing to wish for.'
They look forward to that state where all wants are supplied,
where all wishes are gratified, where "they hunger no more,
neither thirst any more, where the sun does not light on them,
nor any heat, but the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne
feeds them, and leads them to fountains of living waters, and God
wipes away all tears from their eyes."
They have been led into this view, probably by the considerationi, that even true Christians, those who by believing on the
Saviour have come to him, are, while in the present state, far
from having all their spiritual wants supplied, far from being relieved from all painful sense of their spiritual wants. Yet I cannot doubt, that our Lord's promise refers to a blessing which he




PART n.] CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.         375
who in faith comes to him, obtains immediately on his coming to
him, and enjoys just in proportion to the measure of his faith.
What our Lord substantially says is,' I am the author of happiness, and it is by faith in me, as the author of happiness, that in-,ividual men are to be made happy.' Our Lord is "full of
grace and truth," and if we will but come to him, we shall receive!' out of his fulness abundance of grace." If we are straitened, it
is in ourselves, not in him. If we "hunger and thirst," it is not
because he is not able, nor because he is not willing, to satisfy our
hunger and to quench our thirst; but because we, being " of little
faith," do not come to him "that we may have life, that we may
have it abundantly." The idea intended to be conveyed seems
to be this-' Every one that believing comes to me for happiness
shall obtain it. After having tasted the happiness which I have
to bestow, he will not expect to find it anywhere else. He will
find in me, in me alone, that truth which will satisfy his understanding, that atoning righteousness which will pacify his conscience, that sanctifying influence which will transform his character, that soul-satisfying portion which will fill his heart. By
restoring him to God's favor, and image, and fellowship, I will
impart everything that is necessary and sufficient to make him truly
wise, and good, and happy for ever. No one who comes to me will
ever have reason to complain, that he could not find in me what
was necessary, what was sufficient, to constitute his happiness.'
These words of our Lord, bring before the mind in a very impressive manner, at once the three important ideas of the magnitude, the abundance, and the duration, of the happiness, which
he, and he alone, can confer, and which every one who in believing comes to him, shall assuredly obtain and enjoy according
to the measure of his faith. Such was the happiness which our
Lord had to bestow, and such the way in which men were to obtain a personal interest in this happiness.
But this happiness did not belong to those whom our Lord was
addressing, and the cause of this was to be found in their unbelief, which, considering their advantages, was altogether inexcusable. This seems to be the import of the statement which
follows:-" But I say unto you, that ye also have seen me }nd believe not."29
The particle rendered "also,"30 should probably be rendered,
"although," as in Luke-" And shall not God avenge his own
elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long
with them?""' In the 30th verse, the Jews had expressed a wish
to have signs, that they might see and believe. Our Lord here
says to them,'If ye do not believe, it is not for want of seeing.'
"Ye have seen me."'I have been for a considerable time in
the midst of you, teaching the truth, and confirming it by my miracles. I have exhibited myself to you as the divinely-appointed,
qualified, accredited Saviour; yet though you could not but see
my claim, you have disregarded it.'
29 John vi. 36.   30,4 Ka  thaiTrep." -TuoLuc.K..   31 Luke xviii T.




376       TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURING iT.  [EXP. VII.
Our Lord seems plainly to refer to something that he had formerly said to these persons.'2  "I say to you."  Some suppose
our Lord to refer to something he had said to them on a former
occasion. Others to something that he had said at this time,
which the evangelist has not recorded. Others to the 26th verse,
which is substantially the same charge which is contained in the
words before us. It matters very little which of these references
is considered as the true one.
The connection of these words with what follows may be thus
stated:-' But though you should reject me, I shall not want
followers; though you should shut yourself out from the enjoyment of that happiness which I come to bestow on mankind,
and a participation in which can be obtained in no other way
than by believing in me, the object of my mission shall not be
frustrated. You may,-if you continue in unbelief you must,
perish, in consequence of your refusing "the true heavenly
bread;" but multitudes-multitudes of the Gentiles, who are
the objects of your malignant contempt-will, in the faith of the
truth, gladly receive " the bread of life," and eat, and live for
ever. You came to me, and yet you did not come to me; for,
in coming, you supposed me to be a very different person from
what I really am. When you but suspected me of being what I
really am, you would have none of me. I declined accepting
your offered allegiance. You are not the followers I wish, as I
am not the leader you wish. But followers of the kind I wish
will not be wanting, and they shall be sure of meeting with a
kind reception-"All that the Father giveth me shall come to
me: and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.""3
Let us examine these words carefully. We have at least as
deep an interest in them as those had to whomn they were originally addressed. The first point to be inquired into, is the meaning of the phrase, " All that the Father giveth me,"-literally,
"Every thing which the Father giveth me."'4  Now, what does
the Father give the Son?  He is in Scripture represented as
giving him  many things.  He "gave him the Spirit without
measure."  He gave him  "words to speak," "a commandment
to obey," and "a work to finish."  He gives him "' to have life
in himself, even as He has life in himself."   He gave him'authority to execute judgment."  He gave him'"glory."  He
has given him " all judgment," or rule, and government.  He
has given him " power over all flesh."  He has given him " all
power in heaven and earth."  He has given him "a name above
every name. "3  But it is quite plain that, in the passage before
us, our Lord is speaking of persons, not of things.
Who these persons are, it is not difficult to discover.-They
are all those who come to Christ by believing in him, and are
32," 6rt denotes quotation."-THoLUCK..  33 John vi. 37.
34 mu&' ii dd~6oi iot 6 7rarTjp. Hcdv for the masculine, as in 1 John v. 4. Heb.
ii. 9. Eph. v. 13. 1 Cor. xv. 27.
35 John iii. 34; xiv. 31 xii. 49; xvii. 4; v. 26, 27; xvii. 22; xvii. 2. Matt.
xxviii, 18. Phil. ii. 9.




PART II.]  CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.       377
saved by him, —lhose who come to Christ, who are not cast out
by him, the accomplishment of whose salvation is that benignant
will of the Father, which the Son came from heaven to earth to
perform-none of whom are to be lost, —all of whom are to be
raised up at the last day, and to enjoy everlasting life. These
are they whom the Father gives the Son. We have thus ascertained who the persons are who are here spoken of: they are all
who shall be saved by Christ Jesus; but the question still remains
to be answered, What is meant by their being given by the Father
to Christ?
In the language here, as in so many other parts of the New
Testament, there seems to be an allusion to modes of expression
in the Old, and we must ascertain its origin in order to our satisfactorily discovering its meaning. In the preceding context,
our Lord had spoken of himself as the true celestial bread, which,
coming down from heaven, giveth life to " the world," that is, to
mankind, without reference to the distinction of Jew and Gentile. The manna was intended for the bodily support of the
Jews,-this heavenly bread, for the spiritual nourishment of
mankind, of every kindred, and people, and tongue. The liberal,
unexclusive character of the salvation which the Messiah came
to procure and bestow, is again, we apprehend, referred to in the
words before us. The Father had promised to give certain persons to the Son; and all these, without exception, our Lord says,
shall come to him. Now, who are the persons whom the Father
has promised to give to the Son? The answer is in a passage to
which I can scarcely doubt our Lord mentally referred when he/
used the words: " I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said
unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask
of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance,
and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.""6 Nor
is this promise at all a singular one. " He shall have dominion,"
says David, speaking in the spirit of his Son and Lord-the
King, and the King's Son, " He shall have dominion also from
sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They
that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his
enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and, of the
isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall
offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him; all nations
shall serve him."7  " I will give him," says Jehovah by Isaiah,
in reference to his righteous servant, "I will give him the many
as his portion, and he shall have the strong ones as his spoil."8M
"Unto him shall the gathering of the people be.""  The "root
of Jesse shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the
Gentiles seek.""4  "I will give thee for a light to the Gentiles."
"Behold, these shall come from  far; ant lo, these from  the
north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.""
36 Psal. ii. 7, 8.                     37 Psal. lxxii. 8-11.
38 Isa. liii. 12. LXX. Vulg Patt. Lowth. Dath6. Hengstenberg.
39 Gen. xlix. 10.      Isa. xi  10.    41 Isa. xlix. 6, 12.




$78        TRUE HAPPINESS — WAY OF SECURING IT.  [EXP. VIII.
" Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader
and commander to the people. Behold, thou shalt call a nation
that thou knowest not; and nations that knew not thee shall
run unto thee, because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy
One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee."42 Viewed in reference
to these promises, the words express this idea,'Vast multitudes
of men of all nations, according to the purpose and promise of
God, and by the agency of his Spirit, and the instrumentality of
his word and providence, shall be given to me, delivered into my
hand, so as to acknowledge my claims, believe my doctrines, and
enjoy my salvation.'43
Still, however, we have not obtained an answer to the question, What is the precise import of the Father's giving those
multitudes of men of every nation to Christ? By the greater
part of evangelical interpreters, the Father's giving of men to
Christ has been considered as equivalent to his eternal purpose
of mercy in reference to these individuals,-his committing them,
as it were, in charge to his Son, in the covenant of peace, to be
delivered by him from all the evils in which sin was to involve
them.  I have no doubt of the truth of this doctrine.  It is based
on the first principles of religion-those which refer to the Divine
character, as the infinitely wise and powerful Author and Governor of the universe,- -it is most explicitly taught in Scripture,
especially in the first chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians, and
it is necessarily implied in the words now under consideration.
Yet I cannot help thinking that the direct reference is not to the
Divine purpose, but to its execution.  The ancient oracles, to
which there seems a reference, are promises. They refer, not to
what was past, but what was future.  The words, if I mistake
not, are intended to be descriptive of that divine influence of
which the Father, by the Spirit, is the Author, which is put forth
according to the purpose which God has " purposed in himself,"
by which men are induced to believe the Gospel, and, in the
belief of the Gospel, to come to the Saviour. The being given
to Christ by the Father, seems to be the same thing as what, in
the 44th verse, is called the being " drawn" or conducted to him
by the Father; and that is represented, in the 45th verse, as
equivalent to the being " so taught of God," " hearing and learning of the Father," as that they come to him..Men are given by
God to Christ, when they are brought to him, united to him, by
that faith which is the gift of God, when, under the influence of
his Spirit, they are made to come to him-that is, are led, in the
belief of the truth, to exercise towards the Saviour all those sentiments of mind and heart which correspond to the different
views given, in the Gospel, of his person and work."
42 Isa. lv. 4, 5.
43 To "give" and to " deliver to" are plainly synonymous, as used Maatt. xi. 2 7;
xxviii. 18: And "to deliver to," in its full form,'to deliver into the hinds of,'
is equivalent to'to commit to the care of' —' to subject to the authority of.'
44 Calvin seems to refer the word "give" rather to regeneration than to election: "'Donandi' verbum perinde valet ac si dixisset Christus' quos elegit Pater,




PART II.]  CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.             379
Though in this view of the phrase, which appears to me better
to suit not only this place, but the other places where it ocpurs in
this gospel, it does not directly express the doctrine of personal
election; it necessarily implies it. It ascribes faith to a divine
benignant influence, which indicates distinguishing love towards
him over whose mind it is exercised, in contradistinction to him
over whose mind it is not exercised, and which love, just because it
is the love of Him who is eternal and unchangeable, must be itself
eternal and unchangeable. To the question —What induces God
to exercise on the mind of one man rather than on the mind of
another this influence, which is at once necessary and sufficient to
bring the sinner to the Saviour? there is only one satisfactory
reply-sovereign love.  "He has mercy, because he wills to have
mercy; he has compassion, because he wills to have compassion."45
"All whom  the Father giveth me," is, then, just equivalent to' all who through divine influences are led to understand and believe the truth with regard to me, and are, in this way, put under
my care as the Saviour;' and these are, according to the ancient
promises, " a number which no man can number, out of every
kindred, and people, and nation, and tongue."' All these shall,
at the appointed season, " come" to the Saviour, that is, shall exercise towards him all those sentiments of mind and heart to
which he is entitled, and which the belief of the truth is calculated
to produce, and which nothing else can produce.'
" And him that cometh to me I will in nowise cast out."46  The
words, "I will not cast out," express two ideas:'I will not refuse
to receive him;' and,' having received him, I will never abandon
him;' but they obviously suggest, and seem to have been intended
to suggest, much more than they directly express."47 It is a phrase
of the same kind as, "why do you spend money for that which
is not bread," —which will do anything rather than nourish you"and your labor for that which doth not profit,"48-which will
ruin instead of profiting you?  "I will not cast him  out," is
equivalent to,'I will give him  a kind reception, a hearty welcome. He shall find in me all, and far more than all, he expects;
and, so far from ever banishing him from my presence, "he shall
never perish, but shall have everlasting life."' The manner in
which the prodigal son was welcomed by his father is a beautiful,
but still an imperfect, representation of the manner in which every
one who comes to the Saviour will be received by him.49
eos regenerat et mihi in obedientiam Evangelii addicit —sua quasi de manu in
manum tradit." "The word'give' has the same meaning as if Christ had said,'Those whom the Father hath chosen, he regenerates and gives to me, that they
may obey the Gospel'-he hands them over, as it were, to his Son."-Mr. PRINGLE'S translation.
45 Rom. ix. 18.
46 Tholuck supposes the EKia3a5 ES5w refers to the figure of the kingdom of
heaven.-Matt. viii. 12; xxii. 13. Olshausen remarks that the phrase indicates
an enclosed, bounded, community of life which the Redeemer came to establish.
-ZMatt. xxv. 10.
47 " Est Litotes. Non ejiciam = omni modo tuebor. Cap. x. 28."-BENGEL.
48 Isa. Iv. 2.                                 49 Luke xv. 20.




380       TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURING IT. [EXF FIIT.
"He that cometh to me," especially when viewed in connection with " all whom the Father giveth me shall come to me," is
equivalent to,'whosoever cometh to me, be he Jew or Gentile,
whatever has been his previous condition or character.'  This
passage, with equal plainness, teaches that nothing short of divine
influence will ever bring any man to Christ; and that nothing
but a man's refusing to come to Christ can exclude him from participating in the blessings of his salvation.
Every one who is brought under this influence will come. It
is absolutely certain he shall; but there is no compulsion. The
man is not driven, he is led: he is not dragged, he is drawn by
"the bands of love and the cords of a manT'""-conclusive arguments and cogent motives. The discovery, by the teaching of
the Holy Spirit, of the sinner's guilt, and depravity, and danger,
and of the certain and only mode of deliverance from this guilt,
and depravity, and danger, and misery, makes them glad to come,
and to renounce every hope and interest that interferes with
coming to him for salvation.
And nothing can prevent the salvation of those who thus come
to the Saviour, He will refuse none, he will reject none. None
coining to him will he refuse to receive into the number of his
people; none who have come to him will he exclude from that
number, as Hagar and Ishmael were expelled from the holy family.
"I give uinto my sheep eternal life; and they shall never perish,
neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. My Father, who
gave them me, is greater than all, and none is able to pluck them
out of my Father's hand.""'  No degree of previous guilt, no
former habits of sin, no secret decree of God, no involuntary
mistake, no feebleness in attempting to come to him, will induce
him to reject a single individual who, in the faith of the truth,
comes to him for salvation.
The complete and everlasting salvation of all who, led by the
Father, come to the Son, is represented' by our Lord as absolutely certain.  "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine
own will, but the will of him  that sent me. And this is the
Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given
me I should lose nothing,"2 but should raise it up again at the
last day.""3 It is the will of God that all who come to Christ
should be saved,-and the great design of his coming from
heaven to earth was just to accomplish this benignant purpose of
God the Father. "I will not," says he, "cast out any who come
to me.";My sole object in coming from heaven to earth was to
execute what is the will, the benignant good pleasure of the
Father. I have no selfish objects to prosecute. I am not come
-as you suppose your Messiah is to come-to raise myself to
earthly grandeur, and to bestow peculiar external advantages on
50 Hos. xi. 4.                          si John x. 28, 29.
52 The construction is defective. Instead of -r(Lv, strict syntax would require
Ec 7Iravrbf, and also that yndwv should be supplied to g  abroii. The construction
is HIebraistic.                           53 John vi. 38, 39.




PART II.]  CCNVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.       381
men of a particular nation. I am come to execute my Father's
will, and that is the salvation of men of every nation, whom he
gives to me-whom he, by the influence of his Spirit, brings to
me. It is his will that of these-a goodly number-" the nations
of the saved"-far more numerous than Abraham's natural descendants, who were to be as the stars of heaven, or as the sand
on the sea shore-not one should be lost. It is the Father's will,
who hath sent me, that I should lose nothing-that is, that I
should suffer nothing to be lost-not merely none of them, but
nothing of them-nothing that really forms a part of them-not
even their body, which, mouldering into dust in the grave, might
seem to be lost-even that will be raised up again at the last day.'
Not merely is "the spirit to live,"-to be happy "because of
righteousness,"-but "' the mortal body" is to be "quickened because of the spirit of Christ which dwelt in it."  "What is sown
in corruption, and weakness, and dishonor, is to be raised in
incorruption, power, and glory."  " The last enemy, death, is to
be destroyed;" and when "the'Saviour, whom we look for from
heaven, comes, he shall change the vile bodies of his people, and
fashion them like unto his own glorious body, according to the
working whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself."54
To mark the great importance of the statement which he had
just made, our Lord repeats it with some slight changes and additions. " And this is the will of him that sent me, that every
one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day."`5 This is
equivalent to,' Yes, this is the will of him' that sent me;' or,'I
repeat it, this is the will of him that sent me.' It is obvious he
is speaking of the same persons, and of the same blessings.
Every one that the Father has given the Son is obviously descriptive of the same class-as,' every one who seeth the.Son
and believeth on him;' and the not being lost-and the having
everlasting life-are just two different ways of expressing the
same thing. The principal additional truth brought forward is,
that it is through seeing the Son, and believing on him, that a
personal interest is obtained in the blessings of the christian salvation.
To " see the Son, and believe on him," is to apprehend the
meaning and evidence of the testimony of God concerning Jesus
Christ, as his Son-the divine, the divinely-appointed, the
divinely-accredited, the divinely-qualified, Saviour of the world.
The will of God, then, as unfolded by the Saviour, is, that all
men, of whatever nation, or of whatever previous character, who,
under the guidance of the Father-that is, under divine influence-by the belief of the truth, come to Jesus Christ, shall be
saved4om that endless perdition which they have deserved, and
be put in possession of a holy happiness, suited to their compound natures, and enduring throughout the ages of eternity.
In these statements, our Lord gives a satisfactory answer to
54 1 Cor. xv. 26, 43, 44. Phil. iii. 20, 21.  John vi. 40.




382       TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURING IT. [EXP. VIII.
the two most important questions which can interest the attention
of mankind-In what does true happiness consist? and, How is
it to be obtained? The answer to the first is-' True happiness
consists in nothing material, earthly, and perishing; it consists
in spiritual, heavenly, eternal blessings.' The answer to the
second is-' Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ alone, is the procurer and
bestower of these blessings, and individual men can obtain an interest in them only by believing the truth respecting their Author.
Instead of acquiescing in these statements of the great Teacher,
the Jews were dissatisfied with them, and showed their dissatisfaction by murmurings and cavillings:-" The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down
from heaven."5" They probably attached but indistinct ideas to
much that he said. They were, however, generally dissatisfied
with it, because it was totally different from what they had anticipated. They had hoped that he would speak to them of
raising armies, fighting battles, taking cities, driving the heathen
out of the holy land, erecting the throne of David, restoring the
kingdom to Israel. Instead of this, to hear only, what must
have appeared to them mystical statements, about his being the
bread of life which came down from heaven-about those who
came to him never hungering, and those who believed on him
never thirsting-naturally enough, in their state of mind, produced dissatisfaction.
What particularly dissatisfied them was, his having said that
he was " the bread which came down from heaven."  From the
terms in which they expressed their dissatisfaction, it is obvious
that what especially offended them was, his saying that he
had "come down from  heaven "-that, personally considered,
he had a divine origin.  It is obvious that this was the sense
in which the Jews understood our Lord's declaration; for, if
they had supposed that his words referred merely to the celestial
origin of his doctrine, his being the son of Joseph, even although
that had been the case, could have been no reason for calling in
question his divine mission. And it is equally obvious that the
Jews did not misunderstand him. If they had, he would have
corrected their misconception, by stating that, when he called
himself " the bread of life," he spoke of himself, just as a teacher
of salutary doctrine; and that, by his coming down from heaven, he meant only that he was a divine messenger, and, by
necessary consequence, that his doctrine was not so much his, as
the Father's who had sent him.  Such remarks we have no
hesitation in saying, our Lord would have certainly made, had
the Jews misconstrued his meaning. But, instead of this, he
goes on to say, that he had "seen the Father," in a sense in
which no other person ever had seen him; that " he came down
from heaven;" and that " the bread of life" he referred to, was
his flesh-himself as incarnate-" which he was to give for the
life of the world."
56 John vi. 41.




PART II.]  CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.     383
There can be no reasonable d6ubt, then, that, in saying he
" came down from heaven," our Lord meant to teach the divine
origin, not so much of his doctrine, as of himself-to assert, that
he personally existed in heaven before he he appeared among men,
and that, when he came to earth, he came from heaven. The
reference is not so much, if at all, to his miraculous conception,
as to his personal pre-existence. It deserves' notice, that, though
the prophets were ready enough to assert the divine origin of
their oracles, not one of them ever used such language, as our
Lord so often used, of having been in heaven, and having come
from heaven.
Understanding our Lord's words in this way, the Jews said:
"Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother
we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?"'7 They were ignorant of the facts respecting our Lord's
supernatural human origin. They had always understood that
he was the son of Joseph and Mary, with whom, as residing in
the same district of country, many of them probably were acquainted; and it seemed to them presumptuous and absurd in
such a person to lay claim to divine origin-to say, "I came
down from heaven."
On hearing these murmurings, " Jesus therefore answered and
said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can
come to me, except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him:
and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the
prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto
me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is
of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread
of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are
dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a
man may eat thereof, and not die."58
The substance of our Lord's reply may be thus stated:'Murmur not; I have stated only the truth, of which I have given
you abundant evidence. Ye ought not to murmur, but to believe; and yet, your murmuring, unreasonable as it is, does not
surprise me. It is just what, with your mode of thinking, might
have been expected; and it is just what may continue to be
expected, till you "repent," change your mind-till you are
brought to another and better mind by divine truth-under
divine influence-producing its appropriate effects upon you:
"No man can come to me, except my Father, who hath sent me,
draw him." By your murmuring, you make it evident that you
have not come to me-that you are not disposed to come to me.
With your present views, you will never come to me; you
must be born again-you must be converted and become as little
children. No man entertaining the views you do of the design
of the Messiah's mission, and nature of his kingdom, can come to
57 John vi. 42.                58 John vi. 43-50.




384       TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURING IT. [EXP. VIII.
me-can embrace me as the Messiah. He must be drawn by
him who sent me —the Father, God-in order to his coming to
me.' The Jews, under the influence of carnal motives, had come
to Jesus the man, wishing to obtain from him temporal blessings;
but, entirely destitute of a spiritual knowledge and sensibility,
which God the Father alone could give them, thev had not come
-they could not come —to Jesus the Messiah, for the spiritual
blessings which they really were in need of, and which he had to
bestow. They had not been led, or drawn, of God, to Capernaum. Their own carnal views and expectations had brought
them thither.
The language is figurative, but the meaning is not at all
obscure. By divine truth, understood and believed, under divine
influence, he who is most indisposed —so indisposed as to be
morally incapable of embracing Jesus Christ, as the divine, and
divinely-appointed, and qualified, and accredited, Saviour of
men-will become capable (by being made willing) of most cordially coming to him, receiving him, trusting in him, loving him,
submitting to him. No Jew, blind to the true meaning of the
divine oracles, with regard to the Messiah, could acknowledge
Jesus as the Messiah. No Jew, the eyes of whose mind, by
divine influence, were opened to the true meaning of these
oracles, could help acknowledging him.  Our Lord's words,
though used with a direct reference to those whom he addressed,
express a great general truth. No man while he retains the
habits of thought and feeling, that are common to all men-unchanged by divine influence-who is seeking for happiness in
sensible, present things, will ever cherish towards Jesus Christ
those sentiments and affections to which he is entitled. In order
to this, he must be " drawn" to him "by the Father;" that is,
divine truth, under divine influence, must find its way into his
mind, and enlightened, and impelled, and guided by these, he
will come to the Saviour.,
A man needs only to reflect on what is the natural state of
human sentiment and feeling, to see the indubitable truth of our
Lord's remark. The salvation of Christ is most exactly suited
to the sinner's necessities, but it is not at all suited to his native
tastes and inclinations. It is too good for him-too spiritual to
suit the carnal heart —too humbling to please the proud heart.
It is too holy for the willing slave of sin-too heavenly for him
who is "of the earth earthy."  Indeed, how can one, under the
influence of pride and the love of sin, approve of a method of
salvation which opposes every corrupt bias of the human heart?
How can such a one cordially acquiesce in that plan of redemption, which implies that he is justly condemned, and infinitely
deserving of blame-that he not only has no claim on justice,
but that his guilt is so great as to render the exercise of mercy
incompatible with the Divine glory, without the mediation and
satisfaction of the incarnate Son of God-and that he could not
be suffered to escape the curse of the law, but through the atone



PART II.]  CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.           385
ment of Christ?  How can a man who has a high conceit of
himself, and of his own performances, admit that they are utterly
insufficient to counterbalance the guilt of his smallest sin? How
can a man, blind to the Divine glory, see his obligations to
obedience? or how can one, who does not feel his obligations to
love and obey the Most High, see sin to be infinitely evil?  And
how can a man, who practically denies the evil of sin, truly
value the Saviour from sin? Is it possible, that the man who
does not believe that he ever did anything worthy of death,
should see any propriety, wisdom, or equity, in another's dying
for him, even one of infinite dignity? Can an enemy of the law
love Him that magnified and made it honorable, and love Him so
much the better, on this very account, because he hath most satisfactorily vindicated the Legislator.from all suspicion of undue
severity in punishing sin, anrl from all appearance of conniving
at sin in pardoning it?  How can a man, wise in his own conceit,
come to Christ as a prophet, and, sitting down at his feet, receive
every one of his words?  How can a man full of the spirit of
self justification, come to Christ as a priest, and place all his
hope of pardon, and acceptance, and salvation, on his obedience
to death, as " the Just one in the room  of the unjust "?  How
can a man, who in his heart, is an utter enemy to God, come to
Christ as a king, and endure hardness, as a good soldier, in
fighting against all that is opposed to the Divine will and glory?
How can a man, who is in love with sin, and idolatrously attached
to the present world, believe that it is worth his while to part
with all for the Saviour's sake, and to become a stranger and
pilgrim upon the earth, " choosing rather to suffer affliction with
the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season
-esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than any earthly
treasure."69  No man, with an unchanged mind and heart, will
ever embrace the christian salvation.
And the change which is absolutely. necessary, is a change
which God alone can effect.  It is by his drawing men that they
are induced to come to Christ.  By the "drawing" of the
Father we are to understand, as is evident from the following
verse, the influence of the Holy Spirit, and the cogency of divine
truth, understood and believed. It is by being made to hear and
learn of the Father, that men are drawn to Christ.  It is because
men do not understand and believe the truth, that they cannot
come to the Saviour, and depraved men never will understand
and believe that truth, till the Spirit so fix their minds on its
meaning and evidence, that they cannot help understanding and
believing it, and when men understand and believe the truth,
coming to the Saviour follows as a matter of course-they can
5s I gratefully acknowledge my obligations to a sermon by Dr. Smalley, an
American divine, for many of the thoughts in the preceding paragraph. The
sermon is entitled, "The Inability of the Sinner to comply with the Gospel; his
Inexcusable Guilt in not Complying with it, and the Consistency of these with
each other." Dr. Ryland follows a similar train of thought in his sermon entitled.
" The Efficacy of Divine Grace Explained and Defended."
VOL. I.                     25.




386         TRUE HAPPINESS —WAY OF SECURING IT.  [EXP. VIII.
no longer help coming to him;"O and when any man, whosoever
he be, Jew or Gentile, however guilty and depraved, drawn by
the Father, by his word and Spirit, comes to the Son, our Saviour declares that the final salvation of that person is secure. He
is one of those who are given to him of the Father, and he shall
not be lost, nothing of him shall be lost.  He shall be " raised up
at the last day."
It is plain from this passage, that the inability of coming to
Christ, under which men labor, is not physical, but moral. It
does not originate at all in a want of those intellectual and active
faculties which are necessary to come to Christ, but entirely in
an indisposition arising out of wilful ignorance, and the love of
sin, and of the world.  It is like the inability of the intemperate
man to keep himself sober, the inability of Joseph's brethren to
speak peaceably to him. If men cannot come to Christ, it is
just because they will not come to him.  They who under the
gospel dispensation " are untaught of God," are so, because they
refuse to learn of him. The appropriate means of removing this
kind of inability, is the statement of the truth and its evidence.
This is all men can do.  Divine influence is necessary, absolutely
necessary, to fix the mind on the truth and its evidence, so as to
produce faith, and the native consequences of that faith; and
that influence never was, never will be, refused to him  who
honestly desires it. What would men have more? Would they
have men left to themselves? Then all must perish. Would
they have God to compel men to receive salvation?  This would
be to do violence to man's nature, God's work! Would they
have men saved as they are —in sin? This were to require an
impossibility, and to do violence at once to the constitution of
man, and the nature of God, to disgrace the Divine character,
and overturn the Divine throne. The sum of the whole matter
is, no man perishes under the gospel dispensation, but in consequence of his own wilful obstinacy: no man is saved, but in
consequence of a divine influence originating in free sovereign
mercy. Man is his own destroyer, God is man's only Saviour.
If we perish, our damnation is entirely of ourselves. If we are
saved, our salvation is entirely of God."6
The rejection and the reception of Christianity by mankind,
60 I am indebted to Dr. Bennet for drawing my attention to a striking passage
in Augustine's Homilies on this passage. After quoting Virgil's words, "Trahit
sua quemque voluptas," he beautifully says (I quote Dr. B.'s translation): —" It is
not necessity, but pleasure; not compulsion, but delight. Have the senses of the
body, then, pleasures; and is the mind destitute of its pleasures? You show a
green bunch to the sheep, and you draw it. Nuts are shown to children, and
they are attracted. Whither we run we are drawn, for it is by love that we are
drawn. His own peculiar pleasure draws every one. And does Christ revealed
by the Father not draw?" Luther says:-" God allures us by his 0t2avlOpo7vriahis love of man (Tit. iii. 4). God is set before us as our dearest friend, so loving
us, as to give his only-begotten Son for us. It is thus he draws us.". 61 Fuller expresses this truth with his usual force and point: " Upon the whole,
we see from these passages —John v. 40; vi. 44, 45, 65, taken together-first,
that if any man is lost, whom he has to blame for it —HISELF; secondly, that if
any man is saved, whom he has to praise for it-GOD."




PART II.]  CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.        387
will, according to the differert views taken of the subject, appear
equally wonderful to a considerate mind. When we think of the
perspicuity of its oracles, the reasonableness of its doctrines, the
equity of its precepts, the simplicity of its ordinances, the abundance of its evidence, the benignity of its spirit, and the varied
usefulness of its tendency, it seems strange that anything further
than the calling on men to make Christianity the subject of considerate thought, should be necessary to secure its universal reception. But when, on the other hand, we think first of that holy
spirituality which constitutes the most characteristic feature of
that religion, and then reflect on that carnality of mind, that depravity of heart, that secular ungodly spirit, which are the leading
attributes of fallen humanity, we cease to wonder that Christianity,
with all its recommendations, should be rejected by the great
majority of men to whom its claims are presented, and we begin
to think it strange, that any of a race so corrupt and earthly,
should ever cordially embrace a system so pure and heavenly.
The depravity of man is quite sufficient to account for the general
rejection of Christianity. It can be satisfactorily accounted for on
no other principle; and few considerations place the extent and
depth of human depravity in a more striking point of view than
this, that it does produce the general rejection of such a system as
Christianity, and would, unless counteracted by an influence from
a higher quarter, and of a more potent efficacy, produce its universal rejection. While the general rejection of Christianity is
thus accounted for, without the slightest disparagement of its excellence, its cordial reception in any instance by such a being as
fallen man, can be satisfactorily traced to no cause but a divine
influence so fixing the attention on the truth and its evidence, as
that it finds its way as truth into the corrupted mind and heart, and
there, by its own power in producing light and purity, establishes for
itself a permanent, and a welcome, and a suitable dwelling-place.
The only satisfactory answer to the questions, Why is the Gospel
not cordially received by all who hear it? why does any man
reject it? why do the majority of men reject it?-is,'Man is a
depraved being; he "minds earthly things;" he "loves darkness
rather than light."' And the only satisfactory answer that can
be given to the questions, Why is the Gospel cordially received
by any man? why is it not obstinately rejected by all?-is,'God,
in these cases, by a supernatural influence, has counterworked
human depravity; the Father has drawn to the Son.' The
answer to the first class of questions is,'Man is evil-wholly
evil;' the answer to the second is,' God is good-infinitely, sovereignly good.' Such is substantially the account which our
Lord gives of this most interesting subject in the passage just
illustrated. He plainly states that mankind, unchanged by divine
influence, labor under such an indisposition to embrace his Gospel,
and the blessings which it at once reveals and conveys, as amounts
to a moral incapacity,-an indisposition which nothing short of
divine influence can remove: " No man can come to me, except




388       TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURING IT. [EXP. VIII.
the Father, which hath sent me, draw him;" and with equal plainness he states that this influence, while absolutely necessary, is
also fully competent to produce the desired effect,-" All that the
Father hath given me shall come to me." Every man that is
drawn of the Father, every man that is "taught of God," "every
man that hath heard and learned of the Father, cometh to me."
Our Lord confirms his doctrine by an appeal to Old Testament
Scripture,-" It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all
taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath
learned of the Father, cometh unto me.""6
It has been questioned whether, by using the phrase, "in the
prophets," our Lord meant to convey the idea that the sentiment
which he quoted was to be found in that part of the inspired
volume to which the Jews gave the general name, " The Prophets," or that this sentiment is expressed by more than one of
those inspired men usually denominated prophets. Did he refer
to one passage, or to several? It does not matter much how
the question is resolved, though it is certain that this formula of
citation is sometimes used when only one passage in one prophet
is referred to.63 The precise words here quoted are not to be
found in any of the prophets,-the sentiment is to be found in
more than one. The probability is, that our Lord's direct reference is to a passage in the prophecy of Isaiah,64-" And all
thy children,"-the prophet is addressing the spiritual church,
under the administration of the Messiah, —" And all thy children
shall be taught of the Lord."  The same sentiment is to be
found in the prophecy of Jeremiah;6 —the prophet is plainly
speaking of the state of things under the Messiah,-" I will put
my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts,"that is, I will make them understand, and believe, and love the
revelation I make to them; "and they shall teach no more
every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saving,
Know the Lord; for they shall all know me, from the least of
them unto the greatest of them."
Our Lord's object in making this citation, seems to be, to show
his hearers that his doctrine, that men must be divinely taught
in order to their becoming his genuine disciples, was in exact
conformity with the declarations of the ancient prophets. His
argument plainly takes for granted, what he had so satisfactorily
proved by his miracles, that he was "the Prophet who should
come into the world," —"the Son whom the Father had sealed
and sent,"-the promised Messiah. The substance of the quotation and argument is this:' All the Messiah's subjects are
represented by the ancient prophets as taught of God; they
become his subjects, not in consequence of natural descent, or
mere human teaching, but of a spiritual birth, and divine teaching.' In perfect conformity with these prophetic statements, our
Lord in effect says,'I do not expect any man to become my
disciple, except he is taught of God; and I expect that all who
62 John vi. 45.  63 Acts xiii. 40.  64 Isa. liv. 13.  65 Jer. xxxi. 33, 34.




PART II.]  CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.       389
are taught of God shall become my disciples.' " Every one that
hath heard, and learned of the Father, cometh to me."  The particle "therefore," which seems rather to perplex the sense, does
not appear to belong to the original text.66
"Hearing, and learning of the Father," is equivalent to being
made by the Father so to understand and believe the revelation
of his will about coming to Christ, as to be disposed to comply
with it-as to be drawn to him. The Father made known his
will by the ancient prophets, who, as our Lord says, " testified of
him." He made known his will by John the Baptist, who stated
the truth very plainly respecting not only the divine mission of
our Lord, but also respecting the design of his mission, and the
nature of the blessings of his kingdom. The great body of the
Jews did not understand, and so could not believe, in their true
meaning, the Father's testimony to the Son by the prophets and
John the Baptist. In one sense they heard; but they did not
"hear and learn of the Father."  But all who, under divine influence, had been made to understand and believe that testimony,
gladly and gratefully came to him, that they might receive from
him the blessings he was divinely-qualified and divinely-commissioned to bestow.
The doctrine of our Lord in this passage, is quite coincident
with that of his apostle. " But we preach Christ crucified, unto
the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness
but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God, and the wisdom of God."67 No man who is
ignorant of Christ and his salvation, will ever embrace them.
No man who knows and believes the truth about them, can reject
them. All men are naturally ignorant and unbelieving on this
subject. No human teaching will suffice to remove their ignorance and unbelief. God-God alone-can do this; and wherever he does it, men embrace the Saviour and his salvation.
The ignorance and unbelief which keep sinners at a distance
from the Saviour, are wilful, and therefore most criminal. The
divine influence which removes this ignorance and unbelief, is
sovereignly benignant-might justly be withheld from all, and
when exerted on any, proves, not the superior worth of him who
is the subject of it, but the infinitely free kindness of Him who is
the author of it; so that he who is never the subject of this influence, has no cause to complain, while he who is, has strong
reasons for adoring acknowledgment, and powerful motives to
grateful obedience.
To prevent his hearers from supposing that some direct communication of information from the Father was necessary to
men's becoming his genuine disciples, he tells them that, in
speaking of the necessity of hearing and learning of the Father,
he had no reference to such direct communication, -a mode of
communication, which lihe states to be peculiar to himself,-as
the sent and sealed Son. " Not that any hath seen the Father,
e6 Wertsfein, Bengel-Griesbacb, Tischendorf.  67 1 Cor. i. 23, 24.




390       TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURING IT. [EXP. VIII.
save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father;"68 q. d.,'When I speak of being drawn by the Father, of being taught
of God, of hearing and learning of the Father, I do not mean
any direct immediate communication from the Father's essential
divinity. He makes himself known in his word. He has spoken
tn times past by the prophets. He has spoken in these last days
by John the Baptist, and by the Son. That man is drawn of
God who, under the influence of his Spirit, is made to apprehend the meaning and evidence of such revelations as He has
thus made of his character and will. Such direct and immediate
knowledge of God as bears an analogy to seeing visible objects,
has never been vouchsafed to any, save to him "who is of God.
He has seen the Father."'
"He who is of God," has been interpreted as equivalent to,'He who is commissioned of God-he who is sent of God.'
Though the words naturally enough express this idea, I do not
think that this is the meaning here, for the kind of knowledge of
God spoken of, is not that common to all who have been sent of
God; it pertains to our Lord (for he plainly refers to himself)
not in common with the class of divine messengers, to which he
belonged. It is a distinctive peculiarity of him as "the Onlybegotten of God," as one standing in an absolutely singular
kind of essential relation to the Father. " No man,"'769 o one,
neither man nor angel,-" hath seen God," neither can see him.
No man has obtained, no man can obtain, a direct and immediate knowledge of God, "The only begotten Son, he hath declared him."'" He who is "of God,"' seems equivalent to,'IHe
who is " God's own Son," the Son of himself, his proper Son.' He,
he alone, has seen God. He knows him, not only in the works
of his hand, and the dispensations of his providence, and the declarations of his word, but he knows him directly and immediately. He sees, not his shadow, which is all that creatures dohe sees his substance, he sees him as he is. He is perfectly and
intuitively acquainted with the whole truth in reference to his
nature, as well as his will.
All this statement, from the beginning of the 44th verse,
seems introductory to what follows.  "The Jews murmured
because he said he was the bread which came down from
heaven."  He replied,'Murmur not.  There is no sufficient
ground for murmuring. I have said nothing but what is true,though I do not wonder at your murmuring —for not having
been drawn by the Father, not having been taught of him, not
having heard and learned of him, you cannot receive, you labor
under a moral incapacity of believing, my sayings, however true
— of receiving my benefits, however precious.  Murmuring,
though highly culpable in you, is just what, with your views,
might be expected fromn you. Nevertheless, I assure you I have
only asserted the truth,-" Whether ye will hear, or whether ye
63 John vi. 46. —— 6 Gv rap4'or5 Oeor. Chap. vii. 29.   69 OVefi.




PART II.]  CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.         391
will forbear"-whether ye will believe and rejoice, or doubt and
murmur-it is indubitably true. " Verily, verily, I say unto
you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life."72  I have
everlasting life, real permanent happiness, to bestow on mankind;
and the way for any individual to obtain this real permanent
happiness, is to believe on me, to credit the truth respecting me,
the truth spoken by me; and every one, be he a Jew or a Gentile, who thus believes the truth, shall obtain real permanent
happiness.'
" I am that bread of life."73'You did not misapprehend me,
when you thought I appropriated to myself the appellation, " the
true bread," "the bread from heaven,' "the bread of God."  I
indeed am all that these emphatic figurative expressions imply.
I am that life-giving bread, for that is the force of the expression
" bread of life," just as " tree of life," is life-giving tree; "water
of life," life-giving water; "spirit of life," life-giving spirit. I
am the procurer and bestower of immortal happiness.'
Our Lord goes on to compare or contrast himself with that
bread which the Jews were accustomed to call'the bread of
heaven'-the manna. That miraculous food, highly as they estimated it, was only the corruptible sustenance of a mortal life.
" Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead."7"
It could not procure for them the indefinite extension even of
natural life. They who were fed with the corn of heaven, as well
as they who were fed with the corn of the earth, died, and returned to their earth. But "this," very probably pointing to
himself, " this is the bread " —equivalent to,' I am the bread,'"which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof,
and not die."'5'I am come from heaven to earth, not for the purpose of protracting for a season this mortal life, but that whosoever eateth me as the bread of life,' that is,' whosoever exercises
towards me as a Saviour those sentiments and affections, which
are analogous to the bodily action of eating in reference to food,
— he who treats me in the way which, in the nature of things, is
calculated, as well as by Divine appointment destined, to drive
from me the blessings I have to bestow, he shall never die;' that
is, not' he shall be exempted from the ordinary lot of fallen man
-in his case "the dust shall not return to the earth as it was,' ""
-but'he shall obtain a higher kind of life which shall never
terminate. " He shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life."'
To mark the importance of the sentiment, he repeats it, " I am
the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man
eat of this bread, he shall live for ever."" The question of greatest importance here is, "What are we to understand by eating
Christ Jesus as the bread of life?"  Happily, there is no difficulty
in answering the question. Eating is that which, in consequence
of the natural constitution of things, is necessary to our deriving
the advantage from bread, which it is intended to communicate,
72 John vi. 47.    73 John vi. 48.     74 John vi. 49.
75 John vi. 50l    76 Eccles. xii. 7.  ~7 John vi. 51.




392        TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURING IT.  [EXP. VIII
— that is, bodily nourishment. We may look at bread long enough,
we may smell it, we may handle it, we may talk about it, it will
do us no good.  We must eat it, if we wish to be nourished by
it. Now, what is it that is necessary and sufficient to our deriving from Jesus, as the Saviour, the blessings we need, and which
he has to bestow. We may speculate about him, we may talk
about him, we may dispute about him, but unless we believe in
him, we shall never be personally interested in his salvation. To
"eat" the bread of life is just, by the faith of the truth, to obtain
a personal interest in the blessings of Christ's salvation.
Ou Lord then proceeds to give them some farther most important information as to the manner in which he obtains for, and bestows on, mankind, real permanent happiness; employing a figurative representation corresponding to the general figurative view
he had already given of his saving character as the bread of life.
" The bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the
life of the world.'"78
The meaning of these words is,' I am the Saviour of the world;
and the manner in which I am to save the world is by devoting
myself to death in their room, as the victim for their transgressions.' Let us see how this sentiment can be brought out of these
words-" I will give my flesh for the life of the world."  "The
flesh" of our Lord is plainly just equivalent to his body, or himself as embodied.  To "give his flesh," is to devote himself as a
sacrifice-voluntarily to lay down his life. This is plain enough.
But what is it " to give his flesh for the life of the world." " The
world" is just equivalent to mankind, without distinction, Gentiles as well as Jews; and " to give his flesh for their life," is either'to give himself, to devote himself, in their room-to lay down
his life for their forfeited life-to give his soul as a ransom  for
their souls —to die in their room, in order to save them  from the
death which they deserved;' or, what comes materially to the
same thing,' to lay down his life in order to obtain life —happiness-for them.' The truth embodied in these words, is that cardinal doctrine of Christianity, that the death of Christ, as the divinely-aypointed piacular victim for the sins of men, is the grand
means o securing man's salvation.
Now, says our Lord, " This is the bread I will give" to men.' It is thus that I save them. It is thus I preserve them from destruction.  It is thus I secure for them everlasting life.'
This passage very clearly shows how far they are mistaken who
consider our Lord as calling himself " the bread of life," merely
or chiefly as a teacher of a salutary doctrine, a doctrine which,
understood and believed, is calculated to make men truly wise,
good, and happy-to nourish them up unto eternal life. It is the
truth with regard to his saving character generally, that he intends to bring before our mind; and especially that all-important
73 John vi. 51.-" v7rEp, with the genitive, denoting substitution. Rom. v. 6.
Luke xxii. 19, 20. 1 Tim. ii. 6. Tit. ii. 14  Rom. viii. 3."-PYE SMITH.




PART II.]  CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.        393
truth, that he is a Saviour from sin and its consequences, by bearing, and bearing away, the sin, the guilt, of the world.
Such, beyond all question: is the true meaning of our Lord's
figurative declarations, that he was the " bread of life;" that " the
bread which he gives is his flesh, which is given for the life of the
world;" and that he who would live for ever, "must eat of this
bread." It may seem strange, at first sight, that our Lord, in stating
these primary doctrines, respecting the manner in which he, by his
death, was to accomplish the salvation of men, and the manner in
which men were to obtain a personal interest in the salvation
accomplished by him, instead of unfolding them in plain literal
expressions, should have wrapped them up in metaphorical language, and employed figures which, even to us, seem somewhat
harsh, and which, to those to whom the discourse was originally
addressed, could be only in a very limited degree intelligible. If,
however, we judge of our Lord's discourse on the obviously fair
principle, " In every work regard the author's end," nothing will
seem wonderful here but the wisdom of the divine teacher.
It plainly was not our Lord's design to communicate at this
time to these men, clear views respecting the nature of the salvation, which HE, the Messiah, was to accomplish, and the manner
in which this salvation was to be obtained through him. In the
present state of their minds, they were plainly incapable of receiving such information. His object was to show them, that the
truth on these subjects was something totally different from what
they had been accustomed to consider as the truth, and to convey
that truth under the veil of metaphor into their minds, so as to
-secure its becoming a subject of reflection-truth which, if presented in its naked simplicity, would have called forth such a host
of prejudices, as would have prevented its finding entrance into
the mind at all. His statements were intentionally enigmatical
and startling. They were so framed, as that, while they could
not be readily understood, they could not be easily forgotten.
The truth was wrapped in these " dark sayvings," but it required
consideration, and coming events and clearer revelations, fully to
unfold it. The present object was to arrest attention, to create
interest, to excite inquiry. The more, then, the statements, while
containing nothing but truth, could be made to wear the air of
paradox, so much the better obviously were they fitted to gain
the end in view, to draw forth the question,-' What can he
intend by such strange assertions? Surely more is meant than
meets the ear.' Such was the effect which our Lord's statements
actually did produce on the minds of many who heard them.
"The Jews therefore,"-that is, in consequence of his having
made the paradoxical declaration that he would give his flesh as
bread to men, —"The Jews therefore strove among themselves,
saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"79 It is difficult, or rather impossible, to say what was the precise state of
mind whi-h thks questior indicated on the part of those who pro79 John vi. 52.




394       TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY 3F SECURING IT.  [EXP. VIII.
posed. It is not unlikely that it expressed different sentiments in
different individuals. With some it probably was a contemptuous
expression of utter incredulity, grounded on the alleged obvious
absurdity of the statement made: q. d.,' The man is mad; can
any absurdity exceed this? We are to live for ever by eating the
flesh of a living man!' \With others, who thought that neither
our Lord's words nor works were like those of a madman, the
question probably was equivalent to a statement-' These words
must have a meaning different from their literal signification, but
what can that meaning be?'
These " strivings" of the Jews about the meaning of our Lord's
words, were "among themselves." None of them seem to have
stated their sentiments to our Lord, but he was perfectly aware of
what was going on among them. He does not, however, proceed
to explain his former statements. They were not ready for such
an explication. It would have been worse than lost on them.
Instead of illustrating his statement, he reiterated it. He in no
degree explains away what had seemed strange, absurd, incredible, or unintelligible. On the contrary, he becomes, if possible,
more paradoxical and enigmatical than ever, in order that his
statement might be more firmly rooted in their memory, and that
they might the more earnestly inquire,' What can these mysterious words mean?' He tells them that, strange and unintelligible, and incredible, and absurd, as his statements might appear,
he had said nothing but what was undubitably true, and incalculably important.
"Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood,
ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh
my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last
day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed."80  Though, those to whom our Lord originally addressed
these words, had not the means of fully understanding them,
when they were uttered to them, we surely ought to find no
difficulty in discovering their meaning. Our interest in them is
as deep as that of those who heard them from the living lips of
the incarnate Saviour; and they are indeed as really addressed
by him to us as to them.
These words are the following out of the figure employed by
our Lord in the 51st verse.  "I will give my flesh"-rmy body
-myself as embodied —a piacular victim, an expiatory sacrifice,
in the room of the forfeited lives of mankind, in order to secure
their happiness; and mankind, in order to be the better of this,
must feed on this sacrifice. The Son of man must andergo a
violent death, in the room of guilty men. His sacrificed body
when spiritually fed upon, is the principle and nourishrnent of an
eternal life, a never-ending happiness. His "blood shed for the
remission of sins," spiritually " drunk"-received-appropriated
— secures a happy immortality. Every man who does not eat
sO John vi. 53-55b




PART II.]  CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.        395
this spiritual food, and drink this spiritual drink, is in a state of
spiritual death. Every one who does eat of this spiritual food,
and drink of this spiritual drink, shall immediately enter on the
enjoyment of a holy, happy state of spiritual being, which shaii
never terminate, and even the mortal part of his nature shall,
through the power of the Redeemer's sacrifice, at the close of the
present state of things, put on immortality.
The question of greatest importance to the satisfactory interpretation of this most interesting passage is, What is meant by
"eating the flesh," and "drinking the blood of the Son of
man."  We may remark by the way, that our Lord plainly
admits his Messiahship, by identifying himself with the Son of
man.
The "flesh and blood" of our Lord, is a phrase equivalent to
his sufferings and death, as one who gives himself for the life of
the world; or, in other words, to Jesus Christ suffering and
dying, the just one in the room of the unjust, that he may bring
men to God; the Lamb of God whose bleed was shed, and whose
flesh was consumed, on the altar of Divine justice, as the victim
for the sins of men.
The sacrificed Saviour is represented as the food of the soul,
his shed blood as the elixir of immortality, The figure, like the
emblem in the Lord's Supper, is double, but the signification is
one. The atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, is at once absolutely
necessary, and completely sufficient, for the salvation of men.
It is through that atonement, through that atonement alone, that
any of the guilty, depraved, wretched children of men can obtain
forgiveness, and sanctification, and true permanent happiness;
and through this atonement every guilty, depraved, wretched
man, may obtain forgiveness, and sanctification, and true permanent happiness.
Now, how is the individual sinner to obtain for himself a personal interest in this deliverance from guilt, and depravity, and
endless ruin, for the attainment of which, in the case of any
man, this atoning sacrifice was necessary-for the attainment of
which, in the case of every man, this atoning sacrifice is sufficient? The answer to this question, the most interesting certainly that can engage the mind of a sinner, is, in the figurative
language of our Lord, —He must " eat the flesh, he must drink
the blood, of the Son of man." If he does not, " there is no
life in him;" he continues in spiritual death,-in that state of
condemnation, and moral pollution, and hopeless wretchedness,
into which his sin has brought him. If he does, he hath eternal
life, he enjoys a state of spiritual sensibility, activity, and enjoyment, which shall never end-a state of blessedness in the enjoyment of the Divine favor, of holy conformity to the Divine
image, of true permanent happiness, and even his mortal, his
dead body, shall in due time be quickened, and " mortality" in
him " be swallowed up of life."
But the question comes back on us, What is it to eat the flesh




396        TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURING IT.  [EXP. VIII.
and to drink the blood of the Son of man, on which the enjoyment of such inappreciably valuable benefits is suspended?
Some learned, but certainly not in this case judicious, interpreters,"8 have considered these words as having a reference to the
Lord's Supper, and I am afraid that, in very many cases, superstitious notions with regard to the efficacy of that ordinance,
have originated in, or been strengthened by, this mistaken view
of these words of our Lord. The Lord's Supper was not instituted till long after these words were spoken. The observance
of that ordinance is not in every case necessary to salvation.
There can be no reasonable doubt that many are in heaven who
never participated in the Lord's Supper, and there can be as
little doubt that many are in hell who have participated in it.
It is not true of every one who has not eaten the emblem of the
flesh of the Son of man, and who has not drunk the emblem of
his blood, that he has no life in him; nor is it true of every one
that has eaten and drunk these emblems, that he has everlasting
life. The reference then is not, cannot be, to the Lord's Supper.82
But it is not enough that we know what eating the flesh and
drinking the blood of the Son of man does not mean; it is of
infinite importance that we should know what these expressions
do mean.  Now, I apprehend the most satisfactory way of getting an answer to this question is to propose another.  When
Jesus Christ, as dying in the room of men to obtain their salvation, is represented as the food of the immortal mind, what is it
that, in the economy of grace, serves the purpose of enabling individual sinners to derive from him the personal enjoyment of
that pardon, and holiness, and eternal happiness, which his atoning sacrifice is at once necessary and sufficient to procure for
men, -a purpose analogous to that which eating and drinking,
according to the constitution of nature, serves, in enabling a man
to derive nourishment from articles of food? No person, who
has read the New Testament with any care, can hesitate for a
moment as to the answer that should be given to this question.
It isfaith. It is the belief of the truth respecting Christ Jesus
as the only and all-sufficient Saviour of sinners, in consequence
of his having given himself, in the room of the guilty, " a sacrifice and an offering of a sweet-smelling savor to God." It is
the belief of this truth which, by Divine appointment, interests
the sinner in all the blessed effects of that atoning sacrifice. It
is the believer, the believer alone, that by this sacrifice is brought
to God-made an inheritor of everlasting life. It is by the faith
of the truth that men are justified; it is by the faith of the truth
that men are sanctified; it is by the faith of the truth that men
are saved: and this truth respecting the atoning death of Jesus
Christ is the grand central principle, with the belief of which the
81 Chrysostom, Hackspan, Maldonatus, &c.
82 " Credere in eum, hoc est manducare panem vivum."-AuGuSTIN. " Ne syllaba
quidem hujus sexti capitis de sacramento loquitur, non modo quod sacramentum
nondum esset institutum, sed multo magis, quod ipsa sermonis et sententiarum
consequentia de fide incarnati VerVl C(hristum loqui dare ostendit."-LUvTHEr,




PART II.]  CONVERSAUIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.             397
enjoyment of the blessings of the christian salvation is so often,
in Scripture, represented as indissolubly connected.
This, then, is the fundamental principle of Christianity, so
strikingly taught us under these figures: No man capable of
believing, who does not believe the great cardinal principle of
Christianity, that Jesus Christ, the divine, and divinely-appointed
and qualified, Saviour of men, has made atonement for sin by
the sacrifice of himself, can be a partaker of the christian salvation.  He is in his sins-dead-condemned already, the wrath
of God abides on him; and if he continue and die an unbeliever,
he must die the second death.  On the other hand, every man
who really believes this truth, is, of course, personally interested
in all the blessings of the christian salvation. He shall never
perish; he shall have everlasting life; his sins are forgiven him,
for Jesus' name's sake; he is made " accepted in the Beloved;"
he is " transformed by the renewing of his mind:" he has hope,
and joy, and " peace in believing;" his spirit lives because of his
justification; and though the body must die because of sin, He
who raised our Lord Jesus from  the dead, shall in due time
quicken his mortal body, because of the Spirit who dwells in him.
Such are the glorious results of eating the flesh and drinking the
blood of the Son of man-that is, of believing the truth respecting his atoning sacrifice.83
Let us beware, however, of supposing that there is some
mystical power in the act of believing. There is no more mystical power in the act of believing than in the analogous act of
eating. The nourishing power is in the food eaten. The saving
power is in the truth believed, or, rather, in the Saviour, whom
that truth makes known to the mind. Accordingly, our Lord
does not add,'for eating and drinking are exercisesof great
potency;' but, "for my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is
drink indeed:"-' My flesh is truly nourishing, my blood is truly
refreshing,' —that is,'My atoning sacrifice secures everything
that is necessary and sufficient to make man really, permanently
happy, to deliver him from evil in all its forms and degrees
for ever, and to fill with an overflow of holy enjoyment all the
ever-enlarging capacities of his intellectual and moral nature
during the entire eternity of his being.' But as the most nourishing food will not nourish unless it is eaten, so this all-perfect
source of salvation will be of no use to us, unless, by believing
the truth about it, we drink of its vivifying waters.
There are two very plain but apparently ill-understood principles, on this subject, which, as we value our souls, we ought
never to lose sight of.  It is the truth respecting Christ's atoning
83 Neander thus paraphrases John vi. 53-58.-"Except ye receive my divinehuman life within you, make it as your own flesh and blood, and become thoroughly penetrated by the divine principle of life which Christ has imparted to
human nature, and himself realized in it, ye cannot partake of eternal life." I
am not sure that I quite understand this, but I do not think that the profoundly
learned and pious interpreter has apprehended our Lord's meaning so happily
here, as in many cases.




398       TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURING IT. [EXP. VIII.
sacrifice that must be believed in order to salvation; and, in
order to salvation, this truth must be believed.
It is not believing anything that will save us, just as it is not
eating anything that will nourish us. If a man eat poison, he
will be killed; if he eat innutritious substances, he will be
starved. There are errors respecting the atonement of Christ,
which, if a man believe, he must perish; and whatever he believe, if he believe not the truth respecting it, he cannot be saved.
There are many very strong believers in hell, and on the road to
hell; but they are those who have believed a lie, and not the
truth as it is in Jesus.
The second truth referred to is an equally important one.
Not only is it the truth that must be believed, if we would be
saved, but the truth must be believed in order to our being saved.
Knowing it, understanding the terms in which it is stated,
speculating about it, talking about it, fighting about it, will not
do if it be not believed; just as looking at nourishing provision,
smelling it, handling it, talking about it, quarrelling about it,
will not suffice for our nourishment: we must eat it, else we
must starve. In like manner, of whatever intellectual exercise
saving truth may be the subject, if it be not really believed, we
can derive no saving advantage from it. Let us never forget
these two principles. It is the truth that must be believed, and
the truth must be believed, in order to our having a personal interest in the christian salvation.
Our Lord proceeds to state, in language no less enigmatical
and paradoxical than any which he had yet employed in the preceding declarations, the intimate and permanent connection
which subsists between him and all who believe the truth respecting his saving character and work,-a connection originating in, and maintained by, the faith of this truth, and the important and blissful consequences which result from this connection. " He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth
in me, and I in him."84 These words assert the intimate and
permanent connection between Christ and believers, and trace it
to its cause. The words that follow unfold the blessed results of
this intimate and permanent connection. " As the living Father
hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me,
even he shall live by me."85
I have already shown at length, that the phrase " he that eateth me," is equivalent to,'he that believeth the truth respecting
me as the bread of life, —as him who has given his flesh for the
life of the world.' Now, says our Lord, he who does so,
" dwelleth in me, and I in him." There are two ideas suggested
by these words:-most intimate connection-' he is in me, and I
in him;' and permanent intimate connection —'he dwellethabideth-in me, and I dwell-abide-in him.' The food which
nourishes, is incorporated with that which it sustains,-becomes
a constituent part of it.
84 John di 66.                        85 John vi. 57.




PART II.]  CONVERSA.TIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.       399
The union of Christ and believers, is a doctrine often taught
by our Lord and his apostles. This union is of a twofold character. It is, in the language of technical theology, both legal
and spiritual; in plainer terms, the expression indicates relation
-that is, the legal union; and it indicates, also, community of'
spiritual life, manifesting itself in community of sentiment, feeling, and enjoyment,-that is the spiritual union.
The legal union, or union of relation, may be thus described:
-As Jesus Christ was, by a Divine appointment, so identified
as it were with those whom he came to save, as to be treated, not
as he deserved, but as they deserved-required to pay a debt
which they, not he, had contracted-to restore what they, not he,
had taken away-wounded, bruised, chastised, crushed to death,
in their room-so, by another Divine appointment, all who believe are so identified with Jesus Christ, as that they are treated,
not as they deserve, but as he deserves-treated as if they had
done what he did, and merited what he merited. This is the
fundamental blessing of the Christian salvation, all the rest grow
out of it; and its origin, nature, and consequences, are very
strikingly expressed in these words of the apostle: " But of God
are ye in Christ Jesus (who of God is made unto us wisdom),
righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption," that is,'justified, sanctified, redeemed.'86
The spiritual union, or the community of spiritual life, of
sentiment, and affection, and enjoyment, which exists between
Christ and believers, is produced by the influence of the Divine
Spirit, and made manifest through  the faith of the truth.
Christ's mind and heart are unfolded in his word; when that
word is, under divine influence, understood and believed, just in
the degree in which it is so, it becomes the mind and the heart
of the believer. So far as a man is a believer, he is of the same
mind and heart with Jesus Christ. He thinks along with him,
he wills along with him; and as the holy state of our Lord's
sentiments and feelings-their entire accordance with the mind
and will of the Father —is the principal source of his holy enjoyments, so he who has a community of mind and heart with
him, must have a community of enjoyment with him. It is thus
that Christ dwells in the hearts of his people by faith-the hope
of glory; it is thus that his Spirit is in them, and they are in his
Spirit; it is thus, that it is not so much they that live, as Christ
that lives in them; for the life they live in the flesh is by the
faith of the Son of God who loved them, and gave himself for
them.87 Every genuine believer is thus, both relatively and actually, united to the Saviour; so that he is in the Saviour, and the
Saviour is in him.
But our Lord's words assert not merely the reality of this
most intimate connection, but also its permanence. Believers,
according to our Lord, "dwells," or abide, "in him, and he
86 Bos, NMsselt, Krause.
87 Ep'. iii. 17.  Col. i. 27.  Rom. viii. 9-11.  Gal. ii. 20.




400        TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURING IT. [EXP. VIII.
dwells," or abides, "in them." The relation is an indissoluble
relation; and the communion of sentiment, and feeling, and
enjoyment, though, in consequence of their limited and everimproving capacities of knowledge, and holiness, and happiness,
admitting of endless enlargement, can never terminate. He and
they can be no more separated. The bonds which connect them,
are of such a nature as to defy the power of death itself to sever
them, and will bind the parties closer and closer in holy happy
union for ever.
This blessed result of believing in Christ Jesus, is very strikingly described in the following words-" As the living Father
hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me,
even he shall live by me."88 The general thought intended to
be conveyed by our Lord seems to be this-The intimate connection between believers and the Saviour is so close, as that his
life secures their life;-m"because he lives, they shall live also;'89
and he illustrates this thought, by comparing the connection which
subsists between believers and him, to the connection which subsists between him and his Father-and the security which their
connection with him affords for their life, to the security which
his connection with the Father affords for his life.
It is plain that our Lord here speaks of himself as mediator
-the sent of God,-not as "that eternal life which was with the
Father" "from  the beginning."0  " The living Father," is an
expression plainly equivalent to,'the life-giving Father, the
possessor of all life and happiness, the communicator of all life
and happiness, the source and fountain of existence, and intelligence, and activity, and enjoyment.' This glorious person, who,
in the economy of salvation, sustains the honors of the Godhead, sent Jesus Christ as "the living bread," commissioned and
qualified him to be the Saviour of men. " I live by the Father,"
says our Lord. Our Lord's existence and powers as a divine
person, are underived and independent. They are not different
from, they are the same as, the existence and powers of the
Father. But our Lord is here speaking of his life as the commissioned and qualified Saviour of men. "I live," seems to be
equivalent to,' I exist as the bread of life; I, as the appointed
and qualified Saviour of men, possess and exercise the power of
conferring happiness.' And he thus lives, " by the Father."
The!e words are commonly understood as equivalent to,'through the agency of the Father; my life depends on him.
He constituted me what I am, as the Saviour of men, and he
enables me to discharge all the functions connected with this
office, enabling me to give eternal life to as many as he hath
given me.' This is no doubt the truth, and is quite in accordance with the uniform  representations of Scripture, that all
that Christ as mediator does for the salvation of men, is done
by the power of the Father-that is, the power of the Divinity
which the Son is commissioned to exercise.
88 John vi. 57.       89 John xiv. 19.      90 1 John i. 1, 2




PART II.]  CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.       401
At the same time, there can be no doubt that the proper
meaning of the phrase translated, " by the Father," is, " on account of the Father;"91 and I rather think our Lord's intention
is to say, not so much that his life, as the bread of life, —that is,
his saving power,-is dependent on, as that it is secured by, the
living and life-giving Father.'Because my Father who sent
me is the living and life-giving One, and he has sent me as the
bread of life, to give life to the world, therefore I can give life.
His life, as the life-giving Father, secures my life as the lifegiving Saviour.  Because he lives, I live also.  The living
Father must cease to live, before I, his commissioned and qualified agent for the salvation of men, lose the power to save.'
In like manner as the Son, in the character of the sent of the
living Father, lives by him, " so" says our Lord, " he that eateth
me, shall live by me."'As the Father is the life-giving Father,
I, being sent by him, live; so, as I am the life-giving bread, he
that eats me shall live. I live, as the Saviour, because of the
living Father who hath sent me. He who eateth me lives because of me, who am the life-giving bread.'
Stripped of the metaphor, the sentiment is,-' He who believes on me shall enjoy real permanent happiness, because I ant
the divinely-appointed and qualified Saviour; and because believing in me is the divinely-appointed means of obtaining a
personal interest in me as the Saviour, and in the blessings of
my salvation. I can never cease to be able to save to the uttermost, because He who sent me for the very purpose of saving
men, is the independent and exhaustless source of all existence,
power,' and enjoyment; and he who believes in me, can never
cease to enjoy real happiness, for I am the divinely-appointed
and qualified procurer and bestower of real happiness on all who
believe, in consequence of an irreversible appointment of Him
who cannot change; as, because he lives, I must live, —so, because I live, they must live also.' Such, so far as I am able to
apprehend it, is our Lord's meaning in these words, which, like
so many others on the same subject in Scripture, are " dark by
excessive brightness."
Our Lord now repeats a sentiment he had already uttered, the
more deeply to impress it on their minds.' This bread which
has come down from heaven, infinitely surpasses the manna of
which you are accustomed to speak so highly. They who ate
of the manna died. They who eat of this bread shall never die.
"This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as
your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. He that eateth of
this bread shall live for ever.",92
In these words our Lord distinctly states, that this bread,
which he has again and again asserted was himself, had come
dlown from heaven, claiming obviously pre-existence, and preexistence in heaven. The manna came down from the upper
regions of the atmosphere, not from heaven, properly so called;.
91 Jau rov HIarepa.                92 John vi. 58.
VOL. I.                   26




402       TRUE HAPPINESS —WAY OF SECURING IT. [EXP. VIII.
but Jesus came down from  the heaven of heavens, from the
bosom of the Father, where he had been from the ages of
eternity.
It mav be said, indeed it has been said, that this argument
overthrows itself by proving too much; for surely the flesh and
blood of which our Lord speaks, did not come down from heaven.
This is, however, by no means implied in the argument.
"The Son of man" is here just equivalent to' the Messiah,' and
is used, not in its etymological, but in its conventional, signification. All that it implies is, that the pre-existent divine person who descended from heaven, and, when the object of the
descent was accomplished, ascended up where he was before,
united himself to human flesh and blood for the most wise and
gracious purposes, especially for those sufferings and that
death which were necessary to secure the redemption of a lost
world.
As this mystical bread far excelled the manna in its origin, so
it also, in a corresponding degree, excelled it in its efficacy. It is
not with this heavenly bread as with the manna. The ancestors
of those whom our Lord addressed, had eaten of the manna, but
they had not lived for ever. They were all dead many centuries
ago. The manna does not seem to have had any greater power
to sustain, or to prolong life, than any other species of wholesome
food. It could not counteract the fearful efficacy of the original
curse-" Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return;"" nor
of the additional curse denounced on that unbelieving generation
-" Your carcasses shall fall in the wilderness 794
But this heavenly bread has the power of counteracting a more
awful curse than either of these-the curse that dooms the immortal soul of man to eternal death. It has the power of communicating, and sustaining, and prolonging, to all eternity, a better life than that forfeited by sin-a divine, a heavenly life; " He
that eateth of this bread shall live for ever." On eating it, he shall
begin to live anew, a higher, a holier, a happier life. That life
shall be sustained by the continued eating of this mystical bread,
and shall never come to an end.
It deserves notice, that, in the whole of this passage, the enjoyment of eternal life-that is, real permanent happiness-is represented as connected, not with having eaten the bread of life, but
with eating it. The faith of the Gospel, by which an individual
is interested in the saving benefits which were procured for men
by the atoning sacrifice of our Lord, is not a transient act, but a
habitual exercise. The bread of life must be our daily food; and
just in the measure in which we feed on this heavenly manna,
shall we realize the vigor, and activity, and enjoyment, of the
heavenly life.
Thus have we arrived at the close of that interesting and instructive discourse, which our Lord delivered in the synagogue
of Capernaum.9"  It is a discourse certainly not without its diffi93 Gen ii. 19.   94 Numb. xiv. 29.    9i John vi. 59.




PART II.]  CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE TO THE JEWS.         403
culties, but it is richly replete with the most important and delightful principles of the christian faith.
It may be useful, previously to our finally taking our leave of
it, as a subject of exposition, to recall briefly to our minds the occasion, the design, and the manner, of this important discourse.96
The occasion of the discourse was furnished by the mercenary
professions, and pertinacious adherence, of a multitude, who were
moved by the hope of his gratifying their national ambition, and
perhaps equally by the expectation of being fed, without their
own care and cost, by his miraculous power. They sought him
because they had eaten of the loaves, and been filled; and they
showed what was uppermost in their minds, by hinting that the
most acceptable miracle he could perform, would be one similar
to that of the manna in the wilderness. The more politic of them,
probably, extended their views farther, and contemplated his being able to support armies for the establishment of their expected
dominion over other nations. From the appetite of hunger, Jesus,
who could with dignity employ any object or circumstance as a
vehicle of divine instruction, derived the occasion of this address,
and taught them that they were laboring under a deeper necessity, and that God had graciously provided a suitable relief.
The design of the discourse was to break the charm of his hearers' destructive ambition, to wean them from their low sensuous
views, to show them the nature of true happiness, and to unfold
to them the only method of attaining it.
The manner in which he prosecuted this design, was by showing that man's true happiness consisted, not in sensible and present enjoyments, but in spiritual and eternal blessings; that he
had been divinely commissioned and qualified to bestow such
blessings, not on one nation only, but on mankind generally, and
that faith in him was necessary to the obtaining of a personal interest in these blessings; that to render himself capable of making
men really and permanently happy, it was necessary that he
should suffer and die as a piacular victim for the transgressions
of men; and that the belief of the truth on that all-important subject, was as necessary to a man's deriving advantage from His
sacrifice, as eating is to a man deriving advantage from nourishing food; that, while they continued under the unbroken influence
of their carnal desires and worldly prejudices, they labored under
a moral incapacity of receiving and enjoying the blessings he
came to procure and bestow; and that nothing short of a divine
influence could emancipate them from the power of this present
evil world, and enable them to receive what was freely given them
of God. With regard to the particular form of the discourse, its
principal subject wears the aspect of a prediction, with regard to
the manner in which he was to accomplish the salvation of men,
and the manner in which they were to obtain a personal interest
in that salvation.
96 For much contained in the succeeding paragraphs, I am indebted to Dr. Pye
Smith. " Scripture Testimony," vol. ii., pp. 124-127.




404       TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SEC'L RING Ir. [EXP. VIII.
The whole discourse is marked by that mixture of literal and
figurative diction which is one of the most characteristic features
of the Old Testament prophetic discourses, and by that envelope
of obscurity which was necessary to guard the public prediction
of any future event. The event predicted in this case, was the
extreme sufferings and cruel death of the Saviour. Of this
catastrophe it was his manner to speak obscurely to his public
and promiscuous audiences, and it was only to his disciples in
private, and occasionally, that he, greatly to their surprise, foretold it in plain terms. The keeping in view of these general remarks respecting the occasion, design, tenor, and form of the
discourse, will be of use to us in enabling us more readily to call
up the important truths to which our attention has been turned
in these expositions.
1II.-THE EFFECTS OF THIS DISCOURSE ON HIS DISCIPLES IN
WORb, AND ON HIS DISCIPLES IN DEED.
JOHN VL 60-71.
~ 1. On his Professed Disciples..
The impression made by this discourse on those who heard it,
is described by the evangelist in the 60th verse:-" Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an
hard saying; who can hear, it?",9 The "disciples" is here plainly
a general term, descriptive of all who, under the impression that
Jesus was a divine messenger, probably the Messiah, were in the
habit of waiting on his ministrations, and of course comprehended
under it persons of considerably diversified views respecting the
design of the Messiah's mission, and the nature of h'is kingdom.
The great body of these disciples seem plainly to have been looking only for a temporal prince, and a national deliverance. To
them the discourse which they had heard must have been anything but satisfactory. Jesus had had a very fair opportunity
afforded him of avowing himself, in plain terms, the long-expected
deliverer of Israel, and of commencing that career which, as they
hoped, was to end in the emancipation of the chosen people, and
the subjugation of the world. But instead of doing this, while he
had not indistinctly intimated that he was indeed the promised
Messiah, he had spoken nothing about raising armies, fighting
battles, taking cities, obtaining wealth and honor for his followers;
but had delivered to them a mystical discourse, which, so far as
they could get a glimpse of its meaning, was altogether inconsistent with their views, fatal to their hopes —a discourse about
the superiority of the meat that endureth unto eternal life over
the bread that perisheth-about himself being the bread of lifeabout his coming down from heaven, and giving his flesh for the
97 John vi. 60.




PART III.]    EFFECTS OF OUR LORD'S DISCOURSE.             405
life of the world-about the necessity of eating his flesh, and
drinking his blood.
The effect produced by the delivery of such a discourse, to such
an audience, was just what might have been anticipated. Many
of them, when they heard it, said, " This is an hard saying; who
can hear it?" The word " saying" refers not exclusively to the
concluding observation recorded in the 58th verse, but to the
whole discourse.  The words of these dissatisfied disciples admit of a two-fold interpretation. They may mean,' This is a
very obscure discourse-so obscure as to be unintelligible; who
can comprehend-who can make sense-of it?' Or,'This discourse contains in it sentiments quite irreconcilable with our most
fixed opinions, and most fondly-cherished hopes; who can believe
it?' The last of these is, I apprehend, the true import of the
words, as spoken by these disciples. This seems plain from the
fact that they were offended at the discourse. They were stumbled
by it, that is, it shook their faith in Jesus as the Messiah. This
seems the meaning of the phrase " offended," when used in such
a connection.  "Blessed," said our Lord to John the Baptist's
messengers —" Blessed is he who is not offended in me."98 And
we find they were so stumbled, that many of them went back and
walked no more with him. It seems obvious that it was not what
was obscure, but what was plain, in our Lord's discourse, that was
offensive to them, and that led them to the conclusion, that it was
in vain to expect from Jesus the Nazarene, what they had been
accustomed to expect from  the Messiah.  "This was an hard
saying," seems not so much,'These statements are unintelligible,'
as,'These statements are inadmissible;' and " who can hear it?"
seems not so much,'Who can understand them?' as,'Who can
believe them?'99 
These expressions of dissatisfaction were not openly made.
They only murmured such things " among themselves."  But
Jesus knew in himself what was the state of their minds.  "He
needed not that any should testify to him of man, he knew what
was in man."  He made it plain that he was the searcher of
the hearts —the trier of the reins-a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart-and that all things were naked and open to
Him with whom they had to do.  "When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth
this offend you?"'"o'Does this stumble you?  Do these statements, which, though not fully understood by you, are plainly
incompatible with your opinions and wishes respecting the blessings to be obtained and bestowed by the Messiah-do these
statements shake to dissolution your half-formed faith in me as
the Messiah? Even though they should, I cannot retract them;
98 Matt. xi. 6.
99 The shrewd remark of Archbishop Whately, in reference to the Apostle
Paul's writings, is equally applicable to the doctrines of his Master. "There is
good reason to believe that the chief objection to St. Paul's writings is not from
the things hard to be understood which they contain, but from the things easy to
be understood, the doctrines so plainly taught by him."   I'0 John vi. 61.




406       TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURING IT. [EXP. VIII.
I must reiterate them. Everything I have to say to you, everything that is to happen to me, will more and more confirm the
conviction that I am not the kind of Messiah you are expecting,
or wish for. "What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend
up where he was before?"'
These words are somewhat difficult of interpretation. They
are elliptical. As they stand in the original, they are just"and," or even, "if ye see the Son of man ascend up where he
was before." There are some things, and some very important
things, stated here, which are perfectly plain; let us look at them
first. Our Lord asserts here that the Son of man-that is,
himself as Messiah-" was about to ascend up where he was before." The Jews, as appears from chapter xii. 34, expected that
the Messiah was to "abide for ever," remain permanently among
them. Our Lord intimates here, that, instead of remaining on
earth to establish the worldly kingdom they were anticipating, he
was, after having given his flesh for the life of the world, to return to heaven from whence he had come down.
The pre-existence of our Lord-his pre-existence in heavenpreviously to his appearing among men, is as plainly stated in
these words as language can state it; and with all the ingenuity
which belongs to the opposers of that doctrine-and we readily
acknowledge they are possessed of no ordinary degree of it-they
have failed, and ever must fail, of bringing any other meaning
out of them. Having finished the work which he was sent to do
on earth, which was chiefly to " give his flesh for the life of the
world," he was to return to the bosom of the Father, and be
" glorified with the glory which he had there before the world was."
r Our Lord farther intimates, that the Jews should "see him
ascend up where he was before." The word " see," is equivalent
to' shall know-know on the most satisfactory evidence.' Our
Lord's apostles beheld with the bodily eye the Son of man ascend
from earth towards heaven, and all the varied evidence which supports the truth of Christianity generally assures us that he has sat
down on the right hand of God in the heaven of heavens. These
statements are plain enough.' The Son of man shall ascend
up where he was before,'-' Ye shall see the Son of man ascend
up where he was before;' but what is the meaning of the
words, "and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he
was before "?
They are plainly, as we have said, elliptical; and it is somewhat doubtful how the ellipsis should be supplied. It may be
supplied thus,-" What," that is,'what will you think,''what
will you say,'-" if you see the Son of man ascend up where he
was before?" or,'Will you still be offended,' " if ye see the Son
of man ascend up where he was before?" Those who consider
the objection of the disciples as referring to the obscurity of our
Lord's discourse, suppose that the import of these words of our
Lord is,-' You find these sayings of mine obscure, because you
1 John vi. 62.




PART III.]   EFFECTS OF OUR LORD'S DISCOURSE.            407
are disposed to understand them  literally, not figuratively, as
they ought to be understood. Surely, when I leave the world
altogether, and return to heaven, you will see that my words must
be interpreted figuratively, in which case there is no difficulty of
understanding them.'
I rather think the import of our Lord's question is this:' Will
ye still be offended with my doctrine with respect to the spiritual
nature of the blessings which I, the Son of man, have come to
procure and bestow, when, by withdrawing from this world and
returning to my native heaven, I have made it quite obvious that
I have no design to set up such a temporal kingdom as you are
dreaming of?'
The words that follow seem intended still farther to meet the
misapprehensions of these murmuring  disciples.  " It is the
Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words
that I speak unto  you, they are spirit, and they are life."'
These words must be differently interpreted, according as you suppose the murmurings of the disciples directed against the statements of our Lord's discourse as unintelligible, or as inadmissible
-incredible.
In the first case, the words would mean,' You are occupied
with the body of my discourse-its words. You overlook its
spirit-its meaning. If you allow your mind to rest on the
words and the figures merely, you will get no good from  it-it
will necessarily appear unintelligible; but if you lay hold of the
truth which these words and figures embody, you will find that
they have a meaning-a meaning powerful in producing happiness; for my words, rightly understood, are spirit-full of energy,
and life —capable of communicating happiness.'
In the second case, the meaning seems to be,'" It is the
Spirit that quickens:"-these words, understood literally, looking at the flesh, the body, in which the sentiment is clothed,
may, indeed, well appear to be incredible;3 but when you discern their spirit, there is nothing incredible in the statement
made by me, a divinely-accredited messenger, that men are to
be saved by faith in me, dying as a victim in their room.' By
other interpreters, the meaning has been thus given —'It is
spiritual things-spiritual blessings-that constitute man's true
happiness. The flesh profits nothing. Carnal, material, temporary benefits, such as power, and honor, and splendor,
which you are desiring and hoping for, do not, cannot, constitute men truly happy.  "My words are spirit, and they
are life." My doctrine is a spiritual and a life-giving thing.
He who understands and believes it, obtains possession of true
permanent happiness, to the attainment of which the possession
of all secular enjoyment will be found utterly ineffectual.'
Our Lord added, "But there are some of you that believe
2 John vi. 63.
3 " What could my flesh avail you to eternal life, even if you were carnally to
eat of it?"-SLICHTINGIUS.




408       TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURING IT. [EXP. VIII.
not;"' q. d.,'I know that some-that many of you-notwithstanding your professions, do not really believe me to be a divine
messenger; for you are not disposed to receive as true whatever
I declare to be so: you receive my doctrine only so far as it
coincides with your preconceived opinions. Did you really believe, instead of saying, "This is an hard saying, who can hear
it?" you would have said, It is a true saying, and we will hear
it?' It is possible, too, that our Lord meant to suggest the important truth, that it is the believer alone who can experimentally know that his words are spirit and life. To the unbeliever,
who sees merely the outside of them, they profit nothing; they
are not understood, they are not influential.
The evangelist remarks, in a kind of parenthetical note, " For
Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not,
and who should betray him."9 He was never imposed on. When
he called Judas to be an apostle, he knew that he would be the
traitor.
After saying "there are some of you that believe not," our
Lord adds, " Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come
unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.""  Our
Lord refers to what he had said at the 44th verse,'Because I
was aware that many of you were not true believers in me, I
told you that, unless you were drawn by the Father, unless you
were taught of God, unless you heard and learned of the Father,
you never could be my disciples indeed.'
The consequence of these statements made by our Lord was,
that, "from that time many of his disciples went back, and
walked no more with him:"' that is, they withdrew from attending on his teaching; they no loager followed him  from place to
place; they returned to their ordinary occupations, convinced
that he was not the Messiah they expected or wished for. Their
secular expectations were disappointed, and their real character
disclosed. They saw two things very plainly: He was not the
master they wished for, and they were not the kind of followers
he wished for.
~ 2. On his disciples in deed.
When those who had professed to be his disciples were retiring in crowds, our Lord turned to the little band of the chosen
twelve, who seem always to have kept close to him, and said to
them, " Will ye also go away?"'-' Are ye also disposed to leave
me?' In these words, our Lord intimates that he wishes no
unwilling followers-that they who do not will to stay with him
may go.9
With a single exception, which our Lord himself immediately
adverts to, the apostles were sincere believers in his divine mis4 John vi. 64.       5 John vi. 64.        6 John vi. 65.
7 John vi. 66.                             8 John vi. 67
9 " Jesus nemiinm cogit atque hoc ipso arctius sibi sues jungit." —BNQXrL




PART III.]    EFFECTS OF OUR LORD'S DISCOURSE.               409
sion and Messiahship. They were in many things prejudiced
and mistaken; but they were fully persuaded that their Master
was the promised deliverer, and they were expecting from him
something better than a mere temporal deliverance.
Peter, with his characteristic forwardness and ardor, replied
to the touching question of his Master, " Lord, to whom shall we
go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe, and
are sure, that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God."'1
It is as if he had said,' We cannot depart from thee, for we
know not where else to go to find such a master. We have no
wish to depart. Thou, thou only, hast what me so much needthe words of eternal life; thou, thou alone, canst teach us the
way to true happiness, and lead us in the way which thou openest
up to us. We are fully persuaded thou art the promised Messiah,
the Son of God.'
It is difficult, or rather impossible, for us to say accurately
what ideas Peter at this time attached to the appellation, " Son
of the living God." We know what it means; and that in all
its extent of meaning, it is applicable to him to whom Peter applies it.
In reply to Peter's confession in the name of his brethren, our
Lord gave the following most impressive warning-" Have I not
chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?"" The word
devil, in our language, is the distinctive appellation of a particular class of depraved intelligences. The original term is less restrictive.  Here it is equivalent either to'enemy,'2 or' false accuser."3' Even in this little band, in whose name you have professed unbroken attachment, there is one false-hearted person.'
The remark was made to put them all on their guard, to make
each of them say, "Lord, is it I?"
The reference was to Judas Iscariot, who afterwards betrayed
him into the hands of his enemies.'4 It has been supposed, and
the conjecture is probable, that Judas, who had originally connected himself with Jesus from worldly motives, in the hope
that he would secure a high place in the kingdom to be established, first conceived the thought of betraying his Master on
hearing statements so completely irreconcilable with the notion
that he was to be a temporal prince.
I cannot conclude my illustrations of this discourse better,
than in the pertinent and pious reflections of Dr. Doddridge.'"
" We have, through the Divine goodness, been made acquainted
with these gospel truths in their full evidence and mutual con10 John vi. 68, 69.      " John vi. 70.         12 Est. viii 1.
13 it Non solum sibi malus, sed etiam aliis periculosus. "-BENGEL.
14 John vi. 71.
15 I take this opportunity of expressing my cordial admiration of what Dr.
Doddridge has called the " Improvement" of the various sections of his " Family
Expositor." Many have equalled, some have surpassed, Dr. Doddridge as interpreters of the New Testament, but no man seems ever to have drunk deeper into
its spirit, or so happily to have expressed the devout and practical reflections
which a careful perusal of it is fitted to awaken in an enlightened polished
christian mind.




410       TRUE HAPPINESS-WAY OF SECURING IT. [EXP. VIII.
nection, which were more obscurely hinted to those who attended
on Christ's personal ministry. May we hearken to the spiritual
sense of this sublime and excellent discourse, earnestly entreating the influences of Divine grace, that we may not only be
drawn to Christ, but be so firmly attached to his interests, that
whosoever else forsake him, we may never go. And may instances of apostasy, which, alas, are to be found in our age, as
well as in the primitive one, lead us to serious self-inquiry, and
to humble dependence on Him, who alone can'strengthen,
stablish, and settle us' in the faith of the truth, and enable us to' hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of our hope, firm unto
the end."'




EXPOSITION IX.
HUMAN AUTHORITY IN RELIGION CONDEMNED.&
MATTHEW xv. 1-20.-MARK VIL 1-23.
WHILE our Lord was "teaching in the cities and villages of
Galilee," a number of " doctors of the law," belonging to the
sect of the Pharisees, whose ordinary residence was Jerusalem,
came to him. Whether they were deputed by some public body
-or, of their own accord, came expressly for the purpose of
hearing the discourses and witnessing the miracles of Jesus-or,
being in that remote district of the country at any rate, took the
opportunity of obtaining personal information respecting an individual whose character and claims had become a subject of general
interest, it is needless to inquire, for it is impossible to learn.
From the general character of the body to which they belonged,
and from their own conduct on this occasion, there call be little
doubt that their object was not to find out the truth, but rather
to " entangle Jesus in his talk," and, if possible, to obtain some
ground of accusation against him, either before the ecclesiastical
or civil authorities-the Jewish Sanhedrim, or the Roman Governor.
While they were with him, they seem to have witnessed our
Lord and his apostles taking their frugal meal, and remarked,
with surprise, that they sat down to meat without observing the
ordinary Jewish rite of washing the hands.  The Mosaic law required a variety of ablutions; this, however was none of them.
But the Jewish Rabbis —" the elders," as they are called by the
evangelist-had added many ceremonial injunctions of their own
to those of Divine appointment, and insisted on obedience to
these as a necessary part of religious duty. Among these, that
of washing the hand and arm up towards the elbow (for that
seems the meaning of the word in Mark, rendered by our translators oft') previously to sitting down to meals, was considered
a See Note A.
1 1nvy)y/. Olshausen understands it somewhat differently. He says, "Undoubtedly vrvyjut is to be taken in thte usual sense of hand,fist, so that the method in
which the Jews washed is pointed out. The hands seem to have been used alternately in washing one another. The Syriac translators would have rendered it'frequently,''generally,' as though they had rendered it rrv,}va.  Either the
translator had heard the word wrong, or-he did not know how to translate




412    HUMAN AUTHORITY IN RELIGION CONDEMNED. [EXP. IX.
of very great importance.  "Whosoever," says one of the Rabbis, " despiseth the washing of hands, is worthy to be excommunicated."  "He that eats bread," says another, " with unwashed
hands, acts as wickedly as if he had committed whoredom."
Rabbi Akiba, when in prison, not having water sufficient both to
quench his thirst and wash his hands, employed what he had for
the latter purpose, saying, " It is better to die for thirst than to
transgress the traditions of the elders."  "Whosoever," says
another Talmudist, "hath his seat in the land of Israel, and eateth
his common food in cleanness, and speaks the holy language, and
recites his phylacteries morning and evening, let him be confident
that he shall obtain the life of the world to come."
With these views of the importance of keeping the traditions
generally, and particularly of washing the hands, as a religious
rite, before eating, it is not wonderful that it was with a mixture
of surprise and indignation that they saw the followers of a professed religious teacher neglect so important an observance; and,
concluding that he approved of their conduct, from his not condemning it, they inquired, " Why walk not thy disciples according to the traditions of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen
hands?"2
Our Lord's reply consists of two parts: a general condemnation of the practice of attending to those unauthorized observances, as if they were religious duties, and a particular exemplification of their mischievous tendency. These two parts are not
given by the two evangelists in the same order.3  We follow the
order of Mark, who, after his usual manner, obviously gives the
more circumnstantial account of the whole matter. According to,
our Lord, these traditionary observances were both useless and
mischievous.
They were useless. They were not, they could not be acceptable as pieces of religious worship; for they were not required
nor authorized by the great object of worship. As religious services, they were utterly " vain."  They could serve no good purpose. This sentiment our Lord expresses by quoting a passage
from the book of the prophet Isaiah, and asserting that it is a
prophetic description and condemnation of the very practice
which they so highly approved, and for the neglect of which
they were disposed so severely to censure his disciples.  "Well,"
sai'd he, "hatt Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites."  It is as if
he had said,' Ye are hypocrites;' i. e.,'you assume a character
that does not at all belong to you: you profess to be very zealous for the law and honor of Jehovah —and how do you show
your zeal? While insisting on observances, as necessary parts of
religious duty, which He has never required, and in conforming
to which, not His honor, but the honor of you and your Rabbis
it." pa,'rrta/of —as used by Matthew-according to the same very learned interpreter-" is, as at Heb. ix. i, —Ablution, washing generally." Campbell would
reader TrvyT,u "with a little water," quasi,' with a handful.'
2 Mark vii. b,   Matt. xv. 3-9. Mark vii. 6-13




EXP. IX.] HUMAN AUTHORITY IN RELIGION CONDEMNED.   413
is involved, and at the same time dispensing with what his law
has rendered absolutely obligatory, you profess to acknowledge
his authority; but what do you actually do by these traditions?
You usurp that authority equally by making that a duty which
he has not made a duty, and by superseding the obligation of
that which he has made a duty. " Esaias has prophesied well of
you hypocrites."  He has accurately described your character;
he has strongly condemned your conduct.'
The quotation is from Isaiah xxix. 13. The words are not a
literal translation of the passage as it stands in our Hebrew
bibles; but they accurately enough express the prophet's meaning.  Many expositors consider our Lord's words as merely
signifying that the terms in which Isaiah described certain persons in his own times, were strictly applicable to those whom he
now addressed. I rather think our Lord meant to say, that they
were the very persons whom the prophet, in the spirit of prediction, describes. I apprehend that both the twenty-eighth and
twenty-ninth chapters of the book of the prophet Isaiah have a
direct and sole reference to the state of the Jewish people immediately before, at, and after, the appearance of the Messiah.
"This people draw nigh unto me with the mouth, and honor me
with the lip, but their heart is far from me."' This people profess a great regard for my authority and law; but they are destitute of that regard for my authority and law which tney profess.
" Their fear of me "-their religion-" is taught by the precept
of men "s —the services they profess to perform to me, are performed from a regard, not to my authority, but to the authority
of men. Their teachers impose their own doctrines as of equal,
as of superior, authority to my commandments; and they submit
to this impious usurpation. What they call the worship of God,
is indeed the worship of men. What they offer to me as worship,
must then be vain-" In vain do they worship me."" It cannot
serve the purpose of worship. It cannot be acceptable to me. It
cannot be useful to them.' No religious service can be acceptable to God if he has not enjoined it; and even a religious service which he has enjoined, can be acceptable to him only if it be
performed out of regard to his authority, and not from any other
motive.
But our Lord denounces these traditions, not only as useless,
but as mischievous. The hypocrisy of the Jewish doctors, in
pretending a supreme regard to the Divine authority, was manifested, not only in adding to, but in taking from, the Divine law
-not only in making that duty which God had never made
duty, and that sin which he had never made sin —but in making that sin which he had made duty, and that duty which he
had made sin. They not only placed themselves on a level with'
Him by making new laws in religion, but they even placed themselves above Him by holding that when His laws and theirs came
into collision, His —not theirs-must give way. "Laying aside
4 Matt. xv. 8.  5 Isa. xxix. 13.  6 Matt. xv. 9. Mark vii. 7.




41.    HUMAN AUTHORITY IN RELIGION CONDEMNED. [EXP. IX.
the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men."  "Ye
transgress the commandment of God by your tradition."7
Of this our Lord gives a very striking example, introducing it
with these words of most severe irony-" Full well ye reject the
commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition."''With what admirable consistency do you profess such a high regard for God, while you trample on His authority to exalt your
own' " For Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother; and,
whoso curseth father or mother, let him  die the death: but ye
say, If a man shall say to his father and mother, It is CORBAN,
that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by
me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought
for his father or his mother; making the word of God of none
effect through your tradition."'
The general meaning of our Lord's words is quite plain.'Filial duty is most strongly enjoined in the law of God, and the
neglect of it is represented as a very great sin; but by one of
your traditions this part of the Divine law is frustrated-made
void —as it were, cancelled.'
The word "honor," in the fifth commandment, is a general
term for that respectful affection, and all proper expressions of it,
which a child ought to cherish towards a parent.  One of the
proper modes of expressing this feeling, is for the child to support the parent, either wholly or in part, when the parent's circumstances require, and the child's permit this. To "curse" a
parent-to treat a father or a mother with disrespect or cruelty —
is condemned in the strongest terms in the Divine law. Now, it
seems the Jews had a tradition of the elders, the tendency of
which was to invalidate both what God had enjoined and forbidden on the subject of filial duty; but what was the precise
nature of that tradition, and how it had the effect of making
void the Divine law with regard to filial duty, are points on which
interpreters are not agreed.
Some have supposed that the tradition referred to was this-'The support of destitute parents is optional, not obligatory;
it is a gift, not a debt. He who yields it is very praiseworthy,
but he who withholds it cannot be justly blamed.' Such a tradition would, no doubt, materially cancel the fifth commandment.
But simple, and on that account probable, as this mode of interpretation is, there are insuperable objections to its adoption.
We have no reason to think that the Jews had any such tradition; even although they had, they could scarcely be said
by it "not to suffer men to do ought for their parents;" and,
besides, this interpretation does not account for the word CoRBAN, which properly signifies a sacred gift, —something devoted
to God.
Another class of interpreters suppose that this was the tradition:-' If a man declare that he will devote to sacred purposes
that which otherwise he would have been bound to devote to the
7 Mark vii. 8. Matt. xv 3.  8 Mark vii. 9.  9 Mark vii. 10-13.




EXP. IX.] HUMAN AUTHORITY IN RELIGION CONDEMNED.   415
support of his parents, he is not only freed from the obligation
to support his parents, but he would sin if he were employing
any of his property for this purpose.' No doubt this, too, would
make void the fifth commandment; and this would indeed be
a refusing to suffer the manll to do aught for his father and
mother. But there is a want of evidence that this was one of
the ways in which the Scribes and Pharisees " spoiled widows'
houses."
The following appears to me the most probable account of the
matter. There seems to be a reference to the doctrines of the
Jewish rabbis with regard to vows. Their doctrine on this subject has been thus stated by the learned Dr. Pococke, one of the
most accomplished of our rabbinical scholars:-" A man may be
so bound by vows that he cannot, without great sin, do what
God in his law hath required to be done; so that if he made a
vow which laid him under the necessity of violating God's law
that he might observe it, his vow must stand, and the law be
abrogated."  The words in the 11th verse, in Mark's Gospel, are
the terms of the vow-" It is CORBAN"-or " let it be CORBAN
— by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me." CORBAN
signifies what is dedicated to God, and what cannot be turned
to any other purpose without sacrilege. If a Jew were about to
take a vow against the use of wine, he would say, " Let this wine
be CORBAN; "i. e.,'I vow I shall not drink it; and if I do, I
will incur the same degree of guilt that I should by violating
the sacredness of anything devoted to God.' The vow before
us is,'Let everything by which I may be profitable to my
parents be CORBAN. I vow that I will not do anything for
the support of my parents; and if I do, may I draw down
on myself the punishment due to a violation of sacred property.'
Such a vow, in ordinary circumstances, could only be made in
a moment of passion. No man could approve of such a vow.
We have no reason to think the Scribes or Pharisees did so.
They would readily, I have no doubt, have condemned it; but
still, according to their doctrine, the vow, though a rash one,
was an obligatory one. To the man who had made such a vow,
they would have said,' You should not have made it; but, having made it, you must keep it. By keeping your vow, you no
doubt expose yourself to the penalty connected with the breach
of the fifth commandment; but by breaking it, you will expose
yourself to the punishment you have invoked on yourself, —the
punishment due to the violation of sacred property,-a much
greater punishment than that due for filial undutifulness. There
is only a choice of evils; but there is, in this case, a greater evil
in breaking the vow than in keeping the vow.'
Such were the absurd refinements of rabbinical casuistry, by
which they confounded the plainest moral distinctions, and made
sin duty, and duty sin. The plain, scriptural, common sense
decision, on such a case, would be,'You sinned greatly in




416    HUMAN AUTHORITY IN RELIGION CONDEMNED. [EXP. LX.
making such a vow, and you would sin still more were you
keeping it. Repent of your wickedness in making so rash,
profane, and unnatural a vow, and show your repentance by
redoubled assiduity in the performance of every variety of filial
duty.'
Our Lord concluded his stringent address to these Scribes
and Pharisees with these words:-" And many such like things
ye do."'0'This is but a specimen of your traditions; and are
my disciples to be censured for disregarding such traditionswhich can be of no use -which are so mischievous? and is it
for you, hypocrites, to pretend zeal for the Divine authority, and
to manifest displeasure at my disciples, as if they disowned it,
while you set the throne of human authority not only on a level
with, but above, the throne of Divine authority?'
We are all ready enough to condemn these Scribes and Pharisees for "teaching for doctrines the commandments of men,"
and "making void the commandment of God by their traditions." But let us remember that this pestilent spirit is by no
means extinct, and let us guard against its influence. In every
country and age, men have discovered a disposition to mould the
doctrines and worship of God according to their own fancy.
Whence but from this came the mummeries of popish superstition-its masses and penances, and fasts and festivals, and pilgrimages? and whence come the unauthorized rites, and ceremonies, and office-bearers, that are to be found in churches
calling themselves reformed?  Whence came the unholy connection between church and state, and all its diversified and
innumerable fatal results? whence have come those terms of
communion, unsanctioned by the authority of Jesus Christ, that
are to be found in so many societies which profess to be his
churches?  All these spring from one "root of bitterness," the
substituting tradition in the room of revelation-the authority of
man in the room of the authority of God.
We have great reason to deplore, and we sometimes think we
have reason to wonder, that so little of the Divine blessings rests
on the ministers and churches of Christ. We should probably
cease to wonder, though not to deplore, were we recollecting that
Jesus promises to be always with a ministry who teach men to
observe "all things whatsoever he has commanded," and nothing
else; and with churches who "walk in his commandments and
ordinances blameless."
That will be a happy day which sees the empire of human authority within the christian church completely overthrown. " By
setting their thresholds by his thresholds, by setting their posts
by his posts," there has been a wall raised between God and his
people. When these are cast down, and God's people made
thoroughly "ashamed" of having erected them, a voice will be
heard from heaven, " The place of my throne, and the place of
the soles of my feet, and my holy name, shall the house of
to Mark vii. 13.




EXP. IX.] HUMAN AUTHORITY IN RELIGION CONDEMNED.   417
Israel no more defile," "and I will dwell in the midst of them for
ever.""
Whenever human authority has found its way into the church
of God, it has not rested satisfied with merely adding to the laws
and institutions of Christ; it has always in some measure altered
and annulled them. When, in the Roman Catholic church, so
many ceremonies were added to the simple rite of the Lord's Supper, the result was, that the one-half of the original ordinance was
abolished, by the cup being denied to the laity. Wherever saints'
days are observed on human authority, the Lord's day, appointed
by Divine authority, is neglected. Whenever the ministers of
religion are supported by state endowments, the Divine financial
law, "Let him who is taught in the word communicate to him
that teacheth in all good things,"" is superseded, and; so far as
man can do it, repealed. When men introduce their own terms
of communion, Christ's terms of communion are sure to be disregarded; and when, in the presbyterian churches of this country,
a host of unauthorized, or at any rate unappointed, services, were
connected with the administration of the Lord's Supper, then an
ordinance, which in the primitive age was observed every Lord's
day, was converted into an annual religious festival.
The christian church is even yet but very imperfectly freed
from the unholy influence, and the mischievous operation of human
authority. The house requires to be more carefully swept than it
was at the reformation from Popery, and a more thorough search
must be made for the old leaven, that it may be completely cast
out. Let all individual Christians, let all christian churches, learn
to act on the principle, that in reference to christian faith, and
duty, and worship, the question is not,'How thinkest thou?' but,
"How readest thou?" not,'What is use and wont?' but, "What
is written in the law?" not,' How is it to be arranged by us?'
but, " How has it been settled by our Master?"  Let us " seek
out of the book of the Lord and read."  However sincere a man
may be in a creed or worship of his own invention, or of other
men's invention, it will profit him nothing. " The faithful witness 17 pronounces such a creed and such a worship " vain." May
God, by the mighty power of his truth, overturn all the altars
to human authority erected ill christian churches and christian
hearts; and in the implicit belief of divine truth, because it is divine-the unquestioning obedience of divine precepts, because
they are divine-and the cheerful observance of divine ordinances,.
because they are divine, may " the Lord alone be exalted."
The pharisaic doctors could make no reply to these words of
holy rebuke. They retired silenced, but not convinced-covered
with shame, and full of malignity. As they were retiring, and
still within hearing, our Lord took the opportunity of endeavoring to lodge in the minds of the multitude, in whose presence the
conversation had taken place, an important general principle in
the form of an apothegmatic remark, which was well fitted to,
1" Ezek. xliii. 8, 7, 9.                12 Gal. vi 6.
VOL. I.                   27




418    HUMAN AUTHORITY IN RELIGION CONDEMNED. [EXP. IX.
show the absurdity of the doctrine of the Scribes and Pharisees
respecting the uncleanness which they asserted was contracted by
violating the tradition of the elders respecting eating food with
unwashen hands. Having called the surrounding crowd near
him, he said to them, " hearken unto me every one and understand."l3
These words are equivalent to-'Give close attention, and
exert to the utmost your faculty of mental perception. I am
about to make a statement which at once deserves and requires
attention. It is of great importance that you should rightly and
fully understand it.  Without mental exertion, you cannot do
this. With mental exertion, you may do it.'
In endeavoring thus to fix the attention, and to engage in
active operation the mental faculties, of his hearers, our Lord
sets an example which should be followed by every religious
teacher. There is no pouring christian truth passively into the
minds of men. If men will not listen, and reflect, and examine
the meaning of statements, the validity of arguments, and the
force of motives, the best possible teaching will not make them
wiser and better. It is anything but a recommendation to a sermnon, that it saves the audience the trouble of thinking.
According to the evangelist Mark, who, as we have already
remarked, gives us the most circumstantial account of this discourse, our Lord, after this solemn introduction, proceeded to
say, "There is nothing from without a man, that entering into
him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those
are they that defile the man;"'14 and according to Matthew, "Not
that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which
cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man."'5
I think it probable, that our Lord used in succession, first the
words recorded by Mark, and then those recorded by Matthew,
and that the two statements are not to be considered as the different modes in which two witnesses report the same saving.
The words in Mark are the statement of a general principle:' It is not anything extrinsic and material, anything which affects
merely the outer man —the animal frame-that, properly speaking, makes a man morally impure; whatever does so must be
something residing within, proceeding from the inner man-the
spiritual-the intellectual-the moral nature.'  The words in
Matthew are the application of the principle to the case before
them:' Food, even although, from being eaten with unwashen
hands, not so clean as it might be, cannot make a man morally
impure; but such " evil thoughts," or rather "wicked reasonings,"
as come out of the mouths of the pharisaic Scribes, when they
"make void the commandment of God through their traditions,;'
they indeed make a man morally impure. My disciples, in neglecting a mere human tradition, have incurred no guilt, have
done nothing displeasing to God; but these men, with all their
pretended sanctity, who would bring them in guilty before God,
13 Mark vii. 14 Matt. xv. 10.    1' Mark vii. 15.    IX Matt. xv. 11,




EXP. IX.] tHUMAN AUTHORITY IN RELIGION CONDEMNED.   419
unfit for fellowship with him, make it evident, by their wicked
reasonings, which "proceed out of their mouth," that in their
inner man they are "full of what is abomination" to Him who requires truth in the hidden part.'
It is quite obvious that our Lord, in these words, has no reference to the Divine law, prohibiting the use of certain articles of
food to the Israelitish people. Our Lord, when he was "made
of a woman," was "made under the law,"'6 and scrupulously observed every one of its requisitions. He informs us, that "till
all things were fulfilled," an iota or a tittle of that law was not
to lose its authority; and he condemns the pharisaic Scribes for
using unholy freedoms with that law-stating that "whosoever
shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach
men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven:
but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called
great in the kingdom of heaven.""  For the disciples to have
eaten swine's flesh, would, without doubt, have made them " unclean;" but it would have done so, not from any physical quality
in the food itself, but in consequence of its showing that the evil
thing-indisposition to comply with the clearly-revealed will of
God, in an unrepealed code of law-was within. Even in this
case it would have been, not so much what went into the mouth,
but what came from the heart, which morally defiled the man.
What our Lord says here, however, seems just to be this,'Food, though physically, not ceremonially, impure, cannot
make a man morally impure;' the reverse of which very obviously true remark was implied in the Pharisees' insisting that
the use of food permitted by God, unless attended by a usage not
appointed by him, did make men morally impure, i. e., guilty, objects of disgust to the Holy, Holy, Holy One.
Having laid down this principle, and applied it to the case before him, our Lord adds, "If any mani have ears to hear, let him
hear.""8 This was a formula of speech often employed by owu
Lord, and is just synonymous with the words with which he introduced the somewhat enigmatical statement he had made.'This statement may seem to you strange; but it is true, and it
is important. It deserves, it requires, considerate attention; let it
receive it.'
Leaving the multitude, our Lord retired with his disciples
into the house where he ordinarily resided; and when they were
by themselves, his disciples said to him, " Knowest thou that the
Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying?'l"   The
Pharisees were a numerous and influential class among the Jews,
and the Scribes belonging to the party were their leaders. In
the partially enlightened state of the disciples' minds, it must
have appeared to them a very desirable thing that these persons should be induced to recognize the validity of their Master's
claims; and that, therefore, it was advisable to avoid, as much as
16 Gal. iv. 4.                   17 Matt. v. 18, 19.
18 Mark vii. 16.'9 Matt. xv. 12.




420    HUMAN AUTHORITY IN RELIGION CONDEMNED. [EXP. IX.
possible, whatever was calculated to disgust or displease them.
Such seems to have been the state of mind which dictated their
address to their Master. Probably they heard the Scribes murmuring as they retired:' This can be no true prophet who thus
pours contempt on the traditions of the elders;' and their feeling
seems to have been,' What a pity that their prejudices were so
directly attacked.' The import of the question appears to be,'Are you aware of the effect produced by "the saying" (rather,'the discourse,') you have just uttered?  Do you know that
these Scribes and Pharisees, who, we hoped, might have become
thy disciples, and joined our company, were quite "offended"
-quite stumbled at it? However much they might have been
disposed beforehand to become thy disciples, it is all over with
them now.'
Instead of sympathizing with these views of his disciples,instead of expressing anything like regret at what he had said,
or a wish that he had been more cautious in his language,-he
replied, "Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not
planted, shall be rooted up."20 The only question which affects
the interpretation of these words is, What does the word " plant,"
refer to?  Does it refer to the Pharisees, or to their doctrine,
which our Lord had been condemning and exposing? In the
first case the meaning is,'The pharisaic sect, numerous and
respectable as it is, is not of divine institution, and therefore is
not to be honored by being brought as a body into the number
of my followers. It is to be rooted up, or destroyed.' In the
second case the meaning is,'The doctrine of the Pharisees
respecting human traditions has not the sanction of Divine
authority; and it belongs to me, as the Great Prophet like unto
Moses, not only to water and cherish the plants which my
heavenly Father has planted, and to plant such other plants as
it is his will to have planted, but to root up such plants as he
has not planted; in plain words, not only to sanction former
revelations of the Divine will, and to make new revelations, but
also to c6ndemn and expose, and put down, all opinions and
usages falsely claiming to be of Divine authority.' It does not
matter much which of the views you take of the subject, though
I confess I feel rather disposed to prefer the last.
"Let them  alone," i. e., I apprehend,'Have nothing to do
with them. Do not desire their patronage or co-operation.
With all their sanctimonious pretensions to wisdom and piety,
they are the stupid and wicked teachers of a stupid and wicked
people. " They are blind leaders of the blind."2' It is a very
foolish thought, if such a thought lurks in your mind, that I
could make common cause with them. I see clearly-I know
whither I am going —and I am the seeing guide of' those who
see, whose eyes I have opened. I will lead them by the right
way to the wealthy place. But these blind guides of the blind
will precipitate themselves, along with those who have committed
20 Matt. xv. 13.                  21 Matt. xv. 15.




EXP. IX.]  HUMAN AUTHORITY IN RELIGION CONDEMNED.    421
themselves to their direction, into the pit of perdition. Have
nothing to do, then, with the Scribes and Pharisees.'
Our Lord's conduct here shows us that we are not, from the
fear of giving offence to influential, and, in a worldly point of
view, respectable men, to refrain from speaking the truth, especially with regard to doctrines and usages, unsanctioned by Divine
authority, which men endeavor to impose as articles of faith
and religious ordinances, and by which they cast into the shade
doctrines plainly revealed, and substantially make void ordinances clearly appointed by the Lord. It is no uncommon
thing when the truth, with regard to the spirituality of our
Lord's kingdom-with regard to the danger of building," hay
and stubble" on the only foundation-with regard to the only
financial law of the church, and the guilt and the danger of neglecting and still more attempting to repeal, that law; —it is no
uncommon thing, when the truth on these subjects is spoken,
however calmly, for persons of great influence and worldly respectability to be dissatisfied and offended. And some very wellintentioned persons, like the disciples, are disposed to say,' It is
a pity,-would it not have been better to avoid such subjects?'
But is the truth to be concealed?  This would be, on the part of
him who knows it, unkindness to his mistaken brethren, injustice
to truth, treason against the God of truth.
To all men, especially to well-meaning though mistaken brethren
in Christ, we ought to avoid giving unnecessary offence. We
ought to be ready to sacrifice personal comfort, to a great extent,
rather than incur this evil.  "If meat make nmy brother to fall,
I will eat no meat while the world standeth."  But we must not
sacrifice a jot or a tittle of Christ's truth to gain this or any other
end, however apparently desirable.22 The " teaching for doctrines
the commandments of men,"-the "making void God's commandments by men's tradition," we must clearly expose, and
strongly condemn, undiverted from  our course by the fear of
shocking the prejudices even of those genuine Christians who
have been entangled in the snares of any of those systems where
man holds the place of God, however much we may love their
persons, and value what is genuine in their christian faith and
character. This is kindness to therm, as well as justice to truth.
With regard to everything in the shape of religious doctrine,
which we cannot find in the Bible-with regard to everything in
the shape of religious institution, unsanctioned by its authoritywe must "lift up our voices like a trumpet," and proclaim,
whosoever may be offended, "Every plant which our heavenly
Father hath not planted," should-must —" shall, be rooted up."
If the reference in the figurative maxim of our Lord be not to
22 " With regard to faith, I take for my motto,' Cedo nulli.' I give place to
none. I am, and ever will be, stark and stern; and will not one inch give way
to any creature. Charity giveth place, for it' suffereth all things, believeth all
things, hopeth all things, endureth all things;' but faith giveth no place."LuTIIa.L




422    HUMAN AUTHORITY IN RELIGION CONDEMNED.  [EXP. IX.
the doctrine and usages of the Scribes and Pharisees respecting
tradition, but to the sect itself3 —its bearing on our duty is not
less direct and important.  God instituted no SECTS in the Jewish
church.  Christ instituted no SECTS in the Christian church.
Every church which is sectairian in its constitution is so far unchristian-anti-christian.  Alas! how  many churches are sectarian more or less in their constitution.  Alas! how few are not
sectarian in their spirit and practice.
In proportion as we separate ourselves from other Christians,
we bear marks of a plant which our Master in heaven has not
planted. His design was that his disciples should be ONE. And
those churches give best proof of their being plants of his own
right hand planting, who, in their practice as well as their principle, to use the words of our excellent Confession of Faith, " are
ever ready, as God offereth opportunity, to extend -the communion
of saints-that holy fellowship which consists in communion in
the worship of God, and in performing such others piritual services as tend to their mutual edification, as well as in relieving
each other in outward things, according to their several abilities
and necessities, to all those who in every place call upon the
name of the Lord Jesus;" and who cordially, in action as well as
in words, say, " Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus
Christ in sincerity."T'
The time will come-may the Lord hasten it! —when the
SECTS shall be utterly abolished, when the middle walls of partition, which at such a misplaced expense have been raised and
maintained between different churches of Christ, shall be pulled
down, and their materials employed in rebuilding the great wall
of partition between the church and the world, which has been
allowed to fall into ruins; when there shall be visibly, as already
there is really, but " one flock," as there is but " one shepherd,'
and when the united church, feeling the whole emphasis of meaning contained in the 133d Psalm, shall sing it with grace in their
hearts to the Lord.
"'Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to
dwell together in unity!  It is like the precious ointment upon
the head that ran down the beard, even Aaron's beard; that
went down to the skirts of his garments. As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended on the mountains of Zion:
for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore."  Or in the words of the old Paraphrast:"0 bless'd estate! bless'd from above
When brethren join in mutual love t'Tis like the precious odor shed
On consecrated Aaron's head,
Which trickled from his head and breast,
Down to the borders of his vest:
3 This is Olshausen's exegesis. "It is a false interpretation to refer tarreia to
the doctrine of the Pharisees. It refers to themselves"
21 Eph. vi 24.




EXP. IX.]                      NOTE.                            423'Tis like the pearls of dew that drop
On Hermon's ever-fragrant top,
Or which the smiling heavens distil
On happy Sion's sacred hill;
For God hath there his favor plae'd
And joy that shall for ever last."25
NOTE A, p. 411.
This discourse was preached immediately after the disruption in the
Established Church of Scotland, which led to the formation of the Free
Church, in May 1843. It was published by request, and had prefixed
to it the following Advertisement:Impurity in doctrine, or in worship, or in discipline, and sectarianism
in constitution or in spirit, are the master maladies under which, in various degrees, all the churches of' Christ are laboring.  A leading cause of
those evils is an undue regard to human authority, a principle endlessly
varied in its forms, and most malignantly efficient in its operation. The
only cure for both these evils, which are more closely connected than is
generally apprehended, is to be found in a return to entire submission to
Divine authority. That-that alone-will bring back the purity and
unity of the apostolical age. To promote this most desirable object, all
who in any measure know the truth on this subject, should speak it,and speak it in its own spirit, which is that of love.  When thus spoken,
it will not be spoken in vain.
These truths are of intrinsic abiding importance; but circumstances
may, at particular seasons, give thiem additional interest. When something like re-organization is taking place in one section of the christian
body, the change is likely to be advantageous or otherwise to those more
immediately concerned, to the church generally, and to the world, just
in the degree in which these truths are understood and acted on, or are
overlooked and disregarded. It is by all christian churches acting on
these principles themselves, rather than by one christian church exposing,
however justly, the deficiencies and faults of another, in reference to this
subject, that that union, which to all genuine Christians is an object of
earnest constant desire, is to be attained. Let us all get close to the one
Master, and we cannot remain far from each other.
The preceding discourse was thought, by some who heard it, likely to
be of some use in fixing the mind on the grand secondary cause of impurity and sectarianism, and on the only means of their cure; and it is
in the hope that it may, in some degree, answer the purpose contemplated, that it is given to the public.
25 Sandy&




EXPOSITION XI
UNLIMITED INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BLES& i, 5O
OF SALVATION.
JOHN VII. 37, 38. —" IrI the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesu,. *ood a-nd
cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. I.. tiat believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rifuli of
living water."
WHAT a busy, bustling scene is this world of ours! "All
things are full of labor; man cannot utter it: the eye is not
satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.'" The
endlessly diversified forms of human activity, which called forth
this emphatic exclamation from the Israelitish sage, and which
still meet our observation in every direction, are but different
expressions of one and the same sentiment-varied shapes which,
according to the different constitutions, characters, and circ-mstances of individuals, are assumed by one great animating and
guiding principle-the desire of happiness. It is this which
makes the miser hoard wealth, and the spendthrift squander it.
It is this which makes the brave court danger, and the timid
shun it. The man of business, the man of pleasure, the man of
ambition, the man of letters, the man of religion, different as
may be their paths, are all moved by one original principle, and
are all in quest of one ultimate object. The language of all
human pursuit, to the ear of reason, is, " Who will show us what
is good?"2 We need, we desire, we must have-happiness.
How melancholy the thought, that this universal activity produces so little satisfactory result, that, while all seek happiness,
so few, so very few, find it! The fact is equally indubitable and
deplorable.  What can be its cause?
It is not that happiness is a mere phantom, and the attainment of it an impossibility. There is such a thing as real happiness. The Deity is perfectly happy: He is "the ever blessed
God."3 Holy angels are happy; their constant employment is
praise. The spirits of the just made perfect are happy; yes,
"Blessed are the dead. who have died in the Lord."'
Nor is it that happiness is placed entirely beyond the reach of
men in the present state. As there are men in heaven who are' Eccles. i. 8.                          2 Psal. iv. 6.
3 Romn. i. 25.                           4 Rev. xiv. 13.




EXP. X.]              INTRODUCTION.                     425
perfectly happy, so there are men on earth who are really happy
-who have "an enduring substance"-a solid peace-an inward and inexhaustible source of enjoyment-" a well of living
water in them, springing up unto everlasting life."  If the desire of happiness, then, usually leads to useless labor, and terminates in painful disappointment, the cause is in man, not in
God.
What then is the reason why, while all wish for happiness, all
seek for happiness-so few, so very few, obtain happiness? This
lamentable result arises out of mistakes-in many cases wilful,
and therefore, criminal, mistakes-respecting the nature of happiness, and the means of attaining it. A very large class of men
are employed-some by very appropriate, and others by very
incongruous, means-in seeking the attainment of objects which,
whatever may be their value and use in their own place, and
however fully attained, are unfit, both from the nature of man
and the appointment of God, to make men happy; and a smaller
class, with juster views of what is requisite to constitute the happiness of such a being as man, under the government of such a
being as God, are equally coming short of their great object, in
consequence of seeking it in a way in which it cannot be found.
And how come men to form these mistaken views, which so
fatally misdirect their aims and waste their energies?  They rest
satisfied with inaccurate and incomplete information on these
subjects, while they neglect or repudiate the only source of unerring knowledge. God, the author of happiness, can alone certainly inform us what true happiness is, and how true happiness
is to be obtained.
In the passage before us, " God in Christ," " God manifest in
flesh," appears unfolding to us the true nature of happinessinforming us that it is in him, in him alone-explaining to us
the means by which it may be secured —inviting us to come to
him that we may obtain it, and assuring us that if we do come
to him for this purpose, we shall not come in vain: —" In the
last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him  come unto me, and drink. He
that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly
shall flow rivers of living water."" What subject can be more
truly, more universally, interesting than this?  Oh, let us "incline our ear and come to HIM; let us hear that our souls may
live!"
The interesting discourse of which our text obviously contains
only the outline, was, like most of our Lord's discourses, of an
occasional character. It arose out of the circumstances in which
he was placed at the time he uttered it. With his usual reverence for Divine institutions, he had gone up to Jerusalem to
observe the feasts of tabernacle and ingathering, which, combined, formed one of the most distinguished of the Jewish festival-seasons. The last day, the eighth day, of the feast, was
5 John vii. 37, 38.




426                  THE GOSPEL CALL.                [EXP. X.
come. That is called here, " the great day of the feast." So
far as the number of sacrifices was concerned, the last day of the
feast had no claim to be thus distinguished, for the oblations on
that day were fewer than on any of the preceding days. It
seems to be thus characterized, because on that day there was
a general solemn convocation of the whole worshippers in the
temple. It was what is termed in the Old Testament a " day of
assembly"-and it deserves notice that the ancient Greek translator uses this very term, in Isaiah i. 13, for "the calling of
assemblies," or the solemnly summoned assemblies. The same
phrase is used by our evangelist with regard to the paschal Sabbath-" a high day."6
The feast of tabernacles and ingatherings, which was the last
festive meeting in the Jewish year, was celebrated with peculiar
pomp and splendor. To the numerous ceremonies appointed
in the Divine law, others had been added through the caprice of
the Rabbins. To one of the most remarkable of these, it seems,
to say the least, highly probable that our Lord has a reference in
the words before us.
On every one of the eight days of the feast, at the time of the
morning sacrifice, one of the priests brought into the temple a
golden vessel full of water drawn from the fountain of Siloah,
which sprang up at the bottom of the mountain on which the
temple was built, and conveying this water into the inner court,
mingled it with wine, and then poured out the mixture as a libation on the altar. The performance of this ceremony was accompanied with solemn instrumental and vocal music,-a party
of priests sounding the trumpets and cymbals, and another party
singing as an anthem the words of Isaiah, " With joy shall ye
draw water out of the wells of salvation."' Whether this imressive, though uncommanded, ceremonial rite, was intended to
be commemorative of the miraculous supply of the Israelites
with water while they abode in tents during their sojourn in the
Arabian deserts, or to be emblematical of the streams of truth
and grace —that abundant blessedness of which they expected
copiously to partake during the days of Messiah the Prince-we
cannot certainly say. This we know, that in no ceremony did
the Jews take a deeper interest; so that it was a common saying
among them, that "he who had never witnessed the rejoicing at
the pouring out of water, did not know what rejoicing meant."'
It seems to have been immediately after the performance of
this ceremony, that our Lord uttered the words now before us.
The courts of the temple were crowded with wForshippers; the
impressive rite had been performed; the music of the priests had
ceased; the loud plaudits of the multitude had sunk in silence.
Occupying some elevated position within the sacred precincts,
the mysterious man of Nazareth stood, and drew the attention of
the multitude by proclaiming in a loud voice, " If any man thirst,
6 John xix. 31. —rv yap yeyrl7! e i//l-E'pa EKEicvov oo aa667irov.    7 Isa. xii. 3.
8 Succah. v. 1, apud Wetstein. Lakemacher Obs. Sac. Lib. i., p. 18-78.




PART I.]             THE INVITATION.                   427
let him  come unto me, and drink."  How full of majesty are
these words —how full of mercy! Our Lord here obviously
holds up himself as the Saviour of mankind, under the emblem
of a copious, ever-full, ever-flowing fountain, open to all. It is
as if he had said,'I am the water of life. I am the source of
blessedness, of which the streams that, bursting from the rock
struck by Moses' mystic rod, refreshed your fathers in the wilderness, were a figure. "If any man thirst, let him come unto me,
and drink."'
I. —THE INVITATION.
For the right understanding of these " words of grace," it will
be necessary to attend to the corresponding figurative descriptions of the persons invited-the thirsty; of the Saviour as a
fountain of water; and of the manner in which sinners are to
obtain the blessings of Christ's salvation-they are to come to
him, and drink; and then to consider the free and unrestricted
character of the invitation given to them to accept of the happiness he has to bestow, in the appointed way —" If any man thirst,
let him come unto me, and drink."
~ 1. The persons invited-the thirsty.
They who are invited are "the thirsty." Thirst, as well as
hunger, is in all languages, I believe, employed figuratively to
signify a state of destitution and desire, —deep destitution, intense desire. Some interpreters have considered the words before us as equivalent to-' Whosoever, feeling his ignorance, is
desirous of true knowledge;' others, as equivalent to-' Whosoever is desirous of the blessings which are to be bestowed by the
Messiah,' —whosoever " hungers and thirsts after righteousness."
But both these modes of interpretation unduly limit the signification of the term. " He who thirsts" is just the man who is
conscious that he needs something to make him happy, and who
is desirous of obtaining it. It does not matter whether he be
right or wrong in the estimate he has formed of that, the want of
which, he thinks, is the cause of the uneasiness he feels, and the
attainment of which, he thinks, would remove that uneasiness.
He may be thirsting for that which, instead of quenching, would
inflame, his thirst. He may be desiring and seeking that which,
were he to obtain it, would make him still more miserable. To
bring him within the range of our Lord's invitation, it is enough
that he thirsts-that he is destitute, and desirous, of happiness.
A more comprehensive description of human beings, I believe,
could not be conceived.  "If any man thirst," is just equal to,' Whosoever wishes to be happy.' If a man can be found who is
perfectly happy, or who has no wish to be happy, that man is not
invited. Till such a person is found, we must hold that the invitation has no limits.




428                 THE GOSPEL CALL.               [EXP. X.
~ 2. The fountain to which the thirsty are invited-ME.
Our Lord invites the thirsty ones to come to him, as a fountain
of living waters, full and flowing, from which they may drink in
abundance, and thus quench their thirst.  As "thirst," signifies conscious need and earnest desire; so, to have thirst quenched,
denotes to be no longer in destitution —to be delivered from a
state of painful desire-to have what is necessary to happiness,
and to be satisfied with it.
When our Lord represents himself as the fountain which can
quench the thirst for happiness of all mankind, he intimates that
he is capable of making men, however miserable, truly happy,that he can supply all the wants, satisfy all the desires, of the
human soul. Distinctly to apprehend this thought, our minds
must be turned to the various wants which make man the destitute being he naturally is.
Man has a mind, and, as an intellectual being, he is naturally
destitute of the knowledge of the truth about God, which is necessary to the true happiness of a being constituted as he is. Jesus
is the great revealer of God; he is the truth. No man knows the
Father, but he to whom the Son reveals him. He makes them
who were darkness, light in the Lord.  "Christ is of God made"
to such " wisdom."
Man has a conscience; and, as an accountable, guilty being, he
needs pardon and acceptance with God. " The blood of Jesus
Christ cleanseth from all sin."' He has brought in an everlasting righteousness."  "In him " the guilty sinner finds " the forgiveness of sins," and is "made accepted in the Beloved." " Christ
is made of God to him righteousness."
Man has a heart; and he needs a suitable object on which to
place the affections of supreme veneration, and love and confidence; and God in Christ,-God in his redeeming character,manifested in the person and work of Jesus Christ, is the suitable
and satisfying portion of the heart, the appropriate object of the
supreme esteem and entire confidence.
Man is depraved, and he needs sanctification. Jesus saves us
by turning every one of us from our iniquities.  "Christ is of
God made to us sanctification."
Man is weak, and he needs atrength; and Christ can
"strengthen, with all might in the inner man," he can make
his " strength perfect in weakness."
Man is mortal, and he needs deliverance from death, and the
grave; and Jesus is " the resurrection and the life."
Man is immortal, and being guilty, he is doomed to endless
misery, and he needs eternal life to make him happy. Now
Jesus "delivers from the wrath to come" —"I give to my
sheep eternal life" —" Christ is made to them redemption."
Our Lord is thus an all-accomplished Saviour. He has all
the merit, power, authority, knowledge, wisdom, kindness, and




PART I.]                THE INVITATION.                        429
sympathy, that are requisite for supplying il. the best manner,
and most abundant measure, all our need, and for making " all
grace to abound toward us."  "It pleased the Father that in
him should all fulness dwell." His glory is that of " the Only
Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth:" and "out of
his fulness" may all the indigent receive  "grace for grace,'"
abundance of every kind of heavenly and spiritual blessings.
There can be no doubt, then, that our Lord is just the kind of
Saviour which man needs.  He is the fountain of "the water of
life," of which, "if a man drink he shall never thirst, but it shall
be in him a well of living water, springing up to eternal life."
~ 3. The double call-" come-drink."
But an important question meets us here, How are men to
obtain from this Saviour the blessings they need, and he has to
bestow? That question is answered in the words of our Lord.
He is not a well shut up, a fountain sealed,-" If any man
thirst, let him come unto me, and drink."'0
The whole language is figurative, and therefore it is necessary
to inquire, what are those mental exercises with regard to spiritual blessings, which are described under the metaphors of the
bodily motion of coming, and the animal function of drinking
(1.) " Come."
It has often been said that to come to Christ, is just the same
thing as to believe in Christ, and the following passage is generally quoted as satisfactorily proving this, —" He that cometh to
me shall never hunger, he that believeth *on me shall never
thirst."   But these words only prove that he who cometh to
Christ, and he that believeth on Christ, is the same individual,
not that coming to Christ and believing on him are the same
thing. The following passage seems to intimate that they differ
as the end does from the means,-"-' He that cometh to God,
must believe that he is."  It is by believing the truth about God,
that we are enabled to come to him.  It is by believing the
truth about Christ, that we are enabled to come to him.  Coming to Christ, then, is just a figurative expression for those exercises of the mind and heart in reference to him, which naturally
rise out of the belief of the truth respecting him, the movement
of the thoughts and affections towards him.
To come to Christ as the fountain of living waters for the
9 " Augustine (Ep. cxciv. ad Sixtum) has given us the hint, at least, of the right
explanation, which so many even now miss, of that difficult (iptv dvrti XpltroC
(John i. 16), that it means one grace heaped upon, or a better grace coming in
some sort in the room of (dvri) a preceding:-an uninterrupted stream of God's
gifts in Christ, which are ever succeeding, and, so to speak, replacing one
another."-TRENCH.
1U "Nova et plausibilis est interpunctio Miv rtC &t~uJa,'pX0o' ~5p6C/e' t  aci 7rLveri
-6 7rtarEovv elr e-' KaeO3f ebreev Ker. sed Xtaq/ ii durior esset sitiens veniat; bibat
credens. Post imperativum imperativus vim futuri habeat."-BENGEL.




430                  THE GOSPEL CALL.               [EXP. X.
thirsty soul, is for man, as an ignorant and erring creature, in
the faith of the truth respecting Jesus as the great revealer of
God, implicitly to receive his testimony in his word; it is for
man, as a guilty creature, believing the truth respecting Jesus
Christ as ihe great sacrifice and High Priest, to place an undoubting reliance on his atonement and intercession; it is for
man, as a depraved creature, believing the truth about Jesus
Christ, as redeeming us from the curse of the law that we may
receive the promised Spirit,-giving himself for us that he might
redeem us from all iniquity, —to depend on his faithful promise,
to shed forth his Spirit on us abundantly, that we may be sanctified wholly in the whole man, soul, body, and spirit; it is for
man, as a dying, yet immortal being, in the belief of the truth
respecting Jesus, as having by death destroyed death and him
who had the power of death, and as He who has the keys of the
unseen world and of death, to exercise a firm confidence in him
for support in death, restoration from the grave, and everlasting
happiness. This is to come to our Lord as the fountain of
blessings.
(2.) "Drink."
Now, what are we to understand by " drinking" of that fountain? The phrase seems to indicate participation of the blessings
which the Saviour has to bestow,-' Let him, under the influence
of the faith of the truth, in the exercise of those mental affections
which naturally grow out of it, become a partaker of those blessings which will supply his need, and satisfy his desire. He will
thus quench his thirst. Coming to Jesus, the great Prophet, he
will obtain relief from the uncertainties of doubt, and find, in the
full assurance of faith, the rest which the mind seeks. Coming to
Jesus, the great Htig.h Priest, he will obtain relief from the agonies
of remorse, and enjoy the peace of a conscience sprinkled with
the blood of an all-perfect atoning sacrifice. Coming to Jesus as
a king, he will obtain deliverance from the tyranny of his spiritual foes, and protection, and guidance, and final salvation. Coming to the fountain of all blessedness, he will obtain all he needs,
all grace will be made to abound towards him, and he will be
constrained to say —I have all and abound-I am complete in
Christ Jesus-I need no other Saviour-I want no other salvation.'
g 4. The unlimited extent of the invitation-" If any man."
The free and unrestricted nature of the invitation, now deserves
notice. Not only is the descriptive character of those invited,
"those who thirst," common to all human beings, but the invitation is so fashioned, that no human being can find the shadow of
a reason for thinking himself excluded.'If any man thirst-any
human being, however mean, guilty, depraved, and wretched,
wish to be happy-let him, in the belief of the truth about me,




PART II.]   RESULTS OF ACCEPTING THE INVITATION.        431
exercise the affections which that truth believed naturally produces, and he shall be happy.' It is not,'If any man be deeply
sensible of his guilt, depravity, and wretchedness, let him come
to me and drink.' Such are invited; but if that were all, as some
have taught, thus, however unintentionally, clogging with conditions the unhampered offer of a free salvation, men might think
that till they had brought themselves, or were in some way or
other brought, into a state of deep contrition, and earnest seeking
after pardon, and holiness, and salvation, it would be presumption in them to come to Christ, or even look towards the Saviour
for salvation. But the invitation is,'Whosoever wishes to be
happy, let him come to me, sinful and miserable as he is, and in
me he shall find salvation. If thou art not a brute, if thou art
not a devil-however like the one in sensuality, or the other in
malignity-thou art invited. If thou art on earth, not in hell,
thou art invited."'
This is indeed just "the Gospel which was promised afore by
the prophets in the Holy Scriptures,"'" many centuries before
Messiah's birth.  " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the
waters, and he that hath no money: come ye, buy and eat; yea,
come, buy wine and milk without money, and without price."
What follows shows plainly that the invitation of the Gospel is
not limited to "-sensible sinners:" " Wherefore do ye spend
money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which
satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which
is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your
ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I
will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies
of David."
It is quite in accordance with other invitations given by our
Lord, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and
I will give you rest."  " Him that cometh to me, I will in nowise
cast out."  "I will give to him that is athirst of the water of life
freely."  "The Spirit and the bride say, come. And let him
that heareth say, come. And let him that is athirst, come. And
whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." The blessings of the christian salvation are thus exactly suitable to our
case, absolutely necessary to our happiness, and so abundant in
measure, that there is enough for all, and to spare. The invitation is addressed to us, as well as to those who originally listened
to it. Have we complied with it? If we have not, O! let us comply with it now. If we have, let us continue to comply with it
-we constantly need to come to him and drink: " all our springs
are in Him."
II.-THE CONSEQUENCES OF ACCEPTING THE INVITATION.
Our Lord goes on to say, that they who come to him and
drink shall not only have their thirst quenched, but that they
" Bunyan's Jerusalem-sinner saved.       12 Rom. i. 1, 2.




432                  THE GOSPEL CALL.                [EXP. X.
shall become secondary fountains for quenching the thirst of
others. They shall not only obtain happiness to themselves, but
they shall become instrumental in making others happy.  "He
that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly
shall flow rivers of living water.'""
There is a difficulty in these words which must be disposed of
before we can enter with advantage on the illustration of the
sentiment they are meant to convey. There is an apparent
quotation of certain words as an excerpt from the Old Testament Scriptures, while no such words are to be found there.
This difficulty, which everybody must see, has been met in various ways.
Some interpreters hold that there is no quotation intended
here. To prove this, one class alters the division of the words,
while another only slightly changes the construction of the sentence. The former class connect the first part of the 38th verse
with the 37th-thus: " If any man thirst, let him come unto me,"
and, "believing, let him drink, as the Scripture says," or commands-referring to such passages as, "Ho, every one that
thirsteth," &c. In this case, the following words stand as a sentence by themselves, and are the words, not of the Old Testament
Scriptures, but of Jesus himself. This makes good enough sense,
and gets clear of the difficulty; but it is at the expense of doing
violence to the idiom of the original language. The words
could not have suggested these ideas to those to whom they
were addressed.
The other class of interpreters, following the ordinary division of
the verses, slightly change the construction of the sentence.
They consider the words, " as the Scripture hath said," as modifying the expression, "he that believeth on me," instead of referring to the words which follow, thus-" He that believeth on
me" in the manner which the Scripture requires, " out of his
belly shall flow rivers of living water."  In this case, also, there
is no quotation-the words throughout are the words of our
Lord. This, too, gets rid of the difficulty, and is plausible; but
the expression, "as the Scripture hath said,"'" is never used in
the New Testament in this sense; it uniformly introduces a
quotation.
Holding, then, that the words are a quotation, how are we to
account for the undoubted fact that these words are nowhere
to be found in Scripture? Some have rashly maintained, that
though these words are not now in the Old Testament Scriptare, they were once there; but though it is not at all unlikely
that many divine revelations were never recorded, there is not
the slightest evidence that any recorded revelation has been lost;
and we have all the proof which can well be imagined-certainly
more than, with regard to such ancient writings, might have
been expected —that everything that was contained in the Jewish
canon has come down to us.
13 John vii. 38.              14 Kacn' e'e l 7 ypao4.




PART II.]   RESULTS OF ACCEPTING THE INVITATION.            433
Others have supposed that the reference is not to the words
but to the sense of the Old Testament Scriptures; not to the
express terms of any particular ancient oracle, but to the import
of a variety of them. They suppose the reference to be to such
passages as Joel iii. 28; Zech. xiv. 8; Ezek. xlvii. 1-12; just
as they suppose that the words, "He shall be called a Nazarene,"
Matt. ii. 23, which are said to be "spoken by the prophets,"
though these terms are not to be found in any of the prophets,
are a general reference to those passages of prophetic Scripture
where it is predicted that the Messiah should be an object of
general contempt and scorn: such as Psalm xxii. 6; Isaiah liii.
3. But in every other place where the phrase, "as the Scripture
says," is used, the reference is to some particular passage.
To what passage, then, is the reference here?  Some learned
men have supposed that the reference is to Balaam's prophecy,
Numb. xxiv. 7, which they render, "Out of his heart waters
shall flow forth." But it may be doubted how far the original
terms will bear this rendering; and, at any rate, that prediction
refers to the increase and prosperity of Israel as a nation, not to
the spiritual blessings of the Messiah's reign. I cannot doubt
that the reference is to a particular passage, and that that passage
is Isaiah lviii. 11, "Thou," Zion blessed with the presence and
grace of thy God and king, " shalt be like a spring of water whose
waters fail not." This prophetic oracle refers to the days of the
Messiah, and intimates that his people should be a source of blessings to mankind. The words are not the same, but the sentiment
is identical-" As to him  that believeth in me"-the ancient
oracle will be fulfilled in Him: He shall be " a spring of water
whose waters fail not:" " Out of his belly"' —out of him-out of
his heart-" shall flow rivers of living water."
These may seem rather uninteresting discussions, but they are
necessary. The shell must be broken in order to get at the kernel. We have now got at the kernel here; and I trust we shall
find it like that of the cocoa nut, sweet and nutritious —pleasant
to the taste, and good for food-yielding milk for babes, and
solid food for those who are full of age-even for those " who, by
reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern both good
and evil."  If we do not, I am  afraid it must be because we are,
neither babes nor strong men "in Christ"-neither desiring the
sincere milk of the word, nor hungering after that bread of life
which came down from heaven, and is the life of the world.
The general sentiment is,' He who comes to me and drinks,.
shall not only obtain such draughts as shall quench his own.
thirst, but,' as our Lord elsewhere says,'the water which he
gives shall be, in him who drinks it, "a well of living water,
springing up to everlasting life," so that he shall never thirst,
and so that from him, as a secondary fountain, shall flow streams
to refresh and quench the thirst of others. He who, in the belief
t5 SKotuia, like (],:) beten, and (::-) kereb, is used for the inward part of man.
Prov. xx. 27. Job xxxviii. 15. Venter interioris hominis, conscientia cordis eat.
VOL. I.                     28




434                    THE GOSPEL CALL.                    [EXP. I.
of the truth, exercises towards me appropriate affections of mind
and heart, shall derive from  me, in such rich abundance, the
blessings of salvation, as that he shall not only be a holy, happy,
man himself, but he shall become the means of diffusing holiness
and happiness among his fellow-men."' Let us look at this important and delightful truth a little more closely.
"He that believeth in me," is a phrase plainly descriptive of
the same person as the phrase, " He that cometh to me and
drinketh."   But though the phrases describe the same person,
they do not, as we have seen, mean the same thing. Every one
who believes in Christ comes to him.  No man can come to him
who does not believe in him. They are not, however, the same
thing: the one is the cause, the other the effect; the one the
means, the other the end.  He that believes in Christ, is either
he that believes that Christ is a divine teacher, and' therefore
credits his testimony, or, which comes materially to the same
thing, he who credits the truth about Christ.  He who believes in
Christ, is he who, apprehending the meanings of the testimony
given in the Scriptures about Christ, is fully persuaded of its
truth-knows, and is sure of it-counts it a faithful saying, and
worthy of all acceptation-sets to his seal that God is true. Such
a person cannot but come to Christ as the fountain, or great reservoir, of saving blessings, and drink.   He cannot but exercise,
in the measure of his faith, appropriate affections of mind and
heart towards the Saviour; and, in doing so, he cannot but, according to the measure of his faith, and its effects, participate in
the heavenly and spiritual blessings of his salvation: according
to the ancient oracle, "Out of his belly low rivers of living,"
life-giving, salutary, " water."
~ 1. He who accepts the invitation obtains abundant permanent
happiness.
The first idea suggested here is,-' He who accepts the invitation, obtains large, continued draughts from  Jesus Christ, as the
fountain of blessings.' There is no setting bounds to the measure
of holy happiness any man may obtain from Jesus Christ-" According to his faith it shall be to him." If lie continues to have
any spiritual wants, it is not because the fountain is not full and
flowing; nor is it because continued access to it is denied him;
it is simply because, not believing, he does not come and drink.
In a persevering, ever-growing faith, the believer may obtain a
16 This is, as to substance, Luther's exegesis: "'Out of him rivers shall flow,
waters that give life.' Whoso comes to me, I will so fashion him, that he shall
not only be cheered and refreshed in his own person, so that he may quench his
thirst find become free from thirst; but I will make him into a strong stone vessel, will give him the Holy Ghost and his gifts, so that he shall flow forth upon
others, shall give them to drink, shall comfort and strengthen them, and shall
help many as lie hath been helped by me; as Paul saith in 2 Cor. i. 4. Thus our
Lord Christ will make another man of him who comes to him than Moses could
Jmake."-Exposition of the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Chapters of St. John.




PART II.]  RESULTS OF ACCEPTING THE INVITA1ON.          135
steady, ever-increasing, holy happiness. If he is straitened, it is
in himself, not in his Saviour. But this is not all.
~ 2. He who accepts the invitation manifests his happiness.
The second idea is,-' He who accepts the invitation shall not
only obtain a constant, abundant, supply of holy happiness, but
his holy happiness shall be manifest.' He shall be full to an
overflow. The stream proves the reality of the spring, and the
abundance of its waters the strength of the spring. The holy
happiness, dwelling in the heart, will manifest itself in cheerful
obedience. Nor is even this all.
~ 3. He who accepts the invitation becomes the means of communicating happiness to others.
There is a third idea suggested by the words,-' He who accepts the invitation shall be the means of communicating holy
happiness to others.' He shall become a secondary fountain. The
same general truth is brought before the mind, in various ways,
in the Holy Scriptures. When Zion is enlightened, she shines."
"Ye are," says our Lord, the "light of the world."'8  When
Christians are shone upon by the Sun of Righteousness, the
true light of the world, they, though naturally dark bodies, become luminous, and, shining as lights in the world, show forth
to men around them the glories of Him who called them. What
they have received they communicate.  Acting as mirrors, in
reference to God in Christ, who is holy love, they are changed
into the same image, by that which is glorious, into that which is
glorious. God shines in and on them; and they thus become fit
for imparting to others the knowledge of the glory of God, in the
face of his Son.9" To use another figure, they are saved themselves, through Christ, from that state of moral putrefaction,
which is the natural state of all men; and not only so, but saturated, as it were, with the moral antiseptic, they become " the
salt of the earth."'  Christians become the means of communicating to others the knowledge, the holiness, the peace, the hope,
the joy, they have obtained from the Saviour: " Freely they have
received, freely" they " give."
So it should be. So, to a certain extent, wherever there is true
Christianity, it actually is. A useless Christian is a contradiction
in terms. He who has got good from the Saviour cannot help
doing good to his fellow-men; and the degree of the desire to
communicate, is the measure of the degree in which good has
been received. This is as natural as for the stream to flow from
the fountain-head, when it is surcharged with waters. He, frcm
whom flow out no streams af living, life-giving waters, has reason
to fear he has never yet come to the Fountain of life, and drunk.
17 Isa Ix. 1.'l Matt. v. 15.'9 2 Cor. iii 18; iv. 6.              ~2 Matt. v. 12.




436                  THE GOSPEL CALL.               [EXP. X.
How illustriously was this declaration fulfilled in the case of the
apostles and primitive Christians! Andrew brings Peter, and
Philip Nathanael, to Jesus.2' The woman of Samaria, having
tasted the living waters, invites her townsmen to " come and
drink."22  And what a deep, broad, rapid, river of life proceeded
out of Jerusalem, carrying fertility and beauty throughout the
heathen world! Indeed, in every case of genuine conversion, the
saying is verified,-Every one who, believing, comes to Christ
and drinks, "out of his belly proceed rivers of living waters."
There is one great important practical truth, which this subject brings strongly out, and which I desire to press on your attention in the close of this discourse. If we would be savingly
useful to others, we must receive saving blessings for ourselves.
If we would have rivers of waters flow out of us to refresh and
cleanse others, we must believingly come to Jesus, the fountain
of life, and drink. If we would give freely, we must receive
freely. If we would be instrumental in obtaining for other men
the Holy Spirit, we must be primarily desirous and diligent in
obtaining the Holy Spirit for ourselves. If we be, as I trust we
are, really desirous of succeeding in the good work of endeavoring to make others, both at home and abroad, holy and happy in
the enjoyment of "heavenly and spiritual blessings in Christ
Jesus," let us seek for ourselves a larger measure of Divine influence, and of that holy happiness which it produces. This will
secure purity in our aims, constancy-and perseverance in our
exertions. This, too, will draw down the blessing of God on our
exertions,-for then they will be indeed, not only exertions for
what is generally agreeable to his will, but exertions rising from
the principles, and directed and regulated in the manner, which
he approves. It would be rash to say, that an unconverted man
cannot be made the instrument of producing in others a blessed
change, to which he himself is a stranger. Such an event is not
impossible, and may actually have taken place; but the reason
of the thing, the history of the church, and the declaration of
Scripture, unite in support of the principle, that it is converted
men who are to convert unconverted men,-that it is religious
men who are to make other men religious,-that it is the possessors of holy happiness, who are to be the diffusers of holy happiness,-that. it is those who have drunk deep of the fountain of
saving blessings, "out of whose hearts are to flow rivers of living
waters."   And admitting that an unconverted christian professor, or an unconverted christian minister,-what an incongruous combination of terms! though, alas, the still more monstrous
reality they designate has, we are afraid, been no rarity in any
age of the church, —may become the instrument of conversion to
others,-he surely is among the sons of perdition, the most
utterly lost, —who perishes of thirst while leading others to the
Fountain of living waters; who, after conducting others to the
regions of eternal light, when 1"the door is shut," finds his lot
21 John i 42, 46.                      22 John iv. 39.




APP.]                EXPOSITORY NOTE.                  437
assigned him  among the hypocrites "in outer darkness,"-" the
blackness of darkness for ever."  "There shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth."
APPENDIX TO EXPOSITION IX.
EXPOSITORY NOTE OF THE EVANGELIST. CONNECTION BETWEEN
THE GIVING OF THE SPIRIT, AND THE GLORIFICATION OF CHRIST.
JOHN VII. 39.
The evangelist subjoins an expository note on this statement of
our Lord, which now calls for consideration. " But this spake he
of " the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive:
for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was
not yet glorified.""
This saying about "rivers of living water," had a reference to
that dispensation of Divine influence, which was to commence on
our Lord's return to his Father, to be " glorified with the glory he
had with Him, before the foundation of the world."
It has been made a question whether, in this declaration, our
Lord refers to the extraordinary, or to the ordinary, influences
and gifts of the Holy Spirit; and whether the declaration in the
38th verse refers exclusively to the apostles and Christians of the
primitive age, or to Christians in every age. We are not called,
by anything in the words, or their connection, to narrow their
reference; and, therefore, we hold that there is a reference to the
Spirit's influence and gifts, of whatever kind, which were to be
given after Christ was glorified. It was not the kind, but the
measure, of divine influence and gifts, which was to distinguish
the New Testament. There were extraordinary spiritual gifts under the Old Testament —for example, the gift of prophecy. There
were ordinary spiritual gifts also. How else were men sanctified?
But under the New Testament dispensation, both the ordinary
and extraordinary gifts of the Spirit were to be more extensively
and more abundantly communicated. There were, probably, more
inspired men during the last half of the first century, than during
the whole period of the old economy. Certainly, far more clear
information respecting the character of God, and the way of salvation, was communicated in the course of these fifty or sixty
years, than had been from the beginning of the world.
The extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit were intended for
the benefit of the church in all ages.  We derive, and so will the
latest generation of Christians, important advantages from the
revelations made under the inspiring influences of the Holy Ghost
in the primitive age, and the miraculous confirmations given of
these revelations by his mighty energy. It is through that truth,
revealed and confirmed by this miraculous agency, as well as by
23 wZ h ir relatiaon to. Robinson, L c.  t2 John vii. 39.




438                   THE GOSPEL CALL.                 [EXP. X.
an influence over every individual mind, opening it to apprehend
the meaning and evidence of that truth, that men are made holy
and happy, and. are made the instruments of making others holy
and happy; that they are induced to come to Jesus, the Fountain
of living waters, and drink; and that out of their bellies are made
to flow rivers of living water. The statement is a general one,
and holds true of every one believing under the New Testament
dispensation.
When these words were uttered, that dispensation had not commenced,-Jesus was yet on the earth. It is under divine influence
that men are led to believe in Jesus; and it is the Holy Spirit,
who by means of the truth believed, puts men in possession of
holy happiness, and qualifies and disposes them  to be useful to
others in making them holy and happy. Under the former economy, men were partakers of divine influence but in a limited measure, corresponding with the limited and obscure character of the
revelation then given."2 In the degree in which that divine influence was enjoyed, it made those who possessed it holy and
happy, and disposed them to make others holy and happy. This
is very evident from  the words of the psalmist, "Cast me not
away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with
thy free Spirit: then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.""6 But our Lord's words refer
to that more abundant communication of divine influence which
was to characterize the new economy; a communication corresponding in its abundance to the extensive and clear revelation
given under it.
When a man, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, was led
to believe the complete revelation of God in the person and
word of his incarnate Son, as found in the apostolic testimony,
and by divine influence operating through that truth understood
and believed, was put in possession of the heavenly and spiritual
blessings of the christian salvation, and made at once capable,
and disposed, to become the instrument of conveying these blessings to others,-then were the words of our Lord fulfilled-that
man, believing, had come to him and drunk, and out of his belly
were flowing rivers of living water. Under the new dispensation, the people of God were thus to be blessed, and made blessings, in a measure far exceeding that in which they were blessed,
and made blessings, under the former dispensation. The fuller?
clearer revelation, understood and believed, accompanied with a
correspondingly enlarged measure of divine influence, fills the
23 ",As the Son operated in mankind long before his incarnation, so also the
Spirit was manifested long before the outpouring. But as the fulness of life
belonging to the Son was not revealed until his incarnation, so also the Spirit
was not displayed in his full power till the outpouring at Pentecost. The outpouring of the Spirit, therefore, is the same circumstance in his development as
the incarnation is in the development of the Son. It might be said that, until the
glorification of Christ, the irvebua dytov operated as EvcdiOeroEv, and after this as'rpopoptK6v." —OLSBAUSEN.                     2 PaaL li. 11-13.




APP.]                  EXPOSITORY NOTE.                      439
believer's heart to an overflow with holy happiness, and at once
fits and inclines him to make others holy and happy.
The language of the latter part of this verse is somewhat remarkable.  Literally, "The Spirit,"27 or " the Holy Spirit, was
not yet," —because Jesus was not yet glorified." The Holy
Spirit, here, is plainly not the Holy Spirit personally. He is
" the eternal Spirit." It might be said of him equally with the
Word-" He was in the world, and the world was made by him,
and the world knew him not."  He brooded over the chaos.  He
garnished the heavens. He gave and sustained created intelligence and active power. He inspired the prophets. He sanctified the Old Testament saints.  " Without the Spirit of God,
as the perfective principle, nature would not have been nature.
All things would not have been good-very good-but by the
communication of his goodness; and without some special operations of the Spirit, the godly, before Christ's coming into the
flesh, could not have been godly, nor in any present capacity for
glory."29 He formed the human nature of our Lord. He was,
and is, and is to come. " The Holy Spirit" here, obviously denotes, the influence, operations, gifts, of the Holy Spirit-and
not his influence generally-but that measure and kind of influence by which the New Testament dispensation was to be characterized, the Spirit which they who believe on Jesus Christ —
that is, true  Christians-should  receive.  It is in  the same
sense, the disciples at Ephesus said, that they had " not so much
as heard whether there were any Holy Ghost;3"" not that they
were ignorant of the divine agent called the Holy Ghost, but
that they had not heard anything of that remarkable effusion of
divine influence, which the prophets had led them  to expect
under the reign of the Messiah, and which they were in the
habit of calling the Holy Ghost. That divine influence had not
yet been put forth, and it was not till that divine influence was put
forth, that our Lord's words, in all their extent of meaning, could
be fulfilled.
"The Spirit," in this sense, began to be "shed forth abundantly" on the day of Pentecost. The results of that abundant
communication are embodied, and made permanent, in the apostolical epistles, which are the voice of Jesus Christ speaking by
his Spirit, from his throne in the heavens; and, since that period, divine influence, attending that truth, has led in innumerable instances, to the verification of our Lord's declaration.
The reason assigned for the Spirit not being yet given, at the
27 iiytov is excluded from the text by later critical editors.
2 " oVro'v. At the time that Christ preached, he promised the Holy Ghost;
and, therefore,'the Holy Ghost was not yet'-not that he did not yet exist essentially in heaven; but' he was not yet' in his manifestation and working. For
this is the peculiar work and office of the Holy Ghost, to manifest and glorify
Christ, to preach and bear witness of him: One must not fall into such senseless
thoughts as to suppose that the Holy Ghost was only created after Christ's resurrection from the dead: What is herr written is,'the Holy Ghost was not yet,'
that is, was not in his office."-LuTnrE
29 Baxter.                                        30 Acts xix. 2.




440                 THE GOSPEL CALL.               [EXP. X.
time our Lord uttered these words, is, that'Jesus was not yet
glorified." The same sentiment is contained more at large in
our Lord's words to his disciples:-" Nevertheless I tell you the
truth: it is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not
away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I
will send him unto you.""'
The glorification of our Lord is obviously his being exalted,
receiving "a name above every name, a name at which every
knee shall bow, and every tongue confess, receiving power ovei
all flesh, all power in heaven and in earth,"-in one word, his
being made "Lord of all," as the reward of his having, in obedience to the will of his Father, "humbled himself, and become
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
There seems to be a double connection between Christ's glorification, and the giving of the Spirit. The power of dispensing
divine influence formed an important part of our Lord's mediatorial reward,-a reward peculiarly appropriate to his holy benevolent character; and there was an obvious propriety that the
work should be accomplished before the reward was conferred.
It was becoming that he should have "finished the work the
Father had given him to do," before, in the exercise of that unlimited power in heaven and earth conferred on him by the
Father, he should "shed forth on men abundantly the Holy
Spirit."
But this is not the only connection. The Spirit works by
means of the truth, in satisfying the spiritual thirst of men, and
in qualifying and disposing them to quench the spiritual thirst of
others. Now, as the saving truth is just a plain account of what
the incarnate Son did and suffered to expiate human guilt, and
open a way for the communication of divine influence, and its
results-true holiness and happiness to men, it is obvious that
the revelation of that truth could not be complete till the work
was accomplished. The history could not be written till the
events had taken place. The Spirit was not sent till the instrument for making men holy and happy, in the degree which was
to characterize the new dispensation, was prepared for him.
It was not, then, so wonderful that men should at that time
continue in a state of spiritual thirst, destitution, and painful desire; Jesus was not glorified, and therefore, "the Spirit was not
yet." But is it not natural toput, with some degree of astonishment, the question, Why should men to whom the word of the
truth of the Gospel is come-why should they continue thirsty?
why should they not drink, and become fountains of waters?
Jesus is glorified-the Spirit is given-all things are ready. All
the obstacles which the holy character and the righteous law of
God seemed to place in the way of sinful man's happiness, are
removed. Jesus has done all —Jesus possesses all-Jesus is ready
to give all that is necessary to man's true permanent happiness.
The Spirit has been poured out —the Spirit is even still shed forth
31 John xvi. 7.




APP.]               EXPOSITORY NOTE.                  441
abundantly-the promise is every day receiving new confirmation
by additional fulfilments.'" Your Father in heaven will give the
Holy Spirit to them who ask him."  " Ask, and ye shall receive,
seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.
Every one that asketh receiveth; every one that seeketh findeth;
to every one that knocketh it shall be opened."
If we have not the Spirit, and if we have not the holy happiness which he only can give, there is no difficulty in discovering
the true reason. It is not in God. God is not,-cannot be, unwilling to give that, to make the giving of which consistent with
his truth and justice, he freely gave his Son. He is not unwilling
to give the Holy Spirit. No, the cause,-the guilty cause, is in
ourselves: "WVe have not, because we ask not, or because we
ask amiss."
Jesus Christ alone can satisfy the thirst for happiness. They
who will not come to him, and drink, must for ever suffer the
torments of unquenchable thirst, without even a drop of cold
water to cool their tongue, tormented in the flame which cannot
be extinguished. He now invites you-he has long invited you
-he still invites you; but he will not invite you for ever. 0,
listen to his voice-comply with his invitation. Then will he
not only lead you to the still waters to refresh you, amid the toils
and exhaustion of the wilderness, but in due time, in the paradise
above, as the Lamb once slain, but now in the midst of the
throne, " he will feed you, and lead you to living fountains of
waters and God will wipe away all tears from your eyes."




EXPOSITION XI.
MISCELLANEOUS.-CHRIST THE  LIGHT OF THE  WORLD-TRUE
LIBERTY-REAL SLAVERY-SPIRITUAL PATERNITY OF THE JEWS
-PRE-EXISTENCE AND DIVINITY OF CHRIST.
JOHN, VIMI 12-59.
THE law of Christ, in its spirit and precepts, is illustrated and
exemplified, in the character and conduct of its divine Author, to
an extent, and with a minuteness, which is indeed wonderful.
Christians are commanded to "redeem the time"-to be diligent in their business, the service of the Lord-to " be instant
in season, and out of season" —to " do good to all as they have
opportunity" —never to be "weary in well-doing," but to be
"stedfast and unmovable, always abounding in the work of the
Lord."  In this respect, as in every other, Jesus, our Master,
has "left us an example, that we should follow his steps."
To be, and to do, all this, we have only to imitate him.
"Follow  me," is a command of very comprehensive import.
Never was there a life of such laborious, incessant, untiring,
dutiful exertion, as the public life of Jesus Christ. "He went
about continually doing good." It was his " meat to do the will
of his Father, and to finish his work;" and the language of his
conduct was, "I must work the works of Him who sent me
while it is day; the night is coming, in which no man can work."
Never, probably, was so much thought, feeling, and active exertion, crowded into the same space of time, as in the ministry of
our Lord. The intervals of rest which he allowed himself were
few and far between. Day after day, w eek after week, month
after month, year after year, unterrified by the threats, undismayed by the obstinacy, unalienated by the unkindness, of' his
countrymen, he continued to labor, even to fatigue, in healing
their bodily diseases, and ministering to their spiritual necessities.
He scarcely took time for the necessary refreshment of food and
sleep, and seems to have grudged every moment which was not
directly devoted to the promotion of the Divine glory and human
happiness.
Into this track of thought we have been led by the passage of
sacred history now lying before us for exposition. After a
fatiguing journey from Galilee, Jesus had been constantly engaged, during the concluding days of the feast of tabernacles, in




EXP. XI.]                 INTRODUCTION.                          443
teaching the people in the temple. On the evening of the last
day of the festival, while all the people " went unto their own
houses," "Jesus," who had no home to go to, "went unto the
Mount of Olives,"' where it is not unlikely he spent the night
in solitary devotion; and, instead of repairing to the hospitable
house of his friend Lazarus, at Bethany, to refresh himself by a
cessation from labor, "early in the morning he came again into
the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down,
and taught them."'
This was redeeming the time —this was diligence in his business-this was being instant in season and out of season-this
was doing good to all, as he had opportunity —this was not
wearying in well-doing —this was being stedfast and unmovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord.
Our Lord chose so early an hour, probably, that he might
have an opportunity of once more addressing his countrymen,
before they left Jerusalem to retire to their respective homes,
especially the more devout portion of them, who, previously to
commencing their journey, thought it right to go up to the temple
to perform their devotions. On his appearing within the sacred
precincts, "all the people"-that is, either a great crowd, or all
the people who, at that early hour, were in the temple —g-athered
round him, and he, assuming the ordinary attitude of teaching
among the Jews, sat down, and began to discourse to them.
Among the causes which prevent a man, who is really desirous
of devoting his time and energies to their proper purposes, from
being useful in the degree in which he wishes to be so, must be
placed the unexpected and unpleasant interruptions which he
often meets with. These interruptions operate in a twofold way
in producing this effect. They occupy time, which might be
better employed; but that is not all: they distract the attention,
they break the train of thought, they cool the ardor of pursuit,
they sometimes ruffle the temper, and, in these ways, they both
lessen the quantity, and deteriorate the quality, of our work; we
1 John viii. 1. This should have closed chap. vii.
2 John viii. 2.-In these introductory remarks, I proceed on the hypothesis that
the paragraph, chap. vii. 53-viii. 11, is genuine, or, at all events, authentic. It
is universally known among scholars, that its genuineness has long been a subject
of controversy among critics and interpreters. Much may be said, much has
been said, on both sides of the question-so much, indeed, as to make many stand
in doubt as to its right resolution. If the matter is to be determined by the
number and weight of names, it will not be easy to settle it; for, on the side of
the genuineness of the paragraph, we find Selden, Mill, Bengel, Whitby, Calmet,
Capellus, Osiander, Lampe, Michnelis, Storr, Hug, Kuinoel, and Scholz; and on
the opposite side, we find Erasmus, Calvin, Beza, Grotius, Le Clerc, Wetstein,
Morus, Olshausen, Liicke, De Wette. Griesbach marks it as doubtful-probably
spurious. Tischendorf omits it altogether. Such names being to be found on
opposite sides, shows, what personal examination of the evidence will confirm,
that it would be rash to treat the paragraph as a mere poetic invention; and, to
say the least, it seems, whether proceeding from John's pen or not, to be, what
Tholuck ternis it, " a genuine evangelical tradition." A full statement of the evi
denuce on both sides is to be found in Staudlein's " Prolusio," of which Kuinoel
gives an abridgement; and a shorter, yet clear state of the question, is given in
Tholuck's notes.




444                   MISCELLANEOUS.              [EXP. XI.
not only do not do so much, butwhat we do is not so well done,
as had we been secured from these teasing intrusions.
It is the part of a wise man to guard himself, as far as practicable, from such interruptions. In the present state of things,
to keep entirely free of them is, I believe, impossible.  Our
business should be, when they occur, to get rid of them with as
little delay as possible; and especially to endeavor to preserve
our minds in such a state, as that, when the impertinent intrusion is over, we may be able to resume our proper employment,
as if it had not been interrupted, and prosecute it with as much
alacrity and self-possession, as if nothing had occurred to break
in upon our thoughts, or disturb our feelings.
The principle announced by us on beginning these observations is applicable to this case also. Here, as in almost every
situation of difficulty in which we can be placed, our Lord has
set us an example, and we should follow in his steps. When
employed in his favorite work of teaching the people —a work
delightful to himself, and most useful to his auditors-he met
with a very impertinent and disagreeable interruption. His
enemies, the Pharisees, entered, and endeavored to engage him
in a work altogether alien from the design of his mission, with
the intention of entrapping him into some statement which might
be turned to account by them in securing his destruction, either
by awakening the prejudices of the populace or the jealousies of
the government. Though perfectly aware of their malignant intention, "in patience he possessed his soul;" with admirable
prudence he eluded the snare they had laid for him, and entangled his unprincipled opponents in the net they themselves
had woven; and, having dismissed -them overwhelmed with disappointment and shame, he, without exhibiting the slightest appearance of being agitated with passion, or led away from the
subject he was discussing, immediately recurs to the agreeable
and useful work in which the Pharisees had found him engaged,
and prosecutes it just as if nothing had occurred.
I.-CHRIST " THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD."
JOHN VIII 12-29.
Your attention has repeatedly been called to the remark, that
our Lord, in his discourses, usually borrowed his illustrations
from present incidents and surrounding objects. Of this, we
seem to have an instance in the case now before us. Our Lord
had returned, early in the morning, from the Mount of Olives,
where he had spent the night. It is highly probable, then, that'
it was in allusion to the rising sun making his appearance above
the horizon, and investing all nature with light and beauty, that
in the commencement of that discourse, on the illustration of




PART i.]      CHRIST "THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD."                 445
which we are about to enter, he represents himself as " the true
Sun, the Sun of Righteousness, the Light of men."3 a
~ 1. The Claim.
"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light
of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life."'
Light, in Scripture, is the emblem of true knowledge, of true
holiness, of true happiness,-just as darkness is the emblem of
ignorance and error, guilt and depravity, privation and misery.
When Jesus calls himself "the light," he means that he, that
lhe alone, —for there is but one Sun in the spiritual as in the
natural world, —is the Author of wisdom, pardon, sanctification,
happiness, in all the extent of that word.' I can-I alone can
-enlighten the darkness of benighted man; I am, in the moral
world, what the sun is in the natural world,-the source of light,
and heat, and health, and beauty.'
It is very unduly to narrow the meaning of the.words, to consider them as merely equivalent to-' I am the great Teacher.
They include this; but they include a great deal more than this.
They are equivalent to-' I am the Saviour;' and ignorance and
error are by no means the only evils man requires to be delivered
from.
But he calls himself not only "the light," but "the light of
the world," —not only the Saviour, but the Saviour of men.  The
Jews expected the Messiah to be " the light of Israel;" but our
Lord intimates that the blessings he had in store, and was sent
to communicate, were intended for mankind at large.  He was to
be " a light to lighten the Gentiles," as well as " the glory of God's
people Israel."'
"He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall
have the light of life." Let us endeavor, first, to apprehend
the figure, and then seek its meaning. He who follows a moving
luminous body enjoys its light;-were a person following the sun,
there would be no night to him. That is the figure; now what
is its meaning?
What is it to follow Christ " as the light of the world "? and
what is it to " have the light of life "? In order to answer the
first of these questions, we must put another. Following a luminous body is that which, according to the constitution of the
natural world, is necessary in order to enjoy its light.  Now, what
3 The reference has been otherwise explained by some very learned interpreters.
They consider the words to have been spoken "on the last and great day of the
feast," and find in one of its ceremonies what naturally suggested the figurative
representation. "In the court of the women there stood two colossal candlesticks, decorated with a multitude of lamps: towardsthe evening, these were
lighted up, and the people danced around them with great rejoicing." In allusion
to this light of the temple, they consider our Lord as saying, "I am the light of
the world."- Vide OLSHAUSEN.
4 John viii. 12.       s Luke ii. 82.         ~ See Note A.




446                   MISCELLANEOUS.               [EXP. XI.
is that which, according to the constitution of the spiritual world,
is necessary in order to our enjoying the blessings which Christ
has to communicate? It is obviously faith-faith of the truth
with regard to him, as the light of the world —the Saviour of
men. Whosoever believes the truth respecting Christ Jesus as
the Saviour of men, he shall-he alone can-participate in the
blessings of his salvation; "he shall have the light of life," the
life-giving light. I can scarcely doubt that the reference here
is to the beautiful prediction of the prophet Malachi: "Unto
you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with
healing in his wings."6  The true Sun, of which the sun in the
firmament is but a figure, rises; and by his wings we are to understand his rays, or rather, perhaps, the refreshing breeze which,
in tropical climates, often accompanies the rising of the sun, diffusing health all around. "The light of life" here refers, not to
Christ personally, as " the light of the world" does, but is descriptive of his benefits-the knowledge, holiness, and happiness
which he communicates.
The general statement is,'He who believes the truth, in reference to Christ, he, and he alone, whoever he may be, whether
Jew or Gentile, enjoys the blessings of Christ's salvation. If a
man do not follow the sun, he must walk in darkness. If a man
do not believe the truth about Christ, he must continue in the
darkness of ignorance, error, guilt, pollution, and misery; and the
longer he remains in unbelief, the deeper does the darkness grow,
till it becomes that darkness that may be felt-the blackness of
darkness for ever and ever. On the other hand, he who follows
the sun must enjoy his light. He that believes the truth about
Christ, just in the measure in which he believes it, enjoys, and
cannot but enjoy, the blessings of his salvation; the knowledge,
the peace, the holiness, the hope, the happiness, which he, and he
alone, can communicate.'
Like many of the other figurative representations of this truth,
this beautiful metaphor conveys the important idea, that continued faith is the appointed means of the continued enjoyment
of the christian salvation. It is not he who has believed-it is
he who believeth-who habitually believes, that shall be saved.
We must follow the Sun of Righteousness if we would constantly
enjoy the healing which is under his wings. If we follow Christ,
we shall be happy in both worlds; if we follow Christ on earth,
we shall follow him to heaven.
~ 2. The claim vindicated.
This declaration was not probably understood in its full extent
by any of our Lord's hearers, though it likely was considered as
a claim of being a prophet, if not the Messiah. In the minds of
such of the Pharisees as were present, it excited that disposition
to cavil by which they were so remarkably characterized. " The
6 MaL iv. 2.




PART I.]      CHRIST "THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.'             447
Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself;
thy record is not true."' In these words the Pharisees seem plainly to have had a reference to what our Lord himself had said on
a former occasion; and, apparently, they meant to accuse him of
self-contradiction, as well as falsehood. He had said, "if I bear
witness of myself, my witness is not true;,,8 that is, is not trustworthy-is not to be credited unless supported by other evidence.
It is just, then, as if the Pharisees had said, —' How do you reconcile what you say now with what you said so lately?  We have
only your word for your being the light of the world. How can
you expect us to believe such a declaration, or to trust to the
promises which are founded on it?'
Our Lord's answer to this cavil is contained in the verses which
follow:-" Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear
record of myself, yet my record is true; for I know whence I
came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and
whither I go.9 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. And
yet if I judge, my judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I
and the Father that sent me. It is also written in your law, that
the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of
myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me."'"
There is some difficulty in the passage, but so far as I have been
able to apprehend it, this is the train of thought:-' In this declaration I have just made, no doubt I have uttered a testimony concerning myself. This testimony is not, however, on that account
to be rejected as of no value. Indeed, from the circumstances of
the case, I must testify of myself, else the truth about me could
not be known."  I know the truth, and can declare it.  You do
not know the truth about me, and unless I state the truth, you
must remain ignorant of it. But my testimony is not unsupported testimony-my testimony is indeed my Father's testimony, as
is abundantly established, and his testimony is worthy of all acceptation.' Let us look at the words somewhat more closely.
"Though I bear record of myself, my record is true;" that is,'It is not reasonable or safe in you to set aside my testimony, to
treat it as if it were not true, merely because it is mine.' They
seemed to go on the obviously false principle,' The thing cannot
be true, because he says it.' His reply to them is,'It is true;
and though I say it, it deserves to be credited. I am a divine
messenger; who can deliver the message, but he who has received it? I know whence I came, and whither I go. I came
from the Father, I return to the Father.  I am come to deliver
a message, and I go to give an account of the manner in which
I have delivered it. You are utterly ignorant as to whence I
came, and whither I go, and what is the message with which I
7 John viii. 13.                                 8 John v. 31.
9 "dr60ev —'ro: unde-quo. Ad hec duo capita potest referri doctrina de
Christo. De illo agitur, v. 16, et seqq.; de hoc, v. 21, et seqq."-BENGEL.
lu John viii. 14-18.
" "Lumen et alia demonstrat et seipsum. Testimonium sibi perhibet lux,
aperit sanos oculos, et sibi ipsi testis est." —AUGUSTIN.




448                    MISCELLANEOUS.               [EXP. XI.
am entrusted. If you knew whence I came, and whither I go,
you could not for a moment doubt but that I was warranted to
give testimony of myself, and that that testimony, when given,
was most worthy of credit.' But your false principles of judgment prevent you from perceiving the truth on this subject.  "You judge after the flesh;"
you form your judgments of me, according to the carnal notions
of your nation respecting the Messiah, as a temporal prince and
a national deliverer; and therefore you cannot receive the truth
respecting me. I am not the kind of person you were anticipating as the Messiah, and you reject my testimony, not because it
is not true, but because it does not coincide with your carnal
views. That is the true reason why you refuse to credit it. Let
a person come with the temporal power and splendor you wish
and expect, and you would be ready enough to receive his testimony respecting himself, even though unsupported by such evidences as I produce.'
"I judge no man." These words have been variously interpreted. The statement, though unlimited, must plainly be qualified; for no doubt, so far from being true that our Lord judges no
man, he is judge of all; all must stand at his judgment seat.'2
Some understand it as equivalent to'I am not a civil or criminal judge.' Others understand it thus,'I do not now judge.
My business now, and here, is to suffer and save. I will reign
and judge, and condemn and punish, elsewhere and hereafter.'
These are both truths, but they seem to have no bearing on what
is our Lord's object.
It is natural to seek the limitation in the context. Of those
who do so, some look back, and others look forward. Those who
look back, understand it as equivalent to,' I do not judge any
man after the flesh.' Those who look forward, understand it as
equivalent to,'I am not alone in my judgment. When I judge
a man, the Father judges him also. My judgment is not. so
much mine, as his who sent me.' The first of these seems to me
the more probable interpretation.'You judge generally, and in
particular you judge me "after the flesh." You form your
opinion of me according to carnal principles. I do not judge
you, nor any man, in that way. I judge on spiritual principles.
I judge of men and things, not from their appearance, but from
the reality. My opinion is regulated, not by men's judgment,
but by God's judgment; " and yet if I judge," -or rather, " and
when I judge,"" —" my judgment is true, for I am not alone, but
I and the Father that sent me." Whatever judgment I form or
utter, is according to truth; for it is not merely my judgment,
it'is the judgment of my Father, whose messenger I am.'
I apprehend we have here, repeated, the claim made by our
12 Rom. xiv. 10. 2 Cor. v. 10.
13 The use of tiv, as equivalent to " when," is not unfrequent in the New Testament. John xii. 32; xiv. 3. 1 John iii. 2. The Hebrew t:m is used in the
same way Gen. xxxviii. 9-where the LXX. has 5rav.




PART I.]    CHRIST "'THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD."          449
Lord in the fifth chapter, of so close a connection between him
and his divine Father, as that, whatever he says is to be considered as said by the Father; whatever he does is to be considered as done by the Father. He speaks by the divine wisdom,
which is common to the Father and to the Son. He works b-y
the divine power, which is common to the Father and the Sosi.
If so, how could his judgment be but true? It was a matter of
very little importance to him how they judged him. It was a
matter of infinite importance to them how he judged them.
How different are things in reality, to things in appearance!
Our Lord then goes on to state, that his testimony was not unsupported testimony. It was the testimony of the Father, as well
as of himself. It is as if he had said,' There are two witnesses
here, which the Mosaic law required.'"  This is not a case to
which the principle of the Jewish law is strictly applicable, but
the circumstances are more in accordance with it than at first
sight they might appear to be.'I am one that bears witness of.myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.' How
the Father bare witness of our Lord, is fully unfolded in the fifth
chapter,"' and has been already illustrated. HIe bare witness to
him by the miracles he enabled him to work. These miracles
could have been performed by no power inferior to divine. He
bare witness to him by the supernatural voice and glorious appearance that distinguished his baptism; he bare witness to him
in those ancient predictions which were so wonderfully fulfilled
in his character, and doctrine, and actions, and sufferings. The
argument seems to be,' Two men's testimony is considered as
satisfactory evidence. Here are two testimonies-and testimonies,
each of them infinitely outweighing all human testimony.'
With " obtuse haughtiness,"" or, perhaps, with an intention to
induce him to utter some stronger and plainer declaration, which
might lay a foundation for a charge of blasphemy to inflame the
people, or of sedition to alarm the government, " they said to him,
Where is thy Father?" as if they had said,'Bring forward this
witness, whose testimony is so good, as not only to be worthy of
credit itself, but even able to make your incredible and unintelligible statements worthy of belief. We should like to see this
Father of yours.'
Our Lord's reply is worthy of his divine mission. "Ye neither
know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have
known my Father also:""17 as if he had said,'My Father is he
whom you call your God; ye think ye know him, but in truth you'are equally ignorant of my true character and His. If ye had known
me to be what I am, —the Son of the Father,-the Only-begotten,
who was in his bosom from eternity, and who has been made flesh
for the express purpose of revealing him that his glory may be seen
in my face,-if you had known the truth about me, and received
me in my true character, you would have known the Father, for
14 Deut. xvii. 6.                  t1 John v. 32-39.
16 Tholuck.                         17 John viii. 19
VOL. I.                  29




450                  MISCELLANEOUS.               [EXP. XI.
I should have revealed him to you, and, indeed, in knowing me
you would have known him, for " he has seen the Father that has
seen the Son;" for he is " the image of the invisible God," "the
brightness, of his glory, the express image of his person."'
These words were spoken by our Lord in that part of the temple buildings that was called the treasury.'8 This was in the
court of the women, where there were placed thirteen treasurechests, which served as repositories for the free-will offerings of
money, and for the yearly tribute for the support of.the temple."
This was a place where there was usually a concourse of people.
Vitringa supposes that the temple synagogue was in this place,
but this is uncertain.
There can be no doubt that the Pharisees were greatly incensed
at our Lord's discourse, but though unprotected by any human
guard, "no man laid hands on him."  The unseen shield of his
Father was around him. "H is hour was not yet come;" and till
it arrived, he was immortal. "The hand of the Lord," as Olshausen says, "protected the Beloved, until the hour of the great
sacrifice."
" Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ve shall
seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ve cannot
come."20 He said it " again;" he had said it before."' The train
of thought seems to be this,'It is your interest immediately to
attend to, and believe, my statements. It is thus only you can
escape impending destruction. There is no time to lose-I will
not continue with you always, I will not continue with you long:
a time is coming, it is near at hand, when you will eagerly seek
Him whom you now reject, but seek him in vain.'
" I go my way." This is a declaration of the same import as
that addressed to the Jewish rulers: "Then said Jesus unto
them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him
that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and
where I am, thither ye cannot come.""  And to the disciples"Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek
me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come;
so now I say to you.""  And again-" I came forth from the
Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world,
and go to the Father."'4  The words in themselves signify merely,'I am about to leave you;' but, from other passages, we know
that he was to leave them, not by removing to some other place
on earth, but by leaving earth and rising to heaven.
"Ye shall seek me."  After our Lord had left the earth and
gone to heaven, the Jewish people were to be involved in deep
distress. In their distress they would seek, earnestly desire, the
presence and help of the Messiah, and Jesus was He. But their
desires would be unavailing. They would not find him. He
had been on earth-they rejected him. He has gone to heaven;
18 John viii. 20.  "9 Mark xii. 41.- Vide Lightfoot and Relandi, Antiq. Heb
2U John viii. 21.   21 John vii. 33.      22 John vii. 33, 34.
23 John xiii. 33.   21 John xvi. 28.




PART I]       CHRIST "THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD."             451
and he will not return to earth to help those in the day of their
distress, who, when he was with them, treated him with neglect
and contumely. The words are equivalent to,' The Messiah will
not interfere on your behalf.'
On the contrary, "Ye shall die in your sins." These words
admit of two meanings-' You shall die under guilt —unforgiven.
You shall go to the judgment-seat with all your sins uncancelled;
and, in this case, what can await you but hopeless condemnation
and unending punishment?' Or,' Ye shall die; ye shall be
punished on account of your sins.' The last seems the meaning
in the passages in the prophecies of Ezekiel, from which the
phrase seems to be borrowed —" The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither
shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of
the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the
wicked shall be upon him.""  "When I say unto the wicked,
O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to
warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his
iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do
not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast
delivered thy soul. When I shall say to the righteous, that he
shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousness shall not be remembered; but
for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it."
" When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby."' The Messiah will
not interpose for your relief, and the wrath due to your sin will
come upon you to the uttermost.'
"Whither I go, ye cannot come."'I go to heaven, you
cannot come thither; hell-not heaven-will be your habitation,
when ye die in your sins —are driven away in your wickedness.'
To these solemn warnings of our Lord, which must have been
at least partially understood by his opponents, they reply with
profane levity, and with an impious sneer.  "Then said the
Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye
cannot come.""27
Self-murder was by the Jews accounted the greatest of all
crimes.  Josephus, in dissuading his companions in war from
self-destruction, to whatever sufferings they might be exposed,
says strikingly of suicides-" A darker hell receives the souls of
such;7"28 a passage which probably suggested the still more striking words of the poet of the " Grave:""These herd together;
The common damned shun their society,
And look upon themselves as fiends less foul."
25 Ezek xviii. 20.                26 Ezek. xxxiii. 8, 9, 13, 18.
27 John viii. 22.-" Volunt dicere, se eum ubique posse invenire."-BENGAL;
q. d., "He will not find it easy to escape beyond our reach. There is but one
way-Will he take that?"
2 roircwv UOv (d~ diXerat IXEL  vxar acorirepof. De bello Jud. i. 8, 8, 5.




452                   MISCELLANEOUS.               [EXP. XI.
They resent the intimation contained in our Lord's words,
that, perishing in their unbelief and impenitence, hell must be
their final and everlasting abode, and endeavor to cast back the
reproach, as if they had said,'What can the man mean? Does
he intend to destroy himself, and thus to secure for himself a
mansion in Gehenna, of which few will be anxious to be jointtenants?  In this case he is quite correct, " Whither he goes, we
shall never come."'
Our Lord meets this impious sneer with an elevated seriousness. He takes no direct notice of it, but he repeats, explains,
and enforces his former statements. "And he said unto them,
Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I
am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall
die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die
in your sins."2'
The force of the 23d verse seems to be this,-' The true cause
of your constantly misapprehending and misrepresenting me, is
to be found in the incongruity which exists between your carnal
minds and my spiritual doctrines.' In this case, his words suggest
the same idea as that expressed more clearly in the words of the
apostle: " The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God: for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned."30 Or, perhaps, these
words are explanatory of the assertion, " Whither I go, ye cannot
come;"' while you continue earthly in your characteir, how could
you dwell with me in heaven?' He who feels this world to be
his home, could never feel himself at home in that world, into
which our Lord was about to enter. While men continue unregenerate, "not having the Spirit," mere " natural3"' men, " conformed to this world," untransformed in the spirit of their minds,
it is in the nature of things impossible that they should come
where Christ is-that they should enjoy along with him holy
spiritual happiness in heaven.
This view of the words seem better to connect them with what follows-" I said therefore unto you, that ye shall dtie in your sins."'This is the reason why I have strongly affirmed that, instead of
coming where I am going, you must die for your sins. With your
present'character, so directly opposed to mine, you cannot be saved
-you must perish.' Our Lord seems here to assert the same
principle which he stated to Nicodemus, " Except a man be born
again, he cannot see " —he cannot enter into-" the kingdom of
heaven."" A man must have a heavenly character to fit him for
heaven. He must learn to think with Christ, to will with Christ,
to enjoy with Christ, in order to his dwelling with Christ.
And the belief of the truth with regard to Him, is the only way
of effecting this change of character, which is necessarily connected with escaping destruction, and getting to heaven. " For," adds
our Lord, "if ye believe not that I am HE "-or rather, "If ye
believe not what I am,"33 —the truth about me-" ye shall die in
29 John viii. 23, 24.   30 1 Cor. ii. 14.   31 2pvVXLKol.   32 John iii 3.




PART I.]      CHRIST "THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD."                 453
your sins." The belief of the truth respecting Christ is, by Divine
appointment, absolutely necessary in order to escape destruction,
and obtain eternal life; " God so loved the world that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life."  "He that believeth on him is
not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already,
because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten
Son of God.""  And farther, it is through the belief of the truth
that the carnal man becomes spiritual, the earthly man heavenly,
so as to be qualified to be with Christ, where he is, to behold his
glory, and to share in his happiness.
On our Lord saying, " If ye believe not what I am, ye shall die
in your sins," the Jews contemptuously asked, " Who art thou?""'
-a question "full of insolence, and of malevolent ridicule, 7
equivalent to that proposed by them afterwards, " Whom makest
thou thyself?"" It was probably their intention to entrap our
Lord into some statement as to his Messiahship, of which they
might have availed themselves, in making him  an object of suspicion and jealousy to the Roman government.
With admirable wisdom our Lord avoided the snare laid for
him, and replied, " Even the same that I said unto you from the
beginning.' "'The beginning" may refer to the beginning of
this discourse, in which case the answer is equivalent to, "I am
the light of the world,"-' I am  the author of knowledge, and
holiness, and happiness, to mankind;' or it may refer to the beginning of his ministry.  In this case it is equivalent to,'I am
the person I have always represented myself to be; and if you
were really desirous of knowing who I am, you could have no
difficulty in finding out the truth.'3'  For though our Lord in
very few instances, in so many words, declared that he was the
Messiah-and it is easy to perceive that there were important
reasons for this caution-yet no intelligent hearer of his discourse
could have any doubt that he did lay claim to be the divine, and
divinely qualified, appointed, and accredited, spiritual deliverer
promised to the fathers.
Our Lord proceeds to remark-"';I have many things to say
and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak
to the world those things which I have heard of him."40 To
remove the appearance of abruptness from these words, and to
33," With Grotius, I understand Ort = &, rt, which is the same as ri, quid, woat."
-CAMPBELL  "The reading 6, rt is, according to all critical authorities, to be
preferred."-OLSHAUSEN.
34 John iii 16, 18.
35 John viii 25. —aV r7i ET refers to d rit lyi el1e.  36 Tholuck.
37 John viii. 53.-Luther paraphrases it very characteristically: " They speak
very pointedly, as if they had said,' Aha! and shall it indeed be so, then? And
pray who are you, good squire Jesusi"'
SJ John'viii. 25. —pxpiv for Tar (pXriv. This is the simplest and most satisfaetory exegesis of this verbunt vexatum'" Non valet oiloe omnino sed propri6 is
principio."- BENGEL.
39 " It is certain that 7rv dpX;rv is to be taken adverbially, like diKi iV, Matt. xv.
16; and that 6, rt is to be read and written as a relative." —TaoLuc.  See Note B.
4U John viii 26.




454                   MISCELLANEOUS.                [EXP. XI.
free them from obscurity, it is necessary to call up to our minds,
the effect which our Lord's answer must have produced on his
opponents.  We cannot doubt that their countenances were expressive of sarcastic incredulity, and it is not unlikely some of
them gave utterance to this sentiment in appropriately bitter and
contemptuous words. On this supposition, our Lord's words are
equivalent to-'Your behaviour lays a foundation for much
condemnatory remark. I have many things to say about you,
and to condemn' —for that is obviously the force of the word
rendered " judge,'"' —' but your contemptuous incredulity does
not dishearten me. Whether you believe what I say or not, I
know most certainly that it is true. He who sent me is trueHe cannot be deceived, He cannot deceive; and I have in this
case, as in everyv other, just delivered his message.  "I speak to
the world," or in the world,42 those things, and nothing but those
things, which I have heard of him. I deliver my message, neither
more nor less, just as I received it; and I know that it is true, for
its Author cannot lie.'
The evangelist remarks, "They understood not that he spake
to them of the Father."4"  Some of them-for it is scarcely possible to suppose that they could all be so stupid-did not understand who it was that our Lord referred to when he spake of him
who sent him, —they were not aware that it was God the Father
of whom he spoke.
Our Lord then proceeds to say to them-" When ye have
lifted up the Son of man, then" shall ye know that I am he," or
what I am, "and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father
hath taught me, I speak these things.""  That we are to understand the lifting up of the Son of man of our Lord's crucifixion,
is plain from his own words on another occasion, as explained by
the evangelist: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will
draw all men unto me."  The inspired annotation is, " This he
said, signifying what death he should die."'6 The passage before
us is a prediction that, after his crucifixion, many of those who
Had taken an active part in it should come to be persuaded that
he was indeed the Messiah,-that all his claims were well-founded,
-and that, as a faithful messenger, he had just done and said
what he had been commissioned to do and say by his Father,
who sent him."  How gloriously was this prediction fulfilled,
when multitudes of Jews believed on the day of Pentecost!
Three thousand"4 believed,-among whom were, probably, not a
few of those who had "lifted him up,"-were constrained to
acknowledge that that "Jesus whom  they had hanged on a
tree," was not only "a man approved of God by miracles,
and  signs, and wonders," but being "raised from  the dead,
41 KpivQ is often - KaraKpiv&. Rom. ii. 27; xiv. 22. James iv. 11, 12. John
vii. 51. Luke xix. 22. Acts xiii. 27.
42 Mark i. 39. —eif rS avvayuoyci.
43 John viii. 27.   44,, r6Te, tune, non priua 1 Cor. ii. 8." —B1ENGL.
45 John viii. 28.                          46 John xii. 32, 3&
47 M.d%., xxvii. 54. Luke xxiii. 47, 4&'s Acts ii. 41.




PART II.]     TRUE LIBERTY —REAL SLAVERY.              455
and set on the right hand of God," was "both Lord  and
Christ."'49
Our Lord added, "And he that sent me is with me: the
Father hath not left me alone;5~ for," as I said to you from the
beginning, " I do always those things which please him."5. The
Father was with him most intimately, by that common nature
of which they were possessed. " I am in the Father, and the
Father in me;" "the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the
works."" Here, however, from the connection, it is plain that
it is the Father's presence, in his guiding, protecting, comforting
influence, that is referred to, as when it is said, "Ye shall be
scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and
yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.""3  This is.
evident from what follows,-" For I do always those things that
please him."'In everything I conform myself to the Father's
will. "My meat is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to
finish his work."' Whatever opinion men might form of his
doctrines or his conduct, he knew that in all he said, and all he
did, he was the Father's elect servant, upheld and delighted in by
Him —" his beloved Son, in whom he was well pleased."
II.-TRUE LIBERTY-REAL SLAVERY.
JOHN vin. 30-36.
These statements, in connection with the miracles which he
had performed, made a great impression on the minds of many
of the hearers. We are informed that, "as he spake these words,
many believed on him.""4
They could not help thinking that he must be the Messiah;
and they seem  to have intimated so much to himself.  They
professed themselves his disciples. The bulk of these men do
not seem, at this time, to have been believers to the saving of
the soul. The character of faith is to be learned from the object
of faith. Not only may men profess to believe the truth about
Christ —not only may they think that they believd the truth
about Christ-not only may they really believe much about
Christ which is not true, —but they may even believe much
about him which is true, while yet they do not believe " that
truth" about him, which cannot be believed without the believer
being saved by it. Men may believe a proposition which, rightly
understood, implies the saving truth, but which, as understood
by them, does not imply it, nay, implies the reverse of it. Such
was the case before us. These men likely believed Jesus to be
the Messiah; but then their notions of the person of the Messiah,
the design of his mission, and the nature of his kingdom, were
49 Acts ii. 22-36.
50 " The Father hath never forsaken me."-LYNoR ap. THOLUmC.
51 John viii. 29.                  52 John xiv. 10.
53 John xvi 32.                    54 John viii. 30.




456                    MISCELLANEOUS.                 [EXP. XI.
not only exceedingly defective, but essentially erroneous.  In
one point of view, they believed the truth about him, for he was
the Messiah. In another and more important point of view, they
did not believe the truth,-they believed falsehood, about him;
for they believed that he, as the Messiah, would soon take to himself his great power, and reign as a temporal prince, and employ
himself in rescuing them from  their subjection to the Romans,
restoring the kingdom to Israel, establishing a universal empire,
and giving the chosen people rule over the Gentile nations. And
there can be no doubt, as to most of them, that on finding that
he was not the kind of Messiah they expected, they would not
have renounced their preconceived notions, and held fast by the
faith they had professed, but they would have concluded that
they had been in a mistake about him, and that he was not the
Messiah at all.
Our Lord never availed himself of the mistaken opinions of
men to secure professed adherents, and thus to swell the number
of his followers.  He took good care that if any mistake was
committed in joining his standard, the cause of that mistake
should not be with him.  He wished to entrap no man into discipleship. Instead of expressing himself as gratified by their adhesion, he informs them  that something more is necessary than
merely calling him Lord, in order to being recognized by him as
genuine disciples-" disciples indeed;" and while he promises
them most important blessings if they become his genuine disciples, he intimates, that these blessings, though of far higher
value, were entirely of a different kind from those which the Jews
generally were expecting from their Messiah.
" Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye
continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye
shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.""' In
these words, our Lord intimates that he was a teacher of truth,
not a temporal prince (just as when he said to Pilate, " I am a
king; but my kingdom  is not of this world:" "I was born,"-I
came into this world,-" to bear witness of the truth; every one
that is of the truth heareth my voice "); and that, if they would
be, not merely nominally, but really, his disciples, they must
" continue in his word." The " word " of. Christ is his doctrine;`
and to "' continue in his word," is to persevere in receiving his
doctrine, holding fast as true whatever he had said to them,
readily admitting as true whatever he might yet say to them, and
perseveringly following out their professed faith to its practical
results.
Such persons as thus continued in his word —such persons
alone-would he acknowledge as genuine disciples; and all such
genuine disciples would " know the truth." To know the truth
55 John viii. 31, 32.-For the illustration of the nature of true spiritual freedom,
the following passages may be consulted:-John viii. 36; xvii. 17. 2 Cor. xiii. 7.
1 Pet. ii. 16. James i. 25; ii. 12. Rom. vi. 18; viii. 21. Gal. v. 1, 13; iv. 26;
31. Rom. vii. 6.     56 John xvii. 6, 14, 17, 20; v. 47; vi. 63, 68; xv. 7.




PART II.]     TRUE LIBERTY-REAL SLAVERY.               457
is something more definite than to know what is true; it is to
understand that revelation with regard to the salvation of men,
through the mediation of the incarnate Son, which is so often in
the New Testament called, by way of eminence, "the truth,"the truth of truths, —the most important of all truths,-the truth
of which he was full, —the truth that came by him, as the law
came by Moses,-the truth, the reality, in opposition to the
shadows, the emblems, of the introductory economy,-what
Paul calls "the word of the truth of the Gospel "-" the truth
as it is in Jesus.""' Our Lord's manner of using the phrase appears from chaps. xiv. 17; xv. 26; xvii. 17, 19. He assures these
Jews, that such of them as were characterized by a persevering
faith in him as a divine teacher, would, in due time, be made to
understand that truth, the knowledge and faith of which were at
once necessary and sufficient for their salvation. By attending
to his discourses, it would gradually open upon their minds, for
he would unfold it to them as they were able to bear it. Events
would develop it; and, at the appointed season, the great monitor
and instructor, the Holy Spirit, would be given them, who would
"teach them  all things," and "guide them into all truth,"-or
rather, all the truth.58
Our Lord adds, "And the truth," this truth, "shall make
you free."'It will give you spiritual liberty,-freedom from the
fetters of ignorance, error, guilt, and depravity: in plain words,
it will make you wise, good, happy.' It is just as if he had said,'Expect not from me civil enfranchisement,-temporal freedom.
If you profess yourselves my disciples in this expectation, you
shall assuredly be disappointed. But if you will permanently
subject yourselves to my teaching, you shall have your minds
opened to a system of saving truth which will emancipate you
from a worse slavery than man can impose on man, and invest
you with a freedom incomparably superior to any which man can
bestow on man, —a freedom which will end in " the glorious liberty
of the children of God" in heaven.'
This was not at all what they either wished for or expected.
Instead of thankfully accepting the proffered blessing, some of
those who had just professed to be his disciples (for the words
naturally refer to them, and not to others in the crowd who had
made no profession of faith) were offended, and began to carp at
his language, as if it implied an unfounded reproach on the holy
nation, as if it represented them as a set of slaves. " They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage
to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?""' As if
they had said,'You seem to think us a body of slaves; you are
mistaken. As Abraham's descendants, we possess honors and
imnmunities superior to those of any other nation on earth; and,
besides, we are tot the slaves-we never were the slaves-of any
individual or nation. We are both in right and in fact freemen.'
As to the truth of the first statement, there could be no doubt.
57 Phil. iii. 8.  Col. i. 5.  53 Tohn xvi. 13.  -  59 John viii. 33.




458                   MISCELLANEOUS.              [EXP. XI.
They, as Abraham's descendants, had many and important privileges. They had "much advantage every way: chiefly, because that unto them  were committed the oracles of God."
" To them pertained the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the
promises; theirs were the fathers, and"-what was more than
all-" of them, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over
all, God blessed for ever.6" As to the second statement, whether
you consider it as referring to the Jewish people during the
whole period of their history, or to the existing generation, it is,
to say the least, a very questionable one.  Though the Jews
continued a distinct people, governed by their own laws and
rulers,-to a certain extent, even in Egypt, —to a greater extent, certainly, in Babylon, and under the Syro-Macedonian and
Roman dominion, —yet surely it could not be said in truth that
the people who, in Egypt, " sighed by reason of their bondage,"
— who "served the king of Mesopotamia eight years,"-who
were " sold into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan,' — who were
"delivered into the hand of Midian seven years," and "into the
hand of the Philistines forty years," —who were " carried captive
to Babylon," and continued in captivity seventy years, —of whom
Ezra says, even after their return to their own land, " We are
bondmen," —and who, in a solemn address to God, make use of
this language, "Behold, we are servants this day; and for the
land that thou gavest unto our fathers, to eat the fruit thereof,
and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it: and it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us
because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies,
and over our cattle, at their pleasure; and we are in great distress,""'-who were repeatedly subdued by the Syro and EgyptoMacedonian kings,-and who at this moment were tributaries
to the Romans, and very impatient of their yoke,-surely it
could not be truly said, that they "were never in bondage to
any man."
But even if both the statements had been true, they were obviously irrelevant. The liberty our Lord spoke of was plainly
not a civil privilege, but a spiritual blessing. It was a liberty to
be produced by the knowledge of the truth, of which those who
had all the immunities of Israelites, and were free from any human
yoke, might yet be destitute. They spurn the offer of spiritual
liberty, on the plea that they were never in temporal thraldorn, as
if, though they had never been in bondage to any man, it followed that they never were in bondage to any lust. Henry's note is
good:-" Carnal hearts are sensible of no other grievances but
those which molest the body and distress their secular affairs.
Talk to them of encroachments on their civil liberty and property,-tell them of waste committed on their lands, or damage done
to their houses,-and they understand you very well, and can
60 Rom. iii. 1, 2; ix. 4, 5.
61 Exod. ii. 23. Judges iii. 8; iv. 2; vi. 1; xiii. 1. Ez. ix. 9. Neh. ix. 36, 37.




PART II.]      TRUE LIBERTY-REAL SLAVERY.                459
give you a sensible answer-the thing touches them, and affects
them; but discourse to them  of the bondage of sin, of captivity
to Satan, and of liberty by Christ, —tell them of wrong done to
their precious souls, and the hazard of their eternal welfare,and you'bring certain strange things to their ears;? they say, as
Ezekiel's hearers,' Doth he not speak parables?'~' This here was
somewhat like the blunder Nicodemus made about being born
again; but it seems in this case to have been rather a cavil than
a blunder."
Their sole object seems, indeed, to have been to cavil; and
when persons are determined to find fault, it is easy to obtain an
occasion. Our Lord replies to both their cavils, beginning with
the last-" We were never in bondage to any man." The answer
to this is in the 34th verse: "Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of
sin." As if he had said,' What though it were true, that you are
not, that you never were, in bondage to any man? you may not
the less for that be slaves; you may not the less need the liberty
which my true disciples obtain, through means of the truth:
"Whosoever committeth sin is the servant" or slave " of sin."'
The phrase, "He who commits sin," describes not the man who
occasionally falls into sin-" who is overtaken in a fault""who, under the influence of "the law in his members," violates
but too often " the law of his mind "-does not what he willsdoes what he hates."6 It is the man who, being in the flesh, walks
after the flesh-the man who habitually sins.6'  The habitual sinner is a slave —the slave of sin. Depraved principle is dominant
in his mind-," Sin has dominion " over him. It " reigns over his
mortal body;" he " obeys it " by the desires and appetites of that
body; and he "yields his members to it as instruments of unrighteousness."66
It is common in all languages, I believe, to personify depraved
principle, and to represent the man who is habitually influenced
by it, instead of being guided by truth and righteousness, as its
servant or slave: thus we speak of the slave of ambition, avarice,
or lust.6' This is the most degrading, if not the most galling, of
all slaveries. Sin is the worst of all tyrants; his work is pollution; his wages destruction. Sin exercises a double power over
the habitual sinner-the power to condemn, and the power to deprave. Sooner or later men must be ashamed of his service, and
"the end of these things is death."
Our Lord does not say, in so many words, but his language obviously was intended to suggest the thought,'You are such
slaves; surely, then, you require to be emancipated. The liberty
which the truth gives, is a species of freedom, of which you stand
very much in need.'
The reply to the second cavil, "We are Abraham's seed," is to
be found in the two following verses:-" And," or moreover,,2 Ezek. xx. 49.   63 Gal. vi. 1.   64 Rom. vii. 14, ad finem.
65 1 John iii. 8.  66 Rom. vi. 12, 13.   67 Rom. vi. 6. 2 Pet. ii. 19.




460                    MISCELLANEOUS.                 [EXP. XI.
"the servant abideth not in the house for ever; but the Son
abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make vou free, ye shall
be free indeed.""'
It has been common to consider these words as just a following
out of the idea expressed in the 34th verse —" the servant," in
the 35th verse, being supposed to be the same as " the servant
of sin," in the 34th verse. It appears to be impossible to extract
a satisfactory meaning out of the words on this principle. " The
servant," and "the Son" are contrasted.  If it be the servant
of sin, it must be the son of sin —and what does that mean? and
whose house is spoken of? and what is the meaning of the servant of sin not remaining in the house for ever, while the son of
sin remains for ever?
Viewed even as a reply to the cavil, "We are Abraham's
seed," they are not without difficulty; but it is possible, in this
way, to extract a coherent and appropriate sense out of them.
The term "house" here, as in so many other places of Scripture,
does not signify edifice, or mansion, but family;" as, when we
say, the House of Stuart-the House of Hanover-the House of
Bourbon.  It is true, as a general principle, that servants have
but a temporary place in a family-a son has a permanent place
in it. But the reference here is not to a family generally, but to
a particular family —the holy family-the family of Abraham.
" Ve are Abraham's seed:"'We belong to the holy family, and
are possessed of all its immunities.''Well,' says our Lord,'admitting that you belong to Abraham's family-the  holy
family-the peculiar people of God —in that family the servant
abideth not for ever; it is the Son only who abides for ever.'
The reference may be to the facts in Abraham's history, which
the Prophet Isaiah," and the Apostle Paul," employ allegorically
to illustrate the character and fates of the external, carnal, Israelitish church and its members, in contrast with those of the spiritual
church and its members. Abraham had two sons, one by Hagar, a
bond-woman, who, as children, take their political status from their
mother,72 was, as it were, a slave-son; and another by Sarah, a
free-woman, who was a free son, and because of this is called his
only son. The slave-son did not continue in the family always;
for, mocking his free-born brother, he and his mother were expelled the family, while the free-born son continued in the family,
and succeeded to the inheritance.
If the allusion be to this, then the force of the words is,' Ye
are, no doubt, Abraham's seed,-i. e., Abraham's descendants;
ye, no doubt, are in the family, but it does not follow from that,
that ye do not need to be free; you may be'-in truth they were
-' in the family, as Ishmael was in the family.' And, possessed
of Ishmael's character, they were soon to meet with Ishmael's
68 John viii. 35, 36. —6vrof here has a force similar to d.i0tr'bf in other places"free in the highest sense of the word."
69 Exod. i. 21. 1 Sam. xxv. 28. 2 Sam. iii. 1. Psal. cxv. 12. Isa. vii. 2.
Luke ii 4. Hteb. ii. 2-6.
70 Isa. liv. 1, &c.   71 Gal. iv. 22, &c.   72 \ Ventrem sequitur partua"




PART II.]      TRUE LIBERTY-REAL SLAVERY.                461
fate. They only who were in the family as Isaac was-who
were "not of the circumcision only, but who walked in the steps
of the faith of their father Abraham"3 —they only were the free
children of the family, who were never to be cast out, but enjoy
the inheritance.' There is a freedom, then, which ye, though
descendants of Abraham, need; and that is the' freedom which
my true disciples obtain through the knowledge of the truth.'
In this mode of interpretation, I should have been disposed to
acquiesce, had the 36th verse not followed: " If the Son therefore
shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."7 There can be no
doubt that " the Son," in this verse, signifies our Lord himself;
and it seems very harsh to give the term a different reference, in
the verse immediately preceding. This makes me seek the interpretation of this passage, not in the Prophet Isaiah, and the
Epistle to the Galatians, but in the Book of Numbers,"7 and the
Epistle to the Hebrews.'"  In the third chapter of that epistle, we
find Moses and Christ represented as placed in succession over
" the house," or the family, " of God;" and Christ is represented
as worthy of much more honor than Moses, as the founder of
the family deserves the highest place in it; and, while Moses is
represented as a servant over the family of his Master, Christ is
represented as a Son over his Father's Family, which is also his
own. Supposing our Lord, in whose mind lay all the truth
afterwards unfolded by his apostles, to have had this view of the
matter before him (and we know that the Holy Spirit only took
of the things of Christ, and showed them to the apostles), a consistent and beautiful meaning comes out of the two verses.' You
are Abraham's seed; you are in Abraham's family, which is indeed God's family; but you belong only to Abraham's natural
descendants.  You have privileges, but they are all external
privileges; and not only so, they are but temporary privileges.
You hold under Moses, the servant, who is not to continue for
ever: the economy under which you enjoy free privileges is
hastening to an end. Moses, the servant, as a ruler, is soon to
go out of the family, and all the privileges which belong to that
order of things are about to vanish away. There is a spiritual
family of God, of which the Son is the founder and the head;
that family has higher and more enduring immunities. The Son
continues ever, and so do all who hold a place in the family
under him. Though you have all the privileges the servant can
give you, what will these avail, when he goes out of the family?
There is a higher set of immunities belonging to those who hold
their place in the family under the Son, and he only can confer
them. The Son has a freedom to bestow, of which ye, though
free under the servant, stand in need; and if He make you free,
ye shall be free indeed.'"
73 Rom. iv. 12.
74 " The'vTr  E'EuOepog stands in opposition to the imaginary freedom, which
the Jews supposed they possessed as descendants of Abraham."-OLSHAUSEN.
75 Numb. xii. 7, 8.                          76 Heb. iii. 5, 6.
77 I find that this is substantially the view taken by Chrysostom, the best in



462                      MISCELLANEOUS.                   [EXP. X]
The freedom here referred to, is the superior state of privilege
to be enjoyed under the new and better covenant, of which th,
Son is the mediator. This consists in a clearer view of the trut]
with regard to the divine character of the Father, as manifested
in the person and work of the Son; in a generous childlike
frame of temper and disposition, growing out of the faith of thi;
truth; and in the possession of a simple and rational, spiritua
and easy, system of worship corresponding at once to this revela
tion —" the truth," and to the character which results from  the
belief of it.  They whom  the Son makes free, believing th(
revelation of the Father, made in, and by, the Son, "receive no:
the spirit of bondage again to fear; but receive the spirit of
adoption, whereby they cry, Abba, Father."7" Under the influ.
ence of this spirit, they " come boldly to the throne of grace.'
They are the true "circumcision, which worship God in the
spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the
flesh."  They " walk at liberty, keeping God's commandments,'
serving him " in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the
letter"-serving " him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
before him, all the days of their life."7" It is the Son who gives
this freedom, and he gives it through the knowledge or faith of
the truth.  "As many as receive him, to them  gives he power"
-the privilege-" to become the sons of God, even to them that
believe on his name."  "And if sons," then free men indeed,"heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ."80
Our Lord's answer to the cavils of the Jews, seems, then,
equivalent to,'.Ye need to be emancipated, both from the slavery
of sin, and from the servitude of the Mosaic institutions.'
But what are these things to us? Our Lord's words to the
Jews, are really as applicable to us, as they were to them. We
all profess to have believed in Christ.  Mere apparent —mere
professed-discipleship will do us as little good as it did them:
we must continue in his word; we must know the truth; then
will we be truly his disciples,-then will we be made free indeed.
How  glorious is this liberty!  How happy they who are possessed of it!
"He is the freeman whom the truth makes free,
And all are slaves beside.
He is indeed a freeman. Free by birth,
Of no mean city; plann'd or ere the hills
Were built, the fountains open'd, or the sea
With all his roaring multitude of waves.
His freedom is the same in every state;
And no condition of this changeful life,
So manifold in cares, whose ev'ry day
Brings its own evil with it, makes it less:
terpreter among the fathers. It is no valid objection that it was not possible that
the Jews could thus understand our Lord's words. Many of our Lord's sayings
were intentionally enigmatical-intended not to be understood at the time, but
lodged in the mind, and to be called up again when events had given meaning to
them.                                              78 Rom. viii. 15.
79 Heb. iv. 16. Phil. iii. 3. Rom. vii. 6. Psal. cxix 45. Luke i. 74, 75.
80 John i. 12. Rom. viii. 17.




PART II.]        TRUE LIBERTY-REAL SLAVERY.                       463
For he has wings, that neither sickness, pain,
Nor penury, can cripple or confine,
No nook so narrow, but he spreads them there
With ease, and is at large. Th' oppressor holds
His body bound, but knows not what a range
His spirit takes, unconscious of a chain;
And that to bind him is a vain attempt,
Whom God delights in, and in whom he dwells.
-— T'his is a liberty unsung
By poets, and by senators unprais'd,
Which monarchs cannot grant, nor all the pow'rs
Of earth and hell confed'rate, take away:
A liberty, which persecution, fraud,
Oppression, prisons, have no power to bind;
Which whoso tastes can be enslav'd no more.'Tis liberty of heart derived from heaven,
Bought with his blood, who gave it to mankind,
And sealed with the same token. It is held
By charter, and that charter sanction'd sure
By th' unimpeachable and awful oath
And promise of a God. His other gifts
All bear the royal stamp, that speaks them his,
And are august; but this transcends them all."
This liberty is the earnest of the glorious liberty of the children of God, for which the whole creation is groaning and
travailing in pain:
" A flight into God's arms,
Ere yet mortality's fine threads give way;
A clear escape from tyrannizing lust,
And full immunity from penal wo." —CowrER, "Task," v.
How degraded and miserable the state of those who are the
slaves of sin! Are there no such slaves among us? Would
God it were so. But no. There are many "committing sin,"
and the faithful witness proclaims, " these are the slaves of sin."
We all were once such bondmen, and some of us, it is to be
feared, are in shackles still. Oh, that they would but open their
eyes to their true character, and see, that, if doers of iniquity,
they are without question slaves-and if they remain unenfranchised by the Son, " stripes and a dungeon must be their portion
for ever."
Let us all remember that there is still both an external and a
spiritual church-a church into which men can give entrance,
and a church into which none but he who opens, and no man
shuts, and who shuts, and no man opens, can give entrance.
The privileges of the one are of little value, when compared to
those of the other-worse'than useless if disjoined from  them.
And at best, they are but of temporary duration. Alas, alas!
how many, after having been for many years in the kingdom of
heaven in its external form on earth, and occupied high places
in it, shall at last be " cast out," being found to be not disciples
indeed, "into outer darkness, where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth!"  Oh, let us all seek to be free citizens of the Jerusalem above,-let us enrol ourselves as followers
of Him who is "the King" and the King's Son, and " who shall




464                  MISCELLANEOUS.             [EXP. XI.
abide before God for ever."81 Let us act the part of good soldiers
of Jesus Christ, that being by him made more than conquerors,
we may "enter through the gate into the city," and become
" pillars in the temple of our God, and no more go out."
III. —-THE SPIRITUAL PATERNITY OF THE UNBELIEVING JEWS.
JOHN VIII. 37-53.
In the verses which follow, our Lord prosecutes the subject,
and says much that was calculated to disabuse the Jews of those
most dangerous mistakes into which, under the influence of their
misjudging mind,82 they had fallen, with regard to the nature of
their connection with Abraham, and the advantages which resulted from it. " I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye
seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I speak
that which I have seen with my Father; and ye do that which
ye have seen with your father.""8
~ 1. Not the spiritual children of Abraham.
Our Lord's object is plainly to convey to their mind this sentiment, that though they were the natural descendants of Abraham,
yet they had, in a moral and spiritual point of view, a very different-a much less creditable-paternity. " I know that ye are
Abraham's seed."'I never thought of calling into question so
certainly true a proposition as that you are lineally descended
from that illustrious patriarch. In that sense you are his children, but in another, in a more important sense, you are not his
children; you are the children of a very different kind of father,
and the present state of your minds is abundant proof of this.
You are seeking to kill me; you are plotting my destruction —
you know you are-and the reason is, "my word has no place,"
does not abide, " in you." You, very lately, professed to believe
in me; and I said to you, if you abode in my word, you would
be my disciples indeed. But it is plain my word has not taken
fast hold of you-you have let it go already. Having found out
that I am not the kind of Messiah you expected, you are now desiring and plotting the death of him whom so lately you declared
yourselves willing to acknowledge as the long-expected deliverer.
My doctrine not being understood and believed, has made no permanent lodgement in your mind.'' In me you may learn what it is to have any one for a father.
"I speak that which I have seen with my Father; and ye do
what you have seen with your father." My doctrine is what I
have received from my Father. It is what I have seen and heard
when with him, as I have been from unbeginning ages-and, from
its nature and tendency, it clearly shows who is my Father. Its
spiritual, holy, benignant, character, tells plainly that it comes
81 Psal.  i. 7. l. 82.sd66uoCr voV.  Rom. i. 28.  83 John viii. 37, 38.




PART III.]   SPIRITUAL PATERNITY OF THE JEWS.           465
from Him who is a spirit; who is the Holy, Holy, Holy One;
and whose nature, as well as name, is Love. HE is MY Father.'
" Ye do what you have seen with your father."'Your actions
tell who your father is, as my doctrine tells who my Father is.
In both cases " father" here seems to mean spiritual model-the
being, after whom the character is fashioned-the being, under
whose influences the moral spiritual frame is formed. The thought
that lies at the bottom of the representation is,'Men's sentiments
and conduct are things that are formed, and indicate the character
of him who formed them. Your actions, which are characterized
by falsehood and malignity, distinctly enough prove, that, in a
moral spiritual point of view, neither Abraham, nor the God of
Abraham, is your father. The former of your spiritual character is not in heaven, wherever else he may be to be found.'
The Jews could not but have some suspicions whither our
Lord's remarks pointed; but they pretended not to observe it;
and seemed to wish to represent him as a calumniator of Abraham. " They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our
father."8' If we do what we have seen with HIM, surely we
shall do very well? Do you mean to slander the illustrious patriarch of our race-" the friend of God"?'
"Jesus saith unto them, if ye were Abraham's children, ye
would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me,
a man that hath told you the truth; this did not Abraham,""-~
rather, Abraham  acted not thus.' If ye were Abraham's children in a spiritual sense-if ye were conformed to his characteryou would imitate his conduct. But your conduct is the very
reverse of his. You are desiring and plotting the murder of a
man who has never injured you, whose only crime is that he has
made known to you important and salutary, but unpalatable,
truth. Abraham never did anything like this. He readily received every communication made from heaven. He never inflicted injury on any man, far less on a divine messenger who
had merely done his duty. No, no! if children are like their
parents, Abraham is not your father. He whose deeds you do,
he is your father.'
~ 2. Not the spiritual children of God.
The drift of our Lord's insinuations was becoming more and
more apparent, and the Jews were becoming more and more indignant, and more and more disposed to repel them with scorn.
" Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have,
one Father,86 even God."87 The meaning, or rather reference, of
the first clause, "We are not born of fornication,"-' we are not
a spurious brood, we are not bastards'-is doubtful. It may refer
to what goes before, or to what follows. It may refer to Abrahamic, or to divine, sonship. In the first case, it is equivalent to,
84 John viii. 39.                         85 John viii. 39, 40.
8S Eva 7raripa, a common father. Eph. iv. 5, 6.  87 John viii. 41.
V OL. I.                  30




466                   MISCELLANEOUS.                [EXP. XI.' We are genuine descendants of Abraham, Hebrews of the Hebrews.  We are not Ishmaelites, or Samaritans; we are the children, not of the concubine, but of the wife; not of the bond-woman,
but of the free.' From its connection, however, we think it more
probable that it refers to the filial relation they claim to God.
Idolatry is often in the Old Testament, in consequence of Jehovah's representing himself under the figurative character of the
husband of the Israelitish church, termed fornication and adultery. " To be born of fornication" or adultery-to be the children of fornication and adultery, is, according to the Hebrewr
idiom, just equal to,'to be idolaters;' as if they had said,' If you
refer to something more recondite than mere natural relation,
then God is our Father. We are not idolaters; we have not
many fathers-gods many, and lords many.  "To us there is but
one God and Father." Jehovah is our Father; and surely you
dare not say anything against Him.' They refer to such passages
as, " Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise?
is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made
thee, and established thee?"88  " Doubtless thou art our Father,
though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us
not: thou, O Lord, art our Father, our Redeemer; thy name is
from everlasting."9  " Have we not all one father? hath not one
God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man
against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?"'9
In reply to this cavil, "Jesus said unto them, If God were
your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came
from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.""' These
words are equivalent to a denial that God was their Father in
the sense in which they claimed to be his children. He was their
Father as he was " the Father of the spirits of all flesh, who had
made of one blood all the nations of men for to dwell on the face
of the earth.""2  He was their Father, as he preserved and provided for them, and blessed them. He was their Father, as they
belonged to the nation of whom he had said, " Israel is my son,
even my first-born,"93 "to whom  pertained the adoption;7794 but
lie was not their Father-they were not his children-in a
higher sense.  They were not the objects of his complacential
regard, of his moral approbation-neither in spiritual relation nor
character were they his children.  They were not "heirs of
God," neither were they "partakers of a divine nature."98
"h If God were your Father," and you his children, then " you
would love me." He was the Son of God by way of eminence,
"the first-born among many brethren." Surely they could not
be God's children if they did not love him; and surely they could
not love Him and hate his Son, who was the image of the invisible God-the brightness of his glory-the express image,of his person, in whose face the glory of the Father was mani88 Deut. xxxii. 6.  89 Isa. lxiii. 16.        90 Mal. ii. 10.
91.John viii 42.    92 Acts xvii. 26.        93 Exod. iv. 22.
J4 Rom. ix. 4.      95 Rom. viii. 17. 2 Pet. i. 4.




PART III.]    SPIRITUAL PATERNITY OF THE JEWS.                 467
fested.  "He that loveth him that begat, loveth him  also that is
begotten of him.""9
" I proceeded forth and came from God." It is difficult to say
whether these are two different expressions for the same thing —
our Lord's divine mission; or whether the first refers to his sonship, and the other to his mission.'I am his Son-I am his
messenger. If ye were his children, you would love me as his
Son, and readily receive me as his messenger.'  "Neither came
I of myself, but he sent me."'I am no unauthorized teacherI have a commission, a clearly-authenticated commission, from
Him who you say is your Father; but surely he cannot be your
Father, else instead of seeking to kill me, ye would have gladly
and gratefully received my message, and treated myself with the
most respectful and affectionate kindness.'
Our Lord adds, "Why do ye not understand my speech?
even because you cannot97 hear my word.""'  Our Lord refers here
to the difficulty-to a certain extent real, to a much greater extent affected-which the Jews had discovered in apprehending
the meaning of what he had been saying to them.  "Speech ""9
and "word,"'TM  are nearly but quite synonymous.   "Speech"
is external address-discourse as spoken; —" word" is the same
address, viewed as the expression of thought.'Why do you not
understand my discourse? It is because you do not relish its
subject."  "Hear" is equivalent to listen.'You dislike it so
much that you will not listen to it.' It is true as a general principle, that the cause why the Jews, and indeed mankind generally, do not understand the christian revelation, is, that they are
so indisposed to its substance, that they are morally incapable of
giving it that consideration that is necessary to its being understood.  But our Lord's reference is plainly to his present discourse.'You affect to feel great difficulty in apprehending my
meaning.  The reason is, you are not disposed to attend to, or
believe, what I am saying.'" But as you seem not to comprehend me clearly, I shall state the truth in words, which you will
not be able, however much you might wish it, to misapprehend
or misrepresent.'
~ 3. The children of the Devil.
Our Lord, then, in the words before us, in plain terms tells
them the truth, with regard to their spiritual or moral paternity.
96 CoL i. 15. Heb. i. 3. 2 Cor. iv. 6. 1 John v. 1.
97 " Similis epitasis, non potest. 1 Cor. ii. 14." —BENGEL.  3 John viii. 4&
99 2auia.                                         100,6yof.
1 " Luck  distinguishes between Xauia and X6yor thus:-He regards the latter
as denoting the contents or the sentiments, and the former as meaning the form,
the 2?oyog 2a2oy/evof. This is quite correct in itself; but it is evident that, in
one passage, the two expressions are employed synonymously, since Xa:ia, in
connection with ytvlactL', must necessarily have reference to the sentiments."OLSHAUSEN. " Priore membro stuporem eorum perstringit; altero prmafractum et
impotens doctrine odium."-CALvIN.
2 " Qui veri sunt Dei filii et domestici non possunt paternae domus igncrare
linguam."-M.i.ANCTHON.




468                   MISCELLANEOUS.                [EXP. XI.
" Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye
will do: he was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not
in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father
of it."'
Fully to understand the first part of this verse, a number of
questions must be answered. The first is, Who is " the devil"?
the second, What is meant by the devil being the Jews' "father"?
the third, What is it to be of " the devil"? the fourth, What are
" the lusts" of the devil? the fifth, What is it to " do" these lusts?
and the sixth, What is it " to will" to do these lusts?
With regard to that very remarkable being, here termed " the
devil," and elsewhere " Satan," "the tempter," " the old serpent,"
"'the destroyer," our information, all of course derived from
revelation, though very limited, is abundantly distinct. He is a
being of the angelic order, formed, as all intelligent beings were,
in a state of moral integrity, who, at a period anterior to the fall
of man, in consequence of violating the Divine law, in a manner
of which we are not particularly informed, was (along with a
number of other spirits, who, it would appear, in consequence of
being seduced by him, were partakers of his guilt) cast out of
heaven, his original abode, placed in a state of degradation and
punishment, and reserved to deeper shame and fiercer pains, at
the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God.
Through his malignity and falsehood, man, who was innocent,
became guilty —man, who was holy, became depraved —man, who
was happy, became miserable-man, who was immortal, became
liable to death. Over the minds of the human race, while they
continue unregenerate, he exercises a very powerful, though not
physically irresistible, influence; and hence is termed " the
prince," "the god of this world," "the spirit which worketh in
the children of disobedience," who "leads them  captive at his
will."'4 Even over their bodies he has, in many instances, exercised a malignant power. He exerts himself, by his numerous
agents, in counter-working the Divine benignant plan for the
salvation of men, throwing obstacles of various kinds in the way
of their conversion, and spreading his snares for, and aiming his
fiery darts at those who have thrown off his yoke. Error, sin,
and misery, in all their forms, are ultimately his works; and his
leading object is to uphold and extend the empire of evil in the
universe of God.
When this malignant powerful being is termed the father of
the Jews, it is obvious that the term is employed in a figurative
or analogical sense. That being is, in a moral point of view, my
father, under whose influence my character has been formed, and
whose sentiments, and feelings, and conduct, are, as it were, the
model after which mine are fashioned,  When, then, the devil is
represented as the father of these Jews, it intimates, that instead
3 John viii. 44. See Note C.
4 John xii. 31; xiv. 30. 2 Cor. iv. 4. 2 Tim. ii. 26.




PART III.]   SPIRITUAL PATERNITY OF THE JEWS.            469
of having a spiritual character formed under divine influence,
they had one formed under a diabolical influence; and instead
of being formed in God's likeness, or in the likeness of Abraham
his friend, they, in their great moral lineaments, resembled the
grand enemy of God and man. "The devil is your father," is
equivalent to-' Your character has been formed under the influence, and fashioned after the model, of " the wicked one."'
To be "of" the devil, their father, is the next phrase which
requires exposition. The particle "of," expresses relation of a
great variety of kinds. One of the most common of these is
property. To be "of the world," is to be the world's own.
" The world loves its own,"-those who are "of it."  To be " of
God," or " God's," is to belong to God, to be God's property and
possession. To be "of Christ," or "Christ's," is to belong to
im. To be " of the devil," or "the devil's," is to belongto him,
to be as it were his property. All created beings are, and must
be, in one sense, and that a most important one, God's property.
The devil himself, in that sense, is God's. He is subject to his
control, and will be made to serve his purpose. But in another
sense, the Jews, and all who possess the same character, are the
property of the wicked one; they practically renounce their dependence on God; they deny his proprietorship, and they practically surrender themselves to the wicked one, yielding themselves his slaves, and their members as instruments of unrighteousness in his service. It is as if our Lord had said,' Ye say
that ye are God's peculiar people, but ye are really the devil's
self-sold slaves.' That this is the leading idea seems plain from
what follows, which is explanatory or confirmatory of this.
"The lusts of your father ye will do."  "Lusts" are strong
desires. Now what is meant by the desires of the devil? " Lust,"
in Scripture, signifies, not merely desire, properly so called, but
the object of desire.  "The lust of the eye') is a general name
for those things which, contemplated by the eye, excite desire, —
what is splendid or beautiful  "The lusts of the devil" are to
be understood, in this way, not of his individual desires or longings,
-for how could the Jews do these?-but of the things which are
the object of his desires,-such as the establishment and permanence of error, vice, and misery among men,-whatever is
calculated to gratify his impious malignant mind, a mind of
which, as Milton powerfully expresses it, "evil is the good."
To do the things which the devil desires, is to oppose truth, and
to increase sin and misery. These things the Jews did —habitually did.
The phraseology is emphatic,-" ye will do." The term " will"
is not here the mere sign of futurition,-it denotes disposition,
determination, choice.'Ye will do the evil things which your
infernal father wishes for.' It is a phrase of the same kind as" If any man will be my disciple;" " If any man will do the will
of God, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of GocL"'
Johlln vii. 17




470                    MISCELLANEOUS.                 [EXP. XI,
The Jews were not merely occasionally, by strong temptation,
induced to do what is in accordance with the devil's desires, but
their desires were so habitually consentaneous with his, that in
seeking to gratify themselves, they produced the result which he
desired. They were cheerful servants-voluntary slaves.
In the middle part of the verse, our Lord intimates the particular points of similarity of character and conduct which proved
them the moral progeny, the self-surrendered property, of the
wicked one.  "He was a murderer from  the beginning."  He
was a manslayer, a homicide,' from the beginning.' The reference here is plainly to the history of the fall of man. " From
the beginning,"-is equivalent to-' from  the very origin of the
human race.' Man was formed immortal. It was in consequence
of the sin which was brought about by the temptation of the
devil that the awful sentence was pronounced, "Dust thou art,
and unto dust shalt thou return."  It is said, "By man came
death;"' with equal truth may it be said,'By the devil came
death.' To use the language of an apocryphal writer, "God
made not death. He created man to be immortal, and made
him an image of his own eternity: but through the devil's envy
or malignity came death into the world."' All the death, temporal, spiritual, and eternal, in the world, is ultimately his work;
and, perhaps, on this account, he receives the fearful appellation,
"'; He that has the power of death."'" In all the extent of meaning belonging to the term, then, he is a murderer. Our Lord's
words were plainly fitted, and intended, to excite the thought,'And are not ye his children? You are seeking to murder me,
an innocent man. Verily, ye do the deeds of your father.'
Another leading feature in the devil's character is his falsehood. Malignity guides him in the choice of ends, and falsehood
characterizes the means he employs to gain these ends.  "He
abode not in the truth."   These words have often, perhaps
generally, been considered as stating that the devil did not persevere in that state of integrity in which he was created.  He
was formed, no doubt, like the rest of the angels, in the moral
image of God, of which truth is a leading feature; and he certainly did not continue possessed of this image. But we doubt
the accuracy of this interpretation. Surely it could not be said
of Satan before his fall,'there was no truth in him.' In this
case, a thing would be represented as the cause of itself. Besides,
the word translated " abode," though it wears the preterite form,
uniformly, both in the classics and in the New Testament, is
used in a present sense, —  He abides,' literally, he stands,' not
in the truth.' It refers to his habitual character as false. He
is habitually untrue; he has no liking for what is real; his delight is in delusion and errcr, wrong thought, false feeling, de6 avopwnarKrovoC.
7 " Liick6, De Wett6, and Nitzsch have maintained a reference to the murder
of Abel by Cain. 1 John iii. 18.-This, however, evidently takes away from the
depth of the meaning."-OLsHAusrx.
I Gen. iii. 19. 1 Car. xv. 21.  9 Wind. ii 23, 24  l0 I-eb ii. 1L4




PART III.]    SPIRITUAL PATERNITY OF THE JEWS.           471
ceitful conduct. He stands not in the truth; and the reason is,
since he became depraved, "there is no truth in him." The
great radical falsehood, which forms, as it were, the very moral
nature of the devil, is, that happiness, true life, is not in God,
and is to be obtained out of Him, away from Him, opposed to
Him. This is the lie of lies, by which the devil deceives himself,
and deceives all who yield themselves to his influence. And
here, as in the former case, our Lord's words are plainly intended
to suggest the thought,-' In falsehood, as well as in malignity,
you.,bear the image-you do the deeds-of your father. You
hate truth; you love falsehood. By the most deceitful means,
you endeavor to accomplish your malignant ends. Are ye not,
then, of your father the devil?'
The concluding clause of the verse has been variously interpreted, according as it has been considered as referring to the
devil, or to the person who is of the devil. The first is the more
ordinary way of explaining it.  " When he,"-that is, the devil,
-"speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own.""  When he utters
falsehood, he acts according to his nature, his own proper character; "for he is," and ever has been since his apostasy, "a liar, and
the father of it." There is no antecedent to " it." Lying, as implied in the word "liar," has generally been understood. He is
the father of lying,-the first liar in the universe of the God of
truth, and the cause, direct or remote, of all the falsehood that
ever has been in it. This is very good sense; it is in accordance
with the -facts of the case, and very well corresponds with the
context.
Some, however, perceiving, what there can be no doubt of, that
the natural translation of the last clause is,'and so is his father,'
and seeing, at the same time, how inapplicable these words would
be to the devil, have supposed that the statement does not refer
to him, but to any one of the Jews who were " of him " as their
father,-rendering the passage, " When any one of you speaketh
a lie, he speaketh like his kindred; for he is a liar, and so is his
father."'He belongs to a family whose vernacular tongue is
falsehood. No wonder he lies; the wonder would be if he spoke
truth.' Though this view is taken by some excellent scholars,'2
we, upon the whole, prefer the more common one.
Our Lord goes on to state, that so completely did they resemble their father in their hatred to truth, that the very reason why
they did not believe Him, was that he told them the truth. Had
he concealed, had he denied, the truth,-had he told a falsehood,
-then they would have believed him. Ay, when what they
thought he had said was indeed a falsehood, then they had believed him; for so long as they thought that he was the Messiah
they were expecting, they were disposed to be his disciples; —no
sooner did they know the truth, than it was "Away with him;
away with him." They were as much opposed as the devil him11 Porphyry, speaking of demons, says r- peMvo roVTrot OiECSiuO.
12 Bishop Mliddleton, G(rotius, Waketield.




472                  MISCELLANEOUS.               [EXP. XI.
self to the truth,-refusing to receive our Lord's doctri te, not only
although it was truth, but because it was truth.  " And because
I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.'"3
The leading idea is,'Falsehood has laid such fast hold of, has
taken such deep root in, your minds,-you so firmly believe a
lie,-that truth, instead of being a recommendation to my statements, is the very thing which prevents you from receiving them.'
They had professed faith in him; but that was when they were
in a mistake respecting his character. They had concluded that
he was "the Messiah," understanding by that word a temporal
deliverer. Viewing him in this false light, they were quite ready
to be his followers; but no sooner had he told them the truth,
that the liberty he came to bestow was a liberty of mind and
heart, to be produced by the operation of his doctrine understood
and believed, than they retracted their profession,-they would
not acknowledge him as the Messiah,-they would not " continue
in his word,"-they would not be " his disciples."  Had he told
them a lie,-had he flattered their prejudices,-had he promised
to "restore the kingdom to Israel," in their sense of these terms,
-then they would have believed him, then they would have followed wherever he chose to lead. But because he told them the
truth, that he was not a temporal deliverer, but a spiritual Saviour,
-"therefore," on that very ground, they disbelieved him, and
were disposed not only to " go back, and walk no more with
him," but even to wish and to plot his destruction. They thus
showed that they not only had no appetite for truth, but a positive
distaste for it, and proved their spiritual relationship to him who
is a liar, who abides not in the truth, in whom there is no truth.
So dangerous is it for the mind to get under the influence of error
respecting the great fundamental principles of religion. It leads,
in innumerable instances, to the mistaking of truth for falsehood,
and falsehood, for truth,-and induces men to receive a doctrine
for the very reason for which they ought to reject it, and to reject
a doctrine for the very reason for which they ought to receive it.
In rejecting our Lord's doctrine, they acted very inconsistently.
On the ground of his miracles, they had professed faith in him.
Now, what had occurred which ought to have shaken that faith?
Was there anything that our Lord had said or done to prove that
he was an impostor,-to neutralize, or more than neutralize, the
evidence which had led them to offer to become his disciples?
This seems the import of the words which follow:-" Which of
you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye
not believe me?"'1
The word " sin" may refer either to conduct or opinion, or
both. It may be eitheT error or fault, or both. The reference
is, I think, primarily to opinion, though our Lord chose, intentionally, a word which had a wider import.  The term "convince " is used in an obsolete sense, as equivalent to' convict.'
There may be cases-they are not of unfrequent occurrence —in
13 John viii. 45,                -4 John viiL 46




PAR' III.]   SPIRITUAL PATERNITY OF THE JEWS.          473
which it is impossible to convince an opponent of error, when it
may still be very reasonable to refuse to believe him. If I can
convict him of error, it is enough. But our Lord sets them at
defiance.'Which of you can convict me of saying or doing
anything which should shake that confidence in me you so lately
expressed? what is there in what I have said since, that can be
disproved? You said you believed me to be a divine messenger;
is there anything I have said, since you made that profession,
that is self-contradictory, that is inconsistent with fact, that is
irreconcilable with any part of the Scriptures, which I, as well
as you, hold to be " given by inspiration of God "? If there is,
you will be able to convict me of sin as a public instructor-that
is, of error-but if, as is the truth, there is none of you who can
thus convict me of sin, why do you not believe me?  Is the evidence of my divine mission less clear and satisfactory than it
was? and if not, what adequate reason can you give why you
do not believe me? No, no; you do not believe my words, because ye do not like my doctrine; and you do not like my doctrine, just because it is truth, and, being truth, will not at all
harmonize with those false sentiments, those lies which, under the
influence of the father of lies, you have systematized in your
minds. The reason why you do not believe me is, not that ye
are of God, as vou profess to be, but because ye are not of God,
but of God's great enemy, the devil.'
"He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear
them  not, because ye are not of God."'5  "IIe that is of God,"
is descriptive of the same person as " a son of God;" but it
seems to describe the person as the peculiar property of God,
just as " to be of the devil," is to belong to the devil. All men
are God's property. All the Jews were God's property, in a
peculiar sense; in a still more peculiar sense, regenerate men are
his property: "The Lord's portion is his people; Israel "-the
spiritual Israel "is the lot of his inheritance."  "The Lord hath
set apart the godly man for himself."'
He who, in this sense, belongs to God, " Heareth God's word."
"' Hears " is equivalent to, listens to-attends to-believes-obeys.
Whatever revelation God makes of his will, accompanying it, as
he always does, with appropriate and adequate evidence, they
who are God's readily embrace it. They say, "Speak, Lord;
for thy servant heareth."  "I will hear what God the Lord will
speak.""
Our Lord obviously here goes on the supposition, that his
words were God's words, and his doctrine was a plain, wellaccredited revelation of the Divine will. All who were God's
readily received his doctrine. They were the good soil, in which
the seed, sown by the Son of man, readily took root, and grew,
and multiplied. Every one who was of the truth, by an elective
attraction, clung to him who is the truth.'"Ye do not hear
15 Joha viii. 47.          1s Deut. xxxii. 9. Psal. iv. 3.
17 1 Sams. iii 9. Psal. lxxxv. 8.




474                  MISCELLANEOUS.               [EXP. XL
God's words" which I speak to you-you will not listen to them
-you do not relish them-you do not understand them-you do
not believe them; and the reason is, not that they are not plain
enough-not that they are not sufficiently attested-but, that
" ye are not of God." Though you belong to the highly-favored
Israelitish people, you are not of God's peculiar people, in the
highest sense of the term. No; you are not of God —you are of
the devil. That explains, fully explains, your not believing my
doctrine-your not continuing in my word —your not being my
disciples indeed.' They who are under the influence of him,
whose leading characters are malignity and falsehood, cannot be
expected readily to receive, keenly to relish, doctrines, the leading characteristics of which are "' grace and truth."
The thus unveiling of their true character, to the self-deluded
proud Jews, was by no means agreeable to them. They shrunk
back from the mirror, would willingly have dashed it to pieces,
and given him who held it up to them substantial tokens of their
dissatisfaction: "Then answered the Jews, and said unto him,
Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan,"8 and hast a devil?""
The Samaritans were a mixed race, partly of Israelitish, and
partly of Gentile origin. They were the objects of the greatest
contempt and dislike on the part of the Jews, who hated them
even more than the pagan nations; and these sentiments were
mutual. To call our Lord a Samaritan, was to give him the most
contemptuous and odious of all names. It was especially to reproach him as an enemy of the holy nations; and they not only
give him this name, but affirm that he richly deserved it —" Say
we not well?"'Is it any reproach? Who, but a sworn foe of
our nation, could have represented us, free-born Israelites, as
slaves? us, the seed of Abraham-us, the children of God-as
the children of the devil? It would require all the malignity and
impudence of a Samaritan, to forge and utter such atrocious
calumnies against the holy nation.' But, as if no malignity,
however great, in connection with a; sane mind, could have induced a person to cast out such opprobrious imputations, they
represent him as a demoniac, as well as a Samaritan. To have
a devil, is to be mad; and not only mad, but mad through
demoniac influence.'What you have said is worse than any
Samaritan would have ventured to say, if he had been in his
sober senses. He must have been deranged, and his derangement must have been of demoniac origin, before lie could have
given vent to words so outrageously absurd, so utterly false, so
atrociously wicked. None but a Samaritan maniac could have
been expected to utter such words anywhere, but especially in this
holy place, which speaks so plainly the sacredness of our people,
and Jehovah's regard for them.'
Oh, the patience of Jehovah! He who was thus contumeliously abused, was the Son of his love, "the brightness of his
18 It is a saying of the Talmud, "Thou art a Cuthite, and no Cuthite can be a
witness."                                    19 John viii. 48.




PART III.]   SPIRITUAL PATERNITY OF THE JEWS.          475
glory, the express image of his person;" and his abusers, the
creatures of his hand, rebellious creatures, who owed it to the
riches of his long-suffering that they were not in the region of
hopeless misery, suffering to their utmost capacity of sufferingand he has but to will it, and they sink into annihilation, or are
plunged into perdition.  "Consider, also, HIM, who endureth
such contradiction of sinners against himself." Oh, how did
heaven and earth stand contrasted on this occasion!  The
heavenly tranquillity of the Saviour's mind remained undisturbed.
Holy displeasure, melting pity, possessed his heart. He renders
not railing for railing, but calmly vindicates himself, and warns
them of the fearful responsibility they were so recklessly incurring.
" Jesus answered, I have not a devil: but I honor my Father,
and ye do dishonor me. And I seek not mine own glory:
there is One that seeketh and judgeth.""  Our Lord takes no
notice of the first reproach. He perhaps passes it over as unworthy of answer, the mere outburst of irritated wanton malice,
or perhaps his silence was intended to intimate, that the distinction between Jews and Samaritans was soon to be abolished, and
that order of things introduced in which there is neither Jew nor
Gentile, —in which neither does circumcision nor uncircumcision
avail anything, —in which, as to religion, all such external distinctions are unknown, and a man is honored, just as he is under the
influence of " faith that worketh by love."
In reply to the second reproachful charge, he satisfies himself
with merely denying it.  "I have not a devil."  "I" is emphatic. The words intimate,'whoever may be under demoniac
influence, it is not I.' Indeed, as was said on another occasion,
" His words were not the words of one that had a devil." Nothing incoherent, nothing malignant, nothing untrue. No, "he
was not mad, he had spoken the words of truth and soberness."
It is as if he had said,' That is not the state of the case. The
state of the case is this, "I am honoring my Father, and ye are
dishonoring me."' Well did our Lord know he had only to
flatter the prejudices of his countrymen, and their hearts would
have been as the heart of one man, to place him on the throne
of his father David. But his Father in heaven had sent him on
another errand, and nothing could divert him from executing it.
He would deliver His message, however it might be received;
he would do his will, whatever might be the consequence. He
was honoring his Father by discharging the work he had given
him to do; and, while he was honoring his Father, they were dishonoring him, treating him like an impostor and maniac.
He adds, "I seek not my own glory."'If I did, I should not
have told you the truth. Had my own aggrandizement been my
object, I should have followed another course; and my not obtaining "glory"-a good opinion-from  you, no way disheartens
me.' "There is One who seeketh," that is,'who seeketh my
20 John viii. 49, 50.




476                   MISCELLANEOUS.               [EXP. XI.
glory. There is One who will look after my reputation. There
is One who is pledged in holy covenant to make me his first-born,
"higher than the kings of the earth." And he who seeketh my
glory, "judgeth." He will sit in judgment on your judgment,
and "His judgment will be according to the truth."' 2  The
words seem plainly intended to intimate, in a very impressive
way, the fearful responsibility they had incurred. He was doing
his Father's will: they were treating him with contumely. His
Father was seeking the honor of his faithful servant, his beloved
Son; and dreadful would be the manifestation of His displeasure
against those who, so far as lay in their power, had put to shame
the God-man, whom He delights to honor.
Our Lord adds, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep
my saying, he shall never see death.""2 The coherence of thought
here, is not very easily perceived. The connection has been variously stated. Some have supposed that these words were intended as a proof, that his doctrine was not of infernal, but of
celestial, origin, from its benignant tendency and effects; and others, that they were meant as evidence that he did not seek his
own glory, for, instead of dwelling on his own vindication, he
proceeds to show them who had reproached him, the way to be
saved. A third class, with greater probability, think these words
were addressed to his true followers who were present. While
they who would not honor him by receiving his words as God's
words, should be judged, condemned, punished, doomed to the
second death, cast into the lake of fire, "they who kept his saying should never see death."
To " keep our Lord's saying," or word, is the same, thing as to
"abide in his word," or to " have his word abiding in us."  To
receive our Lord's word is to understand and believe it, and yield
to its influence-to give it a lodging-place in the mind, conscience,
and heart; and to keep it, is to persevere in this, to let it dwell
in us, to keep it in memory, to continue believing it, and, what
follows as a matter of course, to continue yielding to its influence.
Now, of those who thus receive our Lord's words, he says,
"They shall not see death."  This statement admits of two
modes of interpretation. They both agree in this, that they consider "to see death," as equivalent to, "to die," according to the
Jewish idiom, in which, "to see," as well as "to taste," is often
equivalent to, "to  experience."23  Some consider the word
"death" as signifying death properly so called,-the state of disunion between the body and the soul; and as the keeping of
Christ's word gives no exemption from the operation of the great
general law of fallen humanity —" Dust thou art, and unto dust
shalt thou return,"-they would render the words, "shall not
taste death for ever"-shall not remain for ever in a state of
21, It was not for him to contend with them about this: that would be done
by the Father." —-TaoLucK.
22 John viii. 51.                 23 Psal. lxxxix. 48; xvi 10.




PART III.]   SPIRITUAL PATERNITY OF THE JEWS.            477
death-shall obtain a glorious resurrection. They must die, but
they shall not die for ever. They shall be "raised up again at
the last day." In this case, the passage is exactly parallel with
chap. vi. 39, 40: "And this is the Father's will which hath sent
me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing,
but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will
of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him
up at the last day."  This brings out a very good sense. But
the second mode of interpretation seems on the whole preferable,
in which death is considered as a general name for all the misery
to which man is exposed on account of sin.  "Not to taste
death," in this sense, is just " not to perish, but to have everlasting life," —to be delivered from all evil, to obtain possession of
all good. Death is evil-life is good. It is plain our Lord very
often uses the terms in this acceptation.  "He that believeth on
the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son
shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." " Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not
come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
" This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man
may eat thereof and not die."  "Jesus said unto her, I am the
resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he
were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth, and believeth
in me, shall never die. Believest thou this?",24 He who perseveres in the faith of our Lord's word, shall not " perish, but shall
have eternal life"-obtain true permanent happiness. Both expressions refer to both parts of man's complex nature.  His soul
shall not perish-shall not be miserable; but shall live —be happy.
His body shall not perish-shall not ultimately be lost; it shall
live —it shall be re-united to his spirit, and, along with it, enjoy
a perfect, ever-enduring happiness. As the apostle states the
whole doctrine: "The body is dead because of sin; but the
spirit is life because of righteousness; and if the Spirit of him
that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised
up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies
by his Spirit that dwelleth in you."25 They who keep our Lord's
words are ultimately to be placed in a state where there is no
death in any sense of the word. " The last enemy, death, shall
be destroyed," —cast into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Death is to be " swallowed up in victory." As it was said to the
Jews when about to pass through the Red Sea, so may it be said
to saints, even when just about to die, " The enemy whom ye
have seen to-day, ye shall see no more for ever.""2
This most gracious declaration was not received in the spirit
in which it was made. As Matthew Henry says, " Instead of
laying hold on this precious promise of immortality, they laid
24 John iii. 36; v. 24; vi. 50; xi. 25, 26.  25 Rom. viii. 10, 11.
26 1 Cor. xv. 26. Rev. xx. 14. Exod. xiv. 13.




478                  MISCELLANEOUS.             [EXP. XI,
hold on this occasion to reproach, as a demoniac madman, him
who made them so kind an offer." "Then said the Jews unto
him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and
the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall
never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest
thou thyself?"2' As if they had said:'There can be no doubt
now that the man is mad-deranged by the insanity of pride.
Was there ever such intolerable arrogance?  Surely the man
who speaks so cannot be in his sound mind?' Nothing but derangement, in their estimation,.could have dictated so absurd
and presumptuous a declaration. They propose, therefore, the
questions:' Do you really mean to represent yourself as greater
(a more illustrious person, possessed of higher powers) than
Abraham, our honored progenitor, or than the holy prophets, by
asserting that you have the faculty of giving immortal life to
your followers? "Whom makest thou thyself to be?" What are
the limits of your pretensions; or have they any limits at all?'
IV. -THE PRE-EXISTENCE AND DIVINITY OF CHRIST.
JOHN VIII. 54-59.
The principle on which these questions of the Jews proceed,
is obviously a just one, that in promising immortality to all who
kept his words, there was implied a claim of superiority to Abraham, and to all the prophets: and, you will observe, our Lord by
no means disowns the claim. "Jesus answered, If I honor myself,,my honor is nothing: it is my Father that honoreth me;
of whom ye say, that he is your God. Yet ye have not known
him; but I know him; and if I should say, I know him not, I
shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his
saying."28
These words are equivalent to,' I am greater than Abraham
-I am greater than the prophets-I am warranted to promise
what they would not have been warranted to promise —I am able
to do what they were not able to do; and as to your question,
Whom make I myself to be? it is not I who make myself anything. I have not glorified myself by assuming of my own
accord the high characters which I bear.  I am, as a divine
messenger, what my Father has constituted me. If my claims
were unsupported claims, I should deserve no honor. But the
Father has honored me; he has conferred on me great and
peculiar powers, which raise me far above Abraham-far above
all the prophets; and he has in the fulfilment of Old Testament
prophecy, and in the miraculous works which by his power I
have performed, clearly and distinctly intimated that he hath
thus honored n.e. I am his sent and sealed messenger; and
the Father who hath thus honored me is He of whom ye say
27 Jo5hl'ii 52, 53.         23 John viii. 54, 55.




PART IV.]  PRE-EXISTENCE AND DIVINITY OF CHRIST.     479
that he is your God. I have, therefore, the strongest claim on
your belief and obedience. The commission I bear is from
Jehovah, whom ye acknowledge to be the only true God-to be
your God. My credentials are signed and sealed by his own
hand. If you really had that intelligent regard for Jehovah's
will which you say you have, you would acknowledge me to be
what he has constituted me, and declared me to be.' But, whatever you say, he is not your God in the true sense
of the word. He cannot be the God of those who know him
not; and it is plain ye have not known him —it is plain ye are
ignorant of his true character.  You do not understand the
revelation of his will, made to you in the Old Testament Scriptures. If you did, you would recognize in me his image, and in
my doctrine the full development of the mystery partially unfolded
by the prophets.'
"But I know him."'I am intimately, fully, acquainted with
his character and will; and, therefore, however contrary to your
conceptions and wishes, I unhesitatingly declare the truth concerning him.' "I proceeded forth, and came from him."'In
the beginning, I was with him-in his bosom-so that I cannot
but know him; and, knowing him, I trust in him.' "If I
should say, I know him not, I should be a liar like unto you:
but I know him and keep his saying."'Should I, to ingratiate
myself with you, or to avoid your attempts to destroy me, conceal or deny that intimate and peculiar knowledge of God to
which I have so often laid claim, then I should be guilty of falsehood, as ye are, when ye say that he is your God, and that you
know him. Your claim, that God is your God, and that you
know Him, is false; and my denial that He is my Father, and
that I know Him, would be equally false. But that I will never
do. No, I do know Him. I know His character; I know His
will; and I evidence this knowledge by keeping His saying.'
"The Father's word," or " saying," here plainly refers to what
our Lord elsewhere calls his " commandment." It is the commission given him as the Saviour of men, —His instructions as
to all that he was to say, and do, and suffer for man's salvation.
In'the whole work of our salvation, the Son was the Father's
servant. He came to do his will, and he was his righteous faithful servant.  He was "faithful to him  that appointed him."
"His meat was to do the will of his Father, and to finish his
work." He did always the thing that pleased Him. He "kept
his word." He persevered in doing his will, till he could say, " I
have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which
thou gavest me to do."29
The words which follow, " Your father Abraham rejoiced to
see my day: and he saw it, and was glad,""-though not connected with what immediately precedes them,-naturally rose
out of the course of the conversation. They look back to our
29 Heb. iii 2. John iv. 34' xvii 4.       30 John Vii. 56.




480                  MISCELLANEOUS.               [EXP. XI.
Lord's statement at the 40th verse, as well as to the Jews' question
at the 53d verse.
Viewed in reference to the former, the train of thought seems
to be,'I said to you a little ago, that you could not be the
spiritual children of Abraham, for your conduct to me is very
different from what his would have been,-yes, very different
from what his has been.  You seek to kill me.  "Abraham,"
whom you call "your father, rejoiced to see my day: and he saw
it, and was glad."'
Viewed in reference to the latter, the train of thought seems
to be,'You  ask me if I were greater than  Abraham-let
Abraham himself answer the question. Abraham's conduct in
reference to me evidences the estimation in which he held me.
" Abraham, your father, rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it,
and was glad."'
Interpreters are greatly divided as to the meaning of these
words. As to the import of the expression, " my day,"3' there
is little room for diversity of opinion. Strange notions have,
however, been entertained about it. In the whole of this discourse, our Lord plainly proceeds on the principle that he was
the Messiah. His " day," then, is just the period of the economy
which takes its name from him, beginning with his incarnation.
and reaching to the end of the world, with the delightful
and glorious events by which that period was to be distinguished.
The phrase may be illustrated by the similar phrases, " days of
Noe, "" "days of his flesh.""3   But while there is generally
agreement as to the meaning and reference of this phrase, there
is great variety of sentiment respecting the other parts of the declaration.
As they stand in our version, they seem to be a strong declaration that Abraham saw our Lord's day, and that the sight
filled him with delight. The two clauses of the verse seem just
synonymous, the sentiment being repeated to mark it emphatic,'Abraham rejoiced to see my day: yes, he saw my day, and was
glad.' But our version does not very accurately express the
meaning of the original; and if we look closely at the words, we
find that the statements in the two clauses, though closely related, are not synonymous. Some, dissatisfied, as they well may
be, with our version, render the words,'Your father Abraham
would have rejoiced to see my day; and indeed he did see it, and
was glad. It would have delighted Abraham to have seen me
as you see me. This delight was denied him; but even the prophetic view he had of my day filled him with joy. Though he
did not "receive the promise,"-that is, the promised blessing,he saw it afar off, he embraced it; and this filled him with holy
exultation.' This is good enough sense, but it is not, any more
than our version, the meaning of the original words. The same
fatal objection lies against a mode of interpretation very generally
31,'The days of the Messiah' is a standing form among the Rabbins."-TauoLUCK.            32 Matt. xxiv. 37.         33 Heb. v. 7.




PART IV.]  PRE-EXISTENCE AND DIVINITY OF CHRIST.         481
adopted. Abraham  earnestly desired, like the " many kings and
righteous men" referred to by our Lord on another occasion,'to see my day, and his desire was fulfilled; a revelation was
made to him on the subject, —he saw it and was glad.' The
phrase " rejoiced to see my day," is plainly what has been termed
a pregnant phrase; —it encloses in it an idea not distinctly expressed. It is equivalent to,'rejoiced in the expectation that liewould see;' just as we say,' I am very glad to meet with my
friend,'-that is, I am very glad in the prospect of meeting him.
The first step to right exposition is correct translation; and I
think there can be no doubt that the strictly correct rendering of
the words is,'Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see
my day: and he saw it, or has seen it, and was glad, or has been
gladdened.' Now what is the meaning of these words?  It has
been supposed that the first clause refers to an expectation which
Abraham at one time of his life had, that a revelation would be
made to him respecting the Messiah; and the second clause, to
the fulfilment of that expectation, when such a revelation was
made to him. There is nothing, however, in the inspired history
which would lead us to suppose that Abraham receive dany promise from God, that at some future period of his life he should
have a revelation about the Messiah made to him.
I apprehend that the joyful expectation of seeing the Messiah's
day, referred to in the first clause, grew out of the promise made
to Abraham, " In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be
blessed.""' Abraham could scarcely doubt that the expression,
"thy seed," referred, not to his descendants generally, as it obviously does in the preceding promise, but to some one illustrious descendant. The number is changed from the plural to the
singular;" and perhaps it is this that Paul, in the Epistle to the
Galatians, had in his eye, when he said, referring to this very
promise, "He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of
one, And to thy seed, which is Christ."6" And he could as
little doubt that this illustrious descendant, in whom all the
families of the earth were to be blessed, was the same glorious
deliverer who, from the beginning, had been made known under
the name of the woman's seed, as the conqueror of man's great
enemy —the old serpent. This promise was the object of Abraham's undoubting unbelief.  "He staggered not at the promise:
of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving gloryto God; and being fully persuaded, that what He had promised
He was able also to perform.""7
On the ground of that promise, Abraham joyfully expected to
see the Messiah's day. It is not at all probable, that Abraham
indulged any hope of seeing the Messiah's day during his mortal
life. What God revealed to him respecting his posterity for
34 Gen. xxii. 18.
35 Gen. xxii. 17.-In the beginning of the verse it is a multitude of individuals,.'like the stars of heaven;" in the end, it is one individual-" his enemies."
36 GaL iii. 16.                         37 Raom iv. 20, 21.
VOL. I.                   31




482                  MISCELLANEOUS.               [EXP. XI.
four hundred years,"8 must have prevented any such expectation. It is plain, however, from the declaration of the apostle,
that Abraham, like the other patriarchs "who have obtained a
good report through faith," " died in faith, not having received
the promises, but having seen them afar off, and was persuaded
of them, and embraced them, and confessed that he was a
stranger and pilgrim on the earth. For he, saying such things,
declared plainly that he sought a country.  And, truly, if he
had been mindful of that country from whence he came out, he
might have had opportunity to have returned. But now he desired a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is
not ashamed to be called his God; for he hath prepared for him
a city."'9 It is plain from this passage, that the patriarch expected to live with God in a city, which had foundations in a
better country, after death. In like manner, Abraham rejoiced
in the expectation that, at the appointed time, he should see
"his seed" blessing all nations:-' Now,' says our Lord,' this
expectation has not been disappointed. Abraham has seen my
day: Abraham in paradise sees-knows-that my day is come.40
He is aware that I have appeared, "in the end of the age, to
take away sin by the sacrifice of myself;" and to lay deep the
foundation of that kingdom which is to embrace all nations.'
There is a connection between the church on earth and the
church in heaven, a connection probably much more extensive
and intimate than we generally apprehend. Conversions rejoice
angels: "There is joy in heaven," among the angels of God,
"over one sinner that repenteth."  Can we suppose that the
spirits of the just made perfect are ignorant of such events, or
unaffected by them?  "Jacob," is said by Isaiah, speaking of
the very same event and period, viz., the coming and times of
the Messiah —" Jacob," who had long ago been dead as to the
body, and gathered to his fathers, his own people, both as to
body and soul —" Jacob," plainly viewed as in the abodes of the
blessed, is said, "not to be ashamed," that is, to exult; and " his
face" is said "not to wax pale," that is, to beam with joy and
gladness.1' Abraham  in paradise has seen my day, and has
rejoiced.' The events which took place at Bethlehem, w'hen the
Saviour was born, were undoubtedly well known in heaven.
Was there one there more likely to be deeply interested in them
than Abraham? And can we suppose that the anthem, heard
by the shepherds, was not sung in yet fuller chorus in the upper
sanctuary, or that any one of the heavenly harpers struck the
chords with a more willing hand than the patriarch, or with a
louder, sweeter, voice cried, "2Alleluia! Glory to God in the
highest, on earth peace, good-will toward men!"  May we not
suppose Abraham saying, in transport, " My seed is now come,
and in him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,"-Jacob,
33 Gen. xv. 13.                         39 IIeb. xi. 13-16.
40 The view taken of this paqsage is substantially that of Maldonatus, Lamp6,
jKuinoel, Li eke, and Tholuck.             4' Isa. xxix. 22.




PART IV.]  PRE-EXISTENCE AND DIVINITY OF CHRIST.      483
"Shiloh is come, and to him the gathering of the people shall
be,"-David, "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we
will rejoice and be glad in it,"-Isaiah, " The virgin has conceived and brought forth a son: to us a child is born, to us a
son is given," —Habakkuk, " He that should come, has come,"Zechariah, "Behold the man whose name is The Branch; and
he shall grow up out of this place," —Micah, " Out of Bethlehem
comes forth He who shall be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth
have been of old from everlasting,""-Malachi, "The Sun of
righteousness has arisen with healing in his wings," —and all
with one voice joyfully exclaiming, " Blessed be he who cometh
in the name of the Lord "? How far Abraham, or any of the
departed believers, were enlightened as to the course and termination of that wonderful work which " the promised seed " had
commenced on earth, we cannot tell; but they knew that its object was most benignant, and that its ultimate complete success
was absolutely certain. With the angels, they were stooping
down" to contemplate the unfolding scene of wonder; fand as they
contemplated, while they must often have been amazed at " the
depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God," and
even confounded at the strangeness of many of his dispensations,
yet with perfect confidence in his faithfulness, they waited the result, and rejoiced in the assurance of faith and hope, and all the
glorious things which had been spoken of Messiah and his reign,
were in sure progress towards complete realization.
Such seems to me, upon the whole, the most probable interpretation of this somewhat obscure passage.'Abraham  your
father, while on earth, received divine communications respecting my appearance among men, and its glorious results; he
firmly believed them; in the expectation of their realization, he
rejoiced on earth, he-rejoices in paradise. He has now seen their
commenced fulfilment-he has seen my day, and he has rejoiced
-he is rejoicing.'
It may be doubted how far the Jews understood our Lord's
words. Whether they misapprehended them or not, it is plain
they misrepresented them. They took for granted, that our
Lord had asserted that he and Abraham had been personally
acquainted; and then, referring to his apparent age, asked contemptuously if he had seen Abraham, who had been so many
hundred years in his grave. "Then said the Jews unto him,
Thou art not yet fifty years olu, and hast thou seen Abraham?"'
You see, in this question, the same stupid and carnal arrogance, already so often manifested in the course of this conversation, which altogether indisposed the Jews to enter with seriousness on the examination of what our Lord said to them. They
could not help seeing that he was speaking of something more
profound than the words in their most obvious meaning seemed
to indicate; but they would not give themselves the trouble of
searching more deeply; and therefore with sarcastic haughtiness,
42'erLv/ioVit wrapaK1iat.-i Pet. t 12  43 John viii. 57




484                  MISCELLANEOLS.               [EXP. XI.
seek in this a new proof of mental derangement. Wresting
the words of our Lord, as if he had spoken of an earthly intercommunion with Abraham, they exclaim,'Who but a madman
would talk, as if he and Abraham, who has been more than
eighteen centuries in his grave, were contemporaries and intimate
friends?'
It mav be asked, How came the Jews to speak of our Lord as
a man of fifty, when in reality he was little more than thirty?
Josephus tells, that fifty years was by the Jews considered as the
full age of man; on which account, the Levites never performed
their official duty in the temple after the fiftieth year. It is as if
they had said,' You are not an old man; you have not completed
half a century. How could you and Abraham be intimates?
He has been in his grave for many a century.' It is, however,
not improbable that our Lord's bodily and mental labors and
fatigues had given him prematurely the appearance of age.
Though a man of thirty, he might look like a man of fifty. So
far as inward trouble expresses itself in the lineaments of the
countenance, and external appearance, it is likely that "the
visage of the man of sorrows was" literally "more marred than
that of any man, and his form than that of the sons of men;"
that "heavy hours," even more than "time's deforming hand,
had written strange defeatures in his face."
Our Lord had not said, that he'had seen Abraham.' This
was a perverse construction, by which the Jews endeavored to
turn him and his discourse into ridicule. He might have said,'You triumph before you have gained the victory. You correct
where no mistake has been committed. I did not say, I had
seen Abraham. I have said nothing but what might have been
true, though I had not been twenty, not to say fifty years old.'
But he admits that their inference, though not fairly drawn from
his words, yet contained in it an important truth. It was quite
true he had seen Abraham; and though, as a man, he was not
yet fifty years old, in another respect, a far higher antiquity beionged to him than to Abraham.
"Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before
Abraham was, I am.""' In these words he claims to have existed
before the age of Abraham. The words of the Jews narrowed
the argument as to being greater than Abraham, to the. point of
co-existence.' Art thou as old as Abraham?' As we have seen,
he might have replied,'I did not say so.' But he prefers saying
— what, from their considering it as involving blasphemy, was
plainly viewed by them as a decided affirmative answer to their
question —' I am older than Abraham. I existed before Abraham  existed.' Though, beyond all doubt, this is the general
meaning, yet there is a peculiarity, and therefore a difficulty, in
the mode of expression. " Before Abraham was, I am,:' not,' I
~409Z.' It has been supposed by some interpreters, that " I am,"
is used in the same way as at verses 24, 28; chap. xiii. 19; Mark
e4 John viii. 58.




PART IV.]  PRE-EXISTENCE AND DIVINITY OF CHRIST.             485
xiii. 6; Matth. xxiv. 5.  In this case, the meaning would be,'Before Abraham  was, I am the Messiah-' This, however, involves a solecism-a present event cannot be prior to one past.
The passage admits of two modes of interpretation. The principle of the first of these modes of interpretation is, that the present
time is not unfrequently used for the past, especially when the
thing which is said to have been at a past time, still continues to
exist; and that, "I am," is here equivalent to'I was.""  The
words, in this case, signify,' Before Abraham was brought into
existence, I existed.' The objection to this mode of interpretation is, that there does not seem any adequaate reason for thus
adopting a not unprecedented, indeed, but certainly an uncommon, mode of expression; and the declaration, included in the
words thus understood, ththough so strange as naturally enough to
induce suspicions as to the sanity of him who uttered them, was
not of a kind to lay him open to a charge of blasphemy, which,
by their seeking to stone him, the Jews showed that they thought
he had incurred. The second mode of interpretation seems to
us the just one. "I am," is to be understood as a proper name.
4' I AMt, was before Abraham."  When our Lord spoke of himself, he often used the third person, and for obvious reasons.
For example: " God gave his only begotten Son."  "The Son
of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."  " Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye
have no life in you."  "Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on
the right hand of the power of God."'6 In all these expressions,
there is an implied claim on the part of our Lord to the character
designated by the appellation used. " I AMx," was a name of the
Supreme Being, well known to the Jews. It was the name by
which God made himrself known to Moses at the bush,-" the
God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.""
The very words employed by the evangelist, are the translation
ordinarily given in the Septuagint," of an expression often used
to denote the  Eternal independent existence."  "I AM-the
eternal, independent One,-was before Abraham.'Abraham's
God existed along with him, and before him, and this appellation belongs to me.' No doubt the Jews understood it so; and
they were correct in their conclusion, that it was eternal existence, not mere pre-existence, that he claimed; and, consequently,
they proceeded to deal with him as a blasphemer.
45 Luke xv. 31. John i 18. PsaL cx. 2.
t6 Luke xix. 10. John vi 53. Luke xxii. 69.
47 " And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel,
and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and
they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God
said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the
children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." —Exod. iii. 13, 14.
43 Nin  %XN.   Eyw E&,1_1,.
t9 Deut. xxxii. 39. Isa. xli. 4; xliii. 10, 13; xlvi. 4; xlviii. 12.
"u In this case, Eyd  eilt is used as an indeclinable noun, and the full construction
is, A'yo w-ditv'A/pat/ l, yelt,cOat, EFi EIMI' yevPaOal,  The word signifies not only
X to begin to be," but simply " to be-"




486                  MISCELLANEOUS.               [EXP. XI.
This is one of the passages which have greatly perplexed those
theologians who consider Jesus Christ as merely a man of our own
order, the son of Joseph and Mary; and the shifts they have had
recourse to in order to explain away the obvious meaning of the
words, strikingly show how deeply they feel that this passage, understood in any sense which can be called natural, is fatal to their
whole system. They complain, that the words are not explicit.
What would they have? Had the question been, Whether the
son of Mary or the son of Germanicus, was the elder person; and
had it been said in reply,'I assuredly declare unto you, Jesus
was before Caligula,' would not the answer have been plain
enough? Or is there any want of explicitness in the declaration
of Moses —" Before the mountains were brought into existence,
thou art"?6
These expositors have chiefly two ways of endeavoring to avoid
the conclusion to which the natural interpretation of the words so
directly leads. They suppose the words equivalent to,'Before
Abraham existed, I am,' that is,'I was, the Messiah in the Divine
purpose.' This is no doubt the truth; but it is truth put into, not
drawn out of, these words. Had our Lord meant to say this, he
could have easily found words clearly to express it.'Before
Abraham existed, I was fore-ordained; my day was appointed,
my kingdom was prepared, in the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, and God showed it by his Spirit to Abraham.'
Besides, this is no answer to the Jews' question, " Art thou older
than Abraham?" and it affords no ground for their considering
our Lord as a blasphemer, and therefore worthy of being put to
death by stoning. Indeed it seems to make our Lord's reply a
puerile absurdity.' Before Abraham existed in the purpose of
God, I was the Messiah in the same purpose and decree.'
Another plan of explaining away the obvious meaning of the
words, not destitute of ingenuity, but utterly unsatisfactory, is to
consider them as equivalent to-' Before Abram became Abraham,-that is, a father of many nations, —I am the Messiah whom
he desired to see, and in whom all nations are to be blessed.' It
is quite plain that "such a meaning could never have been penetrated by those to whom the words were addressed; that it was
quite foreign to the purpose of the immediate conversation between them and our Lord; and that it represents our Lord as condescending to a childish punning, altogether incongruous to, and
unworthy of, his serious and elevated character.""  It creates a
harsh ellipsis, and arbitrarily supplies it; and, as is admitted by
one of the most zealous philanthropists,"~ " it is a trifling proposition, unworthy of the solemnity with which it is introduced, that
Christ existed as the Messiah before an event which it was known
was not to happen till many years or ages afterwards."
This is one of the numerous passages in which our Saviour
proclaims himself more than a mere man,-one in whom dwells
a superior, a celestial, the divine, nature; and the Jews well un51 Pye Smith.     52 Pye Smith.     5a Belsham.




PART IV.]  PRE-EXISTENCE AND DIVINITY OF CHRIST.      487
derstood what our Lord meant. They did not misapprehend the
reference of the emphatic I AM. They regarded our Lord's words
as blasphemy-a making himself equal with God,-and they
wished to stone him. They considered the guilt of blasphemy as
so indubitable, that they were desirous of immediately putting
him to death in an extra-judicial manner.
"' Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them,
and so passed by.""4  This discourse took place in one of the
courts of the temple. The great repairs, commenced under Herod
the Great, were still going forward, so that loose stones in abundance lay at hand. There was no want of will, no want of power,
no want of opportunity, for putting our Lord to the death of a
blasphemer-for treating him as his martyr Stephen was afterwards treated. But his hour was not yet come. The same divine
power which protected Moses and Aaron when the congregation
bade stone them with stones,"5 protected Him of whom they both
were emblems-the Apostle and High Priest of our profession.
How the protection was afforded, whether miraculously or not, is
a question which the words of the inspired historian do not enable us to determine with absolute certainty. When we consider the circumstances of the case, it seems not improbable that
there was something supernatural in it; for how could he, in such
circumstances, even supposing a number of the crowd to have
been his friends, in such a place as the court of the temple, hide
himself from those whom he had just been addressing, who seem
to have been around him on all sides, and who obviously were
strongly bent on his destruction? The divine power, which
made the armed bands fall backward at his word, could easily —
for to it nothing is impossible-in a variety of ways, which we
may be unable to explain, have provided for his safety. There
may have been a miraculous concealment-the eyes of his enemies might be holden, so as not to see him."5
At the same time, it is quite possible that our Lord's escape,
though providential, might not be miraculous. If the multitude
was very large and closely pressed together, he might, while his
enemies were stooping for the instrunments of his murder, have
plunged into the depth of the dense crowd, and, gradually gliding through among them, found his way out of the temple. It deserves to be noticed, that the concluding clause, "going through
the midst of them, and so passed by," is, by the most learned edi.
tors of the New Testament, considered as an interpolation.
Let us, my brethren, follow Jesus as "the light of the world."
It is only by acting thus-by believing, obeying, and imitating
him, that we, who are by nature " darkness," sunk in ignorance,
error, guilt, depravity, and misery, can obtain that knowledge of
truth-that favor and fellowship of God-that real holiness and
happiness, of which light is the emblem. By thus acting, we
shall here, in our little spheres, become lights of the world, and
51 John viii. 59.  55 Numb, xiv. 10.  56 Jer. xxxvi 26.




488                         NOTES.                    [EXP. XI.
hereafter enjoy "the light of life. in all the extent of meaning
belonging to the phrase, being so thoroughly penetrated by the
enlightening beams of the Sun of Righteousness, as to be indeed
" light in the Lord."
Let us all seek that, from being children of the wicked one, we
may be made sons of God, by being united to him, " the first-born
of many brethren;" and let us show that the Son has made us
free, by " walking at liberty, keeping the Divine commandments,"
and serving our God, who is our Father, without fear, in righteousness and holiness, all the days of our lives.
Let us willingly acknowledge that Jesus is greater than Abraham-greater than all the prophets. Let us believe all his declarations, however apparently paradoxical —depend on all his promises, however apparently extravagant and unlikely to be accomplished. Let us rejoice that we have seen what Abraham in the
flesh never saw; that we have heard what he never heard; and
let us rejoice on earth-as he does in heaven-in his illustrious
seed, in whom all nations are blessed.
Let us remember, that though Jesus is flesh of our flesh, he is
"God manifested in flesh;" that though our brother, he is also our
Lord; and let us worship him as the "'I AM," " who was, and is,
and is to come;" and instead of being offended at the clear and
broad ascriptions of divinity to " the man Christ Jesus," in the
Scriptures of truth, let us learn to honor the Son even as we
honor the Father-thus glorifying the Father in the Son, and
habituating ourselves to that mode of viewing him, which will
prepare us for taking a part in the song which, like the sound of
many waters, everlastingly echoes in heaven: "Blessing, and
honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the
throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever."
NOTE A, p. 445.
The following remarks of the learned and truly venerable Archdeacon
ToWNSON, on the peculiarity of our Lord's teaching, adverted to here,
and in some other parts of these volumes, are equally remarkable for
their justness and their beauty:" One thing remarkable in the manner of our Lord's teaching is, frequent allusion to things which were before the eyes of his audience, to
occurrences of the time, to the season of the year, to the offices of common life, or the usual employment of those to whom he spake. As sensible and present objects most powerfully affect us, he who knew what
was in man, condescended to instruct us from those things that are most
easily conceived by us, and most naturally command our attention.
High and heavenly truths were presented to his hearers in a familiar
dress; as angels of old came to Abraham and the patriarchs with the
shape and countenance of men. Truths thus qualified struck the im



EXP. XI.]                     NOTES.                           489
agination without alarming it; and would recur to the memory, on
sights of the objects with which they were associated in his doctrine.
The birds which were flying in the air around him, the lilies which were
flowering on the plain where he stood, were turned into lessons on the
providence and fatherly care of the Almighty.' The sowers, who were
sowing their grain in different soils and situations, near the borders of
the lake where he preached from a ship, served to illustrate the various
successes of the Word of God, according to the temper and disposition
of the heart that received it.2  The sight of a vine spreading forth its
branches, gave occasion, as seems probable, to a discourse of the vital
union between himself and the faithful.3 When he called fishermen to
forsake their nets and follow him, he promised to make them fishers of
men.4 Ile likened the perverseness of the Jews, who found equal fault
with the retired austerity of the Baptist, and his own freer converse
with mankind, to the froward and sullen humor of those children whom
no endeavors of their companions could please or invite to join with
them.5  He resembled the solicitude of heaven for the conversion of
sinners, and the joy of angels on their repentance, to a woman lighting
a candle, and sweeping her house, in search after her lost piece of silver,
and when she had found it, calling her neighbors about her to rejoice
with her.6 If some of these images are borrowed from things low and
trivial in themselves, yet he stoops, without meanness, in using them.
Like the ground of which he formed us, and the dust from which he shall
raise us, they acquire life and beauty in his hands. Others of his allusions
are of a higher strain: As when, from the sun just risen, and shining
with splendor on the gilded turrets and ornaments of the temple, when
he was discoursing, he referred to the prophecies which speak of him as
the light, the east, or sun-rising,7 and said,' I am the light of the world.'
Such passages may strike us as sublime; but we still find that it is the
thing itself, not any parade or pomp of words, that strikes us.  A  difference of nature between our Immanuel and the ancient prophets produced a corresponding difference in discoursing of the same subjects.
They, when heavenly objects were presented to their minds, were struck
with awe, and, as it were, bowed themselves down before the majesty
of the idea; and then, in presenting it to others, endeavored to clothe
it in a gorgeous robe, and to deck it out with all the riches and splendor of language. But it is not so that Christ speaks of these high arguments. For, as the brightness of countenance and raiment which
dazzled and overcame the sight of his apostles when he was transfigured
on the mount was to him but a ray of that glory in which he dwelt before the worlds were made, so the perceptions that astonished the imaginations of man, were, to his mind, common and familiar objects, and
he spake of them accordingly, with a certain unconcern and simplicity
of phrase."- Works, i. pp. 280-282.
Another peculiarity in our Lord's manner of discourse, exemplified in
the subject of this and most of the other expositions, is finely sketched
by ALEXANDER KNOX: —"Our Lord's most solemn discourses were seldom other than unfettered conversations; all questions which were peitinent, or remarks which were candid, being uniformly well taken, and
evidently invited. He, doubtless, chose this method of doing good on
1 Matt. vi. 26, 30.        2 Mwatt. xiii.         3 John xv. 1-6.
M4 att. iv. 19.            5 Matt. xi. 16, 17.    6 Luke xv. 8, 10.
7 John viii. 12. Isa. i. 2; xli. 2. Zeh. iii. 8; comp. Luke i. 78. MaL iv. 2.




490                          NOTES.                      [EXP. XI.
the self-same grounds that must always recommend it when the sphere
of action is like his-society at large.' He knew what was in man,' and
he used his wisdom accordingly."-Remains, Vol. i. p. 144.
NOTE B, p. 453.
"We may then have a particular election between the three following
suppositions.  1. Trv eXsi' may mean' for the beginning.' As Luther,
Grotius, and Paulus, so also Erasmus:' Primum sum quod etiam dico
vobis, non explico quidquid sum indignis; hoc primum dico, me missum
esse a patre praeconem vite, id quod jamdudum dico vobis.' Luther:' If ye will follow my preaching, ye shall experience who I am.' On this
interpretation, the only design of Christ would have been, in the first
place, to lead the Jews to a lower view of himself, in order that he might
reveal to them a higher one after they had attained this stand-point. But
this is opposed to the design of Jesus, inasmuch as he wishes to show
that he was perfectly correct in attributing to himself the dignity of the
Messiah. And besides, what could that higher view be? In what had
been said before, he asserted his high dignity.  2. Triv c(kXu may have
the force of oo.-sj omnino. So frequently among the Greeks. See Elsner
and L6sner, Obss. ad h. 1., Viger, p. 80, 723. Elsewhere even in the
sense of,~ u`eXQz, Hemsterh. ad Luc. Tim. ~ 26. Thus it appears to have
been construed already by Chrysostom and Euthymius, then in more
recent times by Erasmus, who preferred this explanation to the first, and
after him by Melancthon, Wolf, Clericus, Kuinoel, and Lucke.'In general I am the person that I profess to be.' But, in the first place, it is
hard to tell what'generally' here means; commentators have exchanged
it for'truly.' Liicke supposes that it is equivalent to k,u ru,, uijlt,'; but
this force does not lie in the Greek idiom, which would lead us to construe thus,'asfrom the beginning,' i. e., in general. Farther, this signification is to be found in profane writers alone; it is not in the New
Testament nor in the LXX.  Hence we come to the THIRD explanation,
which makes t'v,e;Xrv synonymous with an' i;X-, z'  or;  xv. 27;
xvi. 4. It is true indeed that the accusative absolute is found in the
LXX. only in the sense of in the beginning, Gen. xliii. 18; Dan. viii. 1;
but examples may be pointed out in profane writers, where it signifies
directly'as from the beginning,'-Sophbcles, Antigone, v. 72, HIerodot.
l. 9, see Wahl. s. h. v. Nay, this signification is, throughout, the basis
of the derived meaning'in general,' so that in Sophocles, Buddaeus
translates &oxov by'omnino,' and others by'imprimis.' See Hermann
on the passage. After Trv (,trzv, then, we may either supply the verb
i.Alarlu,,'I have told you from the beginning what I now also say;' or,
since this is harsh, we may supply Elou from the connection, r6b 70il5 xo,,or,@.
The xal is intensive,,i XmQa xmv Aiys l; it intimates that the testimony of
the true being of Christ is not different, like the Heb.::.  A4x(Ai, I speak,
is used instead of the proeter, because the present is involved; and it also
marks a continuance of the action. We must therefore translate,'I am
the same that I have told you I was from the beginning' (as in the beginning); x. 25 is similar.,Thus Nonnus, Calvin, Beza, Maldonatus, and
others; as also the Persian version. In Hebrew the sentence would read
N: b.;~1.',Mr.n aI;'. x rszmn.  Christ then answered the question of the
high-minded Pharisees, yet in such a manner that it contained at the same




EXP. xi.]                     NOTES.                             491
time a most serious reproof, as well as a declaration that the question was
one which they had no occasion whatever to propose." —TntoLucK.
NOTE C, p. 468.
"' He to whom you bear a spiritual kindredrfess is the source of all
evil; into his disposition you willingly enter.' 1 John iii. 10. Ammonius:
v' aouvriu, 6 VoiSo T. i6you IODTO 70r 1uIPsVe'   l xEL'  caaxqTg uartl, 7r e e n w 7  ae -
T E Q o,, 5 yiBtolog 6VO Ii&ot-OIo,U64 iari,.    Oi AEtv is emphatic, as in vii. 17.
Origen: aTruaqxE; Yar 61; g6 Elat {oX &IafdUoU 1; 6v  T0 xO&  0 E e t&' oX0I
nTOL' if;,,T tLOl;.'For the will to do what he desires is sufficient to
constitute one a son of the devil.'-It may here be asked in what sense
the devil is denominated a murderer, bv0,qwroxT6vo;. On this there are
two leading views. The first supposes that in calling him such, Christ
had in mind the temptation of the first man; on which supposition death,
0dauXoC, would have the general meaning of'spiritual and bodily evil.'
So Origen, Chrysostom, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and most others.
The second supposes that it contains a simple allusion to the murder of
Cain. So Cyril, Doderlein, Nitzsch, and Lacke. The latter view is based
upon the supposition that the context renders it necessary; because Christ
was led to the idea of a relationship between the Jews and Satan from
the single circumstance of their seeking to kill him, the holy Teacher sent
from God. This, indeed, is the only positive ground in its favor; yet
even this is weakened by the fact that, in the context immediately antecedent, Christ does not speak of the blood-thirstiness of the Jews, but of
their sinful and sluggish stupidity in the apprehension of divine things.
It may, however, be urged in addition, that in 1 John iii. 12, the murder
of Cain is said to have sprung from the devil: yet, as we shall immediately see, the connection there is of such a character as to furnish no absolute proof in behalf of this view. And besides, in the same place, v. 15,
hatred in general is called anthropoktony, man-murder. And moreover,
in confirmation of the view of this passage first named, appeal may be
made to Wisd. ii. 24, where the death,' 0avaroc, of thefirst man is referred back to the devil. Especial considerations in behalf of this interpretation, are the following: —1. An allusion to the first temptation of
man by the apostate spirit is more natural than an allusion to Cain, since
that act of the devil was the great and chief one, of which all others are
merely the consequences.  2. The passage in 1 John iii. 8, is altogether
parallel: 6d noLt&  iiv,uaqTiaXV' ~X TO3 da3d6ov ~arlv' 8O  din' diX>og 6
dL(olo.o; dyauvst.'He that committeth sin is of the devil, for the
devil sinneth from  the beginning.' 3. Christ afterwards, in a general
way, calls lying, i,epSo;, the crime of the devil; but Satan's propensity
for lying appeared directly in the fall of man. 4. In immediate reference to man's fall, the devil is called that old serpent, 6 obpl; g  dSoXaLo;,
Rev. xii. 9. Finally, it might not be inappropriate here to quote a strictly
parallel passage from the Sohar IHadash, f. 27, 3, where the wicked, the
ungodly, are called n,'z.;.5  B'the children of the old serpent who killed Adam and all his posterity.'
It seems best to combine both modes of exposition, as was already done
by Euthymius, and to explain the passage after the analogy of 1 John
iii. 8, sq. The apostle there says first, —' Every sinner who hates the
divine light, is spiritually related to the fallen spirit, because, from the
first commencement of the history of man, he has shown himself to be




492                          NOTES.                        [EXP. XI.
an enemy of the light,-i. e., of holiness.  A  particular mark of servitude to sin, is the want of a loving heart towards the brethren; but especially so, is hostility towards those who manifest the divine light revealed in their life. Cain exhibited such hostility towards his brother,
who possessed the love of God. Cain, therefore, stood in close union
with satan.' Thus Christ also in this place means to say,'Your fleshy,
arrogant disposition, prevents you from understanding and receiving my
doctrine; nay, you even persecute me on account of it.  This proves
your relationship with the fallen spirit; your heart takes pleasure in entering into his desires. He was from the beginning appointed for destruction; and has always shown himself to be the enemy of holy truth; and
therefore is he hostile towards those who manifest it, as Abel first did.
For Satan himself never generates aught save lies and sin. And, consequently, the ground of your unbelief in me —of your hatred towards
myself and my doctrines-consists in the fact that you seek for a doctrine which will accord with your sinful disposition, and which, for that
very reason, must be a lie.' Since, therefore, the devil is called a murderer, because he hates the light, and because he, for that reason, seeks
to destroy the truth in itself, and all those men who manifest it, so
could Christ, in the same same sense, call his enemies murderers, in so
far as they persecuted him from hatred to the light (comp. v. 46), and
for that reason also rejected his instructions. If we take &v0,owtoxrvoso;,
murderer, in this comprehensive sense (as done by Theodoret and Heraclitus, in Cateda Patr.), the conclusion of verse 44, and also verse 45,
will connect itself with it very appropriately.'An',oxs must, therefore, be taken as in I John iii. 8,' from the commencement of the history of man.' Beng.:'ex quo aliquid novit de natura humana;' comp.' &i:x;, xrtaos,, Mark x. 6.  Sir. xvi. 26, and Rev. xii. 9, 6 O;hPt 6,(,rXuo;. On this passage Beza writes well against the Manichaean misapprehension of the word, "EaTuxpv.  After the Vulgate, which translates
in the prieter. stetit, most commentators take this verb in the preeter.
This passage would then be a' locus probans' in reference to the doctrine of the apostasy of the devil. But the printer. e'Tutx(, which always
has the force of the present in the classics, is never found to have any
other sense in the New Testament. There are but two passages which
can render this in the least doubtful, Rom. v. 2, and I Cor. xv. I; but
even there, the force of the present is to be fixedly retained. The Greek
expositors recognize this, as Origen, Theophylact, Euthymius, and probably Chrysostom  also.  Hence, although the doctrine that the devil is
not an uncreated principle of evil, but a fallen angel, receives confirmation from other passages, e. g. Jude 6, yet nothing more is here taught,
than the character of the devil since his appearance in the history of
man.  Euth.: ou:x S?,YEL, TOUVir~Il, EV TXJ 6o0 {l[ OtIX &V(P(aU1fTa, La.d
fILUE  T?,V Zodfr,7'  71 noaLIEl(r,.  This exposition is confirmed by what
follows.  Christ assigns the reason why the fallen angel could find no
assimilative point in good (Beng.:'non assecutus est statum in veritate'),
which is, that in his inward sense he is alienated from goodness and
truth.  If now the preceding context had contained an allusion to the
apostasy of the devil, Christ would here have declared, as it were, the
necessity of that apostasy. But the sense is, as it was in part given by
Origen on this passage:'That fallen spirit still retains the undeniable
attribute of reason. Had he ceased to be a morally intelligent being,
he were a physical one-he would be no longer a wicked being, but an




aXP. xi.]                      NOTES.                           493
evil one. But inasmuch now as no morally intelligent being can retain
its own self-determination except by living in holiness in God, which life
in God is hence by the Scriptures denominated the truth, i. e., that which
alone harmonises with human nature; so even in that wicked being
there exists, unconsciously, a striving after the satisfaction of determin
ing his own nature, and, consequently, a striving after that happiness
which can only be found in a living union with God.  He wishes to
find an assimilative point in truth. But there is none to be found, because there is nothing kindred with it in the inward sense-nothing with
which the truth could connect itself. In this very conflict between his
effort to attain his own determination, and those hostile inclinations
which are entirely opposed to it, consists his misery.'  The antithesis
between truth and falsehood, ZOqsoEa and yqe)vo;, may be explained from
i. 4. Truth and holiness, lies and unholiness, mutually presupposes
each other, and in the inward root they are in fact one. The chief lie of
the foe of humanity,-that with which he seduced himself and others,is this: that true life is not in God, but in the finite spirit itself:  All
other lies and sins flow from this lie. Lying is called an attribute of the
father of lies.  It is indeed that which constitutes his essence, and on
which the individuality of his being is based,  Avrov refers to the abstract ypEvso; involved in the concrete t6asur7s, as in Rom. ii. 26, atrov
conversely refers to the abstract &xeojuor/ua."-THoLUCK.




EXPOSITION XII,'MTHE CHURCH AND ITS OFFICE-BEARERS —TRUE AND FALSE.
JOHN X. 1-9.
THE beautiful allegorical discourse' which occupies the first
eighteen verses of this chapter, seems to be a continuation of the
address to the Jews who had gathered round our Lord and the
man whom he had cured of blindness, with the commencement
of which the preceding chapter closes.  The opinion of some
interpreters, that it was delivered on some other occasion altogether, is entirely unsupported, and highly improbable.  The
introductory formula, "Verily, verily, I say unto you,"2 never
begins a discourse, but is always employed either in making a reply to a question, or in the continuation of a discourse, by bringing forward some additional illustration.
Our Lord had intimated that the Pharisees, though they
thought themselves both clear-sighted and far-sighted in spiritual
matters, were indeed blind, and therefore ill-fitted for the office
of teachers of religion, into which they had intruded themselves.
" When the blind lead the blind, both must fall into the ditch."
He now proceeds to show, by an appropriate figure, that they
were destitute of the authority which belongs to properly called
and appointed teachers, and that they were animated by motives
which altogether disqualified them for the right discharge of the
duties of spiritual instructors and guides. He states that none
are genuine spiritual teachers and guides, except those who have
been appointed by him, and who teach his doctrine; and that
the Pharisees, who call him a false teacher, and a deceiver of
the people, and did everything in their power to prevent men
from embracing his doctrine, were themselves altogether unworthy of the name of religious teachers. Instead of the guides,
they were the deceivers and destroyers of their countrymen.
He then goes on to represent himself as the great teacher and
saviour of his disciples and followers, who were not to be con"This passage is not to be regarded as a complete parable; it wants one thing
belonging to the nature of parables-the narration of an occurrence as a fact.
The term crapotpia (verse 6) is to be taken only in the signification of comparison.
John never uses the word 7rapago?/." —OLSHAUSEN.
2 dpioV d/ynV;Eyuo v!v.                      3 John ix. 39-41.




EXP. XII.]  THE CHURCH AND ITS OFFICE-BEARERS.         495
fined to one nation, but were to consist of Gentiles as well as
Jews.
These important truths are exhibited under the transparent
veil of allegory. The figures employed are borrowed from the
usages of oriental pastoral life. Many of our Lord's parables, as
well as his other discourses, were occasional in their origin and
character, having been suggested by the circumstances in which
he was placed when he uttered them; and this probably was
the case with the allegorical illustration now before us.4  It is
not unlikely that Jesus, after the labors of the day, was now in
the evening leaving Jerusalem for Bethany, and that the bleating flocks returning from their mountain pastures, were, under
the care of their shepherds, returning to their folds for the night.
Palestine was eminently a pastoral country. The flocks were in
the morning conducted to their pastures by the shepherd, who
did not, as with us, drive them, but went before them, showing
them  the way. One of the sheep, termed "the leader of the
herd," on being called by name, came towards the shepherd, and
all the rest of the flock followed in his train. Having guided
them to the green pastures, by the still waters, and throughout
the day protected them from hazard, by leading them into
the cooling shade during the unwholesome ardors of noon, preventing them from wandering, and keeping at a distance from
them animals of prey; at the approach of night-" when all the
beasts of the forest creep forth, when the young lions roar after
their prey, and seek their meat from God,"-the shepherd called
them together, and conducted them back to the fold, which was
a large unroofed enclosure, with walls of considerable height and
strength, where they remained during the night.  It would
seem that the flocks of a number of shepherds were sometimes
housed in the same fold.  There, protected from thieves and
beasts of prey by proper watchmen, they spent the night in repose, "till the sun having arisen, and the wild beasts having
gathered themselves together and lien down in their dens," the
shepherds came, and being let into the fold by the watchman who
kept the entrance, each again led forth his flock.
The scene which our Lord's words bring before the mind may
be thus conceived of: It is night. The flocks have been folded
— the entrance is secured —the guards are set-the porter is at
his station. During the hours of night a person appears, not
seeking the entrance, but attempting to get into the fold by
overleaping the wall. That is a thief or a robber; his design is
" to steal, to kill, or to destroy." The morning breaks-another
person makes his appearance, who, instead of attempting to overleap the wall, or loitering before the gate, goes directly up to it,
and, on demanding entrance, is readily admitted by the porter.
That is a shepherd come to take charge of his flock for the day.
And now he utters the well-known cry," and the leader of the
flock, followed by all the rest of " his own sheep," leave the fold,
4 " Videntur oves fuisse ante OCU1os." —BENGEL.    5 PovKootiCa l rt0/viCO/ara.




496         THE CHURCH AND ITS OFFICE-BEARERS.  [EXP. XI1.
and are guided by him to the pasture which he has found for them.
Such is the emblem; and now for its signification.
It will conduce to distinctness of apprehension to keep in mind,
what many interpreters have overlooked, that there are in tihis
chapter two emblematical representations, both borrowed from
pastoral life. In the one, our Lord is emblematized by the door
of tlhe fold of the sheep; in the other, by the chief, the master,
shepherd. The first reaches down to the 9th verse; the second
begins with that verse, and extends to the 18th verse. It is to the
first of these allegories that our attention is now to be directed.
The meaning and design of the allegory will be apparent if we
can satisfactorily answer the f6llowing questions: —Who are the
folded sheep?  What is meant by our Lord being the door of
the fold for the sheep? Who are those who enter into the fold
by the door, and how are we to understand what is said of them?
And, finally, Who are they who do not enter into the fold by the
door, but seek to obtain entrance in some other way; and how are
we to understand what is said of them?
I.-OF THE FOLDED SHEEP.
The term " sheep" is obviously descriptive of a class of persons in some way separated from other men, and standing in a
peculiar relation to each other, and to Him whose flock they are.
The careful reader of the Old Testament, especially of the
Psalms and Prophets, must have observed that the people of
Israel, separated from all nations, by a peculiar law enjoined, and
by peculiar privileges bestowed, on them, are frequently represented as Jehovah's flock. That here the sheep and the Israelitish people are not terms of equivalent meaning, is very obvious
(though it is also obvious, from the 16th verse, that those spoken
of here were Jews not Gentiles); for much that is said in the
most unqualified manner of the sheep, is not true of the great
body of the Jews of that age, or, indeed, of any age. They did
not follow the shepherds who had entered through the doorthey did not know their voice —they did follow strangers.
But he has read the Old Testament very carelessly who has
not noticed, that in the nation of Israel there was all along a
peculiar people within a peculiar people. Within the sacred
precincts, there was an inner temple as well as an outer. There
were "Israelites indeed,"-there were "Jews inwardly."  All
Abraham's "descendants"' were not his "seed;"' —there were'; children after the spirit,"8 as well as "children after the flesh."'
There were Jews who were " not only of the circumcision, but
who walked in the steps of that faith which Abraham had, yet
being uncircumcised." While God set apart Israel for himself
from among the nations, from among Israel he "set apart the
godly'~ for himself."
6 rEKva.            7 arip/a.             sKara 7rvea.
9 KaTr   aocpa.     10 Psal. iv. 3.




PART II.]       3F THE DOOR OF THE FOLD.                 497
These are "the sheep," the true spiritual church of God, consisting at this time of a very small number-" a little flock,""
and formed almost exclusively of Jews. They are called "the
sheep," i. e., the sheep of God-not without a reference, probably, to their harmlessness, and usefulness, and helplessness; but
chiefly to mark them as the peculiar property and care of their
Divine owner.
The sheep are represented as "folded."  They are collected
together, forming one body; separated from others, and in a
state of comparative security. If, as seems probable, "the
fold"'" was intended to be significant, and not a mere embellishment of the parable, there can be but little difficulty in discovering its meaning. What separates "the sheep" from the rest of
mankind? What gives them a common character, and privileges?  What affords them  security amid their dangers?  The
fold of Israel according to the flesh was the Mosaic covenant, the
peculiar economy given at Sinai. By it, as by a fold, they were
separated from the world, formed into a peculiar community,
possessed of a common character and common privileges. The
fold of the spiritual Israel is "the covenant of promise," first
revealed to Adam, more fully developed to Abraham, clearly
manifested in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is this which makes
them a folded flock: separated from  the world,-closely connected among themselves by common relations, a common character, and common immunities. The sheep, then, are the true
spiritual people of God, as existing in the time of our Lord.
II.-OF THE DOOR OF THE FOLD.
The next question which presents itself is, What is meant by
our Lord's being "the door" of the fold for the sheep? The
question has been put, Whether the leading idea be the door by
which the sheep, or that by which the shepherds, enter into the
fold? I think there can be very little doubt that the last is
the principal reference; for the contrast is not between sheep who
enter the fold and sheep who do not, but between the person who
enters by the door, and the person who climbs up some other
way. At the same time, the general idea is, the door of the
fold, by which both the sheep and the shepherds enter.
But what is the import of the figurative representation? The
sheep cannot get into the fold in any other way. The walls of
the fold of the visible external church may be undermined or
overleaped; but there is no getting into the fold of the spiritual
church but by the door. It is through the mediation of our
Lord, through his quickening Spirit, that men are brought,
"within the bond of the covenant," justified and sanctified,
blessed with the immunities, and formed to the character, of
1 r7 #CKp'v o/0iyvtov.
12 Olshausen strangely represents the avi' as "the true community of believers." The 7rp6fara —the 7roivy7 represent these-the ai2, is that which separates
them from the world, and secures them from hazard.
VOL. I.                   32




498         THE CHURCH AND ITS OFFICE-BEARERS.   [EXP. XI.
"the sheep of Jehovah."  It is not Abraham, it is not Jacob, it
is not Moses, that is the door; —Jesus, Jesus alone, is the door
of the sheep. It is not descent from the patriarchs, it is not submission to Moses' law —it is faith in Christ Jesus, which makes
a man a true Christian.  "This is the gate of righteousness, the
gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter.'"3
And as no man can be introduced into this spiritual fold but
through Jesus Christ,-so no man can rightfully enter among its
occupants as a shepherd, no man can have a legitimate claim to
be considered as one of their shepherds, but one who enters through
Christ as the door; —no man can act the part of a faithful shepherd to Christ's spiritual flock but one who enters in through the
door, who possesses the qualifications which Jesus Christ only can
confer, and who has received the call which Jesus Christ requires.
The general idea is,'Everything connected with membership and
office in the true spiritual church of God, is under the management of our Lord.' It is just equivalent to,' He is " the head of
his body the church;"" He is " the way, the truth, and the life;"
everything in the new creation is "of God," "through Christ
Jesus."'
III.-OF TIlE TRUE SHEPHERDS, WHO ENTER IN BY THE DOOR.
The third question is, Who are those who enter into the fold
by the door? and how are we to understand what is said of them,
"He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep,"
or, as Dr. Campbell renders it, " The shepherd always enters by
the door"?
Judging merely by the sound of the words, and especially recollecting that at the 11th verse we have these words-" I am the
good shepherd," repeated again at the 14th verse, we should be
apt to say the words before us refer to one individual, and that
there is no mistaking who he is. But if we look at them more
closely in their connection, we shall soon perceive that, were we
to apply these words to our Lord, we should be in a mistake. In
the parable, he is " the door" of the fold. It were at war with all
the proprieties of composition to make, in the same emblematical
representation, the same individual the door of the fold, and the
shepherd of the sheep. We know that oriental figures are often
mixed, but this would be absolute incongruity. What could be
meant by Christ, as the shepherd, entering into the fold through
himself, as the door?  Besides, the literal rendering is not " the
shepherd," but " a shepherd of the sheep." The contrast is between spurious and genuine officials in Christ's spiritual church,
— between those who climb over the wall and those who enter in
by the door. It is not till the 11th verse that Christ is introduced
as the Shepherd: that is a separate, distinct, additional figurative
illustration.
13 Psal. cxviii. 19, 20.
14 Erasmus thus paraphrases the passage:-" Non est salutaris aditus in ecclesiam ae regnum ccelorum nisi per me sive pastor esse velis sive ovis."




PART Ili.]       OF THE TRUE SHEPHERDS.                499
" A shepherd of the sheep" is just one of the shepherds of the
sheep,-one of that numerous body whom the Great Proprietor
appoints to superintend and feed the flock purchased by the blood
of his Son. It is quite a common figure in the Old Testament to
represent the official men in the Israelitish church as shepherds.
As the direct reference is to the state of things at the time our
Lord spoke, his apostles, and seventy disciples, and other ministers of the primitive church, were probably in the foreground of
the picture.
Let us now inquire how we are to understand what is here said
of these genuine overseers of the spiritual church. They do not
" climb up" over the wall. They do not run unsent; and they
are not content with any commission but that which comes from
him who alone is entitled to give one. To vary the figure, they
are called by the Great Husbandman to labor in his vineyard.
To a person of this kind, "the porter openeth.""  It has been
thought by some good interpreters, that this belongs merely to
the embellishment of the figurative representation, and that no
particular correspondence is to be sought for. But this does not
seem at all probable. The words might signify, generally, that
to such a person the obstacles that stood in the way of his becoming an overseer of the flock of Christ are removed in a regular manner, and he is, after the due order, introduced as a shepherd into the fold. Not only does he not climb over the wall,
but there is no attempt made to force open the door, nor to steal
in unnoticed by the porter. That official recognizes him as one
appointed by the Chief Shepherd, and gives him free passage.
Others would give a more definite meaning to the phrase, and
seek a correspondence to the doorkeeper, as marked as that which
we have to the door. If we take this view of the subject, we
have little room  to hesitate, as to what that correspondence is.
When Christ is represented as the door, it is as mediator. In this
character he is subject to the Father-who, in the economy.,of
salvation, sustains the majesty of Divinity-as the door is subject
to the doorkeeper. If the door admits, it is because the doorkeeper opens. All that Christ does as a mediator, is done in accordance with the will of his Father. When he admits a member into his spiritual fold, or inducts a shepherd, it is in execution of the will of his Father in heaven. The Father brings all
the sheep, and all the shepherds, to Jesus as the Chief Shepherd.
According to the figure before us, the door opens when the doorkeeper so wills it.
The above explication goes on the principle, that the admission
by the porter, through the door into the fold, refers to an original
call to, and investiture with, office in Christ's church, and this is
the ordinary mode of viewing the figure; but the thought has
repeatedly forced itself on my mind, while meditating on the subject, that the reference here is not to an original call to, and investiture with, a new office, but to the ordinary exercise of the
15 ro6rso G6vpwpb6 d(voiyet.




500         THE CHURCH AND ITS OFFICE-BEARERS.  [EXP. XII.
functions of an office already possessed. The person introduced
as entering by the door is already a shepherd, may have been
long a shepherd, and is here represented as performing his daily
work. Ere the sun rises, he goes to his much-loved occupation.
He arrives at the gate of the fold. He does not leap over the
wall. He finds no difficulty in getting admission-the porter
opens, he passes through the gate, utters the pastoral cry, and
returns again through the gate followed by his own flock, whom
he leads out and feeds, and when night comes he conducts them
back again to the fold. Taking this view of the matter, the natural explication of the allegory seems to be, —' The genuine pastor performs all his duties under the guidance of divine influence, and with a constant regard to the mediation of the Saviour.'
It then follows-" the sheep"' hear his voice," i. e., they attend
to-they understand-they believe-HIS doctrine; not because
it is HIS, but because it is not HIS, but his and their LORD'S. It
is one mark of a genuine christian pastor, that real Christians
cordially approve of his teaching.
" He calleth his own sheep by name." There are many more
sheep than his in the fold. The Great Shepherd has many undershepherds, and each under-shepherd has his own sheep, to the
pastoral care of which his time and attention are to be chiefly
directed. " He calls them by name." This is intended to intimate his knowledge of his flock, and his kind condescending demeanor to them. He overlooks none of them. He is a contrast
to those shepherds of whom the prophet Ezekiel speaks, when
he says, " The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have
ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that
which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was
driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but
with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.""  To a stranger
it is scarcely credible how intimate is the knowledge of, and how
great the affection for, their flock, that some of the shepherds of
our own country possess: but the oriental shepherds go far beyond them, not only knowing all their countenances individually,
but calling each of them by name.18 The true christian pastor
"looks well to his flocks, and seeks to know the state of his
herds;" and he is like his Master, "meek and gentle," he can be
touched with the feelings of his flock's infirmities, knowing how
to have compassion on the thoughtless, and those who are out of
the way.  Cold and distant, still more haughty and overbearing, manners do not sit well on any man, but they are never misplaced. so sadly as on a man who bears the name of a christian
pastor.
" He leads thems out."  He directs them in the search of truth,
16 dCVEtlv here is nearly equal to e6Evat, verse 4; and yty6ai:etv, verse 14.
17 Ezek. xxxiv. 4.'8 The Greek poet, Longus, says of the shepherd —rat alya''rpoaetre i:aZ rovoi
rpayovi bcidrae.




PART III.]        OF THE TRUE SHEPHERDS.                 501
and in the performance of duty. He shows them the rich pastures, and the refreshing streams of divine revelation, and in doing this " he goes before them." In this country the shepherd
generally comes behind, driving his flock. In the east he went
before, leading them. The christian pastor goes before his flock;
he does not say'go,' but'come' —he does not say' Do you it,'
but' Let us do it.' He believes the truth he would have them
believe —he does the duties he would have them practice-he
makes the sacrifices to which he calls them-he seeks to be " aa
example to the believers in all things, in word, in conversation,
in charity, in spirit, in purity," showing them all things, " by example, as well as doctrine."
Such a pastor, "the sheep" the truly pious, those who are
taught of God, and are influenced by his Spirit-" follow." They
approve his doctrine, they imbibe his spirit, they imitate his example, "for they know his voice" —they know that what he says
corresponds with what Christ is saying to them in his word, and
with what, too, he is working in them by his Spirit.
The declaration in the 9th verse, though it may apply to the
sheep, seems most naturally to refer to the shepherd who has entered in by the door. Such a pastor "shall be saved"-that is,
protected amidst, delivered from, all the dangers to which he may
be exposed. Sent forth, as he is, among "unreasonable and
wicked men,"" of whom wolves and lions are the appropriate emblems, he shall be taken care of by the Great Shepherd amid all
such dangers. His promise to his faithful under-shepherds is,
"Lo, I am with you always;" and one of the most distinguished
of these, who was exposed to peculiar labors and hazards, " sets
to his seal that he is true"-" I was delivered out of the mouth
of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work,
and will preserve inme unto his heavenly kingdom."" " God which
raiseth the dead, delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver; in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us.""' The under-shepherd shall also " go out and in, and find pasture," for his
own sheep`"-" the flock over which the Holy Ghost has made
him overseer." He shall be enabled steadily and prosperously to
prosecute his honorable labors. " To go out and come in," is an
idiomatical expression, best illustrated by quoting a few examples
of the manner in which it is employed: — Blessed shalt thou be
when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest
out."  "The Lord shall preserve thy going out, and thy coming
in."  "Jeremiah came in and went out among the people; for
they had not put him into prison."  "Give me now wisdom,"
says Solomon, "that I may go out and come in before this people.""3 The meaning here is,' He will be enabled to go through
19 2 Thess. iii. 2.  20 2 Tim. iv. 17, 18.  21 2 Cor. i. 9, 10.
22 LCick6 explains vo/'i v erpitKetv as referring to a blessing on the ministry.
Olshausen considers this as a harsh exegesis. I cannot help thinking it by far
the most natural one that has been proposed
23 Deut. xxviii. 6. PsaL cxxi. 8. Jerb xxxviL 4. 2 Chron. i 10.




502        THE CHURCH AND ITS OFFICE-BEARERS.  [EXP. XII.
his work comfortably and creditably, and obtain pasture for Atia
sheep. As " the flock of his pasture" are men, he will be enabled
to feed the babes with milk, and the full-grown men with strong
meat, so as to nourish them up to everlasting life. He shall not
" labor in vain, nor spend his strength for nought." In the health,
happiness, and activity of his flock, he shall have the cheering
evidence that his Master's promise has been fulfilled. He has
been delivered. He has gone out and in, and found pasture for
his flock.' 0 happy pastor, who has such a flock! Happy flock,
which has such a pastor!
IV.-OF THE FALSE SHEPHERDS, WHO DO NOT ENTER IN BY
THE DOOR.
It only now remains, in order to the full exposition of the allegory, that we endeavor to answer the fourth question, Who are
they who "do not enter in by the door"? and how are we to understand what is said of them?
Having ascertained who the sheep are-who is the door of the
fold-and who are the genuine shepherds-there can be little difficulty in discovering what is the class of men who do not enter
by the door, yet would take on them the character, and perform
the functions, of shepherds. They are persons who assume the
name of religious teachers-official men —in the church of God,
without being divinely called. In our Lord's immediate view,
they seem to have been the Jewish Sanhedrim-the Pharisees,
and doctors of the law.
They entered not in by the door. They had no commission
from' Christ. They were not called, as his apostles were. They
were destitute equally of qualification and authority. Jesus, as
the door, had been made known to them, but they did not enter
-they passed by the door. They treated him with contempt.
They had "climbed up some other way." They had obtained
the name and rank of official men in the church by worldly
methods, altogether different from-altogether opposite to-" entering by the door."
So it has been in all ages. Men, under the influence of
worldly motives, have sought office in the christian church. In
the inner sanctuary (for even under the christian economy there
is an external and a spiritual church, the latter included in the
former, but by no means co-extensive or co-incident with it),
they cannot have office, for they have not place. But, by getting office in the external church, they exercise tyranny and
lordship, in many cases, over the members of the spiritual church.
Worldly-minded men are never made ministers by Christ. Uninterested in his atonement, uninfluenced by his Spirit, how can
they enter by him-the door? No; they climb up some other
way. Under the influence of the love of the world, they use
worldly means in order to obtain worldly ends. Their wish is




PART IV.]       OF THE FALSE SHEPHERDS.                503
that, being made shepherds, they may have an opportunity, not
of feeding the flock, but of enriching themselves, by making
merchandise of them. Had the Scribes and Pharisees any wish
to make the people better acquainted with God's word, and,
through these means, holier and happier men? No; the situations they held, they valued just as sources of worldly honor,
emolument, and influence.
And it is still so with a large class of men, assuming the name
of christian shepherds and overseers, pastors and bishops. These
men are not shepherds-they are "thieves and robbers."  The
appellations are, in many cases, almost literally applicable to
them. They seize places which they have no right to occupyappropriate what does not justly belong to them-and wrongously and violently extort from others the obedience and support
to which they have no rightful claim. The porter never opened
to them. It is not according to God's will-it is in direct opposition to it-that they hold office in his church.
"The sheep do not follows them"-the goats follow them.
The truly pious, generally speaking, do not follow them as
spiritual leaders. They do not believe their doctrines, nor follow
their example. Some of the sheep may be seduced for a season,
under mistake, to follow them; but generally speaking, it is
otherwise. The really pious, in our Lord's time, did not relish
the doctrine of the Scribes and Pharisees-they turned away
from it. They did not like what was presented to them. Their
spiritual senses told them it was not food-it probably might be
poison; at best, it was but husks-no fit food for the flock of God
-fit only for the swine.
Instead of following such a teacher, the sheep consider and
treat him as a stranger; and then-alas, how generally still!stranger and enemy were convertible terms. They flee from
him-afraid lest they should be injured by him-as the scared
sheep flee from a stranger, when he attempts to act the shepherd's
part towards them: " They know not the voice of strangers."
They do not know it as they do that of their own shepherd; it is
not familiar, it is not pleasing, to their ear. In many cases,
where humble unlettered Christians cannot very distinctly point
out what is wrong in a scheme of doctrine, nor give the reasons
why they think so, they distinctly feel there is something totally
different from what they have received and learned from the
Bible. This is not conscience-pacifying, heart-changing, heartcheering doctrine. This is not the Gospel of our salvation. It is
not by this that men live-it is not in this that the life of our
souls is.
The words in the 8th verse refer to this class of persons, and
are an emphatic repetition of what our Lord had said before,
" All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the
sheep did not hear them." It has been usual to interpret these
words just as if they stood by themselves, and did not form a
part of a figurative representation; and interpreters have been a




504          THE CHURCH AND ITS OFFICE-BEARERS.   [EXP. XII.
good deal perplexed in seeking the means of making the statement they contain consistent with the facts of the case.. It has
been common to consider the term  " come," as equivalent to-'made a public appearance,'-as in the passage, "John came
neither eating nor drinking;" " the Son of man came;" and the
particle rendered before'2 has usually been considered as expressive
of priority in time.
It is quite obvious that the meaning which the words most
naturally express,' All who have appeared, laying claim to the
character of divinely-commissioned teachers previously to my
coming, are thieves and robbers,' cannot be adopted; for that
were, in other words, to call Moses and all the prophets impostors.2" Accordingly, it has been common to limit the reference to those who laid claim to Messiahship; and to consider the
declaration as equal to,'All who came professing to be the
Messiah before me were impostors.' But we have no reason to
think that any appeared before our Lord making this claim;many came after him making it. * Others would consider all as
equivalent to many-the greater part. But this is to use an unauthorized liberty with the words.
By another class of interpreters, the particle translated "before,"
is considered as not referring to time at all. Some of these would
render the clause,'All who have come without me —without my
authority;' but the word rendered "before," cannot be translated
"without," or "apart from  me."2"  By others of this class, the
words " before me," have been considered as equivalent to,' In
my place;"' and the statement has been considered as indefinite
as to time-' All who come in my room-" in my name,"'2 —as it
is elsewhere-' are impostors.' But the usage of the language will
not suffer this. Others reject the words "before me," as an interpolation;29 but, though wanting in many manuscripts, the critical
evidence of its genuineness cannot be satisfactorily set aside; and
the omission of these words would not remove the difficulty. By
others still, the words "come before me," are considered as opposed to, "come after me,"' All who do not follow me as their
leader, but who go before me, putting me behind them.' This, I
believe, approximates to the truth; but it is not the right way of
bringing it out of the words.80
What seems to lie at the foundation of right interpretation here,
24 rrp6.
25 This was a recommendation of this exegesis to the Gnostics, who adopted it
for the reason which has often led to the ready reception of ill-supported interpretations of Scripture, because it agreed with a favorite hypothesis. They held
that, in these words, they had Christ's testimony against the Old Testament.
26 Tpo6 tzov cannot be, as some have insisted,-= fxpis yov, and there is no such
various reading. It is painful to find such a scholar as Olshausen attempting to
show that, by aposiopesis, wrp6 may involve Xopig.
27 rp'o as = avrr or vre-p.                     23 Ev ov51aari uov.
2 Campbell, who supposes an ellipsis of UidaXoOev.
30 Jeremiah, speaking of himself, says, "I have not hastened from being a
pastor to follow thee"-literally, after thee.'I have not gone before, but followed,
the Chief Shepherd.'-Jer. xvii. 16.




PART IV.]               CONCLUSION.                      505
is to remark that, what our Lord says, he says of himself, under
the figure of;the door" of the sheep-fold. The words are literally,'All-whosoever-come, or have come, before me, are thieves
and robbers.' "Before me," putting themselves, as it were, between me and mankind, and thus placing themselves above me,
taking the precedence of me. All who, admitted by the porter,
pass through me, the door, into the fold, are genuine shepherds.
All who come " before me" as the door, and do not seek to pass
through it, are thieves and robbers."''All official men, who do
not recognize me and use me as the door of the fold, are not
genuine-they are merely pretended-shepherds.  They stand
before the door, not entering themselves, and doing what they can
to hinder the sheep from entering.' That was the case with the
Scribes and Pharisees, and it has been the case with vast multitudes of men, pretending to be christian teachers and pastors: it
is the case with vast multitudes still.
Every man, pretend what he may, who does not practically
acknowledge Christ's authority in obtaining and exercising ecclesiastical office-who looks no farther than a patron's presentation,
or the ordination, it matters but little whether of a prelate or a
presbytery-who is satisfied with mere human authority and call,
civil or ecclesiastical-he is not a " shepherd of the sheep"-he is,
in the sense'in which I have already explained the phrase, "a
thief and a robber."
Such men the sheep-the true people of God-do not, cannot,
hear-that is, listen to, believe, obey. Whatever titles they may
wear, whatever claims they may make,-be they called "pope,"
or "patriarch," or "bishop"-be their style "rabbi" or "reverend," " master" or " doctor,"-the sheep, when they conduct
themselves as they should, will have nothing to do with them.
In our Lord's time, they preferred the teaching of the carpenter
of Nazareth, and the Galilean fishermen and peasants who followed
him, to that of the men who wore large phylacteries, and made
long prayers, and sat in Moses' seat; and, in our own times, they
will rather frequent the despised conventicle, where a pious man,
it may be of moderate talents and limited education, unfolds the
doctrine, and enforces the law, of Christ, in simple phrase, and it
may be awkward manner, to a handful of those, poor in this world,
but rich in faith, who have chosen him as the helper of their joy,
not the lord of their faith, than listen to the instruction that causeth
to err, though couched in the enticing words of man's wisdom, by
men distinguished for their rank, and learning, and eloquence, in
the time-hallowed parish church, where many a generation of their
ancestors have worshipped, and around the walls of which their
ashes repose,-or in the venerable cathedral, where, while the
31 The connection makes the general meaning plain-there is, first, in the 7th
verse, an assertion that our Lord is " the door"-then, in the 8th, a description of
those who do not enter by this door-and then, in the 9th, a description of those
who do enter by this door.




506        THE CHURCH AND ITS OFFICE-BEARERS.  [EXP. XII.
variously stoled orders of an ancient hierarchy perform the imposing services of a gorgeous ritual,"Through the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault,
The pealing anthem swells the note of praise."32
Such appears to me to  to be the meaning of this beautiful allegory.
It is as useful as it is beautiful. It is full of weighty instruction
to candidates for office in the church, to those who hold office in
the church, and to members of the church generally.
To candidates for office in the church it says,'See that you
enter through the door; beware of climbing up some other way.
Remember no authority will compensate for the want of Christ's
authority-no call for the want of his call.'
To those who occupy official stations in the church it says,'Examine the tenure by which you hold your place, and if you
find it good, then be diligent in doing its duties. "Give full
proof of your ministry." " Feed the flock of God:" be gentle,
laborious, wise shepherds. Preach the truth-nothing but the
truth-all the truth. Rule well, —" rebuke, instruct, exhort,
with all long-suffering and doctrine;" and take the comfort of
the kind promise of the Chief Shepherd to the faithful undershepherd-" He shall go in and out, and find pasture."  "Lo, I
am with you always."'
To the members of the church, it says,'Make a distinction
among things that differ. "Try the spirits."  Never intrust the
management of your spiritual interests to any whom you do not,
on satisfactory ground, consider as one of the shepherds who by
the porter has been introduced through the door into the fold;
and beware, in any way, of giving countenance to those who
have climbed up some other way, and whom your Lord warns
you against as thieves and robbers. Place yourselves under the
-care of one as your own shepherd, who, you have reason to
think, has indeed entered through the door; and, having done
so, treat him as your shepherd,-hear his voice-follow him, not
by any means implicitly, but wait on his ministrations —and receive from him " with meekness the ingrafted word." IIe will
never ask you to receive anything on his own authority, nor to
do anything merely because he bids you. He but declares to
you the mind and will of our common Lord, " the Great Shepherd of the sheep." Take kindly his warnings and reproofs.
He watches for your souls, as one who knows he must give account.'
Oh, how high and holy are the enjoyments of a christian pastor
and his flock, when they have entire confidence in each other,
and mutually strive who shall best perform their respective duties! Most delightful is it for him to lead them to the green pastures, and to make them repose by the still waters,-and most
delightful for them to enjoy his pastoral care. It is the antepast
32 Gray.




PART IV.]                     CONCLUSION.                              507
of that full feast of holy happiness, when all the true sheep, and
all the true shepherds, gathered together in the great fold above,
shall, by the Chief Shepherd, "the  Lamb in the  midst of the
throne, be fed and led unto living fountains of waters, and God
shall wipe away all tears from  their eyes."33
33 There are two elaborate dissertations, on the subject of this Exposition, in the
second part of Hasseus' and Ikenius' "Thesaurus Novus Theologico-Philologicus,"
folio, p. 501-525. Their titles are, " Kinigsmanni curata inquisitio in scopum et
sensum  parabolie de malis pastoribus," and "Baierus de verbis Christi, irrvref
oaot 7rpb ijzo~." It is finely said of this paragraph, chap. x. 1-18, by ALEXANDER
KNOX,-" This portion contains almost the only parable which St. John records;
and of all parables which are recorded, this is the fullest of gentleness, amiability,
and consolation. It gives a compendious view of spiritual Christianity; the deepest, the solidest, the sweetest, the serenest, the surest, the most comprehensive,
that could be conveyed in words. There is a beautiful idea in the beginning of
Leighton's fifteenth lecture, of nature's being fitted beforehand for the elucidation
of Divine truth. This semblance of a shepherd and his sheep is strongly in favor
of such a supposition."-Remains, iv. 359.




EXPOSITION XII1.
THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
JoHNi x. 11.-" I am the good Shepherd."
THESE words, in common with most of our Lord's sayings, are
pregnant words. They are, like their Author, "full of truth,"
and " of grace" too. They are at once transparently clear, and
unfathomably deep. There is much important truth on the surface-there is more, much more, beneath it. Much meaning
meets the ear, but more meets the mind. The words express
much-they suggest more. They are replete with emphasis,
and rich in reference. My object is to illustrate and apply them;
and, as preliminary to this, to ascertain their true meaning, and,
as far as possible, to apprehend their whole meaning.
They are equivalent to'I am a Shepherd-I am  a good
Shepherd-I am  the Shepherd-I am the good Shepherd.''I
am A SHEPHERD.'-I stand in a peculiar relation to a peculiar
people, who, in conformity to the figurative representation employed, are termed my sheep; and I am appointed and engaged
to perform towards them certain important and beneficial offices.'I am a GOOD Shepherd.'-I deserve the name, for I possess the
appropriate qualifications, I perform the appropriate duties, of
the character I sustain.'I am THE Shepherd' —the Shepherd
of the Clock-the one Shepherd of the one flock; not like the
shepherd mentioned in the 2d verse of this chapter, who is
A shepherd, one of the shepherds, of the sheep; but THE GREAT
Shepherd, THE CHIEF Shepherd, THE PROPRIETOR Shepherd,
" whose own the sheep are,"-the Shepherd of the shepherds, as
well as of the sheep.' I am the GOOD Shepherd.'-I possess, in
the most perfect degree, all the qualifications which are requisite
to the discharge of the numerous, and varied, and difficult duties
of this most exalted office; and I actually do perform all these
duties in the most perfect manner. Such is the emphasis of the
words; now for their reference.' I am THAT good Shepherd.'-To understand fully the meaning of the statements of our Lord and his apostles, we must never
forget that their minds were completely filled with the contents
of that Scripture that had been " given by inspiration of God;"
and that they spoke to people whose almost only book was the




EXP. xIII.]        THE GOOD SHEPHERD.                  509
Book of God, and who were, many of them, very familiar with
its contents. The extent of tacit reference to the Old Testament
in the - ew, and the importance of noticing that reference, to
bring out the exact form and impress of the inspired man's
thought and feeling, are well known to every intelligent student
of the Holy Scriptures. "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit
of prophecy;"' and we find him often appealing to it, sometimes
directly and openly, at other time indirectly and tacitly. The
latter sort of appeals are not the least striking to a reflecting
mind. Our Lord seldom, in so many words, claimed Messiahship. There were good and obvious reasons why he should not
have so claimed it. So far as I recollect, a distinct recognition
of his own claims, was made by him only to the woman of
Samaria,-to the man blind from his birth, when excommunicated by the Sanhedrim,-to the disciples as a body, after Peter's
answer to the question, "Whom do ye say that I am?" —before Pontius Pilate, in reply to the question, " Art thou a king,
then?"-and before the Sanhedrim, when adjured by the highpriest to say whether he was the Son of God.2 He often referred
to the Old Testament Scriptures, leaving his hearers to draw the
inference. While he was with his disciples, "he spake to them,
saying, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in
the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning him."  He often used appellations such as " the Son of
God," and "the Son of man"-appellations given in the prophetical oracles of the Messiah, —in a way which showed that he
applied them to himself. IHe commenced his ministry by reading a very remarkable prediction respecting the Messiah, recorded
in the sixty-first chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah, and then
declaring, "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears."'
When he proclaimed, " I am the light of the world, he obviously
referred to that ancient oracle which declares that Messiah should
be "a light to lighten the Gentiles;"' when he said, "I came
not in my own name," he probably referred to that other ancient
oracle, " Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord;"'
and there can be no reasonable doubt that, in the words which
form the subject of discourse, he referred in his own mind, and
he meant to turn the minds of his hearers, to those passages in
the inspired predictions in which the great Deliverer promised
to God's peculiar people is represented as their Shepherd-their
proprietor Shepherd-their good Shepherd. It is just as if he
had, in the hearing of those whom he now addressed (as in the
synagogue at Nazareth), opened the book of the prophets and
read: —" Get thee up upon a high mountain, thou that publishest
good news to Zion; raise powerfully thy voice, thou that publishest good news to Jerusalem. Raise it, be not afraid; say to the' Rev. xix. 10.
2 John iv. 26; ix. 37. Matt. xvi. 17. John xviii. 37. Matt. xxvi. 63, 64.
3 Luke iv. 21.                 4 John viii. 12. Isa. xlii. 6.
5 John viii. 42. Psal. cxviii. 26.




510                 THE GOOD SHEPHERD.             [EXP. XIII.
cities of Judah, Behold your God. Behold, the Lord Jehovah
shall come with might, and his arm shall rule for him. Behold,
his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He
shall feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs in
his arms, and carry them in his bosom: he shall gently lead"
the milk-giving ewes-" those who are with the young."6  " Thus
saith the Lord God, Behold I, even I, will both search my sheep,
and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the
day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek
out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they
have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day."  "I will feed
them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel
shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a
fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will
feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord
God. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that
which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken,
and will strengthen that which was sick." "And I will set up
one Shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a
prince among them: I the Lord have spoken it."'-And, on
completing the reading, had closed the book, and proclaimed,
"' This day is the Scripture fulfilled in your ears,"'-" I am the
good Shepherd,"-' I am the divinely-qualified, the divinelycommissioned, the divinely-accredited, the divine Saviour, promised to the fathers.' Such is an attempt to get at the import
of these simple but sublime and striking words, " I am the good
Shepherd."
It has been a subject of discussion among interpreters, whether
the leading idea suggested by the term "shepherd" be that of a
ruler or of an instructor. The controversy is not an important
one; for though it does seem plain that, both in sacred and profane
ancient writers, authority rather than instruction is the leading
attribute of the figurative shepherd,' yet, in the case before usthat of the Messiah-the rule referred to is moral rule, the empire
of truth and love over the minds and hearts, exercised by the
agency of his Spirit, and the instrumentality of his word. Indeed, all the figurative representations of the Messiah, as a proph.
et, a priest, a king, a physician, a husband, a surety, a shepherd,
the light of the world, the bread of life, are intended to bring
before our minds some of the numerous phases of the all-comprehensive character of SAvIouR —deliverer from evil in all
its forms, and in all its degrees; and the only question of importance, in reference to each of these figurative representations,
is, What is the truth respecting Christ's saving character and
work, which is designed to be presented by it to our intelligent
faith and affectionate contemplation? This, then, is the question
6 Isa. xl. 9-11. —Her derson.  7 Ezek. xxxiv. 11-24. Mic. ii. 12, 13.
Hoem. Iliad A, 265 Jer. xxii. 22, 23.




EXP. XIII.]        THE GOOD SHEPHERD.                  511
in reference to. the figurative representation of our Lord in our
text as the good Shepherd,-to an attempt to answer which the
remaining part of these observations are to be devoted.
That question might be answered by showing, first, that our
Lord Jesus Christ does indeed possess all those qualifications
which enable him to perform towards his peculiar people all those
kind offices which are naturally emblematized by the conduct of
a good shepherd to his flock,-that he has all the knowledge, all
the wisdom, all the power, all the authority, all the kindness, all
the faithfulness, all the peculiar interest, which are required for
this purpose; and then, that our Lord Jesus actually does manifest these qualifications in a performance of all these offices,rescuing his sheep from the power of the great thief and robber,
and bringing them into His own flock,-providing them with
nourishment, refreshment, and repose, —guarding them from
danger, guiding them in perplexity, healing their diseases, reclaiming them from their wanderings (for though the Shepherd
never forsakes the sheep, the sheep sometimes forsake the Shepherd); and at last, at the close of the great day of time, safely
housing them in his heavenly fold. This would open up a very
deligh.tful field in which the christianly devout mind would not
soon become weary of expatiating; but to traverse it at all in a
satisfactory way, would require more time than we can at present devote to it.
I prefer another, and what I cannot help thinking a better,
way of answering the question. I shall endeavor to bring out,
in strong relief, our Lord's own illustrations of his own declaration-" I am the good Shepherd." He is the good Shepherd,
as he secures for his peculiar people all the blessings they stand
in need of. While the "thief cometh not but to steal, and to
kill,'and to destroy," he cometh that his sheep may have, and
retain, life;9 and that, so far from being deprived of anything,
they may have abundance of everything necessary for their welfare.  " I give unto my sheep eternal life; and they shall never
perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand."'~ He is
the good Shepherd, as he secures these advantages to them at
the greatest conceivable expense to himself,-he secures them by
" giving himself for the sheep."" He is the good Shepherd, as
there subsists the most intimate and endearing mutual acquaintance and intercourse between him and his people. " He knows
his sheep, and he is known of his sheep; even as the Father
knoweth him, and he knows the Father.""  He is the good Shepherd, as he cares for the happiness, he secures the salvation, of all
his people. "Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold;
them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there
shall be one fold (rather one flock), and one Shepherd."'" To
these FOUR illustrations of our Lord, confirmatory of his assertion, "I am the good Shepherd," let us, then, apply our awakened
9 John x. 10.      10 John x 28.             11 John x. 11.
12 John x. 14, 15.  13 John x. 16. —frosuv, not av.Lr.




512                 THE GOOD SHEPHERD.             [EXP. XIII.
minds. And, oh! may all of us, while thus employed, be enabled to sing to Him in our hearts, making melody in his ears,
ever open to such music, " The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not
want," —a psalm some of us have often said before being laid to
sleep in our cradle, —a psalm which we would wish to say again,
when about to lay ourselves to sleep in our grave.
I. Jesus Christ is the good Shepherd; as he secures for his
peculiar people all the blessings they stand in need of.
An official person deserves the epithet GOOD in the degree in
which he answers the purpose for which the office is designed.
He is a good king who secures order, peace, and prosperity to his
subjects. He is a good physician who preserves health and cures
disease. He is a good Shepherd who protects his sheep from
danger, and obtains for them abundant wholesome nourishment
-refreshing drink-seasonable repose. He is a good saviour
who delivers from all evil, and who obtains for those whom he
saves every kind, and a high degree of every kind, of enjoyment.
Now this is the truth in regard to Jesus, our Saviour. He " saves
his people from their sins"-he " redeems Israel from all his iniquities"-he delivers them from all their enemies-he delivers
them " from the power of darkness" —he delivers them from " the
present evil world"-he delivers them from "the wrath to come"
-and he gives them " the redemption that is in him, through his
blood-the forgiveness of sins;" he gives them the Holy Spirit,
and "the one heart," and "the new spirit," which are the result
of his operation; he gives them "peace with God," and "good
hope," and solid joy, and " abundant consolation," and "eternal
life" —even " the salvation that is in himself, with eternal glory"'4
-deliverance from evil in all its forms and degrees for ever and
ever, and enjoyments suited to all their varied capacities of enjoyment; and filling every one of them to an overflow, during
the whole eternity of their being.
The fact that Jesus Christ does thus secure for his peculiar people all the blessings they stand in need of, is brought before the
mind in a very interesting way in the passage before us. Our
Lord contrasts the tendency and the effects of his coming as the
good Shepherd with the tendency and the effects of the coming
of one whom he calls "the thief."' The thief cometh not but to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they may have
life, and that they may have it more abundantly'-or rather, for
you will notice that it, being printed in italics, is a supplement"that they may have in abundance." Many good interpreters
suppose that our Lord contrasts himself with the carnal rulers
and teachers of the Jews, whose objects were selfish, and whose
teaching and guidance were mischievous and destructive; but I
cannot help thinking that this is a mistake. In the former part
of the chapter, A thief is contrasted with A shepherd; here, it is
14 Matt. i. 21. Psal. cxxx. 8. Col. i. 13. Gal. i. 4. Eph. i. 7. Ezek. xi. 19.
Rom. v. 1. 2 Thess. ii. 16. Rom. vi. 23. 2 Tim. ii 10.




EXP. XIII.]         THE GOOD SHEPHERD.                   513
THE thief and THE shepherd.  "The thief" either signifies some
one individual, called, by way of eminence, "the thief;" or it is
used as equivalent to "thieves," to mark what is common to the
class.
In the first case there can be no doubt whom " the thief" would
denote-the murderous felon. Whom could it denote but hiint
who stole into Eden, stealthily bereaved man of his best property,
and proved himself a murderer as well as a thief-the liar and
manslayer from the beginning? On this supposition, the contrast
would be very striking. " The wicked one" came originally, and
still "comes, to steal, and to kill, and to destroy." Hle who comes
to destroy the works of this wicked one, " comes not to kill," but
that life might be retained; " nor to steal " —to take away what
is valuable, but greatly to increase the property of those to whom
he comes. The great objection to this interpretation is, that you
cannot carry its principle throughout; for if the thief be the devil,
then who is the hireling?
The second mode of interpreting the term, "The thief," as being
equivalent to " thieves," seems the just one. In this case, then, as
well as in the case of the hireling, we have the usual HIebraistic,
emphatic mode of announcing a truth, by stating it first negatively and then positively.  "I am not like the thief who, when
he comes to the sheep-fold, comes to plunder and to kill; I am
like the shepherd, the good shepherd, who, when he comes to his
flock, comes to protect their life and to increase their comforts."
"Life and abundance " are a comprehensive summary of all happiness-the capacity of enjoyment, and everything that is necessary to fill that capacity. Christ secures for his people, not only
life, but a royal life —"they reign in life;" not only " grace and
the gift of righteousness," but "abundance of grace, and of the
gift of righteousness." He " blesses them with all heavenly and
spiritual blessings." He "supplies their need, according to his
glorious riches."  He "makes all grace to abound to them ""forgiving all their iniquities-healing all their diseases-crowning them with loving-kindness and tender mercies.""  And the
blessings he bestows are as permanent as they are numerous, and
abundant, and valuable: "I give unto my sheep eternal life "ever-during happiness; "and they shall never perish, neither
shall any pluck them out of my hand. My Father who gave them
me is greater than all; and none can pluck them out of my
Father's hand. I and my Father are ONE."  Yes; " the counsel
of peace is between them both.'""
II. Jesus Christ is the good Shepherd; as he secures those
advantages which he obtains for his people at the greatest conceivable expense to himself.
It is a proof of kindness to confer benefits; but the proof becomes greatly stronger when the conferring of the benefit neces15 Rom. v. 17. Eph. i. 3. 2 Cor. ix. 8. Psal. eiii. 3, 4:
16 John x. 30. Zech. vi. 13.
VOL. I.                   33




514                THE GOOD SHEPHERD.            [EXP. XIII.
sarily implies much exertion, sacrifice, and suffering, on the part
of the benefactor. In the case of the good Shepherd, we have
this additional evidence in the highest conceivable form. These
blessings could not have been secured for the sheep but by the
sacrifice of the shepherd's life; and that sacrifice was cheerfully
made. " The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep; but
he who is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep
are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth,
and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep."
Here we have, as in the former case, an emphatic double statement:' I am not like a hireling shepherd. He may, for his own
advantage, take care of the sheep, when the care of them exposes
him to no hazard; but let dangers arise, let the flock be attacked
by wild beasts-resisting which might endanger his life-he betakes himself to flight, and leaves the sheep to their fate. I am
like the proprietor shepherd, who has a peculiar interest in the
flock; and so deep is that interest in my case, that I not only expose my life to danger, but I lay it down for the sheep.' The
thought naturally rises: But if he lay down his lifis for the sheep,
how can he subsequently take care of them? It is to meet this
thought that he says: " I lay down my life that I may take it
again."'I lay down my life to secure these blessings; I take my
life again, that I may bestow them. Because I die, they are
saved from death by my dying; because I live, they live also by
my life.'
Let us endeavor to bring out a little more distinctly this figurative illustration of the close connection subsisting between the
death of Christ and the salvation of his people. For this purpose
a clear apprehension of the figure is necessary. It may be this:
The flock has been carried off by the thief and robber, and he is
determined to resist all attempts to wrest from him his ill-earned
booty. The shepherd must engage in conflict with him. The
proud defiance of the lawless one, supported by his legions, is:
"Shall the prey be taken from the mighty; shall the captives of
the terrible one be delivered?""  The shepherd enters on a combat apparently more unequal than that of David with Goliath.
Alone he attacks his numerous assailants; and falls under their
foul and murderous blows. A shout of triumph rises from the
felon crew. But the triumph is short —the joy is but for a
moment. The smitten Shepherd, having touched the earth, rises
from the bed of death, and, armed with preternatural strength,
overwhelms with shame and discomfiture the armies of robbers,
and takes possession of his flock, now doubly his own. The application of the figure, in this view of it, to the victory of Christ.over Satan, and the emancipation of his people, who were enthralled by him, is obvious and easy.
Or this may be the figure: The flock is attacked by a herd of
ferocious wild beasts the shepherd rushes in between them,'7 Isa xlitx 24.




EXP. XIII.]        THE GOOD SHEPHERD.                  515
diverts their attention from the sheep, and becomes himself a prey
to their ravenous appetites. But scarcely has he fallen, when he
again rises, and completely destroys the whole herd of wolves and
lions-setting his sheep entirely free from all danger from their
craft and cruelty. In this view of the figure, we see death, and
the other penal evils to which the whole race to which our Lord's
flock belongs had exposed themselves, laying hold on the Redeemer; and as he submits to these, we hear him saying: " Oh
Death! I will be thy plague; Oh Grave! I will be thy destruction."'8  We see him  destroying death, by dying; ransoming
from the grave, by lying down in it; redeeming from the curse,
by becoming a curse; bearing, and by bearing, bearing away the
sins of men.
In either view of the figure, it strikingly brings out the connection there is between the death of Christ and the salvation of
his people. The last view strikes us as most probably the true
one. It brings more fully before our mind the great truth respecting the nature of this connection, so often indicated by the
death of Christ being represented as an expiatory sacrifice; that
what he suffered, was suffered not only for the benefit, but in the
room, of his people; that he suffered what they are liable to; and
that it was by his having suffered it that they are freed from
suffering it. It is the same truth that is so beautifully taughttaught, as some excellent expositors suppose, under the same set
of figurative representations in Isaiah's prophecy: " All we like
sheep had gone astray; we had turned every one to his own way;
and the Lord made the iniquities of us all" —the ill deserts —the
penal evils due to our sins-like so many beasts of prey ready to
devour us-" to fall upon him," our surety-shepherd. " And he
was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our
iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by
his stripes we are healed."  In the first view of the figure, we see
him  "spoiling principalities and powers, and triumphing over
them in his cross."'9  In the other, we see him making provision
for our being made the righteousness of God in him, by becoming
a sin-offering in our room.20
In dying, and in thus dying, Jesus Christ manifested in a remarkable manner his love of those whom he terms his sheep:
" Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his
life for his friends."" And then such a life as was laid down I —
a life more valuable than all the lives of men or of angels —the
life of an absolutely innocent, an absolutely perfect, man-a man
possessed of all possible wisdom. and holiness, and benignity-a
man infinitely dignified by personal union to Divinity  The
blood shed for us, and by which we are redeemed, is infinitely
more valuable, and therefore the shedding of it infinitely more
expressive of love, than would have been the sacrifice of the whole
created universe. And then, still further, the life was laid down
in the room of the guilty; the death was the death of a victim.
Is Hos. xiii. 14.    19 Isa. liii; 5, 6. CoL ii. 15.  20 2 Cor. v. 21.  21 John xv. 13.




516                 THE GOOD SHEPHERD.            [EXP. XIn.
Ah! to die on the field of battle in a glorious cause is a very different thing from dying on a cross like a felonious slave. Yes,
the death of our Lord, for the salvation of his people, is an overwhelming proof that he is the good Shepherd I
III. Jesus Christ is the good Shepherd, as there subsists the
most intimate and endearing mutual acquaintance and intercourse
between him and his people.' I am not like an hireling, who cares not for the sheep, and
for whom the sheep do not care; but I am like the good proprietor shepherd-I have a deep interest in them.' "I know my
sheep, and am known of mine; even as the Father knoweth me,
and I know the Father." To perform the offices of a good.
shepherd, intimate knowledge of, and frequent kindly intercourse
with, his flock, are necessary; and whenever these offices are
performed the sheep readily recognize their shepherd, and show
satisfaction in seeing his person-hearing his voice —following in
his steps. This is remarkably the case in oriental countries, and
affords a beautiful figurative representation of the mutu lal regard
which subsists between our Lord and his peculiar peope!.
He knows THEM-he distinguishes them  from thos3 who do
not belong to his flock. "The Lord knoweth them that are his.""
No hypocritical art, however exquisite, can impose on him; and
no bashful retiredness of disposition can conceal genuine discipleship. The best of the under-shepherds, however sagacious, may
be often mistaken both ways; Eli may mistake Hannah for a
drunkard,"' and Jehoiada may suppose Joash a pious youth;24 but
the good Shepherd is never deceived.
He knows them; i, e., he is intimately acquainted with them
individually. He needs not that any one should testify of them
-he knows what is in them. He knows everything pertaining
to them-all the peculiarities of their constitution, " he knows
their frame"-all the incidents of their history-all their excellencies and all their faults-all the strong and all the weak points
of their character-all their fears, anxieties, and sorrows-so as to
be able to suit the communications of his grace to the exigencies
of each of them.
He knows them; i. e., he acknowledges them as his peculiar
property-the objects of his peculiar love and care. This is not
an uncommon use of the word know, in Scripture: "You only
have I known of all the families of the earth."  "Depart from
me; I never knew you.""2 He recognizes them as his. He
manifests himself to them in another way than he does to the
world. He and his Father come to them, and make their abode
in them-dwell in them-walk in them. He shows them  his
glory. He gives them  his spirit-the seal of their discipleship-the earnest of their inheritance. He sets an indelible mark
on them, showing that they are his "purchased possession."
22 2 Tim. ii. 19.            23 1 Sam. i. 13.
24 2 Kings xii.              25 Amos iii. 2. Matt. vii. 23




EXP. XIII.]       THE GOOD SHEPHERD.                 517
And this intimate knowledge and intercourse is mutual. As
HE knows his sheep, he is known of THEM. If the sheep do not
know the shepherd, it is a proof that he is not a good shepherd.
Our Lord does not want this mark of being a good shepherd; for
all his peculiar people know him.
They can distinguish him from all others. The language of
their minds and hearts is, "None but Christ, none but Christ,"
as the ground of hope-as the Lord of the conscience-as " the
one mediator between God and man."
* They are intimately acquainted with him. They know him,
and follow on to know him, and count all things loss for his
excellent knowledge. They delight in studying the truth about
him, as revealed in his Word. The divinity of his person-the
perfection of his atonement-the prevalence of his intercessionthe omnipotence of his grace-the tenderness of his compassion
— the faithfulness of his promises-" the riches of the glory of
his inheritance in the saints-the excellent greatness of his power
towards them who believe"~ —these are arrtong the things most
firmly believed among them.
And they know him experimentally. They have experienced
his wise guidance and his condescending care-the depth of his
wisdom and the tenderness of his heart-in his conduct to them
individually. They have, as it were, not only heard of him, but
they have heard his voice-they have seen his countenance, they
have "looked on him, and their hands have handled the Word
of Life." They have eaten his flesh, and drunk his blood, and
know and are sure that " his flesh is meat indeed-his blood drink
indeed.'27
Still further: they acknowledge and recognize him  as their
Shepherd. He is " the Apostle; the High Priest," the Shepherd,
of " their profession.""  They hear his voice-they follow in his
steps. Where he goes, they go; where he lodges, they lodge.
His people is their people-his God, their God. Their whole
character and conduct say, "I am Christ's."  What is said in
reference to the faithful under-shepherd, is true in a higher sense
of the great Shepherd:-" The sheep follow him, for they know
his voice; and a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from
him, for they know not the voice of a stranger."
The illustration which our Lord gives of the intimate and
endearing acquaintanceship and intercourse which exist between
him and his people, is derivea from a comparison which could
scarcely have entered into any human imagination; and if it had,
he must have been a bold, if not an impious man, who should
have dared to utter it: " I know my sheep, and am known of
mine; even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father;"
for this, according to the most learned and judicious interpreters,
is the manner in which the words should be construed. An
attentive observer of mankind mrust have noticed that the mode
of illustrating a sentiment often marks the peculiar character,
26 EpL i. 18, 19    27 1 John i. L John vi 55.    23 eb. iii. 1.




518               THE GOOD SHEPHERD.           [EXP. XIII.
circumstances, profession, and pursuit, of him who employs it.
The same subject-the same principle-is very differently stated
and illustrated by different men. The agriculturist, the merchant, the lawyer, the physician, the soldier, the minister of
religion, will generally, when speaking unrestrainedly on almost
any subject, give token to a sagacious hearer by which to form a
probable conjecture regarding their respective professions.
The general principle now referred to is applicable to our
Lord. He uses illustrations natural to him, which never would
have occurred to any other, and which plainly tell us he was
" not of this world" —he was " from above."29  He borrows his
illustrations from the heavenly state, and from the very adytum
of the celestial temple-the holy of holies —the holiest of all.
Who but Christ-he who had been " in the bosom of the
Father"-would have used such language as this to illustrate
his love to his people? "As the Father hath loved me, so have
I loved you"?" And who but he would have sought, in the
ineffable intimacies of the Father and his Only Begotten, an
illustration of the mutual, intimate knowledge, and complacential
intercourse of himself and his chosen ones?
This is a subject dark through excess of brightness; yet we
cannot choose but gaze a little on it. However incapable we
may be of conceiving of the manner in which the Divine Persons
apprehend truth, nothing can be more apparent than that there
must be the most perfect mutual knowledge and mutual complacency among the mysterious Three, who, having the same
Divine nature, must have one mind-one will; and that mind,
the perfect light-that will, the absolute good.  The Father
knows the Son"-thoroughly knows him; he regards him with
most complacential delight; and he acknowledged him, no doubt
-though in a way we can form no conception of-from  all
eternity. We can, however, form a conception of the way in
which he acknowledged him on earth, and is acknowledging him
in heaven. He gave his Spirit to him without measure. He
sustained him amid all his toils and sufferings. He bore witness
to him by the mighty works which he enabled him to perform.
He again and again, from the most excellent glory, proclaimed,
"This is my beloved Son; hear ye him.""  He raised him from
the dust of death-he set him at his own right hand, and said to
him, " Sit on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.T"" And while he is bringing him into the possession of
the world he proclaims, "Let all the angels of God worship
him." 34
In like manner, "the Son knows the Father."  He is intiinately acquainted with his perfections, his purposes, and his
works; and regards all these with infinite complacency. And
as he knows, so also does he acknowledge the Father. This he
29 John viii. 23.         30 John i. 18; xv. 9.
31 Matt. xi. 27.          A Matt. iii. 17; xvii. 5.
3 pa cx. 1.              34 ieb. i. 6; comp. PsaL xcvii. 1.




EXP. XIII.]         THE GOOD SHEPHERD.                   51Q
did when on earth; in everything doing his Father's will, and
saying, in reference to his human inclinations, "Not as I will,
but as thou wilt;,""3 and this he is doing in heaven; for there he
is "declaring his Father's name to his brethren; and in the
midst of the congregation" of his chosen "is he singing His
praise.""  When it is said that as the Father knoweth the Son,
and the Son knows the Father, so does the good Shepherd know
his sheep, and is known of them, the meaning, so far as they are
concerned at least, is merely that there is resemblance, not
equality; for "as no man knoweth the Father but the Son, so
no man knoweth the Son but the Father." The idea is, that
there is as really a peculiar, mutual knowledge and acknowledgment between the good Shepherd and his sheep, as between the
Father and the Son, and that it has the same character of complacential affectionateness.
IV. The only other illustration of the appellation, " the good
Shepherd," as applied to our Lord, to which I mean to call
attention, is that suggested in the 16th verse of the chapter.
Jesus Christ is the good Shepherd, as he cares for ALL his
sheep: " Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them
also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall
be one fold," or rather one flock37-" one Shepherd."
He is not a good shepherd who overlooks any part of the flock
committed to his care: he is the good shepherd who protects,
and guides, and feeds, and cares for all. When our Lord uttered
the words before us, his charge on earth was a very "little
flock,"" and was chiefly, if not exclusively, to be found within
the fold of the Jewish economy. But our Lord well knew that
it was not to be always so. He remembered the decree that had
gone forth: "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for
thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thv
possession.""  He remembered the exceeding great and precious
promises which had been made to him,-that he should "see of
the travail of his soul-see his seed, and have the mighty for his
portion-the strong for his spoil."4" He remembered that it had
been said of old of him, " He shall have dominion also from sea
to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that
dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies
shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall
bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
Yea, all kings shall fall down before him; all nations shall serve
him.""  He knew Him who had said, " It is a light thing that
thou shouldest be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will also give thee for a
light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the
end of the earth. Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel,
33 Matt. xxvi 39.   36 Psal. xxii. 22.  37 ToiV"I, not aALi.
33 Luke xii. 32. —The roiuvOi was indeed 7roiJvLov.  39 Psal. ii. 8.
40 Lsa. iii. 12.    41 Psal. xxii. 8-11.




ft90               THE GOOD SHEPHERD.              [EXP. XIII.
and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whomn
thb nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, kings shall see and
arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is
faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee,
and in a day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve
thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the
earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages: that thou mayest
say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness,
Show yourselves: they shall feed in the ways, and their pastures
shall be in all high places. They shall not hunger nor thirst,
neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath
mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water
shall he guide them. And I will make all my mountains a way,
and my highways shall be exalted. Behold, these shall come
from far: and lo, these from the north and from the west; and
these from the land of Sinim.""
In the full assured belief of these declarations, with a clear
apprehension of the vast extent of official saving care committed
to him, we find him  saying, "Many shall come from the east
and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and
Jacob, in the kingdom  of heaven."  "And I, if I be lifted up
from the earth, will draw all men unto me."  His object was, to
"gather together in one the children of God that were scattered
abroad"43 in all the countries of the world, throughout all the
ages of time. This is the charge committed to him, and he will
be " faithful to him that appointed him."44  " Of all whom the
Father hath given to him, not one of them," not anything, "shall
be lost."  They shall all be " raised up again at the last day."4"
In reference to them all, the Gospel shall be brought to them, or
they brought to the Gospel. Every one of them shall be brought
into the fold, and kept there; for it is his purpose that there shall
be "one flockL-one Shepherd."
It is generally supposed, and justly, that these words have a
direct reference to the termination of the exclusive, preparatory,
economy, and the introduction of that better order of things,
where there should be neither circumcision nor uncircamcision,
Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female; but all one in
Christ Jesus. In this view of the subject, the best commentary
on the text is to be found in the words of tle apostle: "Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh,
who are called Uncireumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ve were
without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,
and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope,
and without God in the world: but now, in Christ Jesus, ye who
sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ"
[through the great Shepherd giving his life for the sheep].  " For
42 Isa. xlix. 6-12.      43 Matt. viii. 11. John xii. 32; xi 52.
44 Heb. iii. 2.          45 John vi. 39.




EXP. XIII.]        THE GOOD SHEPHERD.                 521
he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down
the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in his
flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in
ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so
making peace; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one
body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby; and came and
preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were
nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto
the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers nor foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of
God; and are built upon the foundations of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone; in whom all
the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple
in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."48
"The great Shepherd of the sheep," very soon after he had
been raised from the dead by the God of peace, began, by his
apostles, to " bring" those other sheep not of the Israelitish fold.
He spoke to them, and they heard his voice. His Gospel was
"preached with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven;" and
Gentiles, in vast numbers, had granted to them that repentance
unto life, that salutary change of mind, which is implied in the
faith of the truth. Since that age, the gathering of the sheep
has gone forward; and though now on earth there is still a fearful preponderance in numbers of those who are not of Christ's
sheep, yet even now there is on the earth a multitude which could
not easily be numbered, out of many a kindred, people, and nation, who were "as sheep going astray, but have been brought
back to the Shepherd and Bishop of souls."
But it may be said,'Here, indeed, are many sheep, but where
is "the one flock," the one fold?  Even the genuine followers
of Jesus Christ are far from forming anything like that visibly
separated and united body-separated from the world "lying
under the wicked one,"-united among themrselves —that the image of a flock in a fold naturally brines before the mind. They
are found in pens, jealously separated from one another; while,
in too many instances, these pens are constructed on such a principle as by no means to exclude the world, though they do effectually shut out Christians who differ, it may be, even on a
very minor point of doctrine, or worship, or order, from their
occupants. Instead of one fold, there seem to be innumerable
pens of this kind.' Alas! it is even so. It is with shame and
sorrow we make the admission. But still, in the eye of the great
Shepherd, his sheep are one flock; and nothing is necessary to
their appearing to be so to themselves and the world, but their
pulling down those middle walls of partition, and repairing the
great wall of separation between the church and the world.
A time is coming-we have no doubt, notwithstanding many
unfavorable appearances, that it is hastening onward, rapidly ap46 Eph ii. 11-22.




522                THE GOOD SHEPHERD.            [EXP. XIII.
proaching-wheh the really existing union among genuine Christians shall become apparent,-when Christ's church shall appear
one glorious temple, the house of the Lord, from which no " Israelite indeed" shall be excluded, and in which the " Canaanite
shall no more be found, "47when, in answer to the prayer of the
Saviour, all his people shall be one, and shall so appear to be one,
as that the world will be constrained to believe that " the Father
hath sent him."'"8
To this glorious consummation these words look forward; but
I mistake if they look not beyond it, to a more glorious consummation still. When the end cometh, "the Son of Man," the
good Shepherd, " shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels
with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them
one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the
goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats
on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right
hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."  "Then shall
he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels." "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment:
but the righteous into life eternal."'"9
As the glorious results of his pastoral care, he will present them
whom the Father gave him, not one amissing, " a beautiful flock,"
-" a glorious church,"-" redeemed from among men, not having
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing,"-" before the presence of
the divine Majesty with exceeding joy."50  On the high mountains of the heavenly Canaan shall their fold henceforth forever
be. "There they shall lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture
shall they feed," upon the hills of paradise; while " the Lamb
who is in the midst of the throne," their great Shepherd, feeds
them, and leads them to the fountains of the river of life. " They
shall hunger no more, neither shall they thirst any more; neither
shall the sun light on them, nor any heat."  " He that hath
mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water
shall he guide them.""'
This is the one flock —the one Shepherd. Glorious shepherd I
-happy flock! Then will the full meaning of our text be understood, "I am the good Shepherd."  "The nations of the saved,"
with one voice, will then gladly acknowledge, He has done as he
said,-" He is the good Shepherd."  " Unto him that loved us,
and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made
us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory
and dominion for ever and ever.""
47 Zech. xiv. 21.                    48 John xvii. 21.
49 Matt. xxv. 31-46.                 5U Eph. v. 27.
5 Rev. vii. 14-17   Isa. xlix. 10.   52 Rev. i. 5, 6.




EXPOSITION XIV,
THE SON, IN ACCOMPLISHING THE WORK COMMITTED TO HIM, THE
OBJECT OF THE FATHER'S DELIGHT.
JeHN X. 17, 18.-" Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my
life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of
myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This
commandment have I received of my Father."
TIIESE words immediately follow our Lord's instructive representation of his own saving character and work, under the emblem
of a shepherd-a good shepherd-the good shepherd. The connecting particle, "therefore,"'-' for this reason,''on this account,'-usually looks backward, and indicates, that what is
about to be stated is the result or consequence of what has been
stated in the previous context. Sometimes, however, it looks
forward, and indicates, that the reason of the statement which
follows the particle is just about to be assigned. In the case before us, it does not much matter whether you consider the word
as looking backward or forward.
If the particle look backward, it refers to the whole of what our
Lord had stated respecting his conduct to  "the sheep."   He
comes, not like the thief, to steal, and kill, and destroy them,
but he comes to preserve them alive, and secure for them abundance of every blessing. He cares for them. He does not flee
at the approach of danger, but lays down his life to save theirs.
He exercises a most intimate and endearing superintendence of
them. He gathers them together, and finally lodges them all in
the one fold above-in a state of absolute security-perfect happiness. "Therefore," for being all this, and doing all this, for
and to the sheep, "the Father loves the Son."
If the particle look forward, it refers to the words that immediately follow, which, when viewed in their connection, obviously
contain in them a summary of what he had already said of himself as the good Shepherd.' For this reason, the Father loveth
me,' "because I lay down my life for the sheep,"'in their room,
and for their deliverance; and I lay it down, not that I should
permanently remain dead —that would prevent me from doing
the duty of the good shepherd to those rescued by my death,but that I may live again, and devote my restored life to their
1 EU rTOVTO.




524    THE SON'S WORK APPROVED BY THE FATHER. [EXP. XIV.
happiness; gathering them-reclaiming them from their wanderings,-by making them hear my voice, and conducting them all
in safety to the fold of everlasting rest, where there shall be " one
flock, one shepherd."'
For thus executing the duties of the great Shepherd, our Lord
declares himself fully qualified. "I have power to lay down my
life," —that is,' I have power so to lay down my life for the
sheep, as that they shall be secured from death, by my dying in
their room, "and I have power to take up my life again," so that
I can, having secured them from death, give them abundance of
blessings, gathering them together into one, and together, making
them perfect.'
"This commandment," adds our Lord, "I received from the
Father." By many interpreters, this statement is considered as
referring exclusively to what immediately precedes it. They
consider the word "power" as equivalent to "authority."'I
have authority to lay down my life, and I have authority to take
it again; and this authority results from the command I received
from the Father to do so.' We think it must be more natural
to refer the commandment to the whole commission given to the
Son as the good Shepherd, the appointed Saviour, the expression of that will of which our Lord says: "I came down from
heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me.
And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all
which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise
it up again at the last day."' The "power" referred to is not,
I apprehend, so much, if at all, the authority which the Son, as
mediator, had to execute this work, but the power which he
essentially possessed, and on account of the possession of which,
he was qualified for the work to which he was appointed, and to
which he never would have been appointed had he not been thus
qualified. The statements in these verses, then, though at first
sight they may appear somewhat disjointed, in reality express
one complex thought.'The Father hath committed to the Son
a great work; for that work the Son is fully qualified; and, in
performing it, he is the object of the Father's most complacential
regard:' or thus,'Jesus Christ, satisfactorily accomplishing the
great work of salvation committed to him, in the exercise of
Vpowers every way adequate to it, is the object of the Father's
entire approbation and most tender love.'a To the illustration of
this delightful truth, I mean to devote the remaining part of this
discourse.
Our blessed Lord is the object of his Father's love on other
grounds besides that specified in the text.  "The Father loveth
the Son." He loves him on account of that independent absolute
perfection, of which the Father and the Son are equally possessed; and he loves him on the ground of that most intimate
relation which subsists between them, as in some way distinct,
though in essence one, and of which the relation of sonship is
2 John vi. 38.                     a See Note A.




EXP. XIV.]           INTRODUCTION.                   525
the fittest analogy to be found among men. Yes,-the Father
loved the Son before the foundation of the world. From the
ages of eternity he was in his bosom; in the beginning, before
his works of old, he possessed him as his invaluable treasure, and
he was daily-i. e., continually-his delight. This love is the
source of the appointment of the Word, who was with God in
the beginning, and who was God, to be the great revealer of divinity, in the august economies of creation, providence, and redemption.
The Father loveth the Son, on account of the manner in which
he unfolds the Divine character, in the creation and the government of the world. He regards with infinite complacency those
displays of wisdom, and holiness, and righteousness, and benignity, which he made, when " by him all things were created
that are in heaven and in earth, visible and invisible, principalities and powers, thrones and dominions; and which he continues
to make, while he upholdl-, by the word of his power, all things
which subsist."
But the love here referred to, is love drawn forth by the manifestation-the still more illustrious manifestation-of these excellences, on the part of the Son, in the accomplishment of the
great and beneficent work assigned to him as the Shepherd of the
sheep-the Saviour of the lost; a work expressly committed to
him by the Father-a work performed by him, in the exercise
of adequate powers, in a manner absolutely perfect-and, therefore, the proper object of the entire approbation, the most complacential regard, of Him who appointed him.
To bring out the truth on this subject-so far as we can discover it-in the manner most fitted to enlighten our minds and
impress our hearts, it may be useful for us to inquire, what is the
great work in which the Son is engaged; then to show that this
work has indeed been committed to him by the Father; then to
attend to the qualifications which he possesses for this work; then
to consider the manner in which he performs it; and then,
finally, to show how, in the performance of this work, he is, and
must be, the object of the Father's most complacent approbation
and most tender love. And may the Holy Spirit-equally the
Spirit of the Father and of the Son-take the guidance of the
thoughts and the affections both of the speaker and of the hearers,
that, on a subject dark with excess of brightness, he may not
still farther darken counsel by words without knowledge; and
may not only be prevented from thinking, or speaking, or feeling,
in any way inconsistent with the sacredness of the subject, but
that his heart may " indite a good matter, and his tongue be as
the pen of a ready writer, while he speaks of the things touching
the King;" and that they, perceiving that though the voice is
on earth, the speaker is in heaven, may listen with holy reverence'to the Father proclaiming, " This is my Son, in whom I aml
well pleased," and have conscious fellowship with Him in His
complacent approbation, His tender love.




526    THE SON'S WORK APPROVED BY THE FATHER. EEXP. XIV.
I. -THE GREAT WORK IN WHICH THE SON IS ENGAGED.
The great work in which the Son is engaged is salvationdeliverance-the deliverance of men-of a particular class of
men. In the discourse of our Lord, it is represented under the
figure of rescuing a flock of sheep from circumstances of extreme
impending danger, and bringing them into circumstances of complete security and perfect happiness. It is plainly of primary importance to our forming just judgments of this work, that we
have clear apprehensions as to the class of individuals who are
here termed "the sheep."
It is obvious that they are men; and some interpreters and
divines have been disposed to think, that "the sheep" is just
another name for the human race, viewed as the subjects of the
Divine property, and the objects of the Divine care; but we are
persuaded that this is false interpretation, and naturally leads to
unsound theology. There can be no doubt that Jesus Christ is
the divinely-appointed Saviour of the world; there can be no
doubt that the salvation he came to work out, is a salvation
which all men need-which is suited to all men-and which all
men, without exception, are made heartily welcome to participate
in. There is no doubt that "the one Mediator gave himself a
ransom for all"-that he is " the propitiation for the sins of the
whole world"'-that no man perishes because there is not an
all-perfect sacrifice for sin-and that no man. to whom the
Gospel comes, need want a personal interest in the saving effects
of that sacrifice, but for his own simple refusal to accept of what
is freely given to him of God-and that, in this view of the
matter, men might have been represented as "the sheep," in
opposition to the fallen angels, for whom no mediator has been
provided, to whom no Saviour has been offered.
But while all this is truth-important truth-it is plain that
" the sheep" here are but a portion of mankind, for we read in the
context of men who are not Christ's sheep; and the salvation
here spoken of is not only a possible, but an actual salvation;
not only the means of deliverance, but deliverance itself; salvation not only procured, but applied. The good Shepherd not
only gives his life for " the sheep,"-which he did when he gave
himself a sacrifice, the just in the room of the unjust, when he
died " once for all"' —but he gives unto " the sheep eternal life;
and they shall never perish,"" but " shall have everlasting life."
lNow, we know these statements are not true of all mankind;
for, while "the sheep" at last enter into life eternal, there is
another class of men who go away into everlasting punishment.
" The sheep" are obviously the same persons who are termed
" the called ones" —" the faithful or believing ones"-" the holy
ones"-" the heirs of salvation"-" the chosen generation"-'" the
royal priesthood"-m" the holy nation"-the disciples of the great
3 1 Tim. ii. 5, 6. 1 John ii. 2.    4 Heb. x. 10. oarrar.    6 John x. 28.




PART I.]  GREAT WORK IN WHICH THE SON IS ENGAGED.    527
Prophet —those who, sprinkled by the blood of the atoning sacrifice, come to God through the great High Priest-the obedient
subjects of the King, whom God has set on his holy hill. " The
sheep" is just a general name for " the innumerable company, out
of every kindred, and people, and tongue, and nation," who shall
be made possessors, in all its blissful extent, of the salvation that
is in Christ with eternal glory. In other words, they are " the
elect of God," for there can be no doubt that it is the same class
of individuals who are " blessed with all spiritual and heavenly
blessings in Christ Jesus"-who were "chosen in him before the
foundation of the world, and predestinated unto the adoption of
children by Jesus Christ, to God the Father, according to the
good pleasure of his will."' Whether the term "sheep" have a
direct reference to their being " elected," or rather to their being
"selected" —whether it be intended as descriptive of them, as
objects of eternal, special, sovereign favor, without reference to
spiritual character, or of them as possessed of, or to become possessed of, certain distinctive characters, in connection with certain
distinctive privileges, is a question of minor import; though I
confess that, while I can have no doubt that "the sheep" and
" the elect" are two terms descriptive of the same class, I should
hesitate to say that they are synonymous expressions-two terms
which are intended to be expressive of the same truths with
regard to that class. "The sheep" are just the same persons
as " the many sons" whom the Son-the first-born among many
brethren-as the Captain of salvation, is certainly conducting to
glory-the brethren, whom he is to present to his, and their,
Father and God.
Their deliverance, their salvation, is the Great work referred
to in the passage before us. Now, what is this work?  In the
case of every work of deliverance, it is quite obvious that just
views of it cannot be acquired without a clear apprehension of
what the evils are, under which the subjects of it labor, and
from which they require to be delivered. Now, "the sheep"
are a portion of the fallen race of man, and the evils they labor
under are just the evils common to men as sinners. In the passage before us, these evils are represented under the figure of
the evils to which strayed sheep are subject. They have exposed
themselves to certain death, from which they can be delivered
only by the Shepherd laying down his life to save them; and
they are, moreover, away from the fold, indisposed to return.
and they need to be guided back to it.
In consequence of having violated the Divine law,-by upholding which alone, not merely the honors of the character and
government of God can be sustained, but, what is really the
same thing, the true, permanent happiness of his intelligent
creatures can be secured-those who are to be saved are exposed
to those penal evils, by which He vindicates the wisdom, righteousness, and excellence of that law, and by which He shows the
6 Eph. i. 3-5.                      7 Heb. ii. 10.




628    THEF SON'S WORK APPROVED BY THE FATHER. [EXP. XIV
folly and wickedness of "every one who continueth not in all
things written in the book of that law to do them."  From these
evils they must be delivered, or they shall be miserable, without
measure and without end; and they can, in the nature of the
case, be delivered by nothing but what " magnifies and makes
honorable" the Divine law, and secures its holy and benignant
ends —at least in the same degree as the perfect obedience of innocent man, or the everlasting destruction of sinning man, would
have done. This, then, is the fundamental part of the work of
the salvation of man-equally fundamental to a salvation suited
to all, offered to all, and to a salvation received and enjoyed by
"the sheep."  Their salvation must be made consistent with the
perfections of the Divine character, and the principles of Divine
government; in other words, with the good order and happiness
of the intelligent creation of God.
But while this is the fundamental part of the work, it is not
tlhe whole work. " The sheep" who have been rescued from the
evils ready to destroy them, by the self-sacrifice of their Shepherd, must be induced to turn their straying feet towards the
fold; they must be made to listen to, and obey, " the great Shepherd, brought again from the dead, by the blood of the everlasting covenant;" and following him to "the green pastures, and
the still waters," they must be prepared for being, at the close of
the day of time, all brought together into the heavenly fold-a
state of perfect holy happiness.
" The sheep," as they are by nature as guilty, so they are also,
by nature, as depraved, as the rest of the race; and an essential
part of their salvation consists in being delivered from this depravity-in " being4transformed by the renewing of their mind"
-in being made like " the ever-blessed God," by being made
like the Holy, Holy, Holy One.  AlTthe evils of life in themselves-the manifestation of the Divine displeasure against sineven death itself-must be lnade to bear their part in the bringing about this perfect conformity of mind and heart to God; and
then, when they have served this purpose-so different from that
which He whose work they are, intended them  to serve-they
must all cease: the afflictions of life at death, when the spirit enters into a state of entire freedom from sin and pain; and death
itself at the resurrection, when even "the last enemy shall be
destroyed:"8 and the sheep,-the saved ones, in all the entireness
of their natures as embodied spirits, endowed with high powers
of intellect, affection, and action,-must be delivered from evil in
all its forms and in all its degrees, and a happy, holy company
be put in possession of a happiness filling, to an overflow, all the
capacities of enjoyment of their now perfected natures, throughout the eternity of their being. Such is a hasty sketch of the
work of salvation which man needs. All this must be done, or
"the sheep" cannot be saved.
It was the determination of God that they should be saved;
s 1 Cor. xv. 26.




PART II.] APPOINTMENT OF THE SON TO HIS GREAT WORK.   529
but where was to be found the Saviour who was capable of doing
all this? Had Jehovah, on a day "when the sons of God came
to present themselves before him," unfolded his purpose of mercy,
stated what was necessary to be done to carry that purpose into
effect, and proclaimed, " Whom shall I send, and who will go
for us?" there would have been silence in heaven. Willingly
as they " do his commandments, hearkening to the voice of his
word," the highest angels would have shrunk from a task
which they must have seen clearly no created arm could accomplish. To use the quaint but expressive language of holy
Herbert —
"When man was lost, God's pity looked about
To see what help in th' earth or sky;
But there was none: at least no help without;
The help did in God's bosom lie.
There lay his Son." -
He was a party to the council of peace, and gladly consented to
become man's GOEL, Kinsman-Redeemer, and, at whatever cost;
re-purchase the forfeited inheritance: "Lo, I come;" "I delight
to do thy will."9
II.-THE APPOINTMENT OF THE SON TO HIS GREAT WORK BY
THE FATHER.
To the accomplishment of this great work, the Father appointed him. This is the second topic to which I wish to turn your
attention: "This commandment"-the commandment to act the
part of the Good Shepherd, in all its extent, to the sheep-" this
commandment I received of the Father."
There was no danger of any created being ultroneously assuming this character, or doing the work that belongs to it. The
wisdom and the power necessary for its accomplishment were
wanting; and, even if they had been present, where was to be
found, among creatures, the self-sacrificing pity which was not
less necessary?  It was for the Father-the economical representative of Deity-to determine whether such a work should be
undertaken, and to determine, too, who should undertake it.
He had no confidence in his angels for such a purpose; and,
wise as they are in managing the affairs entrusted to them, they
soon would have been found chargeable with folly here. Love
to the Son, and love to those who were to be saved by him, induced the Father to appoint HIM to be the Saviour.
This principle, that Jesus Christ is the divinely-appointed
Saviour, holds a high place in the revealed system. In ancient
prophecy, he is spoken of -as "He who should come in the name
of the Lord to save."  "Behold," says Jehovah to the church, by,
his prophet, seven hundred years before he that should come did;
come —" Behold my servant whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom
my soul delighteth: I have put my Spirit upon him,  he shall
9 Psal. xl. 7.
VOL. I.                  34




530    THE SON'S WORK APPROVED BY THE FATHER. [EXP. XIV.
bring forth judgment to the Gentiles."  "Thus saith God the
Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that
spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he
that giveth bread unto the people upon it, and spirit to them
that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee in righteousness,
and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for
a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles."'0  "The
Lord hath called me," says Messiah himself by the prophet;
"The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of
my mother hath he made mention of my name. And he hath
made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand
hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver
hath he hid me; and said unto me, Thou art my servant, O
Israel, in whom I will be glorified." " It is a light thing that
thou shouldest be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will also give thee for
a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto
the end of the earth.""  "We all, like sheep, have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath
laid on him the iniquities of us all."'2  Exaction was made, and
he became answerable. "I will," says Jehovah, "set up one
Shepherd over my sheep, and he shall feed them, even my
servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.""
The fact that the Father had sent him, and sent him to save
his people from their sins, occupied a leading place in the declarations made by our Lord himself. He declares that "the Son of
man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give
his life a ransom for many." He came " to seek and to save that
which was lost."  And He " came not of himself, but the Father
sent him." " The Father sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world through him should be saved."
"I am come in my Father's name."  "All that the Father giveth
me shall corme to me: for I came down from heaven, not to do
mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the
Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given
me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last
day."  "And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one
which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting
life: and I will raise him up at the last day." " The Father which
sent me, he gave me a commandment." "I came to do the will
of him that sent me." " God so loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life."'4
His forerunner, John the Baptist, calls him, by way of eminence,
"Hle whom God hath sent."'"  His apostles often teach the same
1O Isa. xlii. 1, 5, 6.               11 Isa. xlix. 1-3, 6.
12 Isa. liii. 6, 7.                  13 Ezek. xxxiv. 23.
14 Matt. xx. 28. Luke xix 10. John viii. 42; iii 17; v. 43; vi. 37-40; xii. 49;
iii. 16.                                      15 John iii. 34




PART II.] APPOINTMENT OF THE SON TO HIS GREAT WORK.   531
doctrine, aware that it lies at the foundation of human hope.
"God sent forth his Son," says the Apostle Paul, " made of a woman,
made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that
we might receive the adoption of sons."  "God sent his own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin," —i. e. as a sin-offering,"that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."  Explaining an Old
Testament oracle, he says that when it had become plain that
" sacrifice and offerings," and " burnt-offering," which were under
"the law," could not take away sin, Christ " came to do the will
of God," "which will was the sanctification of the called ones,
through the offering of his body once for all."  "God sent his
only begotten Son," says the Apostle John, " into the world, that
we might live by him."  "The Father sent the Son to be the
Saviour of the world."'6
So abundant is the evidence that the Son, in becoming " the good
shepherd of the sheep," "the Saviour of the body," did not " take
this honor to himself, but was chosen of God, as was Aaron."He who said to him, " Thou art my Son, this day I have begotten
thee," said also, "Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec."  "Thou art my servant, in whom I will be glorified."
To use another figure, he said, "Behold I will bring forth my
servant, The Branch;" "He shall build the temple of the Lord:
Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear
the glory." " The counsel of peace is between them both." But
in the new economy, even this originates with the Father. "All
things are of God," —of the Father-" by Christ Jesus the
Son." 17
And now, let us reflect on the depth and variety of misery into
which man had plunged himself, by his unprovoked violation of
that law which is holy, just, and good, and his infatuated departure from Him who is the fountain of all good,-on the infinity
of power, and wisdom, and kindness, which was necessary to rescue
us from these miseries, and restore us to the enjoyment of life, of
what is better than life, —on the resolve of sovereign grace, that
out of the ruins of the stately fabric demolished by Satanic malignity and human folly and sin, should be erected a building of
mercy, in which unnumbered millions of the self-ruined race should
enjoy a happiness, higher in its nature, because rising out of a
fuller display of the grandeur and graces of the Divine character,
than they could have enjoyed had they never fallen,-and on the,
if possible, still more marvellous means by which this marvellous
purpose was to be executed. Let all that is within us bless the
thrice holy name of the Father and of the Son,-of him who came
to save us, and of Him who sent him. Let us honor the Father;
and let us honor the Son as the Father; for this is the Father's
will. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
16 Gal. iv. 4, 5. Rom. viii. 3, 4. Heb. x. 5-10. 1 John iv. 9, 14.
17 He'). v. 5, 6. Isa. xlix..  Zech. iii 8; vi. 12, 13. 2 Cor. v. 18. 1 Cor.
viii. 6.




532    THE SON'S WORK APPROVED BY THE FATHER. [EXP. XrV.
who, according to his abundant mercy, has blessed us with all
heavenly and spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus."  "And to him
that loved us," so as not to love his own life to the death for our
salvation; to him who loved us, "and washed us from our sins
in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God,
even his Father, to Him be glory for ever and ever." Nor forgotten be the Holy, the good, Spirit of the Father and of the Son,
whose dwelling without measure in the incarnate Son made humanity in him the perfection of moral beauty, and who, shed forth
on his chosen ones, gradually conforms them to his image, till at
last they become like him, seeing him as he is. "O give thanks
unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for
ever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever."  " Who remembered us in our low estate: for his
mercy endureth for ever: And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever." " O give thanks unto the
God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever." HALLELUJAH.
III.-THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THE SON FOR HIS GREAT WORK.
To every one who reflects on the nature and extent of the work
to be accomplished, it must be obvious, that qualifications of no
ordinary kind were requisite for its accomplishment. Whether
we fix our mind on that part of the work which lay in rendering
the salvation of men consistent with the perfections of the Divine
character, and the principles of the Divine government, or on
that part of it which lay in actually putting individual men in
possession of salvation, the truth of the remark now made will
appear with equal clearness.
He who is to make atonement for human guilt, must himself
be completely free from guilt; he must have a perfectly accurate
knowledge of that law which, by obedience to its precepts, and
endurance of its sanctionary penalties, he is to "magnify and
make honorable;" he must have an entire conformity of mind and
will with the great Lawgiver, rendering his obedience and sufferings the intelligent, hearty expression of complete satisfaction
with, entire acquiescence in, supreme admiration of, that law
which man had contemned and violated; he must be a person
who is not naturally subject to the requisitions of the law, either
preceptive or sanctionary, —a person who is not " under the law,":but who must "be made under it;" and, in fine, he must possess
such a dignity of nature, as well as perfection of character, as that
HIs cheerfully and perfectly satisfying the demands of the law
violated by man, shall place the excellence of that law, its wisdom,
righteousness, and benignity, in at least as strong a light as the
perfect obedience of an unsinning human race, or the everlasting
misery of a guilty human race, would have done.
When you reflect on the nature of some of these obviously ne



PART III.]  THE SON'S QUALIFICATIONS FOR HIS WORK.     533'
cessary qualifications, and on the degree in which others of them
are requisite, it is plain, that no mere created being could be the
expiator of human guilt; and it is equally plain, that' the uncreated Being, viewed merely as uncreated, could not perform this
most wondrous and difficult of all works. Nothing short of the
union of Divinity with humanity, could serve the purpose. God,
as God, cannot obey, suffer, and die. Man, as man, can never do
more than answer the demands of the law on himself,-can never
do more than it is his duty to do, —far less yield an obedience
and satisfaction, so overflowing with meritorious value, as to lay
a foundation for the just God justifying an innumerable multitude
of ungodly sinners, justly doomed to destruction for their offences
and transgressions. The expiator must be God. He must be
MAN. He must be " God manifest in flesh."'"
Nor are qualifications less extraordinary requisite for-because
adequate to-the second portion of the great work entrusted to
the Son, the actually putting individual men in possession of
that salvation, for the communication of which he has opened up
a way, by that perfect satisfaction to the demands of the Divine
law, which we term his atoning sacrifice. What is the extent of
power and knowledge, and wisdom, and purity of principle, and
firmness of purpose, and benignity of disposition, that is necessary
in him who is to raise man from the depths of ignorance, error,
ungodlines,, sensuality, malignity, and wretchedness, and to
mnake him wise, good, and happy, in a degree corresponding to
his ever-increasing capacities of intellectual and moral excellence, and of the happiness which springs out of these? Think
what is necessary, both as to the control of external event, and
the communication of internal influence, in order to effect this in
a single instance, even the most favorable; think of what must
be necessary to effect this, in the case of all " the nations of the
saved," scattered over the whole habitable globe, during all the
ages of its existence, in all the various stages of human civilization; then think of what is necessary to the destruction of the
last enemy,-to the restoration of immortal life to the dead-to
the changing of the vile bodies of his people, and fashioning
them like unto his own glorious body-superinducing immortality on mortalityv-incorruptibility on corruption-swallowing up
death in victory;-think of all this, and say if the qualifications
required for such a work, are not of an extraordinary kind?
How inadequate were the powers of the highest angel —how inadequate the concentrated energies of the created universe-to
the production of such effects as these! The entire conduct of
the government of the universe-the control of all beings, influences, and events —" power over all flesh'"-" all power in
heaven and in earth" —guided by divine wisdom influenced by
hunian sympathy —is obviously necessary for the accomplishment
of this mighty work.
Now, all these qualifications, high and varied as they are, are
13 1 Tim. iii. 16.




534    THE SON'S WORK APPROVED BY THE FATHER.  EXP. XIT.
to be found in him to whose management the Father'Lath committed it. The good shepherd has all the qualifications for saving his sheep. He saves them from death, by laying down his
life; and having resumed the life he laid down, he can rescue,
and guide, sustain, feed, and guard them, till lie bring them to
the fold above, the abode of inexhaustible abundance, of perfect
security, of endless peace.
The view given us of the Son's qualifications for his work, in
the passage before us, is a very interesting and comprehensive
one. " I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to
take it up again." These words imply, that the Son had a life
to lay down for the sheep, by the laying down of which, they
would be rescued from destruction; that he had power to lay
down that life; and that life which he had, if resumed, would
enable him to give to his sheep eternal life; and that he had
power to take it up again, to employ it for this purpose. Let us
look a little at these statements respecting our Saviour's qualifications, thus implied or expressed in the passage before us.
He had a life to lay down, which could make expiation for sin,
and save the sheep. There never was a life in the universe which
could have served this purpose, but his-the life of a perfectly
holy man in union with God. The life of God could not have
served the purpose; but life could not be laid down, for God
lives by necessity of nature. And if that life could be laid down,
the consequences would be, not the salvation of man, but the
annihilation of the universe. The life of man could not have
done it. The life of even an innocent man is God's gift; and
when God calls back his gift, what merit is there in quietly,
gratefully restoring it? The life of guilty man could not do it.
"None could redeem his brother:" none could redeem himself,
for the desert was, in every case, death-" ever-dying death "death, beyond which there is no life. The life of the whole
animal creation was obviously utterly inadequate, utterly unfit,
to take away sin. The only life, by the laving down of which
expiation could be made, was the life of the incarnate Onlybegotten, the man in union with God; one, whose life was his
own property-and such a property as was fully adequate to the
end contemplated. When we think of the Son laying down his
life, we are not to fix our mind on the simple fact of dying; it is
HIS dying.  The sacrifice was himself the thirnkig, feeling,
active, suffering being-Himself, in every thought, feeling, and
action, from the moment of the commencement of his human existence, perfectly conformed to the will of God, and this conformity made meritorious by the supreme dignity of that higher
nature which, in him, was united to the human.  His whole
human life was the sacrifice, and we call his death so by way of
enminence, merely because it was the termination, and the most
striking display, of that course of entire devotedness to the Divine
will, which commenced with his human being.
Now, this life which our Lord had, he had "a power to lay




PART III.]  THE SON'S QUA.LIFICATIONS FOR HIS WORK.       535
down. "'  No man did, no man could, wrest it from him.  " He
laid it down of himself-he had a power to lay it down."  Jesus
died a violent death.  HIe was "taken, and with wicked hands
crucified and slain."  Yet his death was in the highest degree
voluntary.  He died, because he chose to die. " Himself he cannot save," said his enemies; and it was true, though not in their
sense. He could not, because he would not. For this cause, he
had come to that hour. His enemies had no power over him,
but what was given them from above. His smiting, by a look,
to the earth, an armed band, showed how easily, without asking
for legions of angels, he could have baffled the powers of his enemies and rescued himself. But there is something more in the
words, than that our Lord's death was voluntary. They intimate,
that he was Lord of his own life; that it was his own independent
property.  Iie had submitted, in the economy of redemption, to
be appointed to exercise this independent right in laying it down;
but had it not been for the possession of this independent right,
no Divine appointment to lay down, an entirely dependent life,
could have made the sacrifice of such a life adequate to the redemption of mankind. The words are equivalent to,' I can, by
my death, rescue the sheep from destruction, for I have a life to
lay down, over which I have entire independent control.'
And as the laying down this life, over which he had power,
was necessary and sufficient for the expiation of the sins of the
saved, so the resumption of this life was necessary and sufficient
for their actual salvation. Had that life been laid down, never
to be taken up again, man could not have been saved. Actual
salvation is to be enjoyed through the constant activities of the
ever-living God-man, who "was dead, but who is alive, and lives
for evermore," as "Lord of all."  The Son, then, as an all-accomplished Saviour, had power to resume the life he laid down.
When men destroyed the temple of his humanity, he had power
-and he exercised it —to raise it on the third day. When " put
to death in the flesh," he was "quickened by the Spirit."  He
could not, "it was not possible that he should, be bound with
the cords of death." The exertion of this power is the evidence
that he is " able to save to the uttermost all coming to God by
him.,,20
Our Lord's qualifications as an actual Saviour are reducible to
two classes: Qualifications which rise out of Divine appointment;
and qualifications which lie at the foundation of Divine appointment. And it is chiefly, I apprehend, to the last of these that
our Lord refers, when he says, "The Son hath life in himself,
even as the Father hath life in himself,"-' has an independent
power over his life, which makes that life, when given, an adequate expiation for sin, —which makes that life, when resumed,
19," No man taketh it from me:" rather, with Campbell, " no one forceth it from
me." "'Eyt rTiOult abraiv ar' ~[avrob, bifariam exponi possunt, vel quod se vita
exuat Christus, manens ipse integer, ac si quis vestem a corpore suo deponeret,
vel quod suo arbitrio moriatur." —CALVIN.
2u Rev. i. 18. John ii. 19. 1 Pet. iii 18. Aets ii. 24. Heb. vii. 25.




536    THE SON'S WORK APPROVED BY THE FATHER. [EXP. XIV.
the effectual instrument of salvation.' The true cause why', because he dies, his people shall not die, and why, "because he
lives, they shall live also," is to be found in his true divinitv"the power he had to lay down his life, and the power he had to
take it up again.""
This power he has exercised; and in exercising it, he has accomplished, and is accomplishing, the great work given him to
(lo,-the salvation of his chosen ones.
How different the death of Christ from the death of an ordinary man! There, there is a display of nothing but weakness; here,
there is the weakness of humanitv, and the power of Divinity
equally manifested by him who died. He has put forth his power
in laying down his life, and he has put forth his power in taking
it again. In laying down his life, he has expiated the sins of his
people. He has laid down his life "for the sheep," —in their
room, for their salvation. His death was a powerful death: it has
made atonement for the.sins of men, having satisfied the demands
of Divine justice, and made it consistent with these demands to
extend forgiveness and salvation to every sinner believing in
Jesus.
IV. —THE SON'S ACCOMPLISHMENT OF HIS GREAT WORK.
This is the very first principle of the Gospel, as stated by the
Apostle Paul. "He is set forth a propitiation in his blood."
"I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you,
which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand." " For I
delivered unto you first of all that which I also received [first of
all], how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures."
Yes, he suffered for sin, " the just in the room of the unjust, that
he might bring us to God." He was "delivered for our offences."
He "redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a
curse for us." He "bare our sins in his own body on the tree."
In him we have " redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
of sins."  He "loved the church, and gave himself for it, that
he might purify it by the washing of water by the word." He
i' gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity."
As the Mediator of the new covenant, he submitted to death,
that "through his death, the transgressions which remained,
unatoned under the former covenant might be expiated.""
And this offering has been effectual for the purpose for which
it was presented. It has "finished transgression, made an end
of sin, and brought in an everlasting righteousness."  This "one
offering has perfected for ever all them that are sanctified." This
"blood cleanses from  all sin:" it "purges the conscience on
which it is sprinkled from dead works," to serve the holy God.
None can lay anything to the charge of God's elect, since Christ
21 John v. 21; xiv. 19.
22 Rom. iii. 25. 1 Cor. xv. 1-3. Rom. iv. 25. 1 Pet. iii. 18. Gal iii. 13
I Pet. ii. 24. Eph. i. 7. Eph. v. 25. Tit. ii. 14. Heb. ix. 15.




PART V.3   PROOFS OF THE FATHER'S COMPLACENCY.          537
has died; and there is no condemnation to them who are " in
Him" who was " delivered for our offences."
And as the exercise of this power, in laying down his life, has
rescued his people from guilt; so the exercise of this power, in
taking his life again, lays the foundation for their actual deliverance from all the evils consequent on guilt. He " who was given
for our offences," has been "raised again for our justification."
He who "died for our sins according to the Scriptures," has
" risen again from the dead according to the Scriptures." And
the life he has resumed —the life of the God-man-is devoted to
the bestowing on his sheep all the blessings of his salvation. He
is "exalted a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance and
remission of sins." He is " head over all things, to his body the
church."  " He is able to save them to the uttermost that come
unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for
them."  And "because he lives, they shall live also."  Raised
from the dead, he comes in the administration of his Gospel, and
the influence of his Spirit, to bless them, turning them from their
iniquities;-ascended on high, and having received gifts for men,
he sheds forth the Holy Spirit abundantly, and is "the author
of eternal salvation to all them that obey him."23
The one part of his work is completely finished. He offered
himself-once for all. "There remaineth no more sacrifice for
sin," for no more is necessary; and the other part of his work
proceeds successfully —" the pleasure of the Lord prospers in his
hand." Vast multitudes of degraded, depraved men, are now,
through his mediation, "spirits of just men made perfect;" and
vast multitudes more are preparing, through the same mediation,
for joining that holy happy assembly.
V.-THE COMPLACENCY MANIFESTED BY THE FATHER TO THE
SON, IN THE ACCOMPLISHMENT, AND  FOR THE ACCOMPLISHMENT, OF HIS GREAT WORK.
Let us now turn our attention to the complacent approbation,
the tender love, with which the Father regards the Son, on
account of his thus, in the exercise of these qualifications, successfully accomplishing this glorious work: "Therefore doth my
Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it
again."
That the conduct of the Son, in accomplishing the work given
him to do, must have been regarded by the Father with infinite
complacency, must be obvious to every one who reflects on the
leading features of the Divine character, and on the nature and
design of that work. Jehovah loves holiness, and hates iniquity;
his nature, as well as his name, is love; and He must have
surveyed, with infinite delight, the disinterested sacrifices, the
23 Dan. ix. 24. Heb. x. 14. 1 John i. 7. Heb. ix. 14. Rom. viii. 1, 33;
iv. 25. 1 Cor. xv. 3. Acts v. 31. Eph. i. 22. Heb. vii. 25. Acts iii. 26.
Eph. iv. E Tit. iii. 6. Heb. v. 9.




538     THE SOYS WORK APPROVED BY THE FATHER. [EXP. XIV.
unwearying labors, the intense sufferings to which the Son submitted, to make God glorious and man happy, and the complete
success which crowned these sacrifices, and labors, and sufferings.
The manner in which this satisfaction has been displayed, will
be best described in the words of the prophetic and apostolic testimony. When, in prosecuting his great work, he descended into
the state of the dead, God " did not leave his soul in hell"-the
separate state —nor did he allow even the body of his Holy One
to see corruption. He showed him the path of life; he introduced
him into his immediate presence, where there is " fulness of joy;"
he set him " at his right hand, where are pleasures for evermore."
And there He who is the King and the King's Son "joys in his
Father's strength, and in his salvation he greatly rejoices. He
has given him the desire of his heart; he has not withholden the
desire of his lips. He has prevented him with the blessings of
goodness; He has set a crown of pure gold on his head: he asked
life and He gave it him, even length of days for ever and ever:
His glory is great in his salvation; honor and majesty have been
laid on him. For He has made him him most blessed for ever;
He has made him exceeding glad with His countenance." " The
Son loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even
his God, has anointed him with the oil of gladness above his fellows."  He has " set him on his own right hand, and said, Sit on
my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool;" and the
decree has gone forth, " Ask of me, and I will give thee the
heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth
for thy possession." He has " given to him dominion, and glory,
and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should
serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall
not pass away, and that kingdom shall not be destroyed."  "All
kings shall fall down before him; all nations shall serve him."
"His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as
long as the sun; and men shall be blessed in him: all nations
shall call him blessed." And, while the Father brings Him, as
his first-begotten, into the world-puts him in possession of his
inheritance of the nations-He gives forth the mandate, " Let all
the angels of God worship him." Jehovah has been " well pleased
for his righteousness' sake:" and " when he had made his soul an
offering for sin, he saw his seed, he prolonged his days, and the
pleasure of the Lord prospered in his hand. He saw of the travail of his soul, and was satisfied." Jehovah has assigned hinm
" the great for his portion, and the strong for his spoil; because
he poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with
the transgressors; and bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."2" Such is the prophetic testimony
respecting Jehovah's satisfaction in the work of his Son and
Servant, and respecting the manner in which this satisfaction is
expressed.
24 Psal. xvi. 10, 11; xxi. 1-6; xlv. 7; cx. 1; ii 8. Dan. vii. 14. Psal. lxxii.
11, 17; xcvii. 7.  Heb. i. 6.  Isa. liii. 10-12.




PA, 1' V.]   PROOFS OF THE FATHER'S COMPLACENCY.       539
u.let us now shortly attend to the apostolic testimony on the
same subjects. In answer to his supplication, as the God of peace,
the Father "brought him again from the dead, through the
blood of the everlasting covenant," received him up into heaven,
and hath " glorified him with the glory which he had with him
before the world was."  He hath "made him both Lord and
Christ"-" Lord of all." " He hath raised him from the dead,
and set him at his own right hand, in the heavenly places, far
above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and
every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that
which is to come; and hath put all things under his feet, and
hath given him to be the head over all things to the church,
which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." He
"hath committed all judgment to him"-given him power over
all flesh —all power in heaven and earth-and commanded that
all should " honor the Son, even as they honor" himself. " Because he, who was in the form of God, and reckoned not equality
with God a prey —emptied himself-took on him the form of a
servant-was made in the fashion of man-and being found in
that fashion, humbled himself, and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross; therefore God has highly exalted
him, and given him a name above every name: that at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that
he is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." He " is gone into
heaven, and is on the right hand of God, angels, and authorities,
and powers, being made subject to him."
And when the end comes, then, in a still more illustrious
manner, will the Father manifest, before the assembled universe,
how he loves the Son, because "he laid down his life, that he
might take it again." He shall then " appear in his own glory,
and in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels. Then shall
he sit on the throne of his glory, and before him shall be
gathered all nations;" and his righteous sentence, as the supreme
Judge, shall fix the eternal destinies of men and angels." Then
will it be made apparent to all intelligent beings, that this is the
God-man whom Jehovah delights to honor, and indelibly will it
be engraved on every mind in the universe, "The Father loveth
the Son"-" Behold how he loveth him."
Thus have I endeavored, with all the brevity and distinctness in my power, to lay before your minds the various parts of
that magnificent thought which the text expresses-' Jesus
Christ, the Only-begotten of God, satisfactorily accomplishing the
great work of human salvation committed to him, in the exercise
of powers every way adequate to it, is the object of his Father's
entire approbation and most tender love.' I have turned your
attention to the great work of the Son —showed you that this
work was committed to him by his Father-unfolded the qualifications which fitted him for such a trust —described the manner
25 Heb. xiii. 20. John xvii. 5. Acts ii. 36; x. 36. Eph. i. 20-23. John v. 22,
23.  Phil. ii. 9-11.  1 Pet. iii. 22.  Matt. xxv. 31-46.




540   THE SON'S WORK APPROVED BY THE FATHER. [EXP. XIV.
in which, in the exercise of these qualifications, he performed the
work entrusted to him-and, finally, pointing out the.manner in
which the Father has manifested, is manifesting, and will manifest,
his entire approbation of the work, and his infinite complacency
in its author.
And now, my brethren, "What think ye of Christ?"  You
have heard of his qualifications as a Saviour; you have heard
how he has manifested these qualifications in procuring and bestowing salvation; you have heard of his all-perfect atonement;
you have heard of his prevalent intercession; you have heard of
his boundless dominiom; you have heard of his resistless power;
you have heard of his infinite grace; you have heard what the
Father thinks of him and his work; you have heard how He
loves him, why He loves him, and how He manifests his love to
him; and shall all this appear to you a matter of slight interest,
of little moment? and shall we, who speak to you of these things,
seem to you as those who mock? can you make light of it?
You may do so now, but you will not be able to do so always —
likely not on a death-bed-certainly not at the judgment-seat;
and how soon may you be laid on the one-placed before the
other! I scarcely think one of you would dare to speak derogatorily of the person and work of the Son of God; but if you
think, if you feel, if you act, derogatorily of them, it is the same
thing in the estimation of Him with whom you have to dowho, while men look at the outward appearance, looks on the
heart. His question is, "What thinki ye of Christ?" and he
asks it, not that He may obtain information, but that you may be
led to reflection. Oh, remember that, as you judge of Him, you
shall be judged by Him: " By what judgment ye judge, ye shall
be judged." Can your judgment be right, if it is not in accordance with that of God, whose judgment is always according to
truth? God loves Christ; ought not you to love him? God
loves him, because he died to save you, and will you not love
him for this reason? Will you not love him who so loved you,
as not to love his life to the death for your salvation? God is
well pleased with his work; why should not you? God rewards
him; why should not you seek to avail yourself of the high
honor put within your reach, of being workers together with
God in this highest and holiest of his works, rewarding his Son?
You do not rightly estimate him and his work, if you do not, on
account of that work, devote yourselves entirely to him, who
devoted himself entirely for you-if you do not henceforth live,
not to yourselves, but to him who died for you, and rose again;
and, taught by the grace of God in Christ Jesus, learn to deny
" ungodliness, and worldy lusts, and to live soberly, righteously,
and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope.
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour
Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us




EXP. XIV.]                     NOTE.                             541
from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."5
NOTE A, p. 524.
"V. 17-19.'Iva ifa,) may be connected with the latter member,
70q,,Ut T. q'. IOU, or with the former, (ya7rn.  In the last case the sense
would be-' Therefore, because I give my life, &&L TOVTO 8rt, the Father
loveth me so much, that I shall recover my life again.'  This construction, however, is somewhat forced.  It is more natural to connect?va
with the latter member,-'because I lay down my life that I may
take it again;' for the final end.of all the agency of Christ was the
resurrection with which his glorification commenced.  O'Ia is not necessarily ecebatic merely, Qxlanxo;o.  [See an able essay on the use of?va in the New Testament, by Tittmann, translated by Prof. Stuart for
the Bib. Repos. Jan. 1835.]  Theod. Mopsuest.: o'  5lro0v7uaxeFs;ia
xvaalrf,'AiJ& xat& 70i Ilcsya 70 1e'oq)yxa, d); alTla'Y To, C:hd6evo,' roi.   He
did not die for the purpose of rising again; but, conformably to a
scriptural idiom, he calls that a cause which was merely a consequence.'
Calvin:' dicit non hac lege se moriturum, ut absorbeatur a morte, sed
ut victor mox resurgat.'' He says that he is not about to die in such
a way as to be swallowed up of death, but to the end that he might rise
again victorious from the grave.' —It would seem that the only ground
on which the Father could love Christ for his entrance into death, was
the fact that he devoted himself to it freely from a personal impulse of
love. He therefore adds, that he of his own accord had come to accomplish those designs of salvation which God had for the human race,
through his death.  This expression of necessity leads to the assumption, that in the man Christ there was a full personality, human and
free, while, at the same time, we cannot suppose that this was separated
from the Being of God in him; for it was only by its unity with God
that it had power, Ftohuala, to re-assume life. As he correctly marked
in the edition of Knapp, this verse is parenthetic, and Tarstv refers either
directly to verse 17, or, as Grotius thinks, to the whole section conerning Christfs solicitude for his flock." —THoLucK.
26Mt. ii. 12-14..




EXPOSITION XV,
CONVERSATION WITH THE JEWS AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.
JOHN x. 22-42.
THE extreme circumstantiality of the gospel narratives is a
strong presumptive proof of their truth. Nobody can read them
without being struck by this characteristic. There is often a
very minute detail of circumstances,-a variety of little occurrences are mentioned which could never have entered into the
mind of an inventor, but which naturally suggested themselves
to the mind of an eye-witness, when about to record the event
with which they were connected. The time, the place, the witnesses, are very generally noticed. Now, this was what no imnostor would have ventured to do. Is it conceivable, that in a
book published in the place where, and soon after the period
when, the supposed events are said to have taken place, such a
person should state, that at such a time, in such a place, in the
presence of such individuals, such transactions took place, while
there were many who, from their own experience, could contradict his testimony, and declare that no such transactions happened? Imposture has generally found it necessary to deal in
general undefined statements; or, if it descends to particulars, the
scene and the period are placed at such a distance as to make confutation difficult. The more of circumstance we introduce into a
story, it has been justly remarked,' the more do we multiply the
chances of detection if it be false, and the means. of confirmation
if it be true; and, therefore, where a great deal of circumstance is
naturally introduced, it proves that the narrator feels the confidence of truth, and labors under no apprehension for the fate of
his narrative. Even though we have it not in our power to verify
a single circumstance, yet the mere fact of a story being minutely,
yet naturally, circumstantial, is always felt to be a strong presumption of its truth. No narratives possess this character in a
superior, perhaps in an equal, degree, to the gospel histories. And
when it is considered that, at the time of their publication, there
were multitudes of highly-influential persons who would have
eagerly embraced every method of proving their falsehood, the
corroborative evidence thus suggested of their truth will be felt,
by all honest minds, to be powerful indeed.' Paley.




FXP. XV.]     CONVERSATION WITH THE JEWS.              543
We have an example of the circumstantiality referred to in the
verses which introduce the subject of our exposition. " And it
was at Jerusalem the Feast of the Dedication, and it was winter.
And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch."' An interval of from two to three months appears to have elapsed between
the occurrence of the events described in the first part of this
chapter and of those detailed in the latter part of it. The whole
of the transactions recorded from the beginning of the seventh
chapter of this gospel down to the 21st verse of this chapter, seem
to have taken place at Jerusalem at the feast of Tabernacles, which
was celebrated in the latter part of our month of September, and
in the beginning of October. The conversation we are now about
to consider took place in that city at the feast of Dedication, which
was celebrated about the middle of our December.
Where our Lord was during the interval, and how employed,
has been a question among harmonists, and like many of their
questions, it is one, not of very great importance, nor of very easy
resolution. It is doubtful whether we have any account of this
period, that is, whether any of the events recorded by any of the
evangelists took place during it. We know that what is recorded
in the gospels is but a specimen of what took place. John. referring not only to his own narrative, but to others, says, "There
are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they
should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself
could not contain the books that should be written."' Wherever
our Lord was, and however employed, we know that he was about
his Father's business, going about'doing good, finishing the work
of Him who sent him. It seems probable, however, from John's
usually relating, with considerable minuteness, the circumstances
connected with our Lord's leaving Jerusalem for Galilee, and his
returning to that city, that, in this instance, he remained in the
metropolis or its neighborhood, during the interval between the
feast of Tabernacles and the feast of Dedication.
This last festival did not belong to the number of the divinelyappointed feasts. No festival was appointed or observed in commemoration of the dedication either of the first or of the second
temple. They were both solemnly dedicated. We have an account of the one in the eighth chapter of 2d Kings, and in the fifth
chapter of 2d Chronicles; and of the other, in the sixth chapter
of the book of Ezra. Neither of these dedications took place in
the winter. Some have supposed that the dedication referred to
was the dedication of the temple as rebuilt by Herod the Great.
But though that temple was dedicated with great pomp and solemnity, we have no reason to think that its dedication had an anniversary commemoration. It is all but universally admitted that
the dedication of the temple here spoken of is that which took
place after its being purified from the desecration to which it was
subjected by Antiochus Epiphanes, who had sacrificed a great sow
on the altar of burnt-offerings, and sprinkled broth made of its
2 John x 22.                      s John xxi. 25.




544            CONVERSATION WITH THE JEWS          [EXP. XV
flesh all over the temple. For three years the services were suspended, and great dilapidations made on the building. In the
fourth chapter of the 1st book of Maccabees we read that, after
Judas Maccabeus had repaired the temple, and cleansed it from its
pollutions, the people kept the dedication of the new altar of
burnt-offering for eight days, with songs, and anthems, and harps,
and cymbals, worshipping and praising the God of heaven, offering burnt-offerings with gladness, and sacrificing the sacrifice of
praise. This dedication took place in the winter season, and was
commemorated by an annual festival, not in Jerusalem only, but
over the whole land. The historian informs us that "Judas and
his brethren, and the whole congregation of Israel, ordained that
the days of the dedication of the altar should be kept in their
season from year to year, by the space of eight days, with mirth
and gladness."' Neither the dedication nor its commemoration
were of direct Divine appointment, and the festival seems to have
been rather a civil than a sacred one.
There is, I believe, much in the Bible which has never yet
been brought out of it, and there has been much brought out of
the Bible that was never in it. Many passages of Scripture are
not turned to all the purposes they are intended to serve, and
some have been turned to purposes which they are neither calculated nor intended to serve. The passage before us-like the
famous passage, " Thou art Peter, and on this rock will I build
my church," on which has been built a wondrous superstructure
of error and superstition, the mystery of iniquity, a stupendous
fabric of imposture —belongs to the last of these classes. From
our Lord's being present at this festival, very extraordinary conclusions have been drawn,-such as, that the church, or the state,
has a right to decree rites and ceremonies which shall be obligatory on the conscience, and that the consecration of churches,
and the commemoration of such consecration, are usages having
scriptural sanction.
We have no reason to think that our Lord went up to Jerusalem for the purpose of observing this festival, as in the case of
the divinely-appointed Jewish feasts, such as the Passover, and
the feast of Tabernacles. He was at Jerusalem at the time of
this feast; and, wherever he had been at that time, he would
have found it observed. The peculiar services of this festival had
no Divine authority,-and were, therefore, not likely to be taken
part in by one who said, "Well hath Esaias prophesied, In vain
do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments
of men."" And, besides, the ceremonies were of a very childish
kind. It was called the feast of lights, from the custom of lighting up candles in every house-one on the first day of the feast,
two on the second, and so on, till on the eighth day there were
eight candles burning in every house; and sometimes the more
zealous lighted a candle for each individual in the family, so that,
4 Vide Joseph. Antiq. xii. 7, 7. 1 Mac. iv. 56. 9. Mac. i. 18. Lightfoot, HoI
Heb.' Mark vii. 6, 7.




EXP. XV.]      AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.             545
in a family of twelve, by the end of the feast there would be a
blaze of nearly a hundred candles. All this could be but little
to the mind of him who said, " God is a Spirit: and they that
worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."' There
is no proof that Judas Maccabeus did right in instituting such a
custom, or that succeeding generations did right in observing it.
With regard to the practice of the consecration of edifices for
religious purposes, we may remark, that there is an obvious propriety, when taking possession of a house to be permanently employed for the worship of God, in invoking His blessing on the
religious ordinances that are there to be performed; and if those
using the edifice for these purposes choose annually to express
solemnly their thanks to God for furnishing them with a commodious place in which to worship him, and for the goodness
and truth he has made to pass before them there, I do not see
how any valid objection could be made against such an observance; but it is at most a matter of laudable expediency, not of
absolute duty. But to seek for sanction to the foolish customs of
the popish church in consecrating churches,-painting twelve
crosses on various parts of the building, and lighting up a lamp
before every cross, —the bishop knocking at the closed door with
a pastoral staff, ordering the devil to depart, and invoking the
presence of God, the angels, and the saints,-scattering ashes
over the floor of the place,-sprinkling the place with holy water,
-anointing the crosses and the altar; or for the only somewhat
modified fooleries observed in some churches calling themselves
reformed, on such occasions-to seek sanction for such mummeries in the passage before us, is absurd indeed. It is difficult to
say whether the effrontery of those who employ such arguments,
or the folly of those who are, or who profess to be, convinced by
them, be most deplorable.
There was a time when I should have thought it utterly needless to make such remarks; but there is much passing around us
to impress us with the importance of guarding against introducing anything human into the services of religion, and with the
possibility of the most absurd rites of a superannuated and apparently deceased superstition being extensively, though.it must
be only temporarily, revived. It is impossible to be too zealous
in reference to the purity of christian doctrine and the simplicity
of christian usage. Let us, my brethren, stand fast in the liberty
wherewith Christ has made us free, and refuse to bend our neck
to any yoke of bondage. I trust I shall never have occasion to
say of you, " I am afraid of you; ye observe days, and months,
and years."' "Let no man judge you in meat, or in drink, or in
respect of a holiday;" " let no man beguile you by a voluntary
humility;"8 by a vain show of unsanctioned ceremonies. Sanctify
the day the Lord has made holy; and what God has left common,
dare not thou to consecrate, any more than to desecrate what he
has sanctified. Those who do the one are most likely to do the
6 John iv. 24.   7 Gal. iv. 10, 11.  s CoL ii, 16,8 1&
VOL. I.                  35




546          CONVERSATION WITH THE JEWS         [EXP. XV.
other. The slave of human authority is ever ready to be a rebel
against Divine authority.
The only fair conclusion you can draw from the statement in
the text is, that our Lord availed himself of the opportunity
afforded by the assembling of such multitudes in Jerusalem and
the temple, of proclaiming that the kingdom of God was at hand.
He could not be absent from some one or other of the places
where this festival was observed, for it was observed all over the
land of Judea. He would not intermit his beloved work,-and
where could he carry it on with greater advantage than in the
place where the largest assemblage of men was to be met with?
And here, too, he has set us an example that we should follow
his steps.
" It was winter." It was so, as a matter of course, at the festival of Dedication; but that does not seem the meaning of the
phrase. It was not only the winter season, but it was winter
weather; and, therefore, he walked in the temple in Solomon's
porch. Neither the heats of summer, nor the colds of winter,
could hinder him from prosecuting his great object, the inssruction of his countrymen.
"The righteous," said Solomon, "shall be held in everlasting
remembrance;" and here his proverb is exemplified in reference
to himself. The temple he was honored to raise for the worship
of Jehovah had long ago crumbled into ruins under the sacrilegious hands, and by the devouring fires, of the Babylonian
invaders. Thie magnificent portico on the east of the temple,
400 cubits long, its principal entrance, overlooking, from a height
of 600 feet, the deep valley, along which runs the brook Kedron,
remained when the rest of the edifice was destroyed; and though
no doubt in the course of ages frequently repaired, continued to
retain its original name, and probably materially its original
form; for we find that, when Herod Agrippa was petitioned by
the people to rebuild it, that employment might be found for the
many thousand workmen (18,000 according to Josephus) who
had been engaged in the repairing of the temple, which was then
finished, a very short time before its final destruction, he refused
to allow so venerable a relic of antiquity to be pulled down.'
But the porch of Solomon, as well as his temple, had long been
levelled with the dust; not one stone of it stands on another.
Yet the services of that prince to the cause of truth and piety
shall never be forgotten; and the latest generation of mankind
will study his writings, and venerate him as the wisest of men.
In this spacious colonnade,-forming the eastern entrance to
the temple, properly so called, and along with the whole buildings around, included in the general name of the temple,-of
which we read repeatedly in the New Testament,'~ we are in.
formed Jesus walked. The picture these words call up to the
mind is an interesting one. On one of the days of the festival,
the mysterious Galilean peasant is seen walking, as in deep
9 Joseph. Antiq. xx 9, 7.       10 Acts iii. 10; v. 12.




EXP. XV.]      AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.            547
meditation, apart from the crowd which bustled around. It was
but a few months ago that his enemies here had taken up stones
to put him to death as a blasphemer. Yet he returned undismayed, conscious that he was not only "the Lord of the temple,"
but of his own life, knowing that no man could take it from him
till he laid it down of himself.
While thus " walking in the temple in Solomon's porch, then
came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long
dost thou make us to doubt?  If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly.""  The term "the Jews," here, and often elsewhere in
the gospel history, signifies some of the more distinguished
among the Jews —some of their scribes or rulers. They eagerly
clustered around the wonder-working Nazarine, who had made
it very evident that he could not be turned into a tool to serve
their purposes, and whom they were determined to crush, perceiving that his influence must be fatal to theirs, desirous of entangling him in his talk, that they might obtain the means either
of inflaming popular prejudice against him, or of preferring an
accusation against him to *the Roman government. They profess to be in a state of great anxiety in reference to the question, whether he was indeed the Messiah. They intimate that
their minds were in a state of painful suspense; and, by implication, they blame him as the cause of this. "How long dost
thou make us to doubt?""'How long dost thou keep our
minds in' suspense, as if on tenterhooks?' This statement, with
regard to themselves, was not true, and their imputation against
him was utterly unfounded. They were anxious, indeed, very
anxious; for this Galilean peasant was undermining their power.
Their desire was not to get evidence that he was the Messiah,
but, if possible, evidence that he was not the.Messiah; or rather,
having made up their minds that he was not, and could not be,
the Messiah, they were desirous that he, in making a direct claim
on Messianic honors, might afford them an opportunity of crushing him, either by means of popular tumult, or by judicial process. The imputation against him was entirely unfounded. If
they were in suspense, it was not his fault.  Evidence, abundant
evidence, had been presented to them; and if they had been but
willing to do the will of God, they could not but have known
the doctrine, whether it was of God. If they were in suspense.
it was not want of evidence, but want of disposition to make an
honest use of evidence, that was the cause of it. The struggle
in their mind was a struggle between the evidence which seemed
to prove that he was the Messiah and their indisposition to receive such a Messiah. Much less evidence would have satisfied
them, had he been the kind of Messiah they wished and expected.
It is so still. It is dissatisfaction with the substance of Christianity which induces men to reject it; and this dissatisfaction
with its substance they endeavor to cloak under a complaint in
" John x. 28, 24.  12 i1vXyv 0/(5v a'petr. 2 Kings xviii. 29. LX.o




548          CONVERSATION WITH THE JEWS          [EXP. XV.
reference to its evidence, as if that, in its kind or measure, were
haot what they had a right to expect. They impute to Christianity
what is owing to themselves. It is not the Gospel which makes
men doubt. It is their own ignorance, or prejudice, or immoral
principles. The fault is not in the object, but in the eye. The
tendency of Christ's words and works —their only tendency-is
to make men believe. If men doubt, it is in spite of them, not
because of them.
" If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly." These words, like the
inquiry addressed to John the Baptist,3" plainly intimate that the
Messiah was generally expected to make his appearance at this
time: all were, if we may use the phrase, on the out-look for him.
They indicate, likewise, that the surmise that Jesus was the Messiah was common. They also seem intended to convey the idea,
though a false one, that "the Jews" had been impressed with a
conviction, from what they had seen and heard, that Jesus was
the Messiah, and that they wanted little more than an explicit
declaration from him, to induce them to acknowledge his claim.
If he would but speak out, their suspense would be at an end.
They acted like "the spies, who feigned themselves just men."
If we might believe these men, they were willing-anxious-to
acknowledge the Messiahship of Jesus, if he himself would but
avow it. Nothing was nearer their heart; but they could not account for this reserve on his part.
The words imply a very dark insinuation against our Lord's
character. It is either,' He knows that he is not the Messiah;
but he is well pleased to enjoy the consequence which his being
supposed to be so, gives him with the ignorant vulgar;' or,'Fear
prevents him from making an avowal, which he is very much disposed to do, though he knows that it is false.' This was a most
unworthy imputation on the Great Prophet, who was " faithful,
like Moses," in all his transactions respecting the house or family
of God committed to his care; who never " concealed God's righteousness in his heart, but published his salvation in the great congregation.""
The vile imputation, though groundless, was not without some
appearance of foundation; for Jesus had never yet declared,
plainly and openly in public, that he was the Messiah. He never
did so, till, under the solemnity of an oath, he was required to do
so; and then his acknowledgment was as explicit as was the denial
of his forerunner, when materially the same question was put to
him. " He confessed, and denied not, but confessed" he was the
Son of God, the King of Israel. But hitherto he had declared
his Messiahship explicitly only to the twelve disciples, to the
Samaritan woman, and the Sychemites, and to the man blind from
his birth, whom he had miraculously cured.
The reasons for'this reserve are obvious. He could not have
made such a declaration without hazarding revolt, or giving his
enemies an opportunity of destroying him before his hour was
13 John i. 19.'4 Heb. iii 2. Psal. xl. 9, 10.




EXP. XV.]      AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.            549
come; and b, - object was to test men's characters, by the manner in which he revealed himself. There was enough-far more
than enough-to convince the honest-minded; there was not so
much as to make it impossible for the prejudiced to refuse assent.
The principle on which this demand on our Lord proceeds,
that men are entitled to the highest possible degree of clearness,
in statement and evidence, in the case of a divine revelation, is a
false one. To that degree of both they are entitled that is
necessary to reasonable belief, but to nothing more; to such a
degree of them as annihilates all objection, all difficulty, they are
not entitled. Such information and evidence are seldom given
in any case. The words of Jonathan Edwards are full of wisdom: " The human understanding is the ear to which the word
of God is addressed, and if it be so spoken that that ear,' if open
and attentive,' may plainly hear it, it is enough. If the mind of
God be but revealed to us, if there be but sufficient means for the
communication of his mind to our minds, that is sufficient-;
whether we hear so many express words with our ears, or see
them in writing with our eyes; or whether we see the thing that
he would signify to us by the eye of reason and understanding.
It is not for us to teach God how he should teach us, nor prescribe to him how clearly he should tell his mind and will;
but to be thankful for divine revelation as we have it, which, if
we do not believe, neither would we be persuaded though it were
never so much adapted to our humor. The question at last
will be, not, had you such demonstration that you could not
resist, but such evidence as you ought to have yielded to; not,
was it made so plain that you could not misunderstand it, but
was it made plain enough that you might have understood it?"'b
In the case before us, our Lord had not said openly that he was
the Messiah; and if he had, there was no ground to suppose that
these men would have acknowledged his Messiahship, but the
very reverse; but he had said and done enough to instruct and
convince all who were disposed to be instructed and convinced
on this subject.
To the unreasonable and insidious demand of these Jews,
"Jesus," with his ordinary depth and "meekness of wisdom,"
"answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that
I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me."s These
words have been very generally interpreted, as if they were a
direct answer to the demand of the Jews, and an appeal to his
miracles as evidence that what he had previously said, when he
asserted his Messiahship, and what he had now said, was true,-'I told you that I am the Messiah.' Though he had never done
this in so many words, in direct terms, he had often done it substantially. He had used the expressions, "the Son," "the Son
of God,' "the Son of man," in a way which nobody could doubt
referred to himself; and the Son of God, and Messiah, and the
Son of man, though by no means synonymous terms, were well
15 Edwards' Wor) s, vii. 502. Lond. 1817.  is John x. 25.




550          CONVERSATION WITH THE JEWS          [EXP. XV.
known to be different significant appellations of the same person.
He had called himself " the Light of the world," and "the good
Shepherd," which, to persons well acquainted with the prophetical
writings, were understood to be descriptive titles of the Messiah.
He had told them, that " Abraham  saw his day," and " Moses
spoke of him,"-statements which plainly intimated, that the
speaker was " He that was to come."  He had thus declared his
Messiahship in such a way that no intelligent Jew could doubt
his meaning:'I have thus told you that I am the Christ, and
though I did so, you did not believe me. You are not likely to
believe me now, if I only repeat, in somewhat more explicit
language, the declaration I have so often made to you. Yet you
ought to have believed me, for "the works which I do in my
Father's name, they bear witness. of me." The miracles which I
perform, professedly as a person sent by God, whom I claim as
my Father in a peculiar sense, clearly prove that whatever I declare is worthy of credit. No man could do such works as I do,
unless God was with him; and God, who is the God of truth,
would never affix his seal, which cannot be counterfeited, to what
is untrue.'
This brings quite a consistent sense out of the words; yet I
more than doubt whether it exhibits an accurate statement of our
Lord's meaning. It is too much like a giving the go-by to the
demand of the Jews-appearing to reply to it, while, in reality,
it does not. I apprehend the view which Dr. Campbell, Mr.
Scott, and dther good interpreters prefer, is the true one. When
men proposed questions to obtain gratification to their curiosity,
or food for their malice, our Lord often returned answers which
disappointed both expectations, and conveyed reproofs which
their own consciences enabled them to understand. It is so here.
The verse is but one sentence: "I told you, and ye believed
not, that the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear
witness of me."  It is as if our Lord had said,'I have not
"plainly"'7 —rather "openly"-declared that I am the Messiah:
there are very good reasons why I should not do this; but I
have not left you at all in the dark respecting who I am, unless
you voluntarily choose to remain so. I have said to you again
and again, that the " works which I do in my Father's name,
they bear witness of me;" they distinctly tell who I am; they, to
every intelligent reflecting man, proclaim that I am the Christ.'
Our Lord seems to reter to such sayings as the following, recorded in the fifth chapter of this gospel:-" If I bear witness of
myself, my witness is not true. There is another that beareth
witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth
of me is true. Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the
truth. But I receive not testimony from man: but these things
I say, that ye might be saved. He was a burning and a shining
light; and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.
But I have greater witness that that of John: for the works
L7 ~ra~iqaia..




EXP. XV.]     AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.            551
which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I
do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. Ye have
neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye
have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him
ye believe wrt. Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye
have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And
ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." This is a
summary of the evidence of our Lord's divine mission and
Messiahship. It is as if he had said,'My own unsupported
testimony, as to who I am, would not be accounted worthy of
credit; but I have a witness who is worthy of all credit. I do
not refer to John, though he, a divinely-authorized teacher of
great eminence, and whom you for a season greatly reverenced,
gave testimony in my favor when you made inquiry of him,a circumstance I refer to, not to add to my claims on your belief,
but for your advantage. The witness I refer to is one infinitely
higher than John: it is God, my Father. He bears evidence to
me in various ways. These works, far surpassing human created
power, which I perform, as one sent by him, they declare the
truth respecting me. Nor is this all. You have heard his voice
proclaiming, "This is my well-beloved Son, hear him;" and ye
have seen the cloud of glory from which that voice proceeded.
Nor is this all. In the writings of the prophets, who spake as
they were moved by his Spirit, there is a testimony concerning
me; and yet ye will not come to me that ye might have life.'
The words of our Lord now under consideration plainly mean
more than-' The miracles I work prove my divine mission;'the meaning is,'They declare my distinctive character,-they
prove not only that I am a divine messenger, but that I am the
Messiah. The miracles which I perform, are the miracles which
the prophets declared the Messiah would perform.' The best commentary on them is to be met with in the reply of our Lord
to the message which John the Baptist sent him by two of his
disciples,-" Art thou he that should come? or look we for
another?" And in the same hour he cured many of their
infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that
were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering, said unto
them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and
heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are
cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the Gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me."8" These were the precise verifications of the
ancient predictions as to what was to take place when the divine
Saviour-the Messiah-appeared. " Then the eyes of the blind
shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped:
then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the
dumb sing."" Our Lord's miracles, taken in connection with
ancient prophecy, clearly proved, not only his divine mission,
but his Messiahship.'I told you then,' says our Lord,'my
13 Luke vii. 21-23.               19 Isa. xxxv. 5, 6.




552           CONVERSATION WITH THE JEWS        [EXP. XV.
miracles show who I am, but you did not believe me when I said
this to you; would you more readily believe that direct claim to
Messiahship whi h you are endeavoring to draw from me?'
They pretended that they only doubted. Jesus tells them they
did not believe. "Scepticism in religion," as Matlhew Henry
says, "is no better than infidelity."  The truth is, they were
seeking, in such a declaration, not the means of confirming
their wavering faith, the fixing their unsettled mninds, but the
means of carrying out their fixed determination to destroy him.
They would have found in such a declaration new ground of
cavil, and have said,'Thou bearest witness of thyself,-thy
witness is not true.' What they needed was, not clearer statements, more cogent arguments, more striking miracles, —it was
a humble, docile mind and heart, a disposition to know and
do the will of God —to know what was true, to do what was
right.
The very interesting question, How is it that, in all ages, so
many who have been furnished, in a statement of the truth and
its evidence, with the means of christian faith, have yet'remained
unbelievers? resolves itself into two inquiries. The first question
is, Why do men not believe what Jesus Christ declares to them
-why do they not account it true, just because he declares it?
The answer to that question is, Because they do not believe that
he is what he professes himself to be. They do not believe the
testimony of the Father respecting him, that he is his wellbeloved Son-his sent and sealed messenger. They disbelieve
the testimony given by him, because they disbelieve the testimony
that is given of him. They do not hear the Son, because they
do not hear the Father bidding them hear him. The second
question is, But why do they not believe the testimony of the
Father concerning the Son? This is not owing to any want of
clearness in the testimony, nor from any want of sufficiency in
the evidence that it is indeed the Father's testimony. It is to be
found ultimately in the operation of some immoral principle-in
the working, in some particular mode, of the depravity of nature
which characterizes all mankind, preventing the testimony from
being apprehended in its meaning and evidence, so as to produce
its proper effect.
The questions referred to are intimately connected, but they
are obviously distinct, and ought not to be confounded. The
want of faith in the doctrines arises out of want of faith in the
Teacher; and the want of faith in the Teacher arises out of the
want of faith in his credentials; and want of faith in these arises
out of their not being rightly apprehended; and want of right
apprehension arises out of want of right examination; and want
of right examination arises out of-it can arise out of nothing
else-some modification of immoral principle, profligacy, thoughtlessness, or pride-the pride of worldly distinction, or of wisdom,
or of self-righteousness. It is unbelief, in the first of these
phases, to which,~1r Lot i refers here; and he traces it to its




EXP. XV.]      AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.             553
true cause. "But ye believe not; because ye are not of my
sheep, as I said unto you.~20
These Jews, seeking to entangle our Lord in his talk, speak
as if ready to acknowledge his Messiahship, if he would but avow
it. Our Lord's reply is substantially,'There is no room  to
suppose that, though I were to make the avowal which for your
own malignant reasons you urge on me, you would credit it,
however plainly and solemnly made. I have told you that the
works which I perform, in the name of the Father, contain in
them a testimony respecting me sufficiently explicit to all who
are desirous, or even not indisposed, to attend to and receive it.
You did not believe that statement. You are not disposed to
believe any statement I may make; and the reason is,' ve are
not of my sheep." 21 Let us inquire for a little what our Lord
means by being of his sheep; and then show how these men, not
being of his sheep, accounts for their not believing him.
Christ's "sheep" are obviously those who are peculiarly related to him-his " peculiar people"-the objects of his especial
love and saving care. They stand in a peculiar relation to him
as the great, the good, the proprietor-Shepherd of the sheep, and
are characterized by a peculiar mode of thinking, and feeling,
and acting, in reference to him. They are "the election of
grace," "those" chosen "of God from among the fallen race of
Adam," before the foundation of the world, "to be redeemed by
the incarnate Son from  all evil," and to obtain "the salvation
that is in Him, with eternal glory."
But though "the sheep" and'the elect' are two appellations
that refers to the very same individuals, they are not to be considered as synonymous terms. The truths intended to be conveyed to our minds respecting them by these two designations are
by no means entirely coincident. When we call the peculiar people of Christ "' the elect," we mean that they are the objects of a
sovereign special love and purpose of salvation. Their relation
to Christ, as elected, is that of persons who are certainly to be
saved by him; but their state and character, as elect, are in no
way different from those of the rest of mankind. They are just
a part of the fallen family of man, under the curse of the violated
law, and common heirs of the universal depravity which characterizes their race; "children of wrath," "children of disobedience," righteously condemned, thoroughly depraved, in themselves hopelessly lost, apart from Christ.22 When we call them
"the sheep," though we are speaking of the same individuals, we
mean that their state and character are materially different
from those of the rest of their race-the purpose of mercy, in
reference to them, has begun to develop itself. Influenced by
the Divine Spirit, enlightened by the Divine word, they have been
20 John x. 26.
21 Ammonius' gloss is good. E I? d& /uO Kopv6eiri /lot  o irr Etiv o  erotpsi,
adst' Eretr&?/ 9leic oiK OTae Irp6/aTa. Corderii Catena in Joan.
22 Xwop' Xpatroi.




554            CONVERSATION WITH THE JEWS         [EXP. XV.
brought to Jesus Christ as the good Shepherd. They have been
taught by the Father to come to the Son. In the belief of the
truth respecting him, they have been placed, and have placed
themselves, under his care. They are thus brought into a relation to Christ which gives them an actual interest in the blessings
of his salvation. They are pardoned on the ground of his atonement, justified by his righteousness, and regenerated and sanctified by his Spirit. They hear his voice, and they follow him, a
declaration which is not true of any sinner, merely as elected;
for, till he is "brought nigh," he is just as far off as those who
are never brought nigh-just as guilty, as depraved, as rebellious.
as obstinate, as the rest of the race. The sheep of Christ, then,
are those who, under a special divine influence, have been induced
to believe the truth respecting the Saviour, and whose spiritual
state and character have been thus savingly changed.
We are prepared now to reply to the question, How these men
not being of Christ's sheep, accounts for their not believing what
he says to them? Whether none of these men were among " the
elect" we cannot tell; for anything we know, some of them may,
at an after period, being taught of the Father, have come to the
Son as the good Shepherd; and we are quite sure that if they
came to him he would not cast them out. But it was quite evident that they were not, at this time, "of his sheep;" their relation to him, and their disposition towards him, were anything but
those of his sheep; and this being the case, it was not wonderful
that they should not believe what he said to them. They did not
regard him as their shepherd,-how then should they "hear his
voice and follow him"? They did not believe his divine mission
as a teacher, —how then should they credit his declaration, especially when so much opposed to all that they had been accustomed to consider as true? They did not believe his divine
mission as a Saviour, how then should they rely on him for salvation?
Some excellent divines, though, in this instance, not very accurate interpreters, considering "the sheep" and "the elect," as
not only descriptions of the same persons, but as synonymous
terms, have supposed that our Lord's statement is,'Ye do not believe, because ye are not among the elect.' Now, though the faith
of every believer must be traced to the sovereign love in which
his election originated, manifesting itself in that special divine
influence which alone can produce the faith of the truth in the
human mind, yet the non-election of the unbeliever is not, in
any proper sense, the cause of his unbelief. To himself it is something  entirely unknown, and therefore it cannot influence his
mind; and, most certainly, there is nothing in the Bible which
would lead us to the dreadful conclusion that God prevents men
from doing what he calls on them to do. The cause of holiness
and salvation is to be sought in the sovereign grace of Jehovah,
of which the first operation. is the purpose of mercy; but the
cause of sin and perdition is to be sought, not in the Divine de



EXP. XV.1     AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.              55
cree, but in man himself,-his perdition is the just punishment
of his sin,-and his sin, his actual violation of the Divine law, is
the development of the depravity of his nature. It were dreadful presumption in any minister to say of any set of men, or any
individual man, " You do not believe, you cannot believe, because
you are not elected;" not merely because these very persons may
yet, in believing the truth, by their calling, make their election
evident. but because in no case is it non-election which is the
cause of men's unbelief. Unbelief, though it is a negative word,
is a positive thing, and requires a positive cause, and, in all Its
forms, is always charged on men as something for which they are
culpable; and it surely was not our Lord's design to furnish these
men with a plausible excuse for their unbelief, but, on the contrary, to charge it home on them as a sin which would necessarily
exclude them from deriving any advantage from Him, as the
great and good Shepherd? It would be strange, indeed, if he
who "came not to condemn the world," had in these words (as
he has done if they bear the sense which has been, by a mistaken
interpretation, imposed on them) anticipated as to these individuals, the final condemnatory sentence of the judgment-day. A
plain obvious meaning comes out of the words,'It is because ye
have never seen me to be the good Shepherd, and, under this
conviction, come into my fold, that ye have discredited what I
have said to you; and while you continue in this state, you will
continue to discredit whatever I may say. If ye were of my
sheep, ye would believe what I have said to you-you would believe whatever I shall say to you.'
The words, "as I'said to you," in our version, are connected
with what precedes them. If that be the true connection, our
Lord must either refer to something he had said which is not recorded —for nowhere in any of the gospels is he represented as
having said to those men, or those like them,'ye are not my
sheep'-or to declarations which he had formerly made of equivalent meaning, as, " I said unto you, That ye also have seen me,
and believe not."23'I know that ye have not the love of God
in you.' " Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your
father ye will do."2' It seems, however, more probable that these
words ought to be connected with what follows rather than with
what goes before, or rather that they are the junction of the two
statements.  "As I said unto you, my sheep hear my voice, and
I know them, and they follow me,""~ in which case he refers to
what he had said in the discourse delivered to them a few months
before in the same place.'Ye are not my sheep, according to
what I said to you.' "My sheep hear my voice,"-' they attend
to, they believe, they obey me;' "and they follow me" —' they
acknowledge me as their leader, their teacher, their exemplarthey take the course I point out to them, and not only point out
to them, but in which I go before them. Such is the character
and conduct of my sheep. Such is not your character and conW John vi. 36.      24 John viii. 44.    25 John x. 27.




556           CONVERSATION WITH THE JEWS          [EXP. XV.
duct. Ye do not hear my voice,-ye do not follow me.' "I
know my sheep."'I know who are sincere believers in me;
and, knowing who are my sheep, I know who are not my sheep,
-and I know that ye are not of my sl;ee;i. You profess an
anxiety to hear, a readiness to receive, an avoval of my Messiahship; but I am not to be imposed on.' To many who professed
faith in him, he committed not himself, for he knew what was in
man; he needed not that any one should testify of man. He
tries the heart and the reins. All things are naked and open before him. Or, the words may be taken thus,'I acknowledge
my sheep, but I do not acknowledge you for my sheep.'
This statement respecting the conduct of his sheep towards
him, and his knowledge of them, introduced apparently for the
purpose of illustrating the fact, that the Jews were not his sheep,
and that he was well aware of this, leads to a declaration of the
blessedness and security enjoyed by those who were his sheep-a
declaration which contains in it, and which seems to have been
intended to convey to the minds of the hearers, the truth with
regard to his Miessiahship. He does not say plainly, in so many
words,'I am the Messiah,' but he represents himself as being
what none but the Messiah was, and doing what none but the
Messiah could do, "And I give unto them eternal life; and they
shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my
hand."'
This is a declaration equivalent to that of the apostle, in the
Epistle to the Hebrews, "He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him."27  To all his sheep,-that is,
to all who, taught by the Father, have come'to him-to all who,
under special divine influence, have believed the testimony of
the Father concerning him, and been placed by Him, and have
placed themselves, under his care as the good Shepherd-in other
words, to all believers,-he gives eternal life. In restoration to
the favor, image, and fellowship of God, he bestows on them
true permanent happiness.
It is not said he will give them eternal life, b-ut, he gives them
eternal life. On their believing in him, he puts them in possession of true happiness, and the state of happiness into which he
brings them is a permanent state. He quickens them, makes
them alive, gives them the capacity and the enjoyment of true
happiness. Their life is never-dying,-they shall never cease to
be happy. The happiness they obtain is the same in nature as
that which, in larger and ever-increasing measure, is to constitute
the felicity of their eternity.
He " gives " them this happiness. It is not worked for, it is
not purchased by them.  "Eternal life is the gift of God through
Jesus Christ our Lord."" It cost him much to open up a channel
for this eternal life to find its way to us, —" dead in trespasses and
26 John x. 28.-" oi? pi dc7r6?vrat-Med. non perdent sese. ica obx —nec per
ullum hoster extern~um eas a manu mea rapi sinam."-BENGEL.
27 HIeb. v. 9.                           2S Rom. vi. 23.




EXP. XV.]      AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.               657
sins," sunk in spiritual death, doomed to eternal death; but it
comes to us "freely, by God's grace, through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus."  Indeed, it plainly could not have been
got by us at all, had it not been given.
And this " gift and calling is without repentance.""  They to
whom he gives eternal life "shall never perish."  The state of
grace into which believers are brought is one " in which they
stand "30-continue-stand by faith —continue in by continued
believing-which is secured by the continued influences of that
good Spirit which first led them to believe, which the Saviour
perfected by his sufferings, has shed forth on them, and will continue to impart to them. It is their relation to the good Shepherd, their being "in his hand," his property, under his care,
that secures them; for otherwise they are not secure. They
have many and powerful enemies who seek their destruction,
and, without his protection, would assuredly effect it; for neither
in wisdom nor in power are they at all a match for their foes.
Bu*" their Redeemer, who is in the midst of them," is mighty
-"the mighty God,"-and "none can pluck them  out of his
hand." No being, human or angelic-no power, earthly or infernal-can accomplish their ruin. " The gates of hell cannot
prevail against""' Christ's church, as a body, nor against the
feeblest of its genuine members. The Father has put them into
his hands, and who shall pluck them out of his hands? What
power can overpower Him who has " all power in heaven and
in earth," and has all that power just for this end, "that he
should give eternal life to as many as the Father has given him,"
-"_  who is able even to subdue all things unto himself "?32 And
what wisdom can overreach Him whose name is " Counsellor,"
— "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,"
-who is the " wisdom of God," as well as " the power of God "7?9
Nothing but a want of love 6n the part of him whose " saints
are in his hand," then, could account for their being " plucked
out of his hand." But he who loved them so as to give his life
for their salvation,-can he be deficient in love?  No; "he rests
in his love," —" he hateth putting away,"-" whom he loves, he
loves to the end;"-" Jesus Christ, is the same yesterday, and
to-day, and for ever."  "The mountains may depart, the hills
may be removed; but his loving-kindness shall not depart from
his people, neither shall the covenant of his peace be removed."
"His mercy is from  everlasting to everlasting upon them that
fear him ""1-his chosen ones.
The security of the sheep of the good Shepherd is farther illustrated by the declaration, that " the Father which gave them to
Christ is greater than all; and none is able to pluck them out of
his Father's hand."3"  The Father, in the economy of human salt
29 Rom. xi. 29.      30 Rom. v. 2.       31 Matt. xvi. 18.
32 Matt. xxviii. 18. John xvii. 2. Phil. iii. 21.
33 Isa. ix. 6. Col. ii. 3.'1 Cor. i. 24.
34 Zeph. iii 17. Mal. ii. 16. John xiii 1. Heb. xiii. 8. Is. liv. 10. Pal.
ciii. 17.                                    35 John x. 29.




658           CONVERSATION WITH THE JEWS          [EXP. XV.
vation, sustains the majesty of Divinity. All things are of the
Father, by the Son, through the Spirit.  From  eternity, the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blesses all the "faithful"
-that is, all believers.-with heavenly and spiritual blessings in
Christ Jesus, in love chose, or elected, them in him before the
foundation of the world, having predestinated them according to
the good pleasure of his will:" and, in prosecution of this purpose of sovereign mercy, he in time selects them from the world
lying under the wicked one, takes from among them the Gentiles
a people to his name, calls them with a holy calling, leads them
by his word and Spirit to Christ, and puts them under his care.
It is a question among christian interpreters whether the phrase
now before us-the giving of the sheep to the good Shepherd by
the Father-refers to the first or the second of these. It is not a
matter of vital importance how the question is settled, though I
am disposed to think that the latter is the more probable interpretation. The two things, however, go together-they cannot
be separated-sovereign personal election, and special saing
divine influence. The Father entrusts his Son with the care of
these objects of his sovereign love-his eternal choice-his effectual grace. He puts them into his hand, not as if he'were henceforth to take no more concern of them, for "the Son does
nothing of himself," apart from the Father. All HIs resources
are available —are pledged —for the salvation of the sheep.
He is greater than all-infinitely exalted above all creatures in
all excellence. In the economy of grace, the Father is supreme
-greater than the Son —greater than the Spirit, both of whom
HE sends. In essence there is none of the divine persons greater
or less than the rest, for they are one. The reference here is to
the supreme authority, and unbounded power, and infinite wisdom,
of Divinity. "And" here, as in some other places, is equivalent
to'therefore,"'  " None is able to pluck them out of my Father's
hand."  The Father also loves them. Had he not loved them,
there never would have been either the Shepherd or the sheep;
and as his love has destined them to " the salvation that is in
Christ with eternal glory," so he will " keep them by his power
unto salvation"-will "deliver them from every evil work, and
preserve them unto his heavenly kingdom."  He will "take the
wise" —enemies of his chosen-" in their own craftiness," and
make their devices subservient to the attainment of ends the very
reverse of those for which they were intended; HE will "keep
the feet of his saints," and who can make them so stumble as to
fall into perdition? He will "preserve them for ever;" He will
" perfect that which concerneth them;" He will not " turn away from
them to do them good." They in whose hearts he puts his fear
"shalil not depart from him;" He who begins the good work in
them "will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."  The Apostle Paul is a beautiful exemplification of the state of one of Christ's
36 Eph. i. 3-5.
37 Mark iii. 22.-The LXX. repeatedly render ]:-53 by Kat. Iss. xliv. 21




EXP. XV.]       AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.               559
sheep, realizing the truth of the exceeding great and precious
promises contained in the passage before us: —" What shall we
then say to these things?  If God be for us, who can be against
us?"  "Who shall separate us from  the love of Christ? shall
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or
peril, or sword?"  "Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors, through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,
nor things present, no things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor
any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."38
It does not appear to me to be possible, without using an extreme degree of violence to the ordinary laws of language, to
bring out of these words of our Lord, illustrated by the commentary of the apostle, any other doctrine than that the final salvation of all the sheep of Christ,-all true believers (and all who
are true believers are so in consequence of the special influence
of the Holy Spirit, given them according to the good pleasure of
Him who "has mercy on whom he will have mercy, and compassion on whom he will have compassion""3), is as secure as the
infinite love, power, wisdom, and faithfulness of the divine Father
and Son can make it.
The perseverance thus secured is not a perseverance in the enjoyment of blessedness connected with the Divine favor, irrespective of holiness —a security of heaven, though the individual continue in sin. While God continues what he is, and man continues
what he is, such a perseverance can never be anything but the
wild dream of the deluded antinomian, or the monstrous creation
of the unfair polemic. The perseverance which Jesus promises,
and in which Paul exults, is a perseverance in the possession of
that holy happiness which, from the very nature of things, as
well as by the appointment of God, can grow only out of the continued faith of the truth, which just as naturally and certainly
purifies as it rejoices the heart-as certainly transforms the character, as it pacifies the conscience. It is a blessing which none
but a true believer can enjoy, and the comfort of the enjoyment
of which must correspond to the measure, the extent, and the
practical efficacy of his faith. To a regenerate man, under the
influence of unbelief, giving way to sinful propensity, this doctrine
must be " a well shut up, a fountain sealed." It is only those who
have evidence that they are Christ's sheep, that can legitimately
rejoice in what he says of his sheep. The promise, however, obviously not only secures final salvation to those who persevere in
believing, but it secures perseverance in believing to those who
have believed through grace. It is by faith, which God works in
us by his Spirit, that we are put into Christ's hand; and if he who
truly believes in Christ could fall from faith, he would, by so fall38 1 Pet. i. 5. 2 Tim. iv. 18. Job v. 12. 1 Sam. ii. 9. Psal. xxxvii. 28. Psal.
cxxxviii. 8. Jer. xxxii 40. Phil. i. 6. Rom. viii. 31-39.
39 Rom. ix 15.




560            CONVERSATION WITH THE JEWS         [EXP. XV.
ing, fall out of Christ's hand, and the promise would become of
none effect.40 When Satan desired to have Peter to sift him as
wheat, his object was to pluck him out of Christ's hand; but our
Lord said, " I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." Peter's
perseverance in believing was insured by Christ's intercession.
The event was certain; but the exhortation to "Iwatch and pray"
was not superfluous. Had Peter but regarded it as he ought, he
would have been saved agonizing remorse, unspeakable anguish.
The perseverance of all true believers is secured in the same way,
and they have the assurance of it in the "exceeding great and
precious promises" which we have been considering,-promises,
however, the sweetness and invigorating influence of which they
can taste only in the degree in which thev have evidence that they
are the sheep of Christ.
It is a great mistake to suppose that this doctrine renders nugatory, exhortations and warnings to true believers. It is by the
truth dwelling in the mind, and influencing the conduct-it is
thus, and thus alone, that the promise can be fulfilled; and hence
our Lord says to his disciples, " Abide in me;" " If ye continue
in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;" " he that endureth
to the end shall be saved." And the apostle tells all, without exception,'; If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through
the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." " He
that soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption." " He
that turns back, turns back to perdition." The safety of Paul's
companions in the ship was certain; and they had it declared to
them that it was certain, by a divine message, "There shall be no
loss of any man's life."  Yet the same divine message tells them,
" Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved." Peter assures all begotten to a lively hope, that the inheritance laid up
for them should be theirs, and that they were kept to it, by the
power of God, unto salvation; yet he commands them to " give
all diligence to add to their faith virtue, and knowledge, and temperance, and patience, and brotherly-kindness, and charity,"-assuring them that it was thus they were to "make their calling
and election sure," and that, in doing these things, they were
secure of not falling, and of obtaining " an abundant entrance
into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ.'"4
In the beautiful language of Hooker, " It was not the meaning
of our Lord and Saviour in saying, Father, keep them in thy
name" —a prayer answered in reference to all his chosen ones" that we should be careless to keep ourselves. To our own safety,
our own sedulity is required; and then, blessed for ever and ever
be that mother's child, whose faith had made him the child of
God! The earth may shake, the pillars of the world may tremble under us, the countenance of the heaven may be appalled, the
40 Scott.
41 John xv. 4: viii. 31. Matt. x. 22. Rom. viii 13. Gal. vi 7, 8. Acts xxvii.
22-24, 31.  1 Pit. i. 3, 4.  2 Pet. i. 5-11.




EXP. XV.]      AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.               661
sun may lose his light, the moon her beauty, the stars their glory;
but, concerning the man that trusteth in God-if the fire have
proclaimed itself unable as much as to singe a hair of his headif lions, beasts ravenous by nature, and keen with hunger, being
set to devour, have, as it were, religiously adored the very flesh
of the faithful man —what is there in the world that shall change
his heart, overthrow his faith, alter his affection to God, or the
affection of God to him? If I be of this note, who shall make a
separation between me and my God? I know in whom I have
believed; I am not ignorant whose precious blood hath been shed
for me; I have a Shepherd full of kindness, full of care, and full
of power. Unto him I commit myself; his own finger hath engraved this sentence on the tables of my heart:' Satan hath desired to winnow thee as wheat, but I have prayed that thy faith
fail not.' Therefore, this assurance of my hope I will labor to
keep, as a jewel, to the end, and by labor, through the gracious
mediation of his prayer, I will keep it."
Our Lord concludes his declaration of the absolute security of
his sheep, arising from the impossibility of plucking them out of
his or his Father's hand, with these very remarkable words, "I
and my Father are one." It has been common to interpret these
words, of harmony of will and design.'My Father and I are
united in our determination to save the sheep.' This is true; and
without violence to the usage of scripture language, these words
might be considered as teaching this truth; but the connection of
the passage naturally leads us to another mode of interpretation."'
Harmony of will and design, is not the thing spoken of here; but
harmony, or union, of power and operation. Our Lord first says
of himself, "I give unto my sheep eternal life, and none shall
pluck them out of my hand."  HIe then says the same thing of
the Father-" None is able to pluck them out of my Father's
hand."  He plainly, then, ascribes the same thing to himself that
he does to the Father; not the same will, but the same work,the same work of power, therefore the same power. He mentions
the reason why none can pluck them out of the Father's hands,
-because he was Alirr.ghty, and no created power is able to resist him. The thing spoken of is power,-power irresistible.
And in order to prove that none could pluck them out of HIS
hand, he adds, "I and my Father are one."43  One in what? unquestionably in the work of power whereby he protects his sheep,,
and does not suffer them to be plucked out of his hand." What
the Father is, that the Son is. What the work of the Father is,
that the work of the Son is. As the Father is Almighty, so is
the Son likewise. As nothing can resist the Father, so nothing
42 Tittmann.
43 John x. 30.-" vv urevw per Eazev refutatur Sabellius; per bv Arius."-BENGEL
"Unum sumus, ego et pater; ostendit duos esse quos squat et jungit."-TERTuLL.
ad Praxeam.
44 i" The unity here spoken of must be determined from the connection. Euthymius says:-' iv Kart ()vvay/tv, Iyovv raViroovo/oLt el &d iv Ktarda TV (V.VYaS,.' v pa
Kca Kia(a T-I/V Oe6T7ra(.' "-T-IOLUCK.
VOTl I.                   36




562           CONVERSATION WITH THE JEWS          [EXP. XV,
can resist the Son. "Whatsoever the Father hath, the Son hath
likewise. Whatsoever the Father doeth, the Son doeth likewise.
The Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father."  These
two are one-one in nature, perfection, and glory.
This is the plain meaning of the words; and this is the meaning in which the Jews understood them, for they took up stones
to stone him as a blasphemer; and instead of saying anything to
correct their error, if it was one, he went on to say what must
have confirmed it. On the supposition that our Lord is not a
divine person, even if it were possible to explain satisfactorily
these words so as not necessarily to imply a claim of divinity,
which it is not, it would be altogether impossible to account for
his using language which was so much fitted to lead, and which
has led, the great body of his followers, in all ages, into what, on
this supposition, is one of the greatest of errors and sins,-the
holding to be God, and the worshipping as God, him who is not
God. " If he was not one in nature with the Father, why did
he give his enemies such a handle for charging him with blasphemy, by making himself God? and why did he not correct
their misapprehensions of the meaning of his words, when he
found that such a bad use had been made of them, and could not
indeed but see that the manner of his expression gave countenance to it? Why did he present to his sincere followers all
but an irresistible temptation-a temptation before which they
have fallen-to adore him as one with the Father, if he really
was not one with him?  Did he mean, by high swelling words
of vanity, to blind the eyes of his followers to the most fundamental truth of religion, that' there is but one God, the Father'?
Was it his intention, by words improperly chosen for expressing
his real character, to cast stumbling-blocks before his followers,
over which the greater part of them, in every country and age,
should stumble and fall into idolatry, which was one of those
works of the devil that he came to destroy? If Jesus Christ is
not one God with the Father, we and our christian forefathers
are, and have been, as really idolaters as our pagan ancestors.
And must we, in that case, not be shut up to say, that Jesus
Christ, by his ill-chosen words, if not by his false doctrines, has
confirmed, instead of destroying, the reign of idolatry in the'world?"'   Such are some of the inextricable difficulties, the
enormous absurdities, in which we involve ourselves, if we deny
the doctrine of the true and proper deity of our Lord and
Saviour.
In this statement our Lord had, in effect, complied with the
demand of the Jews, to say who he was; though he did not in
so many words declare he was the Messiah. He intimates that
he was "the good Shepherd of whom Isaiah speaks,-he who
was to come and save his people,-the divine author of eternal
salvation to all who obey him." The Jews, who had professed
themselves to be so desirous to hear him say who he was, so
45 Dr. Lawson.




EXP. XV.]     AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.            563
ready to acknowledge him if he would but avow himself to be
the Messiah, were filled with indignation on hearing these words,
and showed a disposition to execute summary justice on him, as
a self-convicted blasphemer.
"Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.""~ Their
object had all along been to entangle him in his talk. For this
purpose, they assumed an air of candor, and seemed anxious
that, in order to relieve them from a state of distressing doubt in
reference to a subject of such deep interest, he should make a
clear statement of his claims, and of the grounds on which he
based them. He did substantially state his claims, and their
foundation; but he did it in such a manner as at once disappointed their malignant hope, that, in doing so, he would lay
himself open to a criminal charge before the Roman magistrate,
and excited to something like madness their feelings of abhorrence against him, as an impious usurper of *divine honors.
The mask was now thrown aside, and they appeared to be what
they were-not anxious inquirers, but determined opposers.
Shutting their eyes to the evidence of his divine mission to which
our Lord had directed them, they considered his declaration, that
he and the Father were one, as a blasphemous assumption of
equality with God, and were about to proceed, in a most illegal
manner, summarily to inflict on him the punishment which the
law of Moses denounced against blasphemy —availing themselves
of the stones which, as the repairs of the temple were not yet
completed, lay scattered around.
It was not the first time they had thus threatened violently to
take away his life. In the same place, not long before, when he
had obscurely intimated that he was in reality that " I AMl" who
existed before Abraham, they took up stones to cast at him."
Their hands, on that occasion, seem to have been mysteriously,
if not miraculously, restrained.  The object of their irritated
malignity suddenly disappeared, and made his way safely out of
the temple, through the midst of them. The prevention, at that
time, of the greatest possible crime-the murder of the Son of
God-did not produce its proper effect. The time for reflection
was not properly improved; and, when the circumstances of temptation return, they appear as ready for the perpetration of their
wickedness as ever.
Even had their view of our Lord's conduct been just, their procedure was unjustifiable. By the law of Moses, no doubt, the
blasphemer ought to be stoned to death. But trial and conviction,
by the proper authorities, ought in every case to precede the infliction of punishment. The law condemned no man till it had
judged him. Our Lord's enemies were for taking the law into
their own hands, and for acting at once the part both of judges
and executioners.
Their fury excited in the mind of Jesus no alarm. He knew
that " his hour was not yet come;" he knew that it was not by
46 John x. 31.                      47 John viii. 59.




564           CONVERSATION WITH THE JEWS         [EXP. XV.
popular violence, but by perverted judicial procedure-not by
being stoned, but by being crucified,-that he had to expiate
human guilt, and glorify God. While, then, the uplifted stones
were ready to be hurled at his head, unprotected but by the invisible hand of his Father, he calmly expostulates with his infuriated enemies, and mildly asks them the reason why they were
preparing to put him to death. By his divine power, he bridled
their rage, and restrained their power, till he had set before them
the wickedness of their conduct.
"Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you
from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?,"48
i. e., are ye about to stone me? In arresting the lifted stone,
how did our Lord manifest his power? showing that-he was
indeed He who stills the noise of the sea, the noise of its waves,
and the tumult of the people; who says to the tide of human
passion, as well as of the ocean, " Iitherto shalt thou come, and
no farther; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed." And, in
expostulating with these men, rather than destroying them, as
he so easily could have done by a mere act of his will, what a
display did he make of his forbearance, long-suffering, and patience? The general force of our Lord's question seems to be
this-' I have never done anything to deserve such treatment.
As a teacher, I have taught only the truth; as a worker of miracles,
I have done only good. I have taught no false doctrine; I have
done no injurious act. I have taught many important truths;
I have performed many beneficent miracles. If you consider
me as deserving to be stoned, it must be for teaching some of
these truths, -fof doing some of these miracles. Which of them
is it that has provoked your resentment, and led you to meditate
so severe a punishment?' The word " works" seems most naturally to refer to miraculous operations; yet it is plain that our
Lord represents the teaching the truth as an important part of
"the work" given him to do. "I have finished," says he, in his
rayer to his Father, "the work which thou hast given me to
do;" and he explains that work, as manifesting the Father's
name to those whom He had given him out of the world-giving
to them the words which the Father had given him. We are
therefore disposed to consider our Lord as referring to all that
he did, as the teacher sent from God, both in speaking and doing
things which no man could have spoken or done, if God had not
been with him.
These works he terms " good works,"" literally beautiful,
morally lovely, and praiseworthy, or beneficent, kind works. His
doctrines were "full of grace," as well as of "truth," and his
miracles not more instinct with power than with mercy. What
could be. more morally beautiful than to teach men saving truth,
and to afford them evidence of that truth, by bestowing upon
them supernatural blessings? Holy benignity-the perfection of
48 John x. 32.
9 ra2ui lpya. Comp. 1 Tim. vi. 18. Gen. xliv. 4. Numb. xxiv. 13. LXX.




EXP. XV.]      AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.           5565
moral beauty-was the leading characteristic both of his doctrine
and of his miracles? Our Lord's works corresponded well with
the design of his mission, and the nature of the economy he came
to establish. The law was introduced in words and works of
terror, and Moses' mission was accredited by thunders, lightnings,
earthquakes, plagues. The mission of Christ was confirmed, not
by striking his enemies with sudden sickness, and destroying them
by dreadful deaths, but by healing the sick, dispossessing the demoniac, and raising the dead.
He had performed many of these works. His whole life was
spent in teaching truth and doing good. How many miracles are
distinctly recorded in the gospel history! how many do the evangelists mention only in general terms! how many do they pass
over entirely in silence! "There are many other things," says
the beloved disciple, " which Jesus did, the which, if they should
be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could
not contain the books which should be written."  The miracles
of our Lord are far more numerous than all the miracles recorded
in the Old Testament Scriptures.
" I have showed you" these " many good works." Jesus taught
his doctrine, and performed his miracles, in public. He drew men's
attention to them; he held them up for examination. All the
land of Canaan was brightened with the beams of the Sun of
Righteousness. "These things were not done in a corner." "In
all Galilee, and throughout all Judea, he went about," not, as his
enemies said, perverting the people, but " doing good, and healing all that were possessed of the devil." He showed these many
glorious works, not only to friends, but to enemies, who used all
their malicious craft to discover some blemish in them, but found
none-no falsehood in his doctrine, no imposition in his wonderful works.
And these numerous, glorious, public works performed by our
Lord, were works from God. He showed them these many good
works "from  his Father."  His doctri ne was not his, but his
Father's who sent him. It was the Father who sent him who did
the works he performed: his doctrine was divine doctrine-his
miracles divine miracles. The force of our Lord's words, then,
is,'I have, in my doctrines and miracles, publicly done many
things, all of them of a holy and benignant character, and all of
them of a divine origin.' This is our Lord's whole history. He
did this, nothing but this. Not one word of an opposite kind did
he ever speak; not one action of an opposite kind did he ever
perform.'Why then stone me?' says he,' why, what evil have
i done? If this violence be not utterly causeless, it must have
its cause in some one or other of the many good works which I
have showed you from my Father.' He well knew that the truth
of his doctrine, and the excellence of his works, were the real
cause of their enmity. They believed not, because he told them
the truth; they hated him because of his excellence; and he put
the question to c-.mpel them, as it were, to open the eyes of their




566           CONVERSATION WITH THE JEWS        [EXP. XV.
consciences to the baseness of their conduct. It is as if he had
said,' What injury have I ever done you, that ye seek, in so cruel
and lawless a way, to take away my life? I have done you much
good; I have never done any of you anything but good.' The
ingratitude included in the conduct of the Jews, greatly aggravated their guilt. Our Lord was constantly engaged in bestowing favors on them, while they repay them by seeking to put him
to death. His question is,'In what have I deserved this at your
hand?' It puts us in mind of Jehovah's expostulation with his
ancient people-" O my people, what have I done to you, and
wherein have I wearied you? testify against me."5
Awed, apparently, by the calm undaunted appearance of Jesus,
the Jews desisted from executing their purpose; and, unable to
resist altogether the force of his mild and unanswerable expostulation, they " answered him, saying, For a good work we stone
thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a
man, makest thyself God.""' Ingratitude is a sin which no man
will own. None could be guilty of it in a higher degree than
those enemies of Jesus; and yet they will not acknowledge the
justice of the charge.  They dare not, indeed, call in question
the substantial truth of our Lord's statement. The cure of the
man blind from his birth, in its whole circumstances, was so
striking an example of the many beautiful things which he had
showed them from God, and had taken place so recently, that
they durst not meet his assertion with a counter one; but they
intimate that, however numerous and however remarkable were
the good things he showed, there was one bad thing which he
had done, which more than neutralized the claims of them all,
and justly exposed him to the punishment they had showed
themselves ready to inflict on him. They thus prove, that there
is no action so bad, but men may find out some excuse for it,
not altogether destitute of plausibility.
The principles on which they go, seem quite tenable. No
works of any kind can be an excuse for blasphemy, or free from
obligation to severe punishment him who is guilty of a foul
affront to him who necessarily stands alone in the possession of
independent, eternal, infinite, imnmutable being and excellence.
And any mere man is guilty of blasphemy, or speaking reproachfully of God, who claims equality with God. Neither can there
be any doubt that they were correct in their facts. Jesus was a
man, and though a man, he did claim equality with God when
he declared, that he was God's own Son, and that he and his
Father were one. In what, then, did the Jews err in their
judgment? and where was the fault of their conduct? If I believed that Jesus was a mere man, nothing but a man, I should
find it difficult to answer these questions; I could not defend
him, nor could I greatly blame them. But Jesus was more than
a man; and they had abundance of evidence of this truth. His
miracles proved his divine mission; and this divine mission gave
50 MiC. Vi. S                     51 John x. 3&




EXP. XV.]     AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.            567
him a claim for implicit belief of whatever he declared respecting his person and work. And he frequently distinctly claims
divine perfections and rights.
There was a great appearance of reason in what they alleged
against him, but it was only the appearance of reason. They
judged according to the appearance; they did not judge righteous judgment. They were ignorant of what they might have
known-of what they ought to have known,-that the Messiah
was to be both human and divine, the Son of David, the Son
of God,-the man, Jehovah's fellow,-a child born, the Almighty God; —and they resisted the most abundant evidence,
that Jesus was the Messiah, and therefore must be both human
and divine; and that he was a divine messenger, and, therefore,
whatever he stated of himself must be true. This ignorance and
unbelief led them to the fearful guilt of blaspheming and murdering him who was God manifest in flesh, while they thought
they were doing God service, by exposing blasphemy and punishing a blasphemer.
This places, in a very strong point of view, the danger of false
principles in religion: they not only lead men into sin, but they
make men mistake the greatest sins for important duties. False
views in religion cannot be sustained as an excuse for those sins
to which they naturally lead. These Jews most assuredly incurred deep guilt in the charge they brought against Jesus, and
in the murderous design they formed against him. If they did
not know, they ought to have known; if they did not believe,
they ought to have believed.
Let us take care that we distinctly apprehend the truth respecting the person of our Lord Jesus. Mistakes here must be
dangerous, may be fatal; and if, on this point, we, like the Jews,
embrace false views, and follow them out like them, to their fair
practical consequences, we shall have much less to say for ourselves than even they had, and shall not be found guiltless in
the great day of account. It is fearful to think of the amount
of guilt which must be contracted, under the completed revelation of the Divine will, by the men who, like the Jews, would
accuse Jesus of blasphemy, if, like the Jews, they believedwhat it is wonderful that anybody should doubt-that he, " being
a man, made himself equal with God."
Our Lord's reply to this charge of blasphemy, deserves our
most considerate attention. "Jesus answered them, Is it not
written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them
gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken; say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified,
and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am
the Son of God? If I do not the works of my Father, believe
me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the
works; that ye may know and believe that the Father is in me,
and I in him,7,2
52 John x. 34-38.




568           CONVERSATION WITH THE JEWS         [EXP. XV.
And here let us notice how very different this answer is from
what it must have been, had Jesus been, what some of his professed followers insist he was, —a mere man. On this supposition, it is difficult, indeed impossible, satisfactorily to account for
our Lord using language with respect to himself which, to say
the least, very naturally suggested the idea, that he claimed
equality with God; which, to say the truth, cannot be fairly interpreted without bringing out that idea,-language which none
of the prophets ever used anything like, —language not at all
necessary to express anything about the origin or design of his
mission, but what might have been easily expressed in words incapable of being misunderstood,-language which one, whose
great object was to bring the world, sunk in idolatry, back to the
knowledge and worship of the only living and true God, would
with peculiar care have avoided. But supposing our Lord, being
a mere man, had unaccountably used such language, what might
we count on his certainly doing, if he, a holy man and a divine
messenger, found that his language had been misunderstood, and
that he was considered as claiming equality with God-making
himself God?  Would not he, who sought not his own glory,
but the glory of Him who sent him, have disclaimed in the
strongest possible terms, such an interpretation of his words, and
prevented the possibility of that happening in a single instance,
which has happened in the case of the vast majority of his followers in every country and age-the considering him as, by his
own distinct declaration, an incarnation of the Divinity,-God
manifest in the flesh?  There is, however, no such disclaimer.
There is not, indeed, a distinct assertion, in so many words, of
equality with God. There were obvious reasons why this, in the
circumstances in which our Lord was placed, should not be made;
but there is what is completely equivalent to it.
Our Lord's reply consists of two parts. In the first, he shows
that the charge of blasphemy, which they founded on his calling
himself the Son of God, was a rash one, even although nothing
more could have been said of him, than that he had been "sanctified and sent by the Father;" and secondly, that his miracles
were of such a kind, as that they rendered whatever he declared
of himself, as to his intimate connection with the Father, however
extraordinary, worthy of credit.
Our Lord's argument in the first part of this answer, is founded on a passage in the eighty-second Psalm, verse 6; "I have
said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High."
These words are plainly addressed to the Jewish magistrates,
commissioned by Jehovah to act as his vicegerents in administering justice to his people; who judged for God-in the room of
God; whose sentences, when they agreed with the law, were
God's sentences; whose judgment, was God's judgment; and
rebels against whom, were rebels against God. The words require a few expository remarks. "It is written in your law."
The words are not in the Pentateuch, which is often termed'the




EXP. XV.]      AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.             569
law,' but in the Psalms; but it was customary among the Jews
to call the whole Old Testament'the law,' as an authoritative
revelation of God's mind and will."3'It is written in a book
which you admit to be of divine authority.' There can be no
doubt as to the reference of the words, " them to whom the word
of the Lord came;" they plainly refer to the Jewish magistrates;
but there is some uncertainty as to their precise meaning. Some
consider them as equivalent to,' Those who enjoyed divine revelation'-those, as the apostle Paul phrases it, " to whom were
committed the oracles of God;" but this was a privilege common
to the Israelites, not peculiar to their magistrates. Others have
considered the words as equivalent to,' To whom a divine commission had been given;' and suppose that the reference is to the
command in the preceding context:-" Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor
and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked."  Others
view the words as just equivalent to,' To whom this word of
God, this passage of Scripture refers.' It is not a matter of great
importance, whiic! of these two last views be adopted, but I prefer tlhe view which considers the words as meaning,' Who had
received a commission from God.' "The Scripture cannot be
broken;"' i. e., there can be no doubt that there is nothing wrong
in this language, for it is the language of Scripture, given by
divine inspiration. It is the language of God himself. Our
Lord describes himself as, " Him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world."  "Sanctified," means here, " set
apart" by God, by appointment, and suitable qualification; and
"sent into the world," commissioned by him to appear among
mankind as his messenger, to perform an important work. The
words are intended to describe him  as the Messiah-the Holy
One of God-the Sent of the Father.
Keeping these remarks in view, the meaning and force of our
Lord's argument is obvious.'If, in a book which you admit to
be of divine authority, and all whose expressions are perfectly
faultless, men who had received a divine commission to administer
justice to the people of God are called "gods, and sons of the
Highest," is it not absurd to bring against one who has a higher
commission than they, and far more abundant evidence of his
commission, a charge of blasphemy, because he calls himself " the
Son of God"? What was competent to them, is surely competent to him. You dare not charge blasphemy on the psalmist;
-why do you charge it on me?'
This is the plain meaning of the words. We must not, however, draw from these words the conclusion some have drawn
from them, that our Lord meant to declare that he was not, and
did not wish to be called, God and the Son of God, in any other
sense than that in which magistrates are called gods, and the
sons of God,-as being in some sense God's vicegerent —in some
53 John xii. 34; xv. 25. 1 Cor. xiv. 21.
54 " Aietv, to render invalid." —THOLUC




570            CONVERSATION WITH THE JEWS.         [EXP. XV.
sense come forth from him; much less are we to consider it as a
disavowal that he is God in the same sense as his Father —a
denial that he is equal with God. How could it be so, when he
had just been declaring, that he protects his people as the Father
protects them, that he can do the same things which the Father
does, and that he is indeed one with the Father, in power and
operation. He reasons with the Jews on their own principles.'Were the Messiah nothing more thaIn you expect him to be, to
charge one who claims Messiahship with blasphemy, because he
calls himself the Son of God, is plainly gross inconsistency.
Your magistrates are called God's sons, and may not your
Messiah claim the same title?'
It may be remarked, before leaving this part of the subject,
that there is a marked difference between the way in which
magistrates are termed "gods," and "the sons of God," in
Scripture, and the way in which these appellations are given to
our Lord. This is the only passage of Scripture where it is
certain that these appellations are given to human magistrates;
and you will observe, that good care is taken to show that they
do not possess true divinity, for it is added, " Ye shall die like
men."  In the only other passage where the word may have this
meaning,5 it is immediately explained as meaning " rulers of the
people."  But where Christ is called God, it is either with some
epithet descriptive of supreme Deity, as " God over all, blessed
for ever," "the great God," " the mighty God," " the true God,"0s
-or with the ascription to him of some operation proper to
Divinity, as "the Word was God," "all things were made by
Him;"-and when the appellation, "Son of God," is given to
him, it is not "a son," but "the Son"-" the only Son"-" the
only-begotten Son "-God's own peculiar Son-the  Son  of
himself.
The second part of our Lord's reply is contained in the 37th
and 38th verses. It is equivalent to-'I have declared that I
and the Father are one-one in power and operation.  I do not
call on you to believe this merely on my testimony.  Had there
been nothing but my unconfirmed statement, I should not have
expected you to believe it-I should not have blamed you for not
believing it; but I do call on you to believe on my testimony,
supported by the miracles I have performcd,-works which
nothing but a divine power could accomplish-works which entitle him who performs them  to entire credit in what he says
respecting himself. These works are the voice of God, and its
utterance is distinct: it speaks plainly, it utters no dark saying.
You cannot refuse to receive the doctrine that the Father and I
are one, that the Father is in me, and I in him, without contradicting his testimony, and calling him a liar.'"5
It is very plain the Jews did not understand our Lord as de55 Exod. xxii. 28.  56 Rom. ix. 5. Tit. ii. 13. Isa. ix. 6. 1 John v. 20.
57,"v b/ Poi 6 rarTp Kciy& Ev avrT. Non aliud ego sum atque patcr, sic tamen ut
filius maneam; neque aliud ille atque ego, sic tamen ut inaneat pater." —.CIIRsosT.




EXP. XV.1      AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.             571
parting from, or in any way modifying, those assertions, on which
they grounded their charge of blasphemy; and as his arguments
failed to produce their proper effect, in convincing them that all
that  he had said of himself, though strange, was true, they endeavor to follow out their purpose to have him punished as a
blasphemer, but in a more regular and legal form than their excited passions had at first dictated to them. "Therefore they
sought again to take him."58 They endeavored to apprehend him,
with the intention, likely, of bringing him before the Sanhedrim,
thinking that they had now obtained the means from his own lips
of substantiating the charge of blasphemy against him. We have
no reason to doubt that a divine influence restrained their rage.
Our Lord's hour was not yet come. As God overruled the inclinations of Joseph's brethren, so that they threw him into a pit
instead of putting him to death, as they originally seemed determined to do, so the determination of these wretched men to
stone our Lord was changed into a determination to apprehend
him, —God thereby intending in this way to deliver him, at this
time, out of their hands, that he might live to perform those
glorious works which were yet. to be done by him before he left
the world, that he might, to use his own words, " finish his work."
While they were attempting to carry their purpose into execution, " he escaped," we know not how, " out of their hands,"T and
again disappointed their malice, as he had done on many former
occasions, and as he easily could have done at the last, if his love
to man had not been stronger than death."'
In present circumstances, it was plain that our Lord's safety in
Jerusalem could be secured only by a series of miracles; and we
find him, therefore, leaving that city and going " again beyond
Jordan to the place where John at first6' baptized"-a comparatively retired and desert region-" and there he abode"" for nearly four months up to the time of his last passover. He knew that
the doctrines rejected at Jerusalem would be received there.
Some of his sheep were there, and he went to seek and save them.
He knew what impressions had been made by the ministry of his
forerunner, and what were the best means for reviving and deepening these impressions. John was dead, but the fruits of his
ministry still remained. According to the prediction of the angel,
" Many of the children of Israel he had turned to the Lord their
God;'7"3 and many had been in some degree influenced by his
doctrine who were not yet turned to the Lord.
These persons were nearer the kingdom of God than others;
and Jesus took advantage of what John had done to carry forward
the design of mercy among them. Here " many resorted to him"
from the neighboring places, drawn to him by the fame of his
teaching and miracles. They had known John the Baptist, and
esteemed him highly. They remembered, that though he wrought
53 John x. 39.       59 John x. 39.       60 Dr. Lawson.
61 44 To6 pSrTOv may mean the same as rporepo'v, formerly."-TnoLUCK.
62 John x. 40.                             63 Luke i. 16.




572           CONVERSATION WITH THE JEWS         [EXP. XV.
no miracles, he had acquired so high a reputation for holiness and
wisdom, that by many he was supposed to be the Messiah. Jesus,
by his miracles, had shown that John's declaration respecting
him was true-" After me cometh one who is preferred before
me." " John," said these unsophisticated peasants, "did no miracle,' yet we believe him. Much more is this person to be believed,
who confirms his words of grace and truth with such works of
power and mercy." They remembered the honorable testimony
which John had borne of Jesus, and they witnessed the fulfilment
of his predictions. "All things," said they, " that John spake of
this man were true."6  " When men get acquainted with Christ,"
as good Matthew Henry says, "and come to know him experimentally, they find that all that Scripture says of him is true;
nay, that the reality far exceeds the report."
The result of our Lord's four months' abode in this retired region was, that " Many believed on him there."" The unbelieving
Jews of Jerusalem no doubt thought that by persecuting Jesus
they would hinder the progress of his doctrines; but they were
under a great mistake. "The things which befell him, by their
violence, tended to the furtherance of the Gospel." He retired
to a remote district, and there, in a short time, he seems to have
made a greater number of disciples than he had done for a long
period in Jerusalem and in the cities of Galilee, where he had
done most of his wonderful works. Men may drive the Gospel
from themselves, but they shall not drive it out of the world. We
may refuse to Christ the glory of our salvation, but we shall not
be able to deprive him of the glory of the salvation of other men.
If Jerusalem or Capernaum refuse to believe in him, he will find
many in Bethabara or iEnon who will thankfully accept of his
grace. It is not said that all who took notice of his miracles, and
John's prophecies concerning him, believed in him. It is not unlikely that not a few who were struck with astonishment were
not brought to faith in him as the Christ of God, the Saviour of
the world. They wondered at his words and works, but they
sought not salvation from him. But many did believe to the salvation of their soul; and John's ministry was more beneficial to
them after he was dead than it had been daring his life. His
words, recalled to their minds, produced conviction there; and
the end of his ministry was attained in bringing them to Him,
who, though he came after him, was in reality, in the highest
sense of the words, "before him."  "John the Baptist," says
Matthew Henry, "was now dead and gone, and yet his hearers
profited by what they had heard formerly, and by comparing
what they had heard then, and seen now, they gained a double
advantage. They were confirmed in their belief that John was a
prophet, who foretold such things, and spoke of the eminence to
which this Jesus should rise, though his beginning was so small.
They were prepared to believe that Jesus was the Christ, in whom
they saw those things accomplished which John foretold.
64 John x. 41.                     65 John x. 42.




EXP. XV.]      AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.              573
" The success and efficacy of the word preached is not confined
to the life of the preacher; nor doth it expire with his breath,
but what seemed like water spilt upon the ground may afterwards
be gathered up again." This is an encouraging thought both to
preachers and hearers. This is an encouragement to ministers
who may seem, to themselves, to have reason to complain of want
of success in their labors. They feel as if they were laboring in
vain. Let them continue to labor.  "In the morning let them
sow their seed, and in the evening let them not withhold their
hand."  There is no saying when the good seed may spring up,
and how nu.merous and large may be their sheaves at the great
harvest-home. Assuredly "he that goeth forth weeping, bearing
precious seed, shall return rejoicing, bearing his sheaves with him."
It is an encouragement, too, to hearers who are complaining of
want of profit in attending on Divine ordinances. They feel little
sanctifying result; they are not sensibly wiser, better, or happier;
their graces continue languid, their corruptions strong. They get
little they can turn to present account. Let such persons endeavor
to treasure up in their memories the instructions which they weekly
receive. They may perhaps find them, in some future part of
their life, to be useful to them for purposes they little thought of,
and to an extent of which they never dreamed. It has been ingeniously remarked, and with this observation I conclude the
discourse,-" When the preaching of the doctrine of repentance
has been successful, then the preaching of reconciliation and gospel grace is most likely to be prosperous. Where John has been
acceptable, Jesus will not be unacceptable. The jubilee trumpet
sounds sweetest in the ears of those who, in the day of atonement,
have afflicted their souls for sin."68 John the Baptist is in more
than one sense the forerunner of Jesus.
66 Henry.




EXPOSITION  XVI.
INI'TERVIEW  MWITH THE GREEKS-THE CORN OF WHEAT FALLING
INTO THE GROUND, AND PRODUCING MUCH FRUIT.
JOHN xrr. 20-26.-" And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to
worship at the feast: the same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida
of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and
telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. And Jesus answered
them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it
abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life
shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life
eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall
also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor."
" No man taketh my life from me," said Jesus; " I lay it down
of myself." This declaration receives striking illustration from
the events which occurred immediately before the death of our
Lord,-a death, in the highest degree, at once violent and voluntary. It is plain that from the beginning of his public appear.
ance, his miracles had made such an impression on the minds of
the great body of his countrymen, as, had he suited his doctrine
and conduct to their preconceived views respecting the design of
the Messiah's mission, and the nature of his kingdom, would have
secured their ready reception of him as the long-expected deliverer, and their zealous co-operation in any plan he might have
proposed, for breaking the yoke of foreign dominion, and restoring the kingdom of Israel. Even repressed as this tendency was,
by his studiously avoiding, in word or deed, anything like interference with the existing arrangements respecting secular rule, as
well as by the spiritual character of his teaching, we find the
multitude manifesting an eager desire to turn to account, in the
advancement of their object, his miraculous endowments, and
even attempting "to take him by force and make him a king."
At no period of our Lord's ministry does his popularity seem
to have been higher, or the public expectation to have been more
strongly excited in reference to him, than at the time of his last
journey to Jerusalem. His crowning miracle, the resurrection
of Lazarus-the restoring to life, in the presence of many spectators, enemies as well as friends, a man who had been four days in
the grave-was the theme of common conversation, the object of
general admiration. He had entered the metropolis of his country in triumph, vast multitudes hailing him as the Son of David




EXP. XVI.]    INTERVIEW WITH THE GREEKS.                  575
-the King of Israel come in the name of the Lord to deliver
them. I-e had expelled the traffickers from the temple, who had
profaned its sacred courts, while their powerful patrons stood by
appalled, not daring even to attempt to oppose him. His friends
were full of hope-his enemies of fear. The empty throne of
David seemed to invite his acceptance; and, at the time referred
to in the subject of exposition, his sitting down on that throne,
in a few days, amid the acclamations of a delighted people, must
have seemed. to human prospect, a far more likely event than
his being affixed to a cross amid the execrations of an infuriated
populace.
This seems to have been the impression on the minds of his
most influential opposers.  "Perceive ye"-said they one to another, perplexed and alarmed-" Perceive ye how ye prevail
nothing? behold, the world is gone after him."' And so it really
seemed to be; for not only do the Israelites, assembled at their
greatest festival, appear generally disposed to receive him as the
Messiah, but the Gentiles, who, having " heard of Jehovah's great
name, and strong hand, and stretched out arm, had come to pray
towards"' his holy oracle, discover a disposition to seek his presence, that they may do him homage.
"There were certain Greeks," says the evangelist, " among them
that came up to worship at the feast: the same came therefore to
Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew;
and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus."3 It has been a question
among expositors who these Greeks were, who are here represented
as expressing a wish to be introduced to Jesus. I. t is welt known,
that ever since the time of the great captivities, numerous Jews —
that is, persons of Israelitish extraction, and retaining the religion
of their nation —were resident in surrounding, and even distant,
countries. This was wisely and mercifully ordered by the Divine
providence, that, even during the continuance of the restricted
Jewish dispensation, some of the Gentiles might be instructed in
the knowledge of the true God, and preparation made for the
more easy and rapid propagation of divine truth among them,
when that dispensation of grace, of which " the field is the world,"
being introduced, "the middle wall of partition" should be broken
down, and " the mystery so long kept secret" should be proclaimed
to all nations. These foreign Jews are those called "the dispersion of," or, "the dispersed among the Gentiles."4
It has been supposed by some, that the individuals here mentioned belonged to this class, of whom we read repeatedly in the
New Testament; but this is not at all probable. The name by
which they were known was not that employed here, Hellenes,
but Hellenists, —not Greeks, but Grecians. The term'Greek''John xii 19.        2 1 Kings viii. 42.   3 John xii. 20-22.
4  6taaTrop~ rTcV'EZXXvav. John vii. 35. James i. 1. 1 Pet. i. 1.
5'EXXi7ve', as Acts xiv. 1; xvi. 1; 1 Cor. i. 22, &c.-not'E;Syvtarai, as Acts
vi. 1; ix 29.




576           INTERVIEW WITH THE GREEKS.         [EXP. XVI.
sometimes signifies a native of Greece,-sometimes a man who
speaks -the Greek language, whether a native of that country or
not,-sometimes a man distinguished by t2iat civilization of which
Greece was then the centre, and the limits of which were pretty
accurately marked by the prevalence of its languag, —and
sometimes a votary of that pagan superstition to which, civilized
as it was, Greece was devoted. When opposed to'barbarian,' it
is equivalent to' civilized;' when opposed to'Jew,' it is equivalent
to' Gentile.'
There seem to have been three classes of persons, to one or
other of which there is a reference here. There were Gentiles
who, having become acquainted with the religion of the Jews,
had embraced it, and sought to obtain all its advantages as a
theocratic institution, by submitting to its initiatory rites, and
observing all its ordinances. These were called." proselytes of
righteousness;" and, wherever it was practicable, must have
made it a point to be present at the great festivals, —where all the
congregation of Israel was expected to assemble, —and to worship
among the holy nation in the court of the congregation.
There were other Gentiles-Cornelius is a specimen of them"
-who had embraced the truth respecting Jehovah, the only
true God, as taught in the Jewish Scriptures, abstained from
idolatry, and observed what were termed the seven Noachian
precepts against idolatry, profanity, incest, murder, dishonesty,
eating blood and things strangled, and allowing a murderer to
live,-but had not formally enrolled themselves among the
Jews.  In the time of our Lord, this seems to have been a
considerably numerous class. The more reflecting and soberminded among the pagans found that the necessities of their
consciences and hearts could not be satisfied with the fables and
rites of heathenismn, and found in the writings of the Jewish
prophets what they could not find in the fables of their poets,
the speculations of their philosophers, or the rites of their priest.
hood.7 One of the Roman satirists (Juvenal') speaks contemptuously of Judaising Romans as no uncommon class in his
time; and one of their moralists (Seneca) says that so many of
the Romans had passed over to the Jewish religion, in his time,
that "it was adopted throughout all the earth, the conquered
giving laws to the conquerors." These are the' persons who are
spoken of in the Acts of the Apostles, as " worshippers of God"
-as "'devout Greeks;" and the female part of them, as " devout,
honorable woman." These also frequented the Jewish festivals;
but not being permitted to enter the court of the Israelites, they
worshipped in the court of the Gentiles.
Besides these two classes, there seems to have been a third-a
smaller one-Gentiles who had not renounced the religion of
their country, but who honored Jehovah, not as their own God,
but as the God of the Jews, and who were in the habit of visiting the temple of Jerusalem to do homage to Jehovah, just as
6 Acts x. 1.        7 Tholuck.           s Sat. xix 100.




EXP. XVI.]    INTERVIEW WITI1 THE GREEKS.              577
they visited Delphi to do honor to Apollo, or Ephesus to do honor
to Diana, or the Capitol to do honor to Jupiter.
The persons here spoken of probably belonged to the second
class.  They are said to have been among those who had come
up to the feast.  The words signify, " who were in the habit of
going up to the feast"-the festival-frequenters-as we speak of
church-goers —a description which would not suit the last class,
whose visits were occasional and rare; and the first class were
so identified with the Jews that they were not likely to find any
difficulty of addressing Jesus as one of their own nation.
These gentile proselytes had probably come from a great distance. They had heard of the fame of Jesus as a teacher and
miracle-worker, and, it may be, they were peculiarly interested
ill him, in consequence of having understood that he had vindicated their rights, in expelling, from the court of the Gentiles,
the traffickers, whose noisy transactions would ill comport with
the performance of devotion, and who had done this for the express purpose that God's house might not, by being made a den
of thieves, be prevented from being what the prophet declared
it was intended to be-" A house of prayer for all nations." We
may suppose such thoughts as these to have passed through their
minds:' This must be a wonderful man. A Jew himself, he asserts the rights of us Gentiles. He must be a true son of that
Abraham in whom all the families of the earth are to be blessed.
Here is no Jewish selfishness and pride. He is kind to the Gentiles; severe on the Jewish rulers, who contemn the Gentiles.'
What if this should be HE "to whom the Gentiles are to seek,"
-He "to whom the gathering of the people is to be," —"the
light to lighten the Gentiles," as well as "the glory of God's
people Israel!"'  If such thoughts had found their way into
their minds, it was not wonderful that they should be desirous
of becoming acquainted with their unknown benefactor, who
might turn out to be " their promised Saviour."
It is difficult for us to form correct ideas of a state of society
so peculiar, and especially so different from that which prevails
in our own country and age, as that of the Jews in the days of
our Lord. The intercourse between Jew and Gentile was of a
very restricted kind, and the Jewish rabbis were in the habit of
assuming much state, and keeping the common people at a great
distance. These Greeks did not, then, presume to address directly one whom they understood to be a great teacher, and
whom they had heard the populace hail as the King of Israel;
but they applied to one of his disciples, Philip of Bethsaida.
How they came to apply to him-whether he was personally
known to some of them, or they had accidentally been brought
into conversation with him, or there was something peculiarly
friendly and trust-inspiring in his countenance or manner-it is
needless to inquire. This is plain, that they made their application in the most becoming manner, showing that they cherished
9 Bennet.
vOL i.                   37




578            INTERVIEW  VITH THE GREEKS.        [EXP. XVI.
sentiments of high respect both for Philip and for his Master.
"Sir, we would see Jesus,"-' We are desirous of being allowed
to look on so distinguished a person,'-and their manner, no
doubt, supplied what was wanting in their words,-' WVe would
count it a great favor if you could bring us into his presence.'
They seem to have been of the same disposition as the centurion,
whose faith our Lord so highly eulogized, who declared that " he
was unworthy that Jesus should come under his roof." They
felt that they were " Gentiles-aliens from the commonwealth of
Israel," unworthy to share in the peculiar privileges of the holy
nation; but they would reckon it a high favor to be admitted
but for a little to the sight, and, if he would so far honor them,
to the conversation, of one who obviously had a kind regard to
the Gentiles.
These Greeks " would"-wished to-" see Jesus."  Jesus, my
brethren, is as really present, though in a spiritual and invisible
manner, at all the sacred festivals appointed by God, as he was
at the Jewish Passover. He is here to-day, in the midst of us,
according to his promise. Our coming here is an intimation
that we would see Jesus; and assuredly we shall be here to little
purpose if we do not see him. Oh! let us all say in our hearts,
"One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after;
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my
life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple,"-to behold him who is "the brightness of his glory, and
the express image of his person;" "I beseech thee," O Lord,
"show  me thy  glory,"-"thy glory in the face of Jesus
Christ."'0
Philip did not do, what perhaps we might expect he would
have done, lead these Greeks directly into his Master's presence,
glad that they were disposed to do him honor, and sure that he
was disposed to give them a welcome reception.  " Philip cometh
and telleth Andrew." It was not to Philip so plain a case as it
may seem to us. He knew his Master to be meek and lowly in
heart, and that he never cast out any that came to him. But he
knew, too, that he had declared, that he " was not sent but to
the lost sheep of the house of Israel," and that he himself, along
with his brethren, had been forbidden " to go into the way of the
Gentiles, and even to enter into the cities of the Samaritans," in
proclaiming the approaching reign of God." Jesus had indeed
healed a gentile centurion's servant, but it was at the entreaty of
the Jews. He had healed the daughter of the Syro-Phenician
woman, who was a Greek; but it was after rejecting the petition
of the disciples in her favor. Besides, aware of the strength
of the national prejudice against Gentiles, Philip might doubt,
how far he might be serving his Master's interests, as he understood them, with the great body of the Jews, who certainly
would not be the more disposed to receive him as the Messiah,
10 Psal. xxvii. 4. iHeb. i. S3. Exod. xxxiii. 18. 2 Cor. iv. 6.
n Matt. xv. 24; x 5.       " Luke vii. 1-10. Mark vii. 24-30.




EXP. XVI.]    INTERVIEW WITH THE GREEKS.               579
that he seemed to be on familiar terms with uncircumcised
Gentiles.
In these circumstances, we cannot wonder that Philip should
consult Andrew, " who was in Christ before him," as to the
course proper to be followed. Andrew, whom ancient tradition
speaks of, not only as of note among the apostles, but as of great
authority, does not seem to have advised the immediate introduction of these Greeks to Jesus; not improbably thinking, that it
would not be right, without consulting the Master, to do what
his enemies the Pharisees might represent as a slight put on the
people of God, or an insult offered to the temple.
It is scarcely possible for Christians, and especially christian
ministers, to be too cautious in their conduct respecting anything
that may involve the honor of the Saviour, or the success of his
cause. The two disciples take a safe course; they go and tell
Jesus. He knew what should be done. And this is just what we
should do, when we are doubtful as to any step connected with the
cause of Christ: consult with a confidential christian friend, and
along with him, seek the advice of our common Lord. We cannot expect such an answer as Andrew and Philip received, but
by his word, and providence, and Spirit, he does, in answer to
prayer, often relieve the perplexities of his people, and make them
to know the path in which they ought to go. No voice comes to
the ear, but a " word" in the Scriptures is brought to remembrance that says, often very plainly, " This is the way, walk ye
in it.'""
We are not told, in express words, what was the direct result
of this communication. Some have supposed that our Lord
waived the proposed interview with these Greeks, as we are not
told that he consented to see them, nor that they were introduced
by the disciples; and that he merely availed himself of the request
having been made, as an occasion for uttering the deeply impressive sentences which follow. If it were so, there could be no
ground of complaint against our Lord. He had not yet been
"lifted up."  It was after this that " all men were to be drawn"
by him-" to him." And he might not choose to afford occasion to
those who sought occasion, of saying, he preferred Greeks to Jews.
At the same time, while the text does not expressly say that
our Lord admitted these Gentiles to an interview, it is quite
obvious it does not deny this; and that the facts recorded are
fully as accordant with the supposition, that there was such an
interview, as with the opposite one. Such a supposition seems
best to harmonize with the general spirit and conduct of our
Lord, who never cast out any that came to him. We are therefore disposed to think, that Philip and Andrew, having gone into
the court of the Israelites, where Jesus probably was among the
Jewish worshippers, informed him of the wish of these Greeks,
and that he, coming out into the court of the Gentiles, granted
them the interview they so eagerly desired.
13 Isa. xxx. 21.




680           INTERVIEW WITH THE GREEKS.          [EXP. XVL
What took place at that interview, we shall never know in this
world. That, and the many other unwritten deeds and words of
our blessed Lord, will form interesting subjects of conversation
among the blessed in the heavenly state. Oh, how much will
the apostles have to tell us besides what they have written! No
danger of their having forgotten it, even after the lapse of eighteen
centuries.
We cannot say with certainty, whether those words which
follow were addressed to Philip and Andrew, on their making
their communication, or whether they were spoken to the Greeks
on our Lord's coming to them, or whether they were addressed
to the disciples in the presence of the strangers, after the interview between them and him had closed. The last seems, upon
the whole, the most probable opinion. "And Jesus answered
them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be
glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat
fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it
bringeth forth much fruit."'4
The words, " The hour is come, that the Son of man should
be glorified,"'" are equivalent to,'The time when the Son of man
-the Messiah-is to be remarkably glorified, is near at hand;
and what has just taken place, is a token and a foretaste of that
rapidly-approaching glory.' There is a striking similarity between
these words, and those of our Lord on seeing the Samaritans of
Sychar coming out in a body to meet with him: " Say not ye,
There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I
say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields: for they
are white already to harvest."" The period was at hand, when
our Lord was to be glorified by his sufferings; when the transcendent excellence of his character-his entire devotedness to
God-his love of righteousness-his hatred of iniquity-his compassion for men-were to be most illustriously displayed; and
when the great design of his mission, in the satisfactory expiation
of the sins of men, was to be accomplished, in a manner reflecting the highest honor on him. The hour was at hand. when our
Lord was to be glorifiedfor his sufferings, —in being raised from
the dust of death, and being taken up into heaven, and set at the
right hand of God, and having all things put under his feet.
But the glory to which our Lord refers, obviously is the glory
to be derived from vast multitudes of men-Gentiles as well as
Jews-submitting to his authority, and sharing his salvation. It
is as if he had said,' These Gentiles seeking intercourse with me,
indicates that the period is just at hand, when the ancient oracles
shall be fulfilled-when, in Abraham's seed, all the families of
the earth shall be blessed-when to Shiloh shall be the gathering
of the nations-when the decree shall be fulfilled, " I will give
thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of
14 John xii. 23, 24.
15 " Zva is not the adverb " when," but it marks the final end,' the time when
he must be glorified.' " —THOLUoIL        16 John iv. 35-38.




EXP. XVI.]     INTERVIEW WITH THE GREEKS.              581
the earth for thy possession" —when "all the ends of the earth
shall remember, and turn unto the Lord, and all the nations shall
worship before him"-when "men shall be blessed in the Messiah, and all nations shall call him blessed" —when he shall " call
a nation that he knew not, and nations that knew not him, shall
run unto him" —when he shall be " given as a witness to the people, a leader and commander of the people"-when he shall " see
his seed, and prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand"-when he, in the conversion and salvation
of an innumerable multitude, out of every kindred, people,
tongue, and nation, shall " see of the travail of his soul, and
shall be satisfied."7"" This period was just at hand. The day of
Pentecost was approaching, and then commenced that glorification of the Son of man here referred to. In the anticipation of
these glories, the Saviour prepares himself for the sufferings
which were to precede, and to purchase them.
It would be well if his true followers would prepare themselves
for their death, as he did for his. Glory awaits them as well as
him; and they, like him, must die ere they inherit glory. But
if, like him, they would but look steadily to the hope set before
them, they would, like him, " endure the cross, and despise the
shame," and rise above the fear of death; yea, like him, they
would be " straitened" till they pass through death into lifethrough the dishonor of the grave, into the glories of heaven.
There can be no reasonable doubt that these were substantially
the thoughts which were in the Saviour's mind, and which he
expressed in the words, " The hour is come. that the Son of man
should be glorified." But they probably excited very different
ideas in the minds of the disciples, full, as they still were, of
Jewish prejudices respecting the design of the Messiah's mission,
and the nature of his kingdom. They probably thought that our
Lord meant to declare, that he was now about to " take to him
his great power and reign;" that he was now about to ascend the
throne of David, and subdue the world; and that the homage
of these Gentiles was but the first-fruits of the fast-approaching
harvest of the complete subjugation of the pagan nations to the
holy people, and to Messiah their prince. To put down such
rising hopes, our Lord informs them-though in somewhat enigmatical language-that his death was necessary, in order to the
glory of which he had been speaking; and that all who would
share with him in his glories, must, like him, be prepared to relinquish life, and all earthly blessings, to obtain them.
In order to understand our Lord's declaration in reference to
himself, it is necessary distinctly to apprehend the meaning of
the figurative language in which he has clothed it: " Except a
corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but
if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.""8 The figure is generally
misapprehended, both here and where it is employed by the
apostle, 1 Cor. xv. 36, to illustrate the resurrection of the body.'7 PsaL ii. 7; xxii. 27.  Isa. v. 4, 5; liii 10, 11.  Is John xii 24.




582               INTERVIEW  WITH THE GREEKS.               [EXP. XVI.
It has been supposed that the death of the seed of corn takes
place after it is buried in the earth, and consists in the decomposition of the outer coatings of the germ, which takes place previously, and in order to its beginning to grow.  Both our Lord
and his apostles are truer to nature in their representation than
the most of their expositors.  With them, in the sign, as well as
in the thing signified, death is represented as preceding,  not following, burial. The apostle's words are, " Thou fool, that which
thou sowest is not quickened, except it die," or be dead; and our
Lord's, literally rendered, are, "Except a corn of wheat, falling
into the ground, be dead, it abideth alone; but if it be dead, or
have died, it bringeth forth much fruit."  The fact referred to,
in both cases, is what takes place, not after, but before, putting
the seed into the ground. It is not the green, living grain, full
of succulence, that in this state of apparent vigorous vegetable
life, is productive. Let the plant continue as long as it may in
this state, it will not reproduce itself-none of the seed will ever
be productive; and, if severed in this state from the plant, and
thrown into the ground, it would perish. It must ripen; it must
become what has been termed dead-ripe, ready to fall from the
withered dead stalk; and, if it be in this state when it falls into
the earth, then will it bring forth much fruit. After lying under
the mould for a short season, it will spring up, and ultimately
"bring forth thirty, sixty, or even an hundred fold." A person
unacquainted with the vegetable system  would not expect thishe would rather expect life from  living  grain than from  dead
grain. It seems strange that the parent plant must wither, and
the seed lose all apparent vegetable life, and be cast into the
ground, where it might be expected to lose any life that might
be latent in it; yet it is this dead and buried corn of wheat which
brings forth much fruit."9
The application to the case of our Lord is natural, and, to us,
is easy. The glory our Lord anticipates, is the glory of numerous
followers of all nations. That is not to be gained by his contin19 " Interpretum tantum non omnes elegantem illam et veram imaginem inepta
interpretatione deformant. Translaticium quippe est et ab antiquissimis temporibus per manus quasi traditum; miram hie inducere corruptionis, sepulturs et
mortis confusionem. Mortem quidem et sepulturam confudit, e. g.  Grotius in
adnotatt. ad. h. 1. prvecipiens,' Granum mori cum aeri ereptum terra occultatur.''Semina non nisi corrupta et dissoluta fecundius surgunt,' scribit Tertullianus'
Apolog. xlviii.'Diversum  semina omnia corpus post corruptionem rursus ostendunt,' circumscribit Semlerus.  In quo ne suspicantur quidem, quam non
absona modo commemorantem faciant divinum scriptorem, sed vel ejus consilio
plane contraria. An vero Paulum adeo ne physicis quidern imbutum esse existi-,mas qui opinetur semina in terrse gremio putrescere aut corrumpi? aut corruptum granum ullum posse revirescere unquam? Corrupta vero semina, in
eternum non progerrminatura, mortis veternte vorius exemplum praeberent; non
vitae recuperandoe. Quanto rectius Paulus, ex ea tantum parte confest qua intercedit similitudo. Sepulturam sationi eequiparandam recte affirmat. Earn mors
prwcesserit necesse est.  Neque enim sepeliunt homines ut moriantur, sed quod
vita defuncti in vivis esse desierunt, ideo exanime corpus humant. Ita nee
granum, ut Grotio placet, terre condunt, ut moriatur; sed ut defunctum morti
eripiatur et reviviscat."  "In arbore herens immaturum pomum terrm mandari
et progerminare nequit." —JOEN.




EXP. XVI.]    INTERVIEW WITH THE GREEKS.             583
uing to live, and, as a mighty prince and conqueror, subduing
the nations. That was the way in which the disciples were
hoping that the Son of man would be glorified. But not one
follower, of the kind that would glorify him, could be obtained
in this way. He must not continue to live, —he must die, otherwise he must remain alone; but if, having died, he be laid in
the earth, he shall have many followers. His death is the necessary and certain means of securing that vast multitude of spiritual followers, all bearing his image, all like him, in whom consists the Son of man's glory; for " in the multitude of his people
is our King's honor."20
The connection of the death of our Lord with his having a
numerous spiritual offspring, is most intimate. The multitude
whom he came to save were lost, dead-dead under a judicial
sentence, which, if not remroved, must keep them dead for ever.
His dying in their room was the appointed and the appropriate
method of obtaining deliverance from that condemning sentence
which shut them up under death, and it was also as the concluding act of a perfect fulfilment of all righteousness, that which
secured to him restored life, increased spiritual power-even " all
power in heaven and in earth"-power to quicken whom he will.
His becoming dead in the flesh was necessarily connected with
his being quickened in the Spirit, and becoming, as the second
Adam, the "quickening Spirit" of his innumerable spiritual
children. It was thus that he obtained as his reward the dispensation of the Spirit of life, whose vivifying influences have
quickened vast multitudes "dead in trespasses and sins," and
made them show forth the glories of him through whose death
they live. Without dying, he could not have had such a retinue
of saved men. Had he never become incarnate, he would have
remained alone, so far as man was concerned, in the possession of
his uncreated glory; and even had he become incarnate, but not
died, he might have alone entered heaven on the ground of his
absolute perfection, but no sinner of the human race could ever
have followed him;-so far as they were concerned, he would
have remained for ever alone. This is the doctrine of the evangelical prophet, —" When he shall make his soul an offering for
sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the
pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of
the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied."2'
It was but little of this our Lord's disciples could at this time
understand. But all this is folded up in the figure,-all this they
distinctly understood afterwards; and even at this time the words
served to prepare them for what was coming, and to prevent
them from supposing that all hope of a glorious harvest was cut
off, when they saw, as they soon did, the corn of wheat, having
died, fall into the ground. They needed it, both to check their vain
hopes, and to prevent them from, in the hour of trial, making shipwreck of their hope in him who, they trusted, was to redeem Israel.
20 Pro. xiv. 28.               21 Isa. liii. 10, 11.




584              INTERVIEW  WITH THE GREEKS.             [EXP. XVL
The Saviour, after having stated thus enigmatically, but very
impressively, that his near approaching glory could be obtained
only by the sacrifice of his life, goes on to inform his followers
that in his cause they must be ready to make every sacrifice, even
to lay down their life; and that if they do so, they shall assuredly
share with him in his rewards and honors.  " He that loveth his
life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall
keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow
me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man
serve me, him will my Father honor."22
The word translated "life" signifies both life and the soul; and
here, as in some other of our Lord's apothegmatic remarks on
this subject, which are often seeming paradoxes, there is a reference to this double signification.  It is as if he had said,' le that
loves his life shall lose his soul; he that hates his life shall preserve his soul to life eternal:' or,'He that loves his life in a low
sense of the word "life," shall lose his life in a far higher sense
of the word.  He who hates his life in the lower sense, will preserve his life in the higher sense, to life eternal.'' A wonderful
sentence this,' as one of the fathers (Augustine) says:'a man, by
loving his life, risks its less; and by hating it, secures its safety.
Unwise love is in effect hatred, and wise hatred is'in effect love.
Happy the man who, by this wise hatred, preserves unto life
eternal, what, by unwise love, he would have lost in death eternal.' The person who loves life is the person who, fiom a fear
of losing the wealth, or honors, or pleasures of this life, or life itself-from  a fear of exposing himself to poverty, contempt, suffering, and death-neglects duty, or commits sin-refuses to become a follower of Christ, or having become one, abandons his
profession, or acts a part unworthy of it. That person shall lose
his life in a far higher sense than he has retained it-he shall lose
his soul.  I-e shall not cease to exist, but his everlastingo existence shall be but a capacity of feeling everlasting loss-of enduring everlasting misery.23  He who hates his own life,24 is he who
acts as if he considered wealth, honor, pleasure, life itself, all
things of comparatively no value, brought into competition with
the claims of truth and duty-who readily sacrifices the former
to the latter —who, when these things claim to be regarded above
those, rejects the claim, and readily parts with all rather than disobey God or deny Christ. That person shall keep, guard, preserve, his life, to eternal life; when he seems to be throwing away
his life, he is securing it. He shall live eternally, and his eternal
life shall be life indeed-the highest measure of the highest kind
of life of which man is capable. One hour's life in that world to
22 John xii. 25, 2G.-" I have found this promise so full of sweetr.ess, that I
value it above all the riches of the world."-RICHARD BAXTER. Sejf Ignorance.
23 Ai ~eteiv, like' amare,' is used to denote a natural inclination; iya7Trv, like'diligere,' to make a rational determination.  This distinction is not, however,
strictly adhered to by John; comp. iii. 35, with v. 20, and xxi. 15."-THoLUCK.
24 ylaeiv, is not used absolut6, but comparative-Hebraic~.  Mal. i. 3. Prov.
ixii. 24.




EXP. XVI.]     INTERVIEW WITH THE GREEKS.               685
which death conveys him who has laid down his life in the cause
of Christ, is worth millions of ages in this world, so polluted with
sin, so darkened with sorrow.
The expression, " If any man serve me," is plainly equivalent
to,'if any man be disposed to be, or profess to be, my servant.'
The disciples did so;-the Greeks were probably inclined to do
so. Let such a person follow me. To follow Christ, is a term
which often includes all the duties of disciples-embracing the
Saviour's doctrines, obeying the Saviour's laws, promoting the
Saviour's interests, imitating the Saviour's example. It is the
last of these ideas that seems to have been most prominently before the Saviour's mind when he used the words before us.' Let him follow me, in not loving his life to the death; in hating
it, when the honor of God and the salvation of men require
him  to lay it down.  Let him  follow me, in willingly submitting to privation, and contempt, and torture, and death; let
him take Tup his cross, as I am about to take up mine, and be
willing, when God calls him, to be nailed to it, as I will soon be.
Let him follow me; and if he follow me to conflict, he will
follow me to victory; if he follow me to suffering, he will follow
me to reward; if he follow me to death, he will follow me into
life eternal.' HIe well knew that to him death was the path of life
-the cross, the steps to the throne. IHe knew where he was going, and was as certain of reaching his destination as if already
there. He speaks like one already in heaven. Jesus was the
Prince of believers, stronger in faith than even Abraham our
father. His faith gave a present existence in his mind to what was
future. He knew that, ere the end of the week, his soul was to
be in paradise, and that, ere two months elapsed, he should, in
his sacred glorified body, be sitting at the right hand of the
Father, angels and principalities, authorities and powers, being
made subject to him. " Where I am," i. e.,' Where I shall
soon and certainly be, my servant, who follows me in selfrenunciation to suffering, shall assuredly follow me.  He shall
rest with me after his labors; he shall enter into my joy; he
shall reign with me in life, sitting with me on my throne, even
as I sit with my Father on his throne.' "It is a faithful saying,
If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him."
Our Lord adds, "If any man serve me," i. e.,'If any man
thus serve me, by following me,' "him will my Father honor."
The true servants of Christ are those who follow him wherever
he leads them, believing and avoiding whatever he teaches them,
doing whatever he bids them, submitting to whatever he appoints for them, imitating his example, acquiescing in the disosal of his providence, and persevering in their attachment to
is person-their obedience to his laws-their promotion of his
interest, though dishonor, or poverty, or death itself, should be
the consequence. Jesus passed through dishonor and death to
accomplish our salvation, and we are not really his servants if we
are not willing to bear his cross.  "lie left us an example,"




586           INTERVIEW WITH THE GREEKS.         [EXP. XVI.
when he suffered for us, "that we should follow his steps 7,"'2 and
our thus showing that we have his Spirit, by imitating his conduct, is the proof of our being his servants.  "If any man have
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his;"" and if any man
have the Spirit of Christ, he will be conformed to Christ, so as
to be " in the world as he was in the world," and to " walk as he
also walked."  Such servants of Christ shall not only be with
him where he is, but they shall be honored and rewarded by
his Father,-they " shall inherit all things."  It shall then appear what they are as the children of God; their hidden life shall
be revealed —their concealed glory manifested to the admiration
of all intelligent beings, while " the Lamb, who is in the midst of
the throne, shall feed them, and lead them to fountains of living
waters," and " the Lord God shall wipe away all tears from their
eyes."  "They shall be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of their God.""7 Such shall be
the reward of the servant who follows Christ-of every servant
who follows Christ. "If any man" —No Jew can share in these
rewards but by following Christ; no Gentile, thus following Christ,
will be excluded from them.
The terms of discipleship, my brethren, are unaltered, and
unalterable.  Are we thus servants of Christ?  We call him
Lord, Lord; but are we following him in self-denied service
and suffering? are we lovers of our lives in the sense in which
he requires us to be haters of them? i. e., are we lovers of ourselves more than the lovers of him,-fonder of earth than heaven,
-more taken up with time than eternity? Let no man be deceived-let no man deceive himself-on this point. A mistake
here, even though temporary, is hazardous-if persisted in, must
be fatal. We can have no part in making atonement —it is
unnecessary-it is impossible; but we must have part in the
spirit in which the atonement was made. If we have not, we
may rest assured we are not yet savingly interested in him;
and, continuing destitute of this spirit, we never can be sharers
of the blessings procured by him. No man who is not really
disposed to lay down his life for Christ-to lay down his life for
the brethren-to make his glory and their salvation the great
objects of life-can have satisfactory evidence that Christ's death
for sinners has become effectual for reconcilin  him to God.
Let us rejoice in the flood of light which events have shed on
our Lord's enigmatical words, "Except a corn of vlheat fall into
the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth
forth much fruit."  How did the Saviour, having become dead
-powerless —in the flesh, become quiclkened-powerful-in the
Spirit! How does he who died in weakness, through that death,
live in the power of God! How glorious already, in earth and
heaven, the fruits of that wondrous death! Wllat a mass of
holy happiness has been produced by it!  What millions on
millions of perfectly holy happy spirits are turning the eye of the
25 1 Pet. ii 21.   26 Rom. viii. 9.    27 Isa. lxii. 3




EXP. XVI.]    INTERVIEW WITH THE GREEKS.             587
mind continually to the cross and grave of the Saviour, and saying in their hearts,'All our happiness, and all our hopes, are
due to him who hung there, who lay there.' How barren, but
in fruits of the curse, had our world been, but for the falling of
that corn of wheat dead into the earth; and though the heavenly
paradise would have bloomed in varied beauty, not one of our
doomed race would have been among those trees of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, in which he is glorified. Oh, what do
we owe to the cross and to the grave of the Saviour! God forbid that we should glory save in that cross.28 God forbid that
we should shrink from following him who hung on it —to the
cross-if he require it-to the grave, as we know he has appointed it. It is thus only that we can follow him to the throne.
28 Gal. vi. 14.




EXPOSITION XVII.
THE INTERNAL SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
JoHN xn. 2'7. 28.-" Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say I Father,
save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify
thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified
it, and will glorify it again."
"IT became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all
things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain
of their salvation perfect through sufferings."' The sufferings to
which the incarnate Son of God, as the substitute of sinners, was
exposed, by the appointment of his Father, as the supreme
righteous Governor of the universe, for the purpose of making
him what he is-an all-accomplished Saviour-in the possession
of all the merit, all the authority, and all the sympathy, that are
necessary for the performance of all the parts of his saving
work in the best possible manner —were numerous, varied, and
severe. IHe was, by way of eminence, " the man who saw affliction by the rod of God's wrath,"-" the man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." With every form and degree of suffering,
in which the holy displeasure of God against the sin of man is
manifested, he was familiar, in so far as such suffering was compatible with his absolute innocence, his perfect holiness; and he
could say, with an emphasis quite peculiar to himself, "Is it
nothing to you, all ye that pass by: bellold, and see if there be
any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger."
His external sufferings were of no common kind. During his
whole continuance on earth, from  the manger to the cross, he
seems to have been almost entirely destitute of the comforts and
accommodations, and very scantily supplied with the necessaries
of life.  He was indeed " poor and needy." "The foxes have
holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man
had not where to lay his head."  IHe was the object of the
malignant contempt of the upper classes of society, and of the
contumelious abuse of the lower. Blasphemer and demoniacimpostor and madman-glutton and wine-bibber-friend of publicans and sinners-were the appellations commonly given him.
He was worn out by fatiguing ill-requited labors —by hunger
1 Heb. ii. 10.                      2 Matt. viii. 20.




PART I.]   THE SAVIOUR'S INTERNAL SUFFERINGS.           589
and thirst-by debility and exhaustion; and, in the tortures of
the scourge, and the agonies of the cross, he experienced the utmost intensity of pain of which the human frame is capable.
When we read the history of his sufferings, we cannot think it
wonderful if the ancient oracle concerning him were fulfilled to
the letter.  "Many were astonished at him: his visage was
marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons
of men."' Yet these visible sufferings were the least part of his
sufferings. They were but, as it were, the imperfect external
type of severer internal agonies.  "The iron entered into his
soul." A mysterious hidden fire, kindled by the breath of Jehovah, righteously displeased at the sins of men, consumed his
vitals, as man's substitute-the victim for man's transgressions.
The comparative severity of the two species of suffering may be
judged of by the fact, that the pressure of external calamity,
however heavy, never extorted a complaint from Jesus: but
the exceeding great weight of inward anguish wrung from him
sobs and groans,-" strong crying and tears."  His spirit was
one which could sustain any bodily suffering; but the wounds
inflicted directly on itself were found all but intolerable. Well
has it been said by one of the fathers of the church, on this
awfully mysterious subject, "The sufferings of his soul were the
soul of his sufferings."
The passage of Scripture which I have now read brings before
our mind the Saviour's inward sufferings, his exercise under
these sufferings, and his divine Father's approval of his exercise
under these sufferings. The Saviour's inward sufferings are expressed in the brief, but impressive, exclamation, " Now is my
soul troubled."  His exercise under these sufferings is described
in the words which follow: " What shall I say? Father, save
me from this hour! But for this cause came I unto this hour.
Father, glorify thy name." And the approbation of this exercise
by his divine Father was manifested in a miraculous voice from
heaven, as narrated in the closing words of the text. " Then
came a Aoice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and
will glorify it again."  To these three interesting topics, it is my
purpose to turn your attention in the remaining part of this discourse; and I pray that the discussion of them may, by the accompanying influence of the good Spirit, prove a suitable preparation for that solemn religious observance, to engage in which
is the great object of our coming together to-day-an observance
in which is commemorated our Lord's " pouring out his soul unto
death, making it an offering for sin "-for our sins-for the sins
of many.
I.-THE SAVIOUR'S INTERNAL SUFFERINGS.
The first topic to which the text calls our attention is the inward sufferings of the Saviour. " Now is my soul troubled."
8a. lii. 14.




690        THE INTERNAL SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. [EXP. XVII.
When the mind is free from uneasiness, both from felt and feared
evil, from the experience of present, and the apprehension of
future, suffering, it is figuratively said to be calm or tranquillike the bosom of the lake when not even a breath of wind ruffles
its glassy surface; when anguish, and sorrow, and terror, take
possession of the mind, then it is said to be troubled, agitated, or
convulsed, like the ocean in a storm, or the earth reeling under
the impulses of an earthquake. The plain literal meaning of the
words before us is:' I am suffering extreme inward anguish of
spirit; I am oppressed with fear; I am tortured with anxiety;
I aln overwhelmed with sorrow.' The language used respecting
Abraham, when the miseries of his descendants were, in prophetic vision, brought before his mind, is still more applicable to
his illustrious descendant, in whom all the nations of the earth
were to be blessed,-when he felt and feared the pangs of that
sacrifice of expiation, that travail of soul, by which he was to
bear, and bear away, the sins of his people.  " An horror of
great darkness fell upon him "4-a thick and dark cloud intervened, as it were, between him and the light of his Father's
countenance.
This is not the only place in which we read of our Lord's trouble
of spirit. In the thirteenth chapter of this gospel, at the 21st
verse, we read that "Jesus was troubled in spirit, and testified,
and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, That one of you shall
betray me," and it is plainly but a higher degree of the same
state of mind which we find described by the evangelists when
they narrate the mysterious scene in Gethsemane, and represent
the Saviour as being sorrowful, sore amazed, very heavy, in an
agony; which he himself utters in these words, so instinct with
anguish; "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death;"
and which found an expression stronger than language could
furnish, in the great drops of sweat like blood, which, during the
intense cold of midnight, fell to the ground from his prostrate
body."
The. original terms employed by the evangelists in describing
this state of mind, are peculiarly full of meaning.  I do not
know that our translators could have found more appropriate and
expressive terms in our language to render them by than those
which they have employed; but they come far short of the force
of the phrases used by the sacred historian. They are explained
by one who well knew their force, as describing our Lord " as
on a sudden possessed with horror and amazement; encompassed
with grief, and overwhelmed with sorrow; pressed down with
consternation, and dejection of mind; tormented with anxiety
and disquietude of spirit."'
It is a natural, and a highly important and interesting inquiry,
What was the cause of this deep mental suffering-this unutterable, this inconceivable, inward anguish? It is obvious that no
cause can be founid in our Lord's external circumstances, either
4 Gen. xv. 12.    5 Matt. xxvi. 36-46. Luke xxii. 41-46.    G Pearson.




PART I.]   THE SAVIOUR'S INTERNAL SUFFERINGS.          591
in the case before us, or when in the garden of Gethsemane.
There was no scourge. no cross, no executioner, in either case.
In the case before, there was much to awaken sentiments of
satisfaction and pleasing anticipation. The multitude appear at
least disposed to recognize him as the long-expected son of David,
Messiah the Prince.  He has entered Jerusalem, the divinelychosen seat of David's empire, in triumph, amid the joyful
hosannahs of thousands, as the rightful inheritor of his throne;
and, in the eager desire of the Greeks to see him, he has obtained
an earnest of the fulfilment of the promise, "It is a light thing
that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of
Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give
thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth."'  These circumstances seemed
calculated to excite a holy triumph in the Saviour's mind; and
so they did. They produced their appropriate effect. "He rejoiced in spirit," and said, " The hour is at hand when the Son
of man shall be glorified." But how is it that all on a sudden
his " harp is turned into mourning, and his organ into the voice
of them that weep "?' How is it that he who had just said in
triumph, " Now is the Son of man to be glorified," here says in
deep distress, " Now is my soul troubled "? And even at Gethsemane we seek in vain for the cause of his inward sufferings in
his external circumstances.  He is in a place endeared to him
bv the most sacred and soothing recollections. It was the scene
of his confinrsItial intercourse with his disciples,-of his still more
intimate fellowship with his divine Father;-and there were none
with him but his three disciples, chosen friends, to whom, of all
human beings, with the exception of his mother, he was most
fondly attached.
He could not be experiencing remorse, which embitters, in
many cases, life's sweetest enjoyments, and casts an appalling
gloom over the fairest scenes of mortal happiness.  His conscience, thoroughly enlightened, fully instructed, in every claim
which the holy, just, and good law had on him, and exquisitely
sensible to the slightest deviation from rectitude —could not find,
on the retrospect of his whole life, a single action-no, not a
single thought or feeling-which was not in perfect accordance
with the will of God. In no case could he wish that he had
thought, or felt, or acted differently from what he had done.
The testimony of his conscience was, that he had kept his
Father's word-that he had glorified him on the earth. Words
which, in the mouth of any other man, even the holiest, would
have argued the most intolerable arrogance-the most deplorable
ignorance —both of God's law and himself-were in his case the
words of truth and soberness. " I have kept the ways of the
Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all
his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes
from me. I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from
7 Isa. xlix. 6.              8 Job xxx. 31.




592        THE INTERNAL SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. [EXP. XVII.
mine iniquity." ":.v meat is to do the will of him that sent me,
and to finish his work."9
It could not be the fear of his impending bodily sufferings,
numerous, varied, and agonizing as he well knew they would be,
that so troubled him (though no doubt their anticipation did produce uneasy feelings); for not merely did he know that these
sufferings were soon to terminate, and that they would be more
than compensated in the delights and glories of that state into
which they were to introduce him; but we find that when the
season of torture and death arrived, he was perfectly composed
and firm in the midst of his sufferings. He discovered no weakness, no agitation, no fear, no perturbation then. He "gave
his back to the smiters, and his cheeks to them who plucked off
the hair: he hid not his face from shame and spitting. He sem
his face as a flint; he was not discouraged."10  He complained
not of the cruelty of his enemies; he sunk not under it. He
" endured the cross; he despised the shame." It is surely not
probable that the bare prospect of those sufferings which he so
undauntedly sustained, should have so troubled his soul, so disquieted his spirit, so convulsed him with terror and agony. To
account for our Lord's inward sufferings on any such supposi
tion, is to do him foul dishonor. It were to sink him far below
many of his followers. They have met the most cruel tortures
with fortitude; and, instead of discovering dread or dejection,
have manifested the most placid tranquillity and the most triumphant hope.
There is but one way of accounting satisfactorily for this sudden,
deep, inward distress. An invisible arm smites him, and that
arm is the arm of the Omnipotent. On the head of that spotless, perfect man,-the man who is God manifest in the flesh,Jehovah has made to meet, as on the victim  for human transgression, the iniquities of us all. Exaction is now being made,
and he feels himself responsible to answer it. He has sorrow, for
his hour is come, that hour in which he must become a curse,
and be made sin in the room of man. Jehovah the judge, is
about to complete this work,-this strange work. The sins of
men, in all their odiousness and malignity, are present to the
Saviour's mind, and present to his mind as the sins of those to
whom he is so closely related, with whom indeed he is identified,
as sins for which he must make adequate expiation. The more
he loved those in whose room he stood, the more would his trouble
of soul be increased, just as we are more affected by the crimes
of a relative or friend, than by those of a stranger. During
this season of soul-trouble, he was deprived of all sensible manifestation of the complacency of his heavenly Father,-the life of
his life,-the very element of his soul's happiness. The sun of
consolation was totally eclipsed. He felt that he was just about
to be given up to the will of his enemies, and to all that sin
deserved, without one cheering ray of his Father's countenance
9 Psal. xviii. 21-23. John iv. 34.'o Isa 1. 6, 7




PART I.]   THE SAVIOUR'S INTERNAL SUFFERINGS.          593
to mitigate his distress. Our depravity, and the weakness of our
faculties, prevent us from forming adequate conceptions of the
suffering which flowed from this source, but we can easily see
that it must have been inconceivably great. The more he loved
God-and he loved Him with all his heart-the clearer views he
had of his glory and excellence, the more that he delighted in
fellowship with him, the greater must have been his anguish when
deprived of this fellowship, an anguish which found utterance in.
these words," My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!"
He was consciously enduring, so far as a perfectly human being
can endure, those penal consequences of sin which are the expression of the Divine displeasure against it. He did not suffer,
he could not suffer, the agonies of a guilty conscience; but he did
suffer,-when he uttered these words he was suffering, as far as
the thing is possible, —the wrath of God due to sin. He was in
the hands of the living God as the victim for sin, and he felt
himself to be so. The import of these awful words was fully
understood, by being actually endured: "Who knows the power
of God's anger?  According to his fear, so is his wrath."  "It
is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." He
learned what subjection to the violated law of God was, by the
things which he suffered."  He had the most awful views of the
majesty, and power, and righteousness of God, as the author and
vindicator of the law, armed with all that judgment which is included in its curse,-in the act of executing the most tremendous
threatenings of his word, and called on, in his public character,
to inflict on him, as the surety of sinners, the full desert of their
atrocious rebellion. When he thought of God in this way, —and
for the moment his mind was entirely filled with the thought —
how could he but be troubled?
I have only further to remark, that in those seasons of intense
inward agony, one of which is described in our text, we have
reason to believe he was peculiarly exposed to the attack of malignant spiritual beings. That was their hour and the power of
darkness. How they distressed his mind, we do not know, for we
have not been told; but it is easy to conceive, how irritation at
their shameful defeats in their former attacks, would induce them,
in the hour of Divine desertion, to redouble their assaults; with
what extreme loathing he must have shrunk from their polluted,
and to all but himself contaminating, intercourse; and how their
impious and malignant suggestions must have shocked and pained
his holy, sensible heart. Every method which Satanic ingenuity
and activity could devise and execute, to harass and perplex, to
depress and unnerve, to torture and agonize, was then in active
operation.
But we must have done with this topic. The mind labors under
such a subject of contemplation.  Its greatness oppresses,-its
strangeness confounds us. "Such knowledge is too wonderful for
us. It is high, we cannot attain to it." It is a mystery,-a mys1 Psal xc. 11. Heb. x. 31; v. 8.
VOL. I.                   38




594        THE INTERNAL SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. [EXP. XVII
tery of kindness. The soul of the God-man is thus troubled, that
our souls might enjoy rest.
Before closing our illustration, however, it may be proper to
inquire,-What are the purposes which these mysterious inward
sufferings of our Lord Jesus were intended to serve? It may be
answered in a word or two. They were intended, like all his suffirings, to "make him perfect," i. e., fully to accomplish him as a,
Saviour; and it is easy to perceive how they did this. They
ftrmed an important component part of the expiation which he
offered for the sins of men. Mere bodily suffering, however
severe, could not have made expiation for the sins of men, which
are "spiritual wickednesses."  The agonies of the soul must be
united to the pains of the body, to form an appropriate and adequate ransom for human transgressions. The example of our
Lord would have been incomplete, had he not showed his people
how they ought to conduct themselves under inward troubles,
which often form the severest part of their trials; and finally,
without having experienced inward sufferings, he could not have
sympathized with his people under these trials, when most of all
they need his sympathy. But now, in deep despondency and in
struggles with Satanic suggestions, he has a fellow-feeling with
them. His soul has been troubled, —he has been sorrowful, exceeding sorrowful. " He knows what strong temptations are, for
he has felt the same."
"Our fellow-sufferer still retains,
A fellow-feeling of our pains,
And still remembers in the skies,
His tears, his agonies, and cries."12
II.-THE EXERCISE OF OUR LORD'S MIND UNDER THESE INTERNAL
SUFFERINGS.
Let us now turn our attention to the second topic which our
text brings before the mind-The exercise of our Lord's mind
under these inward sufferings. That is exhibited in these words,
"What shall I say?'""'Father, save me from this hour. But
for this cause came I to this hour. Father, glorify thy name.'
It has been common to consider these words, " What shall I
say?" as a further expression of inward sufferings; as if they
were equivalent to,'My sorrows are unspeakably great. They
cannot be uttered in words;' or,'they are such as to confound
and stupefy me; so that I do not know what to say.' And then,
they who take this view, consider our Lord as under the influence
of extreme agitation and suffering, presenting the petition,
"Father, save me from this hour,"-deliver me from my impending sufferings; and then they apprehend him as checking himself
by the thought, " For this cause I came unto this hour;" and pre-.senting, instead of the prayer, "save me from this hour," the petition, "Father, glorify thy name.".12 Logan.   13 ", Quid dicamn? non quid eligam. Coll. Phil. i. 22."-BENGEl.




PART II.]        HIS EXERCISE UNDER THEM.                 595
I cannot help thinking, that this is not the just view of the
subject. There can be no doubt, that our Lord's inward sufferings were such as no human language could adequately describe,
and their effect on any mere human being, would have been to
confound and stupefy, and probably to induce one, without reference to consequences, to pray God to save him from what, in the
very prospect, had so agonized his inmost soul. But I do not
think that our Saviour could have presented the petition, "save
me from this hour," in the only sense the words seem capable of
bearing,' deliver me from dying.' He reproved sharply his disciples when they would have dissuaded him from it. He was
straitened till the baptism of blood was accomplished.  He desired with desire to eat the Passover, which he.knew was to be
succeeded by his death. In the garden, indeed, he prayed that
that cup should pass from him; but that cup was not the cup of
death, but the overwhelming anguish that then oppressed his spirit.
Keeping in view the absolute perfection of our Saviour's
character, the following seems a more satisfactory mode of explaining these very remarkable words.  The words, "what shall
I say," appear to express the deliberating of our Lord's mind,
as to what course he should follow in his present circumstances
of deep inward distress; q. d.,'To what quarter shall I turn for
relief under this intolerable load?  It is needless to turn to men.
The great body of men are no way disposed to pity me, and even
those who love me best, can do little in sympathizing with what
they can so little understand; they can do little to relieve me.
I turn to God: and what shall I say to Him?  He can sustain,
he can comfort, he can deliver me. Shall I say, " Father, save
me from this hour"? Shall I ask him to release me from my
covenant engagements?   I have become surety for strangers,
and am smarting for it. Shall I beseech him to cancel the bond?
No; " for this cause" I came unto this hour."   To offer up an
atoning sacrifice in my death, is the great design of all the
Divine decrees and operations, which have brought me to this
point. And shall the decrees of the Eternal be frustrated?shall the oracles of ancient prophecy be falsified?-shall the re.
demption of men's souls, which is precious, cease for ever?  No;
I will not say, "save me from  this hour."  I will say, "glorify
thy  name,"-display thy perfections,-promote  thy glory,finish thy work in righteousness; I am ready, I am willing,
notwithstanding this horror of darkness, to meet all the sufferings of the appointed hour. Let the end be gained. I quarrel
not with the means. Oppressed nature may suggest the wish,
"save me from this hour," but enlightened reason, holy principle,
forbids it to be indulged, even for a moment.' "Glorify thy
name" (that is, in other words,'manifest thy character'):'I
14 " We cannot exactly determine to what odil roTro refers. We might supply
d6' av'r ro7iro o rapcrret /Le. Euthymius thus interprets dLa rovro' erqprltrlv Cem
Tov- vv icatpo 6c2 TO 76 drot)aveiv eb rourwT. The prayer adrep, oadSov I. T. T. takes the
place of rrdirep, acauv Hue."-TuOLUCK.




596        THE INTERNAL SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. [EXP. XVII.
have come to reveal thee, the Father,-and this is the sum of
my desire, that thou shouldest be glorified in me, both in life
and in death.  Let the revelation be completed, at whatever
expense of agony.  Let thine omnipotence be manifested in
inflictingo on me, the willingly-devoted victim for human guilt,
the adequate manifestation of thy displeasure against that evil
and bitter thing, and in sustaining my human frame under what,
in itself, is enough to crush the universe. Let thy wisdom be
manifest in gaining the best of ends,-thy glory, in the salvation of an innumerable company of otherwise hopelessly lost
immortals, by the strangest, yet the best, means, " making him
who knew no sin, to be sin," —in taking the wise in their own
craftiness,-in destroying, by my death, him that has the power
of death,-in making the apparent triumph of thine enemies, the
means of their complete and lasting overthrow.  Let thy righteousness be manifested in the execution of the just penalty of
thy law for transgression, and in the rich reward of him who
"suffered, the Just One in the room of the unjust." Let thy
faithfulness be manifested in the fulfilment, both of threatenings
and of promises, the most unlikely to be fulfilled.  Let thy
mercy be manifested in the number of the saved,'in the number, and value, and endurance of the blessings bestowed on them
-and above all, in the means employed to make their salvation
consistent with, illustrative of, the perfections of thy character,
and the principles of thy government, even in the not sparing
thy Son, but delivering him up as a sacrificial victim in the room
of them all.'
In this exercise of the Saviour's mind, under his inward
sufferings, there is much to fix our attention, and draw forth our
admiration. He is neither sullenly silent, nor fretfully querulous.
Though knowing that he deserved no suffering, still less such
suffering, he makes no complaint.  He does not "open his
mouth, and curse his day."  He does not lose self-possession.
The rational part of his nature, under the influence of religious
principle, keeps the sentient and emotional part of his nature in
due restraint. He considers what is right and befitting in his
strange and most trying circumstances, and acts accordingly.
He goes not to man, but to God, for consolation and relief.
He will not ask for that which, though in itself most desirable to
human feeling, was, he knew, inconsistent with the Divine design. He subordinates everything to what is, and ought to be,
the great end of the universe-the manifestation of the Divine
glory; and not only is willing to submit to whatever is necessary
to the attainment of this, but is desirous that, at whatever expense
of suffering to him, that end may be attained.
What a beautiful display of character is here made by our
Saviour, in this exercise of that love which is the fulfilling of the
law I Love to God, in the form of entire submission to his willdevotedness to his glory; love to man, in a readiness to suffer the
extreme of shame and agony, in becoming obedient to death



PART III.]      THE FATHER'S APPROBATION.              597
death under the curse-the death of the cross-for our salvation.
If we have a particle of spiritual discernment, such calm, principled, disinterested, self-sacrificing love, must call forth the se-itiments of adoring esteem, gratitude, and love. If it do not, we
prove clearly that our mind is not in accordance with the mind
of God; for so well pleased was the eternal Father with his righteous servant-his beloved Son-in this manifestation of unchanged, unchangeable, devotion to the great end of his mission,
in circumstances the most trying, that he broke the awful silence
which he generally maintains, and, from the most excellent glory,
through the opening heavens, proclaimed his acceptance of the
petition, and his complacency in the petitioner,-" Then came
there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and I
will glorify it again."
III.-THE FATHER'S APPROBATION OF THE SAVIOUR'S EXERCISE OF
MIND UNDER HIS INTERNAL SUFFERINGS.
This Divine approbation of our Lord's exercise of mind under
his inward sufferings, is the last topic to which the text calls our
attention. The words just quoted contain in them the great principle of Divine operation. The whole universe is a system of
Divine manifestation: God has glorified his name, and will glorify
it. This is the whole history of the past and the future. He has
manifested himself and will more and more manifest himself, to
be what he is-the infinitely powerful and wise, the infinitely
holy and benignant Being. But the words before us plainly refer
to a particular economy of manifestation, compared with which
all other manifestations are but as "the hiding" of his glory,his manifestation of himself in the person and work of his incarnate Son, as the great Mediator between God and man-the
Saviour of a lost race.
God had already glorified his name, and manifested his character, by Christ Jesus. The faithfulness, the power, and the mercy
of Jehovah, had been gloriously displayed in the incarnation of
the eternal Word: his faithfulness, in fulfilling his great promise
to the church,-his power, his bringing into personal union natures so distant as the Divine and human, his mercy, in not withholding his Son, his only Son, when the salvation of lost men required his interposition. In the doctrine of Jesus Christ, the
character of God, as holy love, was more fully unfolded than it
had been in any former revelation. His miracles were all of them
manifestations of divine power and mercy; and, in the habitual
temper and behavior of him who was " God manifest in flesh,"
the moral beauties of the Divine character were so displayed, as
that it might be truly said, that he who saw the Son saw the
Father. The glory of God was "in the fate of his Son," when
"he dwelt among men, full of grace and of truth."  He was the
visible image of the invisible God.
The declaration, " I have glorified my name in thee," was fitted




698         THE INTERNAL SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. [EXP. XVII.
to comfort and sustain the Saviour's heart. It was just equivalent
to the declaration,' Hitherto the great purpose of thy mission has
been fully accomplished. Thou camest to make known my name,
and thou hast done so. The Father has been glorified in and by
the Son. " Thou art my beloved Son: in thee I am well pleased."
The second declaration is a more direct answer to our Lord's
prayer, "Glorify thy name,"-" I will glorify it again."'I will
glorify it in the awful events of " that hour," the prospect of the
inward agonies of which has filled thy soul with apprehension,
and in the events which shall be its results.' There never was
such a manifestation of the Divine glory as in the cross of Christ
" Christ crucified is the power of God and the wisdom of God."
To'use the words of M'Laurin, the first of our Scottish theologians, "Here shine spotless justice, incomprehensible wisdom,
and infinite love, all at once; none of them darkens or eclipses
the other; every one of them gives a lustre to the rest; they mingle their beams, and shine with united. eternal, splendor. The
just Judge, the merciful Father, the wise Governor,-no other
object gives such a display of all these perfections; yea, all the
objects we know give not such a display as any one of them.
Nowhere does justice appear so terribly awful, mercy so sweetly
amiable, or wisdom so unfathomly profound. The glories that
are found separately in the other works of God, are found united
here. The joys of heaven glorify God's goodness; the pains of
hell glorify his justice; the cross of Christ glorifies both of them
in a more remarkable way than heaven or hell glorifies any of
them. The justice of God is more awfully displayed in the sufferings of Christ, as the substitute of sinners, than in the torments
of devils; and his mercy is far more brightly manifested in these
sufferings, than in the joys of angels."
But the Divine declaration looks beyond the event of the
atoning death of our Lord to its glorious results. The declaration is equivalent to-' I will glorify my name; I will manifest
my power, and wisdom, and faithfulness, and kindness, in fulfilling all the "exceeding great and precious promises" made to
thee in the eternal council; I will show myself to be the God
that keepeth covenant; I will " not leave thy soul in hell, neither
shalt thou, my Holy One, see corruption;" " I will show thee
the path of life;" I will say to thee, " Sit on my right hand, till
thine enemies are made thy footstool;" "I will give thee the
heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the
earth for thy possession;" " the great shall be thy portion, the
mighty thy spoil;"'"thou shalt see of the travail of thy soul,
and be satisfied;" "thou shall be the light of the Gentiles, and
my salvation to the ends of the earth;" "in thee shall my glory
be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." "~ The resurrection, and ascension, and glorification of our Lord-the effusion
of the Holy Ghost-the overthrow of the kingdom of Satanthe conversion of the world -the eternal salvation of an inalumer-' Psal. xvi. 10, 11;cx. 1; ii. 8. Isa. liii. 12; xlix. 6; x 5.




PART III.]      THE FATHER'S APPROBATION.              599
able company of our self-ruined race,-all these glorious events,
embodying in them a manifestation of the name of Jehovah, are
promised in these pregnant words, " I will glorify my name."
This declaration was intended and calculated to sustain the
mind of the God-man under the pressure of his unspeakable
agonies, as well as to confirm the faith of his followers, and prepare them  for the severe trial to which it was to be exposed.
This is not inconsistent with whati follows-when our Lord says,
" This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes," —these
words plainly meaning,'This voice came not solely or chiefly
for my sake, as if it had been necessary to make me stedfast to
my purpose to finish the work given me to do.' This declaration seems plainly like the visit of the angel in the garden, to
have comforted him; bfor we find him immediately adding, " Now
is the judgment of this world, now shall the prince of this world
be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw
all men to me."  And not long after we find him saying, "Now
is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God
be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and
shall straightway glorify him."
Thus have I shortly considered the interesting topics which
the text brings before our mind. The inward sufferings of the
incarnate Son of God-the exercise of his mind under these sufferings-and the Divine approbation of this exercise of mind, miraculouslv manifested.
The subject is replete with important practical instruction.
Our time only permits us to glance at a small portion of it.
It tells the impenitent sinner what he must endure, if he obstinately refuses to avail himself of the " redemption that is in
Christ through his blood."  The sinner who dares to meet a
holy God at the judgment-seat, unshielded by the atonement of
Christ, may here see what he has to expect. How shall he endure-endure for ever-what filled the soul of the incarnate
Son, as the substitute of sinners, with insupportable anguish,
and made him say, " Now is my soul troubled" —" My soul is
sorrowful, exceeding sorrowful-orrowfulsorrowful even unto death"?
4' It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
Ah, "can thy hands be strong, and thy heart endure, in the
day that he'shall deal with thee?"  "He"-Jehovah — has
spoken it; He will do it."  "If these things be done in the
green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" If he spared not
his Son, when he bare your sins, think you he will spare you,
when you appear before him bearing your own sins? Oh, ere
it be too late, in the faith of this truth, seek, what you shall
assuredly find, security in his atonement. " This man is a hidingplace from the storm, a refuge from the tempest."  "Give glory
to God" by accepting of his proffered grace, "before your feet
stumble on the dark mountains" of hopeless ruin."
It bids the Christian rejoice in the thought, that the cup of
16 Ezek xxii. 14. Luke xxiii. 31. Isa. xxxii. 2. Jer. xiii. 16.




600         THE INTERNAL SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.  [EXP. XVIL
wrath, which his sins have deserved, has been drunk to the dregs
by his divine Saviour, and that, instead of it, there is put into his
hand the cup of salvation."Then —then he paid that dreadful debt,
Which men could never pay;
And gave those honors to the law,
Which sinners took away.
"Now shall his chosen people find
Salvation in his name;
For he hath borne thy heavy load
Of sorrow, pain, and shame.
"'Twas in a most accepted time,
His prayer arose on high;
And for his sake the Lord will hear
The needy when they cry."'7
Let the Christian, in the anguish of Jesus, see the foundation of
his own joy-the security of his happiness. Let him love that
Saviour who so loved him, as willingly to submit to unspeakable
anguish of spirit, as well as extreme bodily pain, to obtain his
salvation. Let him, in his hours of deep mental suffering-and
few Christians are strangers to these-seek relief in the sympathy
of Jesus; and, in the faith of his atoning agonies, he will be enabled, with "Christian" at the sepulchre into which his burden
fell, to say v.-th a merry heart, " He has given me rest by his sorrow, and life by his death;"'8 Let him, under all affliction, endeavor to manifest the calm, self-possessed, pious, benignant, selfsacrificing spirit, with which Jesus bore his heaviest afflictionshis soul-sufferings,-and let him rejoice that it is the benignant
purpose of his Father, and our Father, that all our sufferings, as
well as his, shall be made conducive to the manifestation of his
excellence-to the glory of his name-in our salvation.
To us, in our present circumstances, christian brethren, the
language of the text is, Hasten to the communion-table, where, in
significant emblems, are placed before you the memorials both of
the bodily and mental sufferings of our Lord Jesus; and, while
you contemplate and use these memorials as he has appointed, oh,
rest with unshaken, with increasing confidence, in the atonement
made by these sufferings; drink into the spirit of love to God,
and love to man, in which that atonement was made; and anew
devote yourselves to that manifestation of the Divine characterthat glorifying of the name of God, which is the great object
which the great God himself constantly prosecutes-the great object which holy angels are constantly prosecuting-the great object for which you were created at first, and created anew, redeemed by the Son, and regenerated by the Spirit; and, in prosecuting this object, rejoice that you run no hazard of disappointmlent. The voice still sounds from the excellent glory, " I have
glorified my name. and I will glorify it again."
17 Gl1a                              Is Bunya.n




EXPOSITION XVIII.
THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS.
JoHN xm 31-33.-" Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of
this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men
unto me. (This he said, signifying what death he should die.")
"MY thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways
my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than
the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts
than your thouglts."'  This is a wide-reaching declaration, and
receives proof and illustration in every department of the Divine
works and ways.
The objects which He prosecutes, and the means which He emplovs to obtain them, are all worthy of his infinite grandeur and
excellence, and show him to be indeed "wonderful in counsel and
excellent in'working."  But, for that very reason, his objects are
often not our objects; and even when they are, in the measure in
which our feeble minds can grasp them, his means are not the
means we should think of employing in order to secure them.
This is true, not only of men, but of angels. He does what
they never could have thought of as likely to be done; and he
does what he has determined on, and told them he has determined
on, in a way which they never could have anticipated,-in a way
which constrains these holy and wise beings to stand amazed at
"the depth of the riches of his knowledge and wisdom," and acknowledge that " his judgments are unsearchable, and his ways
past finding out."2
The angels are very holy, benevolent, wise, and powerful, and
the objects which they contemplate as desirable to be accomplished, must be of a corresponding nature; but the restoration
of fallen man-one of God's objects-never would have been one
of theirs. With the unalterable doom of their own sinning brethren
before their minds, the recovery of sinning man might seem not
only something plainly beyond their reach, but something which,
in reference to its bearings on the Divine glory, and the general
well-being of his universe, was not to be thought of, not even to
be wished; and on learning, no doubt with amazement, that it
was one of the objects of God, the means they would have thought
of employing for the purpose, must assuredly, would not have
IIsa. Iv. 8, 9.                       2 Rom. xi. 33.




602     THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXP. XVIII.
been those which he had determined to employ-which he has
actually employed. They would never have thought of " God"
being " manifest in flesh," —of the Word who "in the beginning
was with God, who was God," becoming "flesh," and " dwelling
among men,"-of the " Son of God" becoming " the Son of man,"
-of the great Lawgiver being " made under the law," his own
law, made under it, not only in its precept, but in its penalty,"that the Holy one of God" should be "made sin," —the everblessed One "a curse,"-that their Lord, whom they counted it
honor and delight to worship, should " take on him the form of a
servant,"-that "the Just One" should die "in the room of the
unjust, that they might be brought to God," and death be abolished, and he who had the power of death vanquished, and spoiled,
and destroyed. It is probable that, as the salvation of men could
never have been one of their objects, so the means of obtaining
it, after they knew that it was one of God's objects, must have
appeared utterly beyond the reach of their intellects to discover,
or even to conjecture; but it is absolutely certain they never
could have conjectured the truth-they never could have thought
that man's salvation was to be accomplished thus. Oh, no! The
destruction of a thousand sinning worlds must have appeared to
them a probable thing in comparison of the incarnation and vicarious sufferings, and expiatory death, of the Only-begotten of
God.
This, the most extraordinary of all demonstrations, that God's
ways are not like the ways of his creatures, whether men or angels; that " his thoughts are not as their thoughts;" but that, " as
the heaven is higher than the earth, so are his ways higrher than
their ways, and his thoughts than their thoughts," is strikingly
brought before our minds in those very remarkable words of our
Lord, that are about to become the subject of our consideration.
The world is about to be judged. ~ The prince of this world, that
mighty and terrible one, is to be driven from the throne he had
usurped, and his miserable vassals are to be brought, in vast multitudes, to submit themselves to his victor and their Saviour. Great
and glorious objects! But how are they to be accomplished!
Knowing, as we do, that the great agent in these mighty and truly
godlike enterprises is the only-begotten and well-beloved Son of
the Highest —-the brightness of his glory —the express image of
his person, would not "our thoughts" have suggested that he
should descend into the world he was to regenerate, inl his own
glory, and that of his Father, and of the holy angels, with a pomp
and magnificence as little as possible beneath the infinite grandeur
of his nature and the glorious majesty of his kingdom, terrifying
the rebellious into submission by the lightnings of his anger, and
winning their hearts by the mild glories of his condescension and
love; banishing at once all the varied forms of evil, both moral
and physical, firom the earth, and introducing in their room universal and perfect knowledge, and holiness, and happiness. How
different God's thoughts from our thoughts, God's ways from our




PART I.]           THE DEATH OF CHRIST.                  603
ways! The Son of God must become the Son of man; and he
must be lifted up —and lifted up, not as we would have expected,
first to the throne of David, and then to the throne of the world,
and then to the throne of the universe; but lifted up so as to die
— lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness-lifted
up on the cross-the accursed tree of shame and agony-and die
there, deserted of God, execrated by man, tormented by devils,
the victim for a world's transgression.
Yet this thought is not only different from, but higher than,
man's thoughts; this way not only different from, but higher than,
man's ways.  "The foolishness of God," which is indeed his "wisdom in a mystery," is wiser than man's wisdom; "the weakness
of God," which is indeed "the hiding of his power," is stronger
than man's power.3 This was the only way in which these great
objects could be accomplished in consistency with, in illustration
of, the perfections of the Divine nature, the principles of the Divine
government, and the well-being of the intelligent creation; and
in this way they are all in process of being accomplished in a
manner which shows forth the unfathomable depth of the Divine
wisdom-the immaculate beauties of the Divine holiness —the
terrific glories of the Divine justice —the resistless energy of the
Divine power-and the unsearchable riches of the Divine grace,
securing "glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth""Grace reigning  throughl righteousness unto eternal life."  "It
became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things,"
to judge the world, and cast out its rebel prince, and draw all
men to his Conqueror and their Saviour, by appointing that that
Saviour, his own Son, should be lifted up on a gibbet, between
earth and heaven, as an accursed one, unworthy to have a place
in either; and on the cross, as on a high altar, as the Lamb of
God, to take away the sins of the world, and thus make peace
between earth and heaven.
To these high themes let us now devoutly turn our minds, and
contemplate, in succession, the views which the passage before us
gives us of the Saviour's death, and its results:-His death, "he
is lifted up from the earth;" its results, "the world is judged, the
prince of this world is cast out, and all men are drawn to him who
was lifted up from the earth."
I.-THE DEATH OF CHRIST.
Let us first, then, attend to the view here given us of our Lord's
death.  "And I," says he, "if I be lifted up from the earth," or
rather, "when4 I shall have been lifted up from the earth."  Had
it not been for the explanatory note of the evangelist, "This he
said, signifying what death he should die," and the obvious reference to our Lord's own sav'ing on a previous occasion, "As Moses
lifted up the serpent in the woilderness, even so must the Son of
3 1 Cor. i. 25.   4 "idv cum, quarndo. John xiv. 3. 1. John iii. 2." —KuNoyz.




604      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXP. XVIII.
man be lifted up," which he explains as meaning his being so given
by his Father for men, as that they, believing in him, might not
perish, but have eternal life —i. e., devoted by him to suffering in
their room, that they might be saved from suffering, —we might
have supposed that the reference here was rather to his exaltation
than to his humiliation. As it is, there can be no doubt that the
expression is intended to fix the mind on the fact of his death,
the manner of his death, and the nature of his death. It intimat-s that he was to die, to die on the cross, to die on the cross
a victim.
~ 1. The fact of his death predicted.
It was a wonderful thing that HE should die. Death, in the
case of men generally, is often termed their debt to nature.
The thought is not an accurate one. Man, the creature of God,
originally owed no such debt to nature. His nature bade him
live, not die. It is the debt which man, the sinner, owes to justice.
Death is not a natural result of the original constitution of man,
but a penal evil introduced in consequence of his transgression
of the Divine law. Death is a monstrous thing; and the instinctive feelings of nature, in this case, as in many others, are
more to be credited than the plausible speculations of a vain
philosophy. It is, now that man is a sinner, no wonderful thing
that he should die. It would, indeed, be very wonderful were it
otherwise, after He who cannot lie has declared, in reference to
our sinning progenitor and federal representative, "Dust thou
art, and unto dust shalt thou return." This is now the established rule, "It is appointed unto men once to die;" " by one
man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death
passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."" But our Lord
was a man and not a sinner-a man who knew no sin-in whom
was no sin-" holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners"
-in the likeness of sinful flesh, but, though a partaker of flesh
and blood, no partaker of sinful flesh-one who, in the womb,
from the womb, was'a holy thing"-one who always did the
things that pleased his Father, who delighted to do his will, who
found the doing it his meat and drink-a necessity of his moral
nature-one completely free from error, and guilt, and depravity
— all whose thoughts, and feelings, and volitions were in perfect
accordance with the mind and will of God. How came he to
be numbered among transgressors so as to die? how was it that
death dared to lay his sacrilegious hand on the holy thing born
of the Virgin? how came he, who alone of all human kind ever
did, ever could, merit eternal life, —to receive, not the life which
is the reward of obedience, but the death which is the wages of
sin, from the righteous Judge, who renders to all men according
to their works, and causes them to receive according to their
ways?
This is strange enough; but in this death of our Lord there
5 Gen. iii. 19. Heb. ix. 27. Rom. v. 12.




PART I.]          THE DEATH OF CHRIST.                 605
is something stranger still. This perfectly holy man was in personal union with the Divinity. He was an incarnation of the
uncreated Word-a manifestation of the eternal life which was
with the Father before the foundation of the world. The man
Christ Jesus was the Only-begotten of God. He was in the
form of God; and though he did not grasp at the manifestation
of equality with God —did not make an ostentatious display of it,
as if it had been a prey-such equality was not, on that account,
the less his undoubted possession, his rightful prerogative. The
idea of such a union between a man and Divinity is overwhelmingly strange, but, on appropriate and adequate evidence, by no
means incredible. Such evidence we have in great abundance;
and it is, I trust, as it ought to be, one of the things " most.
surely believed among us," that he who was made of the seed of
David, according to the flesh, is " over all, God blessed forever."
This, without controversy, great mystery, " God manifest in the
flesh," is the very "pillar and ground of the truth" as it is in
Jesus.6
Supposing such a union to exist, abstractly considered, nothing, doubtless, could be conceived as more improbable than
that he who was the subject of it, the God-man, should die.
Surely, we should be apt to say, nothing so closely connected
with the Living One-with Him who alone hath immortality"who is, and was, and is to come"-who liveth for ever and
ever-can ever die. The Jews, on the supposition that Jesus
meant to claim Messiahship when he called himself the Son of
man, express astonishment that, since the Messiah was, as they
read their law, to abide for ever, he should speak of being lifted
up from the earth, which they understood of being removed from
the earth. Such an event seemed to them quite inconsistent
with his doing the work of the Messiah; and, certainly, to the
eye of human reason, the holy man, the God-man Jesus, raised
up for the express purpose of dethroning Satan, and redeeming
mankind, seems to take a strange way for accomplishing his
object when he parts with his life. This seems the way to anything rather than to the judgment of the world, the casting out
of its prince, and the drawing all men to himself.
~ 2. The manner of his death described.
But the means will appear still more strangely to contrast with
the intended effect, in this first and greatest of the works of God,
when we attend to the second thing suggested by our Lord's annunciation of his approaching death. His words not only intimate the fact of his approaching death, but its manner,-crucifixion. That it was our Lord's design to give a dark hint
respecting the manner of his death-a hint which the facts of the
case should ere long make plain-is distinctly asserted by the
evangelist: " This he said, signifying what death he should die."
6 Rom. ix. 5. 1 Tim. iii. 16.




606      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXP. XVIII.
The mystery seems to thicken on us. When we think what
he is to do-judge the world, cast out its prince, draw all men to
himself-it seems very strange that the immaculately holy man,
that the undoubtedly divine man, should die at all. But if he is
to die at all, if the ends of his mission require it, and his love
makes him willing to submit to it, surely, we should have been
apt to say, surely the bands of mortality will be in his case gently
unloosed,-surely the figure will in his case become all but a
reality-when he dies he will fall asleep-death, if it must be his
portion, will be so in its least alarming and shocking form; or,
if he is to die by violence, surely it must be as a conquering
hero, insensible to the wounds by which his victory has been
secured, and receiving, in the mournful congratulations and tearful rejoicings of his followers, saved from slavery by his prowess,
touching tokens of their admiration and gratitude, and of their
deep-felt conviction that even liberty, with all its blessings, was
but too dearly purchased by the sacrifice of such a life, and could
be but imperfectly enjoyed without him, who had won it for
them, and bestowed it on them. But no;-he must die by the
hand of public justice as a sentenced malefactor, like a felonious
slave. He must die a death of foul opprobrium  and protracted
torture, such as, happily, no part of our earth, except that unvisited with the humanizing influence of the religion of him who
hung on the cross, can now exhibit an example of.
In no page of man's history is the depravity of his nature more
distinctly recorded, than in that which treats of capital punishments. Whether, in any case, it be expedient, or even lawful,
for man to take away life in the punishment of crime-to take
what the law did not give, and what the law cannot restore-to
do what makes it impossible that one great end of punishment
should be gained, so far as the criminal is concerned-reformation; and what seems, if we may trust extensive experience and
observation, in reference to others who most need the lesson, to
be fully as much fitted to harden as to deter —to cut short the
term of an immortal being's probation for eternity, and to speed
him on to the judgment-seat, where the irreversible sentence for
an endless futurity must be passed, prepared or unprepared-far
most probably, utterly unprepared,-whether, I say, it be, in
any case, expedient, or even right, to make man pay his life as
the forfeit for his transgressions of the laws of society, is a question on which wise and good men are not yet agreed; though, I
should think, scarcely anything but a strong conviction, well or
ill founded, that the Author of human life has declared it to be
his will that he who sheddeth man's blood should have his blood
shed by man —a persuasion that God has not only permitted, but
commanded, murder to be punished by taking the life of the
murderer-could lead any wise and good man to take the affirmative side in such an argument.
But whatever we may think of this question, all who know
anything of history are agreed that the malignity and hard



PART I.]          THE DEATH OF CHRIST.                 607
heartedness of depraved men have been strikingly displayed in
multiplying unnecessarily the offences which expose to this extreme punishment, and in attaching to its infliction many circurnstances of pain, and shame, and horror, which, while they added
largely to the sufferings of the individual, were in no way calculatedl to promote the only legitimate object which public justice
can contemplate in such revolting inflictions-the deterring others
from the commission of similar enormities. Among those modes
of punishment, invented rather to glut individual revenge than
to satisfy public justice-monuments of a state of savage barbarism which have sometimes continued to exist, frightful anomalies,
amid the institutions and customs of a civilized age —the mode
of death to which our Lord was looking forward may be con.sidered as possessing a bad pre-eminence.
The punishment of the cross seems to have originated among
the Romans, a people remarkable for their ferocious and sanguinary disposition, —and even among them it was inflicted only
on offenders of the lowest grade in society, and of the greatest
atrocity of guilt. After being stripped of his garments and lacerated by rods, the criminal condemned to this horrible punishment was fastened to the cross, which was formed of a large
plank of timber with a transverse beam near one of' the extremities. To this tremendous instrument of torture and death the
sentenced convict was fastened by iron bolts driven through the
hands and the feet, the feet being nailed to the longitudinal post,
and the hands in an extended posture to the extremities of the
transverse beam. In some cases, the body seems to have been
partially supported by a narrow seat attached t tohe upright post;
in others, the whole weight seems to have been left to hang on
the wounded hands and feet. The horrid machine, with its pitiable burden, was then raised, and placed with violence in a hole
dug in the earth; and, being fixed there, the miserable victim
was left to perish in lingering dreadful torments. As none of the
parts essential to life, such as the brain, or the heart, or the lungs,
were immediately injured-none of the vital functions, such as
respiration or the circulation of the blood, directly impededand none of the large blood-vessels set open-the death was
usually slow, while the multitude of nerves which terminate in
the hands and feet, giving these parts the nicest sensibility, being
wounded, torn, and tortured by the rugged nails, the suffering
was exquisitely severe. The crucified man, during the hours,
and sometimes days, in which he hung on the cross, must have
suffered every moment more than the pangs of the most agonized
dissolution.
Crucifixion was, moreover, a mode of punishment as opprobrious as it was painful. It was appropriated to slaves, a class of
men whom the ancients-as indeed all, among whom the most
unnatural and criminal usage of slavery prevails, seem apt to do
— appear to have considered as an inferior order of beings, and




608     THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXP. XVIII.
scarcely, if at all, possessed of the rights or entitled to the sympathies of humanity.
Yet it was thus that the Son of man must die, in order to the
judgment of the world, the expulsion of its prince, and the
drawing of all men to himself. HE did not look like the Judge
of the world, or the Conqueror of its prince, who was crucified in
weakness; nor did it seem likely that he, from whom men hid
their faces, turning aside from such a spectacle of horror and
shame, at whom many were astonished, "his face being more
marred than that of any man, and his form than that of any of
the sons of men," should "stand for an ensign to the people,"that "to him  the Gentiles should seek," while "his rest" —strange contrast to his agony —" should be glorious," —when
"kings should shut their mouths at himn,"-when "all kings
should fall down before him, and all nations serve him."  Yet
so it was.  That crown of thorns was, as it were, the very
material out of which was formed the crown of fine gold which
was to be set on his head. For the agony of the cross, he has
been made "most blessed for ever;" and for its ignominy, "his
glory is great in Jehovah's salvation; honor and majesty have
been laid upon him.z:' What an idea does it give us of our
Lord's magnanimity, that with a distinct anticipation that he
must suffer all this in the course of a very few days, he could
calmly, triumphantly say, "I, when I shall be lifted up from the
earth, will draw all men unto me!"
~ 3. The nature of his death unfolded.
But our Lord's words intimate not only the fact of his approaching death, and the manner of that approaching death, but
also its nature, as connected with the results which he with
certainty anticipated were to flow from it,-the judgment of the
world, the expulsion of its prince, and the drawing of all minen to
him. The manner of the death-punishment indicated its nature.
It was penal; and when you take into account the fact of his
sinlessness, it indicated that, in this case, it was vicarious and
expiatory. If we do not distinctly perceive this, we must be
unable to perceive the connection between our Lord's death and
the results represented as flowing from it. For any one to say,
"I am about to be crucified," was equivalent to saying,'I am
about to die as a criminal-as a victim to violated law-by the
hand of offended justice.' In the mouth of a Jew, the words
would have peculiar significance. Crucifixion was not a Jewish
punishment; death by suspension in any way was not.  But
the bodies of criminals who had paid the forfeit of their lives as
an expiation for their offence, by being stoned or otherwise put
to death, were, by express statute, to be hung on a tree, —exposed on a gibbet, which was in the form of a cross,-as a token
that they had been deprived of life on account of crime. Hence
7 Isa. lii. 14, 15; xi. 10.  Psal. xxi. 1-6.




PART I.]          THE DEATH OF CHRIST.                  609
the expression, " Cursed is every one who hangeth on a tree."6
Every one hanged on a tree, exposed on a gibbet, has been executed for crime.
This seems to make the death of our Lord —the holy man —
the Divine man-more wonderful still; and appears, at first
view, to militate more and more against the results which it was
intended to produce. Is he likelier to be the judge of the world,
that he dies a condemned criminal? Is the victim for sin to be
conqueror of Satan? Is a man, crucified as a traitor and blasphemer, likely to attract followers?
There can be no doubt that the death of our Lord was penal.
Men meant it so, though, as they meant it, it was unjust.  God
meant it so; and as he meant it, it was the just expression of
holy displeasure against sin. Christ died for sins; he was made
a curse.  The death of Christ was the manifestation of God's abhorrence of iniquity.
But of whose iniquity? Not that of the immaculate, perfect
sufferer. There was no iniquity in him.  Men drew the conclusion, from  the number, and continuousness, and variety, and
severity of his sufferings, that he must be a great sinner, to be so
"smitten, stricken of God, and afflicted," though none of them
could convict him of sin. Even the judge who condemned hinm
to die, declared that he found no fault in him. The true account
of the matter is that long ago -given by the evangelic prophet,
-" He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for
our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; he
bare the sins of many. All we like sheep had gone astray: we
had turned every one to his own way, and the Lord laid on him
the iniquity of us all."   "Exaction was made, and he became
answerable;"9 —that given by the holy apostles, he "became a
curse in our room," we being deservedly accursed. He " suffered
the just in the room of the unjust."  He "bare our sins," not
his own, "in his body to the tree;"0o and thus "Messiah was
cut off, but not for himself," but for us sinners.
This view of our Lord's death increases the mystery of his
love; but it removes in a great degree the mystery, both of his
sufferings generally, and of their peculiar form. We shall wonder
to all eternity, and our wonder will continually increase, that he
should have taken our place; but we cease even now to wonder
that, having taken our place, he met our deserts.
When we take into account our Lord's absolute moral purity
and perfection, we are driven to the conclusion, that his penal
death was vicarious; and when we take into account his divinity,
we are drawn into the conclusion, that they were expiatorythat they were intended-and that they have been effectual for
that for which nothing else could have been effectual-for the
expiation of man's guilt, the ransom of man's soul. If he who
died is indeed the image of the invisible God,-the Prince of the
whole creation,-the Creator, and Preserver, and Proprietor of
8 Deut. xxi. 23.  9 Isa. liii. 5, 6.  10 Gal. iii. 13.   1 Pet. iii. 18; ii. 24..
VOL. I.                   39




610      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXP. XVIII.
all things,-who "is before all things, and by whom all things
subsist, "-assuredly " in him we have redemption through his
blood."  His stripes heal us. He has made an efficacious sacrifice for sin, when he offered up himself. He has taken away sin.
He has " finished transgression, made an end of sin, and brought
in an everlasting righteousness."  His death, being the punishnent of our offences, is our justification; and, being our justifi.
cation, leads, in the first instance, to his resurrection, to be
followed in the due order by ours.  Yes, the "blood of Christ
who, through the eternal Spirit, offered up himself a sacrifice
without spot unto God, purges the conscience from dead works to
serve the living God.""'
And now light begins to shed itself on these strange dispensations, and we begin to see that there is close connection,
intimate dependence, glorious harmony, between the two great
annunciations of our Lord, both of them necessarily at the time
clothed in enigmatical language.'I am soon to be put to death
on a cross like a criminal, and an expiatory victim for the sins
of men;' and as the result of this,'yet a little while, and the
world is judged, and its prince is cast out, and all men are drawn
to me "the Crucified."' Surely already we see, that not only
are God's thoughts and ways strange, —not our thoughts,-not
our ways,-very different from ours; but that they are transcendantly excellent, wise as well as wonderful, that " as the heavens
are high above the earth, so are his thoughts above our thoughts,
his ways above our ways."
I conclude my remarks on this part of the subject, with a reflection, which I hope has already risen in the hearts of you all.
Oh, how should we esteem, admire, and love, this magnanimous,
generous Saviour! How strong a mind! how large, how warm,
how tender a heart! He not only knew that he was to die-very
soon to die-but to die like a felonious slave —to die as an expiatorv victim. The scourge-the cross —the spear —the shame and
spitting-the cutting taunt-the brutal gibe-the loud execrations
of his enemies, and the silent suffering of his dearest friend, and
her who bore him, standing by the cross-the burning thirst and
the cold sweat-the exhaustion and the agony-the harassment
of hellish suggestions, and the soul-oppressive weight of the sadecss produced by the over-clouded countenance of his Fatherall these were distinctly anticipated; and though he did, as he
well might, say, "Now is my soul troubled," he did not say,;; ather, save me from this hour."  No; he said, " For this cause
came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name."  He set his,ice as a flint, and refused to be ashamed. He did not fail, nor
was discouraged, till, with the voice of triumph, he could say,
~ It is finished;" and then, meekly bowing his head, resigned his
spirit into the hands of his Father, well pleased for His righteousless' sake. Was ever magnanimlity-was ever love —like this?
JIlstead of being occupied with himself, he seems to forget
"t Col. i. 1.1 1'7.  Isa, liii, 5.  Dan, ix. 24.   Rom. iv. 25.  Hleb. ix. 14t




PART II.]    THE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.             611
himself altogether.  He has indeed "emptied himself' of himself.
"Good-will to men, and zeal for God,
His every thought engross;
He longs to be baptized with bloodHe pants to reach the cross.
"With all his sufferings full in view,
And pangs to us unknownForth to the task his spirit flew;'Twas love that urged him on.
"Lord, we return thee what we canOur hearts shall sound abroad
Salvation to the dying man,
And to the rising God.
"And, while the bleeding glories here,
Fix our admiring eyes,
We learn our lighter cross to bear,
And hasten to the skies."'2
II.-THE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.
The real and the apparent importance of events are by no means
necessarily coincident. Indeed, not unfrequently these properties
exist in the same event, not in a direct, but in an inverse proportion. This remark receives striking illustration in two events,
which took place somewhat more than eighteen hundred years
ago; the accession of Octavius Cmesar-better known under his
title Augustus-to the undivided dominion of the Roman empire,
and the birth of Jesus Christ, in a small town in Palestine.
The first of these events possessed, in a very remarkable degree,
the character of apparent importance. It was everywhere known
and talked of; it attracted universal attention; it excited deep interest. It was the theme of the poet's song, and the subject of
the historian's narrative. It gave peace to the world; it influenced, to its remotest limits, that wide-extended empire, which
was nearly coincident with the discovered earth-affecting the
happiness of its innumerable inhabitants-and it seemed likely to
give a direction and a color to the fortunes of mankind for many
ages. To a contemporary, it must have appeared scarcely possible to over-estimate its importance, either in itself, or in its probable results.
But what is its importance, viewed in the clear light of truth,
at the distance of eighteen centuries?  It will always bulk considerably in the history of the world. It did produce effects,
direct and indirect, which have told on the progress of human
society in a variety of ways.  But what was it, in itself, but the
elevation, for a few short years, of a mortal man to dominion over
a multitude of fellow-mortals-a splendid pageant in that fashion
of this world which passeth away?  And what interest does it
excite now?  What influence does it exert now?  What are Oc12 Cowper




612      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXP. XVIII.
tavius's glorious victories, and Augustus's wise government, but
historical facts, intimately known to comparatively few, and nearly
affecting no existing human interest. In the far distance of the
past, the event which, in the present, seemed a sun in effulgence
and in attractive force, is shorn of its lustre, and stripped of its
power. It appears but a dimly luminous speck, which speaks to
the mind, of extinguished splendor and spent energy. It is, in a
great measure, as if it had never been. It would puzzle the most
learned and ingenious to say if it be now exerting any influence
-and if it is, what is the nature and extent of that influence-on
the characters and fortunes of the men of the present age, whether
as nations or as individuals.
The second event referred to must, with the exception of the
very small number of individuals who were cognizant of its
supernatural accompaniments, have been regarded by all who
were aware of it, as altogether destitute of the character of
apparent importance; and it would have been difficult for them
to conceive how it could ever come to possess the character of
real importance. The wife of a carpenter of Nazareth gives
birth to a child in a stable at Bethlehem, during a casual transient residence in that little town. This is the event, as a mere
human historian would record it, if he did not think it beneath
the dignity of his office to notice so trivial an accident.
Yet that was in itself, and in its results, the most important
event which had taken place from the creation of the world.
This helpless infant is to become the great deliverer of mankind from ignorance and guilt, from depravity and misery. He
is to exercise a kind, and degree, and extent of influence, on
human improvement and happiness, to the remotest boundaries
of the earth —to thie latest ages of time-ay, during the endless
duration of eternity-altogether peculiar; and far greater importance attaches to the event, than even this fact, wonderful as
it is, imports; for the true record of what has happened is,'' The Word which was in the beginning, which was with God,
which was God, has become flesh-God is manifest in flesh."
And then, what changes in heaven and in earth has this event
produced! What a place does it hold in the great economy of
Divine manifestation, and universal government! On the happiness of what millions of human beings has it already told, and
will it yet tell! What an interest does it excite-what a power
does it put forth-in the minds of the most enlightened and influential part of mankind! and how strongly does he who has
most deeply pondered its nature, and design, and tendencies,
feel that he has yet grasped but a ifragment of its wondrous magnificence-traced but a few of its bearings and influences-caught
but a glimpse of its endlessly varied glories!
The death of that mysterious infant bears the same character
as his birth-a strange contrast in its apparent and its real importance. There was interest-obvious interest —in the death
of Christ. The death of no human being is an unimportant,




PART I.]'HE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.         613
uninteresting, thing. Such a harmless, benevolent, wise, wonder-working man, dying by the hands of violence, in intense
agony, and deepest ignominy, could not but excite strange
thoughts in all reflecting minds.
Yet the real importance of the event, both in itself and in its
results, is not apparent. It lies too deep for the discovery of
man or of angel. That sufferer is the victim for human guiltthat agony is its expiation. That righteous one is made sinthat blessed one a curse-that the guilty might be justified, and
the justly accursed "made most blessed for ever." That cross
is the way to the crown-to many crowns. Because he is crucified in weakness, he shall live for ever in the power of God.
His death is the life of unnumbered millions: dying, he destroys
death; vanquished, he is more than a conqueror. What an influence has that event had over the revolutions of time, and the
ever-onward, boundlessly-expanding, movements of eternity!
What a clear, distinctive impression has it made on the history
of heaven, and earth, and hell I What a striking proof have we
this day of the real importance of that event, which drew comparatively little notice when it took place! Here have we, with
many thousands in this city-thousands of thousands in our land
and earth-far away from  the land where it took place-more
than eighteen centuries since it occurred-in an act of most
solemn worship, been commemorating it as the most full-orbed
display which the Divinity has ever made of his infinite excellence-his combined holiness and  benignity-the  fathomless
depth of his wisdom, and the exceeding greatness of his powerthe only ground of our confidence before him-our only hope for
ourselves, and for our race.'3  And, in the highest heavens, in
the never-ending songs of the redeemed, and in the ever-increasingly intense studies of the angels, are given still more impressive demonstration, that the importance of that event always
surpasses the creature's most enlarged power of comprehension.
Here-here more than anywhere else-" God's thoughts are not
as our thoughts, nor his ways as our ways; but as the heaven is
higher than the earth, so are his thoughts than our thoughts,
and his ways than our ways." The text presents us with a striking illustration of the manner in which the result of our Lord's
death prove that its real importance greatly transcends its apparent importance. Death on a cross, —being thus lifted up,-that
is what meets the eye of man in the event itself-a crucified
man-a spectacle of weakness, horror, and shame. But look to
its results. The world is judged-its rebel prince is dethroned
-and countless multitudes of ransomed men are gathered in
grateful allegiance to his conqueror, and their deliverer.
The results of our Lord's sufferings, as here indicated, come
now to be considered: "l Now is the judgment of this world; now
is the prince of this world cast out: I will draw all men to me."
13 This department of the Exposition was delivered immediately after the admainistration of the Lord's Supper.




614      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXP. XVIII.
What are the events which are here somewhat darkly unfolded?
and how were these the results of our Lord's death, as they are
here represented to be? These are questions to which your attention is to be now directed.
~ 1. The Judgment of this World.
(1.) WVhat is meant by the Judgment of this World?
The first event mentioned in the text is the judgment of the
world- "Now is the judgment of this world."  What is the
meaning of these words?  I scarcely know a question of Scripture interpretation, to which a greater variety of answers have
been given.  Nor, on reflection, will this appear wonderful.
Almost every word in the short sentence admits of being variously understood. "Now" may either be understood strictly of
the very moment when the words were uttered, or, more loosely,
of a period just at hand. The world may signify the earth we
dwell in, with all its furniture and inhabitants; or it may signify
mankind-all mankind-or all the Gentiles who are spoken of as
inhabiting the world, as contrasted with the Jews, the chosen people of God, who inhabited Canaan-called, by way of eminence,
the land or the earth-or all irregenerate men-men of this world,
in contrast to regenerate men-men born from above-men of
another world. And then "judgment" is a word which may
signify rule generally, or deliverance, or trial, or condemnation,
or punishment. And then, still farther, the word may be understood either actively or passively-the judgment which the world
gives or exercises, or the judgment that is given or exercised in
reference to the world.
It were endless to enumerate all the senses which have been
given to these words, many of them weighty sentiments, and sentiments which the mere words not unnaturally convey. Some
consider the words as-' Now is'" this world"-fallen mankind
-in the persons of the Jewish and Roman magistrates, to sit in
judgment on me and on my cause, and to condemn it-and I, the
true prince of this world, am to be condemned and cast out by
them.' Others, as equivalent to-'Now is this world to be
judged-to be subjected to a trial. Now is to be brought out
what is in fallen men. Their treatment of me and my cause will
clearly manifest their own true character.' Others, as-' Now is
this world to be condemned. This judgment, in reference to me
and my cause, is about to be proved false, by my resurrection,
and the consequent success of my religion; and all the wisdom
of the world is to be shown to be foolishness with God. Others,
as-' Now is the world about to be punished.' Either,'Now
are the sins of men to receive in me, on whom they have been
made to rest, the punishment they deserve, and thus to be judged,
condemned, punished, in my flesh;' or,' Now shall the world of
the ungodly be punished for their rejection of my claims.'




PART II.]   THE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.        615
Others as,' Now is the world about to be delivered —judgment
and salvation often going together. Now is about to be paid the
price of man's redemption,-and, yet, a little longer, and the
blessings purchased and received shall be bestowed on multitudes
of the redeemed race.' Others, as-' Now is the crisis of the
world. The events which are just about to take place are the
most vitally important to man that have ever taken place in the
course of his history. How vast are the interests which hang on
that lifting up of the Son of man from the earth?'
This diversity of view, and the difficulty of determining what
is the precise meaning of our Lord's words, seem to arise chiefly
from a looking too exclusively at the words themselves. To understand a passage, we must always look well at the words, and
this will often be enough to secure our understanding it. But, in
other cases, we must look also at the circumstances in which the
words were spoken; for the same words will convey a very different meaning according to the circumstances in which they are
spoken. This is a remark applicable to very many of our Lord's
sayings. If the circumstances in which he stood when he uttered
certain words are not attended to, we shall often not perceive half
his meaning, or, it may be, misapprehend it altogether. There is
special reason for applying the remark to the " dark saying" before us. He plainly did not mean it to be fully understood at
the time. Not one there could fully understand it but himself.
To have stated at this time, in plain words, all that is folded up
in these words, would not have been expedient. Yet our Lord
here, as everywhere else, meant to be understood in good time,
and to furnish means for being understood. If we carefully look
to two things —the circumstances in which the words were uttered, and the events which soon followed, in which the words,
whatever they mean, were to find their fulfilment, I apprehend
we shall not find very much difficulty in perceiving their true
meaning and reference.
The whole of our Lord's statements on this occasion plainly
grew out of the interesting incident recorded in the beginning of
the paragraph, in the 20th, 21st, and 22d verses. A number of
Gentiles had made a respectful and earnest request to be admitted[
to our Lord's presence. This led him to exclaim, " The hour is
come that the Son of man should be glorified."'The kingdom
of heaven is now just at hand.' That kingdom over which the
Son'of man-the Messiah-was to preside, was not to be limited
to the Holy Land, nor were its subjects to be confined to the
holy people. " The isles were to wait for his law." "All nations
were to serve him."  " To one like the Son c f man coming with
the clouds of heaven, and brought near before the Ancient of
days, there was given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that
all people, and nations, and languages, should serve him: his dorninion is an everlastinig dominion which shall not pass away, and
his kingdom that which shall not be destroyei.""
14 Isa. xliL 4.  PsaL lxxii. 11.  Dan. vii. 13, 14.




616      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS.  [EXP. XVIII.
In these Greeks seeking to see him, our Lord saw the first
fruits of a harvest just about to be cut down-the earnest of the
fulfilment of the prophecy —" all the ends of the world shall remember, and turn unto the Lord; and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before him.  For the kingdom is the Lord's;
and he is the governor among the nations.""  Previous to this,
and in order to this, he knew he must de —and die in circumstances, the anticipation of which, naturally enough, stirred the
inmost depths of thought and feeling, and drew out these most
weighty words, "Now is my soul troubled." But "for the joy
set before him" " he did not fail, nor was he discouraged."' What
shall I say? Shall I say, " Father save me from this hour"-this
hour so dark with death, yet so full of life?-rNo, I will not say
this! " For this cause came I to this hour." I will say, " Father,
glorify thy name."' By a voice from the most excellent glory
the Father assured him that "he had both glorified it, and would
glorify it again."  To the mind of the Saviour this voice, in the
circumstances, must have appeared as a repetition to him of the
ancient oracle.  " Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel,
and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom
the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers," "In an acceptable
time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped
thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of
the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate
heritage."' It was in such circumstances as.these that the Saviour
exclaimed, "Now is the judgment of this world."
The term "judge," in the Hebrew Scriptures, is often used as
equivalent to,'to rule,' or' to govern;' and such a use of the term
is quite natural," for not only does just judgment, in the strict
sense of the word, form an important part of good government,
but all proper government is the exercise, not of arbitrary will,
but of sound judment. During a considerable period of the Israelitish history, their supreme magistrates, under Jehovah their
King, were termed judges. The use I refer to of the word may
be understood by one as well as a hundred instances. Speaking
of the Divine government, the psalmist, in the sixty-seventh
psalm, says, " Thou shalt judcge the people righteously, and govern
the nations upon earth."
It deserves particular notice that this is a word very often used
in the oracles of the ancient prophets, in reference to the administration of the kingdom which the Messiah was to establish over
inen generally-over the nations, in contrast with the Jews —over
the world, in contrast with the Holy Land. It is of this divine
King and kingdom that it is said that He would "come to judge
the earth; that with righteousness should he judge the world, and
the people with equity."  When " the rod of his strength shall
go forth out of Zion," "he shall judge among the heathen."
13 Psal. xxii. 27, 28.                       16 Isa. xlix. 7, 8
17 In that early age there was little division of labor. The judicial, legislative,
and executive functions were not separated.




PART II.]   THE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.        617
When "out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the
Lord from Jerusalem, he shall judge among the nations."  The
glorious Prince, emblematized by that "rod which was to come
forth out of the stem of Jesse, which was to stand for an ensign
to the people, to which the Gentiles were to seek," was " with
righteousness to judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the
meek of the earth, and smite the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips to slay the wicked." He who as
"the King," and " the King's Son," was to have "dominion from
sea to sea, from the river to the ends of the earth"-" before
whom all kings were to fall, and all nations to serve"-was to
"judge the people with righteousness, and the poor with judgment"-was to "judge the poor of the people, to save the children
of the needy, and to break in pieces the oppressors.""
Now, with these thoughts before our minds, which must substantially have been before our Lord's when he uttered these
words, can we have any great difficulty in discovering their
meaning? Do we not perceive that the circumstances of the
case give distinctness to language in itself indefinite? and that
the words, "Now is the judgment of this world," are just equivalent to,'That rule, that judgment,-that wise, just, considerate
government of mankind, so strikingly contrasted with the wild,
arbitrary, cruel, unjust thing, which the prince of the world and
his agents have inflicted on the human race under that name,that kingdom of the Messiah over the nations of mankind, is now
about to commence.'
This is naturally connected both with what goes before and
with what follows. " The hour is come when the Son of man is
glorified." How? By being made King of the world. Now is
the world to be ruled, to be judged-to be ruled, to be judged, by
him; and then his and their great enemy, the prince of this
world, shall be cast down from his throne-cast out of his usurped
authority, and all men, Gentiles as well as Jews, shall be drawn
by the cords of love and the bands of a man to his Conqueror
and their Redeemer.
It also well accords with a passage in the sixteenth chapter of
this gospel, where the judgment of the world and its prince is
spoken of. It is said of " the Comforter-the Holy Spirit," that
when he comes, sent by the Son of man, when he had gone to
receive his kingdom, he will "convince the world"-mankind"of sin"-of their sin-by the fact of their not believing in the
Messiah, when he came —the strongest of all proofs of man's depravity; "of righteousness" —of his righteousness-by the fact,
that by a glorious resurrection and ascension, he had " gone to
the Father"; "of judgment-of the establishment of a government by him over them-by the fact that "the prince of the
world" no longer judged, but " was judged" —no longer ruled,
17 Psal. xcvi. 13; xcviii. 9; cx. 6. Isa. ii. 4; xi. 3. Mic. iv. 3. Rev. xix. 11.
Psal. lxxii. 2.  Dan. vii. 22.  Isa. xlii. 1, 3, 4.




618      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS.  [EXP. XVIII.
but was ruled-" cast out" —constrained to part with his prey
and captives."8
The meaning of the words has, I trust, been satisfactorily established.  It only remains that we consider a little that changed
state of the world-represented here as its "judgment," plainly
by the Son of man, which our Lord represents as just about to
commence-and show how this state of things results from our
Lord's death-from his being " lifted up from the earth."
We are by no means to think of all mankind, with the exception of the Jews, as entirely abandoned by God during the ages
which intervened between the deluge, and the commencement of
the New Testament dispensation. They were always the subjects of his general moral government; always the objects of his
forbearance, and patience, and providential care. " The heavens
declared" to them " the glory of God; and the firmament showed"
them "his handiwork."  "His invisible things were clearly to be
seen in the things which he had made," if they had but liked to
retain him in their knowledge.  "He never left himself without
a witness, in that he did good, and gave thein rain from heaven,
and fruitful seasons, filling their hearts with food and gladness."'9
But there can be no doubt, that in righteous judgment he
withdrew himself from them as to supernatural manifestation.
As they did not like to retain him in their knowledge, he laid no
restraints on their deviations from truth. No prophet rose
among them to stem the tide of error, and arrest the gathering
clouds of superstition. The language of this dispensation was,'My spirit shall not always strive with man. They are joined to
their idols; let them alone.' Men have determinedly abandoned
him, and it was but meet he should abandon them.' It was
meet," as has been well said, "that so great a majesty having
been so condescendingly gracious should not also be cheap, or
appear inapprehensive of being neglected and set at nought.
They declared that they would not have him to reign over them,
and he left them to feel that when they said to him,'Depart from
us,' they spake that word against their own life and soul, and
that what was their wilful choice should be their heaviest doom
and punishment."0 Oh, the years and ages of vanity and trouble,
of darkness and death, pollution and blood, that the abandoned
nations spent away from God, under the iron yoke of him whom
they had chosen to be a prince and ruler over them. But oh,
the tender mercies of the Father of Spirits! " He will not contend for ever, neither will he be always wroth."  He has respect
to the souls which he has made-the work of his hands.  There
is " time or restitution" for the nations.  There is appointed a de18 John xvi. 11. It is a satisfaction, in a question of this kind, to find an interpreter like Calvin on your side. "Judicii nomen aliis reformationem, aliis
damnationem significat. Ego prioribus magis assentior, qui ita exponunt quod
mundus in legitirnum ordinern restituendus est. — cimus autem extra Christum,
nihil in mundo, nisi confusum esse."
19 Psal. xix. 1, 2. Rom. i. 20. Acts xiv. 17.      20 Howe.




PART II.]   THE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.       619
liverer, who will "lift up his steps towards their long, long desolations."
The prophets had for ages been announcing that he was on his
way. He had now come, yet stood an unrecognized stranger,
even among his own people. He had come to his own, and his
own had not received him. Yet shall he, in despite of all neglect
and opposition, sit down, not only on the throne of David, but on
the throne of the world. " The hour is coming, and now is."
Yet a little while, and from the depths of the grave he shall be
raised to endless life. "He loved righteousness and hated in.
iquity," and proved this by magnifying the law and making it
honorable, in his incarnation and  sacrifice-and  "therefore
God, even his God, will anoint him, with the oil of gladness
above his fellows," "King of kings, and Lord of lords."2'
He has entered on the judgment, the government, of the world.
A  new order of Divine administration has been commenced,
having for its object the subjection of the world to God,-the
conversion of the race, that is, not of every individual, but of
vast multitudes out of every kindred and people, tongue and
nation, —and to him, in conducting this glorious economy, is
entrusted the proprietorship of the world.  The whole globe is
his rightful empire, and all its inhabitants are under his control,
and ought to be his willing subjects. The times of ignorance at
which God winked has passed away; and from the hour when
God set Christ, as his Son, at his right hand, "his King on his
holy hill of Zion,"-and said to him, " Ask of me, and I shall
give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost
parts of the earth for thy possession,"-He has commanded all
men everywhere to repent-to change their mind, in the belief of
those glad tidings which he has commissioned his servants to proclaim to every creature, among all nations-" He has commanded
all men everywhere thus to repent: because he hath appointed a
day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by
that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."22
This passage of Scripture is often considered as exclusively
referring to the period of the final judgment; but we are inclined to think it refers to the whole day or period of the judgment of the world by Christ, spoken of in the text, contrasted
with the times of ignorance, and which is to terminate in the
great day of the Lord Jesus, when assembled men and angels
must appear before the great white throne, and own that none is
judge but he.
Under this order of things, "the Father judgeth no man, but
hath committed all judgment," or actual rule, "unto the Son;"
and all are bound to "honor the Son, even as they honor the
Father."2"  The judgment or government of the world is exercised by our Lord in subordination to the great purposes of the
21 Isa. xlii. 21.  Psal xlv. 7.  Rev. xix. 16.  22 Acts xvii. 30, 31.
23 John v. 22, 23.




620      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXP. XVIII.
economy of special mercy.  He is thus governor among the
nations, that he may effectually perform all his high functions
as " King of Zion."  He is "head over all things" with reference
"to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth
all in all."24  The rise, and decline, and fall of empires-the
progress of discovery, and arts, and commerce-are all his instruments; and over all the earth is he working by means of those
who know him not, for the hastening on the great consummatiorn,-when the real governor of the world shall be the apparent,
the recognized governor of the world, —and when earth shall be
vocal with the song, raised by voices in heaven, "The kingdom
of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his
Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever."  "Alleluia: for the
Lord God omnipotent reigneth.""'
All things are not even yet actually put under him. He is not
yet visibly judging all the world. But, a few days after the Man
of sorrows had tittered these mysterious words, " Now is the judgment of this world," "the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at
my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." And
there he sits, "expecting" till the Divine power vindicate the Divine faithfulness.
The Father, during these eighteen centuries, has been " bringinl in hlis Only-begotten into the world," which he has given him
as his blood-bought possession.  "The Lord reigneth, let the
earth rejoice: let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. Clouds
and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment
are the habitation of his throne. A fire goeth before him, and
burneth up his enemies round about. His lightnings are enlightening the world; the earth sees and trembles. The hills melt like
wax at the presence of the Lord: at the presence of the Lord of
the whole earth. The heavens declare his righteousness: and all
the people see his glory. Confounded be all they that serve
graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all
ye gods;" and "let Israel rejoice in him who made him: let the
children of Zion be joyful in their king."
(2.) How is the judgment of this world, the result of the death of
Christ?
A few words must still be said in reference to the connection
of his judgment of the world with the death of Christ. The connection is an intimate one. The one follows the other; but there
is much more than mere sequence. The whole truth may be told
in two words. It was the promised, richly-merited, reward of his
death; and it is the necessary means of his carrying into accomplishment the great design of his death, the salvation of his chosen
people.
In reference to the first of these statements, I shall merely present you with the declaration of a prophet and an apostle:-Of a
24 Eph. i. 22, 23.             25 Rev. xi. 15; xix. 6.




PART II.]   THE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.        621
prophet,-" When thou shalt made his soul an offering for sin,
he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure
of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail
of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my
righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall
divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his
soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors;
and he bare the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors:"-26Of an apostle,-" Christ Jesus, being in the form of
God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made
himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant,
and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion
as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in
heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father."27
But this judgment of the world was not only the merited reward of our Lord's death, but it was the necessary means of carrying into accomplishment the great design of his death-the salvation of his chosen people. The design of our Lord's death, was
"to gather into one the children of God, scattered abroad" over
all the earth, and during all the ages. How could this be done,
had not our Lord had the entire management of the providential
government of God?  In the days of his flesh, " he must needs
go through Samaria," that one "vessel of mercy" should be secured for the Master's use; and now all the revolutions of the
world are made subservient to the bringing all the wandering
sheep given him by the Father into the one fold. All power in
heaven and in earth-all power over all flesh-is given him, that
he may give eternal life to all whom the Father has given himto all coming to the Father by him.28
Let us, my brethren. habitually act as if we believed the declaration of our Lord, " Now is the. judgment of this world;"-for
his declaration is one that was true henceforward. That declaration is, as we have endeavored to show,' Now is this world, and
all its inhabitants, the property of Messiah the Prince, subject to
his control, and intended to promote the great objects of his holy,
benignant reign.' Let us ever regard him as the rightful proprietor, the legitimate sovereign, of all the world,-Lord as well as
Christ-Lord of all. Let us submit ourselves to his government,
and do everything that lies in our power to induce others to become his willing and obedient subjects. Let us rejoice in the
ever-growing evidence which, in the onward development of the
economy of fnercy, he is giving, that he is indeed " able to subdue all things to himself;" and let us long and pray for the bliss26 Isa. liii. 10-12.  27 Phil. ii. 5-11.  23 John xvii. 2.




622      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS.  [EXP. XVIII.
ful consummation, when all opposing power and authority shall
be put down for ever; and when "every creature which is in
heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are
in the sea, and all that are in them, shall be heard saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth
upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever."29
~ 2. The expulsion of the prince of this world.
The second result of our Lord's death-the expulsion of the
prince of this world —comes now to be the subject of consideration.
"Now," says our Lord, " now is the prince of this world cast
out." Who is the prince of this world? What are we to understand by his being " cast out"? How is his expulsion the result of the death of Christ? and how is it connected with the
judgment of this world? These are the questions which naturally rise in a reflecting mind on reading these words, and we
shall attempt satisfactorily and briefly, in the sequel, to answer
them.
(1.) The prince of this world- WVho is he?
"The prince of this world," is an expression peculiar to our
Lord; and it is employed by him only on two other occasions.
In the fourteenth chapter of this gospel, we find him saying,
" Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this
world cometh, and hath nothing in me;"" and in the sixteenth
chapter, "When the Comforter is come, he will reprove," or
rather convince, "the world of judgment, because the prince of
this world is judged.""  The Apostle Paul speaks of "the god
of this world, who blinds the minds of those who believe not;"
and of "the prince of the power of the air; the spirit that works
in the children of disobedience."  There can be no doubt that all
these appellations are substantially of the same meaning, and that
they are all descriptive of the same being. There can be as little
doubt that the being referred to, is the chief of " the angels who
sinned,"-" the devil"-" Satan"-" the old serpent"-" Apollyon."32
It has been common, with a certain class of interpreters and
theologians, to represent all these terms as mere personifications
of the abstract principle of evil, moral and physical, —i. e., sin
and misery. But if we are to interpret Scripture on the ordinary
principle applied to written language, nothing can be more certain than that the sacred writers meant to teach the real personality of the being designated by these names. You may as
reasonably question the real personality of Jesus, the Son of
God, as of the devil, the enemy of God, whose works he came to
destroy. Indeed, we find some of the later rationalistic inter.
29 Rev. v. 13, 14.  30 John xiv 30.   3' John xv;. 8-11.
32 2 Cor. iv. 4. Eph. ii. 2. 2 Pet. ii 4 Rev. xi. 9; ix. 11.




PART II.]   THE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.         623
preters and divines of Germany acknowledging the justness of
this remark, and acting on it, making Jesus Christ the personified
idea of the Jewish Messiah. To be consistent, they ought to go
farther still,-they ought to cease to call themselves Christians,
and renounce all professed respect for the statements of the sacred
books, which they discredit far more by their perversion than
they would do by their denial.
All the various terms expressive of personal agency are made
use of by the inspired writers, in describing the character and conduct of the evil one; and, had their express design been to teach
his proper personality, they could not have used more explicit
language than they have actually employed. It has been very
well said,-" A personification, protracted through such a book as
the Bible, even should we suppose it to have been written by one
person,-never dropped in the most simple and didactic portions
of it,-never explained, when the most grave and important
truths are to be inculcated, and when men, the most ignorant and
superstitious, were to be the readers,-is altogether anomalous and
inadmissible. But to suppose that the several writers of the different books of the Bible, diverse in their modes of thinking and
writing, and placed in widely different circumstances, through a
period of more than fifteen hundred years, should each, from
Moses to John, fall into the use of the same strange personification, and so employ it that not one out of a thousand of their
readers should ever suppose it was a personification at all, or even
remotely conjecture at the abstract truth which they intended to
be conveyed by it, would be requiring men to believe that the inspired writers, who ought to have done the least violence to the
common laws of language, have indeed done the most; and shake
all confidence as to the possibility of certainly ascertaining their
meaning in any one instance, however apparently plain were the
terms in which they expressed themselves."33 There is no end to
the absurdities implied in denying that the personality, the real
existence, of such a being as we commonly call the devil, is taught
in Scripture. How could the principle of evil tempt our Lord, in
whom it had no existence?  Yet he was tempted by the devil.
And what idea of any kind can be attached to the declaration,
that the principle of evil "abode not in the truth"?
Assuming, then, as we well may, the real personal existence of
this evil being, let us shortly inquire what is meant by his being
represented as the prince of this world. The appellation seems
to do two things. It limits his power to this world; and it asserts
his power over this world.
He is "the prince of this world"-" the god of this world,"and his agents are the rulers of the darkness of this world."
" This world" is what the apostle terms " the present evil" —diseased, disordered-" world;" this earth, with its furniture and inhabitants, rational and irrational, lying under the Divine curse
pronounced on account of the first sin of the first man. He was
33 Kitto's Cyclopaedia.-Art. Satan.




624      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXP. XVIII.
not the prince of the world that once was-the good, healthy, orderly world, which came from the hand of an all-perfect Creator,
and which IIe, after He had finished it, pronounced good-very
good. Satan had no power there; and he will not be the prince
of the world that shall be, when " new heavens and a new earth
shall be created, wherein will dwell" nothing but " righteousness."
He shall then be for ever shut up in the bottomless pit, bereft of
all power, in a state which is termed "the second death.""34 Indeed, we have no reason to think that the evil one has any power
in any other region of God's universe but our earth, or during
any other period there than during the time the curse lies on it,
-from the fall of man to the final consummation of all things.
It is also right to remark that, when an individual is spiritually
delivered, by the atonement and Spirit of Christ, from the present evil world, in the same degree is he delivered from the prince
of this world. Neither sin, nor death, nor Satan have dominion
over him, as they had previously to his deliverance.
But, while the appellation limits his power to this world, it asserts it over this world. He is " the prince of this world."  Here
we must guard against opposite extremes. We must neither exaggerate nor extenuate. We know nothing-we can know nothing
-on this subject, but what is revealed to us in Scripture. Let us
neither add to, nor take from, the Divine communication. Let us
beware of attributing to the evil one more power than he possesses; let us beware of supposing that he has less power than
belongs to him. Important practical evils naturally result from
both these mistakes.
We are never for a moment to suppose that Satan possesses any
independent uncontrollable power. We are not to think that God
has in any degree divested himself of the property and dominion
of this world, and committed them into the hands of his great
enemy. The thing is impossible. The natural perfections of God
make it plain that he cannot-and his moral perfections make it
as plain that he will not-act in this manner: "His kingdom
ruleth over all."35 Even the prince of this world is his property
and his subject-though a rebellious one, —and the unconscious
and unwilling instrument of His holy and wise, righteous and
benignant, government. The lion of hell is held in adamantine
chains; and to him, as well as to ocean, God says, "Hitherto
shalt thou come, and no farther." Neither are we to suppose that
lhe possesses the power of compelling men to sin. It is unscriptural
-it is antiscriptural-to ascribe any such power to Satan as would
destroy man's responsibility; and man is assuredly not responsible
for what an irresistible force, external to himself, compels him to do.
But while all this is true, the evil one has a kind, a degree,
and an extent of power over the present evil world, which give
fearful appropriateness and significance to the appellation, " prince
of this world." Every human being, under the curse, is shut
out from sanctifying divine influence, and laid open to the influ34 Rev. xx. 10.                33 Psal. ciii. 19.




PART II.]   THE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.        625
ence of the evil one. When we think how crafty and malignant
he is, and what numerous means and methods he has of affecting
the human mind, we cannot doubt that that influence is extensively and powerfully exerted. He blinds the mind, he hardens
the heart, he leads captive into error and sin —not against the
will of the individual, but with his consent, though that consctlis often not got without a struggle-it may be a severe anid protracted one-with reason and conscience.
He employs the sinning angels-who, like himself, and entirely
influenced by him, kept not their first abode —in exercising his
power over men's minds. We have no express declaration of
the number of these subordinate agents; yet the work they are
in Scripture represented as performing, is of such an extent, and
so exceedingly manifold and various, that we cannot suppose
them to be few. The manner in which the apostle speaks of
them, as "principalities and powers," as the "powers or host of
darkness," constrains us to regard them as numerous, and as
a disciplined band, well fitted for gaining the object of their great
leader.
While he undoubtedly possesses and exerts much power over
men, through the instrumentality of his angels, or messengers, it
may be doubted whether the greater part of diabolic influence
is not exerted over men through the instrumentality of their
fellow-man. It was through Eve he exerted his power over
Adam; it was through the false prophets that he seduced Ahab.
All evil men are his agents; and all human institutionswhether termed systems of philosophy, or of religion, or of
government-which are based on falsehood and injustice, are
at once results of the power of the devil, and most powerful
instruments for consolidating and extending his dominion. How
the evil one exerts his influence, in darkening the mind with
error and delusion, and inflaming the passions, and stupefying
the conscience, we cannot fully explain. The extent to which
this disordered state prevails among men, is matter of experience
and observation; and a divine revelation, in the most explicit
terms, pronounces it the work of the devil.
Hitherto we have spoken of the moral influence of Satan; but
it is plain, from Scripture, that he has, within certain limits,
power to produce malignant physical effects. Satan, in the book
of Job, is represented as bringing destruction on the patriarchs
family, and then smiting Job himself with a malignant ulcerous
disease. In the New Testament, diseases of body and mind,
epilepsy and madness, are clearly ascribed to malignant spiritual
influence. Our Lord speaks of a Jewish woman, who had been
"bowed down by infirmity for eighteen years," as having been
"bound by Satan" during that period; and is represented as
healing all that were "oppressed by the devil."3   " To deliver
over to Satan," is an expression which may mean,' Solemnly to
declare to belong not to the kingdom of God, but to the kingdom
36 Luke xiii. 16. Acts x. 38.
VOL. I.                  40




626      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXP. XVIII.
of the devil;' but it may equally refer to certain physical evils
to be inflicted by diabolical instrumentality."7 In the Apocalypse,
the devil is represented as very active in doing evil in every
form; and, though the particular statements of that book are to
be understood according to its symbolic and poetic character, yet
the general principle of the agency of evil spirits, in the production both of physical and moral effects, seems clearly implied in
them. It is a mistake to attribute all physical evil, or even all
moral evil, to Satan; but it is obviously the doctrine of Scripture, that it comes within the sphere of his agency to do much
mischief in both respects. We are not warranted to trace, as
some have been disposed to do, all disease and death to the
operation of evil spirits; but neither are we warranted to conclude, as many do, that malignant spiritual influence has nothing
to do with disease and death. That spirits can control matter
cannot be denied, without throwing doubt on God's providential
government; and that evil spirits may be employed in the use
of their physical, as well as of their intellectual and moral powers,
as instruments of the Divine justice, is a principle which reason
can never disprove; and that they are so, seems, upon the whole,
more probable than that they are not. That they have been so,
must be admitted by every man who believes the Bible, in the
plain meaning of its statements; that they continue to be so, is
what no sound-minded man will strongly either deny or assert.
It only remains to remark, on this part of the subject, that,
though the devil and his angels never can have any right to
exert their powers to produce either physical or moral evil —and
that, in every instance in which they do so, they increase their
guilt and deepen their condemnation-yet we shall not rightly
apprehend this important subject. if we do not distinctly perceive
that " this diabolic principality, in and over this evil world, " is a
part of the penal arrangements of the Divine government. Man
chose to follow the advice, and to submit to the government, of
Satan; and, as the appropriate punishment of this foul treason,
God gave man over, in a great measure, into the hand of this
mighty and terrible one —allowing Satan to "practise and prosper," so as strongly to bring out the folly, as well as the wickedness, of man's choice and conduct.
This power is given to Satan only during a limited season —
while the present evil world stands-the period apparently called
in the curse, "all the days of the serpent's life"-for at the end
of it he is to be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second
death; a period repeatedly referred to in Scripture, as when the
demons speak of the Son of God coming to " torment them before the time," and when Satan is said to "come down in great
wrath, knowing that his time is short." It is, perhaps, with a
reference to this, that the captive of the terrible one is called, in
the prophecies of Isaiah, "the lawful captive;" but there it.seems to be himself that uses the appellation, and we are not dis371 Tim. i. 20.  1 Cor. v, 5,




PART II.]   THE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.       627
posed to take anything merely on his authority; he may speak
truth, but he is a liar, as well as a murderer, from the beginning.
It has been rashly said, that the devil, in leading sinners captive at his will, is just. He is the unconscious executioner of justice; but he is not just in executing justice. God has justly
delivered over sinners to the power of Satan; but Satan has no
rightful authority over sinners. So far as he is concerned, the
dominion is usurped and tyrannical. Men's sins will be no excuse to him for tyrannizing over them, nor his assumed power any
excuse to them for submitting to him.
(2.) The casting out of the prince of this world-what is it?
It is now time that we turn our attention to the second inquiry,
What are we to understand by the prince of this world being:"cast out"?  The general idea in the passage is plainly this:'The world —especially the gentile world-is in a state of disorder
and misrule. The time is at hand, when the world shall be
judged, ruled, and no longer given up to anarchy and tyranny.
" The kingdom of heaven is at hand;" and, when that kingdom
is established in the world, just in the degree in which it is established, shall the prince of the world-the usurper of Divine
dominion, the author of all misgovernment-be deprived of his
ill-gotten power-be expelled from his usurped throne. The expelling of demons from those whose bodies and minds they had
affected with disease, was one of the most common of the miracles which our Lord performed in the days of his flesh, and was
a striking fignrative representation of what he was to do for mankind, both as individuals and as social bodies, when he had entered on his kingdom.
In every case in which an individual, through the faith of the
Gospel, became a partaker of the christian salvation, he was
"turned from the power of Satan unto God."  Satan's throne
was cast down in that man's heart; or, to change the figure, his
fetters were unloosed-his prison doors set open, and the captive
of the mighty, the prey of the terrible one, was set at liberty.
And as, in the case of every individual convert, the prince of the
world was cast out; so, just as converts multiplied, and the influences of christian truth, direct and indirect, prevailed, was
Satan's throne in society levelled, and he himself ignominiously
expelled.
The institutions, religious and civil, which formed the great
bulwarks of his dominions, were dissolved by the influences of
the Gospel. The ancient pagan idolatries gave way; and their
temples, which were indeed temples to Satan, were levelled with
the dust, or converted into places of worship to the true God.
Wars, which in the heathen world were all but incessant, and
fearfully sanguinary and cruel, became less frequent, and some
of their atrocities were mitigated. The horrors of slavery —another work of the devil-were diminished, and, as Christianity




628      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXP. XVIII.
prevailed, they disappeared with the state in which they originated. In one word, wherever the Gospel prevailed, ignorance, error, delusion, superstition, oppression, every form of evil, in a
corresponding degree gave way. The empire of the prince of
light, and that of the prince of darkness, are directly antagonistic; and where the one triumphs the other must be defeated.
For four thousand years, the whole world, with the exception
of the Holy Land-all nations, with the exception of the nation
of Israel, and a comparatively small number of scattered individuals among other nations-had been given up to the dominion
of the prince of this world. It was a fearful judgment, but a just
one. Men had wilfully shut their eyes to the manifestations of
God in the visible universe. They had obstinately stopped their
ears to the testimony his works gave of the power, and wisdom,
and goodness, of their Author. They "did not glorify him as
God: they were not thankful." They " did not like to retain God
in their knowledge."  "They loved the darkness rather than the
light."  They preferred the service of Satan to that of God, and
he gave them up to their "reprobate minds," and left them to
prove the true character of the government of him whom they
had preferred to Himself as their king."8 He who is light ivithdrew, and " darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the
nations;" and in the midst of that darkness which might be felt,
Satan, the prince of darkness, established his throne, and by the
wild fables of pagan mythology, and the bloody and polluted
rites of pagan idolatry, and the vain dreams of pagan philosophy,
and by arbitrary tyrannical rule, or unbridled licentiousness-by
slavery, war, polygamy, caste, and an endless variety of forms of
falsehood, and injustice, and cruelty-carried on his government,
or rather misgovernment, rendering men wicked and miserable
here, and preparing them for the bottomless gulf of hopeless depravity and wretchedness in the eternal state.
But this state of things was not to continue for ever. The light
which shone with but a morning twilight on the Holy Land, was
to rise to its meridian throne in the heavens, and shed forth its
cheering radiance over all the nations; and before its splendor
the ill-omened birds of night were to stretch their wings and fly
away.
Immediately after our Lord had sat down on the throne of the
world, power came forth which made " Satan fall as lightning from
heaven." Out of how many hearts was he expelled during the
few days which followed the wonders of Pentecost! And then,
when the rod of the Redeemer's strength went forth out of Zion,
how did the strongholds of his great enemy fall before his victorious host! In less than three centuries the light of divine truth,
attended with divine influence, had visited every region of the
wide-spread Roman empire, and many lands far beyond its limits.
The pagan temples were very generally abandoned, and their
idols cast to the moles and to the bats. The throne of Satan
38 Rom. i. 21-32.




PART II.]   THE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.      629
might well be said to be thrown down and himself cast out. To
this has been supposed by some to relate the following remarkable oracle in the Apocalypse: —" And there was war in heaven:
Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon
fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place
found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out,
that old serpent, called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the
whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were
cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven,
Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our
God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren
is cast down, which,accused them before our God day and night.
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the
word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the
death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them.
Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is
come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth
that he hath but a short time."39
It must be admitted that the cunning old serpent has regained,
in some regions, to a great degree, his lost dominion, and found
the means of perverting christian doctrine into fatal error, and
christian worship into a God-profaning, man-debasing, idolatry.
Yet never again has the unbroken night which preceded the
incarnation gathered over the nations. At this hour, many of
the regions of the world, where, at the time these words of our
Lord were spoken, Satan reigned over men, sunk in the lowest
debasement of ignorance, and depravity, and wickedness, large
numbers of men, spiritually enlightened, morally transformed,
rationally happy, are rejoicing in the liberty of the children of
God; and multitudes more, though strangers to the saving
virtues of the gospel, are enjoying its humanizing influence, in
the improved institutions and manners of which it has become
indirectly productive.
And the work is obviously a progressive one. In the triumphs
of christian missions, in our own days, we have seen Satan in a
remarkable manner cast out, in many regions where he seemed
very securely to have fixed his throne. And there is much to
give us ground to hope that the pagan idolatries of the East, the
delusions of the Arabian impostor, the superstitions of a corrupted
Christianity, and all the varieties of an infidel philosophy, by
means of which, chiefly, Satan keeps his place in a world from
which he is sentenced to be expelled, will ere long give way
before " the light, and the truth, and the grace" of the glorious
Gospel of the blessed God; and when the prince of this world,
driven from the earth, where, since Christ sat down on his throne,
he has been "a fugitive and a vagabond," shall be shut up
in the bottomless pit, no more to deceive the nations, a redeemed world, and its holy happy inhabitants, shall keep jubilee
for a thousand years. "Surely his salvation is nigh them that
39 Rev. xii. 7-12.




630      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXP. XVIII.
fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth
are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each
other. Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness
shall look down from heaven. Yea, the Lord shall give that
which is good; and our land shall yield her increase. Righteousness shall go before him, and shall set us in the way of his'
steps. 740
We thus see what is meant by "Now is the prince of this
world cast out."-'In a very short while will commence the
expulsion of Satan from the world, in the conversion of many of
his slaves to the knowledge and service of the true God, and in
the destruction of false religion, and all his other works, by
which he endeavors to enslave, debase, and ruin mankind,-a
work which shall never be entirely interrupted, but shall proceed
amid much opposition, to a triumphant consummation, " when
the kingdom of this world shall become the kingdom of our
Lord and his Christ," and when the oracle shall be accomplished
" And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the
key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And
he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil
and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into
the bottomless pit, and shut him up, an, i et a seal upon him, that
he should deceive the nations no more, T. " the thousand years
should be fulfilled." 4"'
(3.) The casting out of the prince of this world the result of
Christ's death —how?
It is now time that we turn our attention to the question,How is this casting out of the prince of this world the result of
our Lord's penal, vicarious, expiatory death-his being "' lifted up
from the earth."?
We have seen that subjection to the influence of the devil is
one of the penal evils resulting from man's violation of the Divine
law. It is a part of the execution of the curse, Man chose to
obey the devil rather than God; and the appropriate punishment
of this sin was, to deliver him into the hand of him whom he had
chosen as his master. The wicked one was set over him, and
Satan permitted to stand at his right hand to practice his wicked
arts, and to prosper.  In the holy righteous government of God,
penal evils cannot be removed by a mere act of the will,-their
cause must be removed. Something must be done which will vindicate the law and the Lawgiver, and, in the view of the intelligent universe, condemn sin and the sinner, as much at least as the
continued infliction of the penal evil. This has been done in the
sufferings of Christ,-terminated in his death. He has delivered
us from the curse, by becoming a curse for us,-by bearing every
part of the curse, of which innocent human nature could be the
subject. He has delivered us from the power of the wicked one,
40 Psal. Jlxxv. 9-13.             41 Rev. xx. 1-3.




PART II.]   THE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.       631
by submitting, as our surety, to be tempted and tortured by him.
In the person of our representative,-our God-man-our kinsman-Redeemer,-we have satisfied that curse, which gave sin its
power to condemn, and Satan his power to rule.
In another view of the matter, —In his person, we have vanquished our great foe, who had overcome us in the person of our
original representative, and in our own persons; and therefore
we are emancipated from his dominion. By removing the curse,
the death of Christ removed the obstacles in the way of the
communication of those divine holy influences which are necessary and sufficient to enable us to resist the immoral influences
of the wicked one; and, moreover, secured the actual communication of these influences to all whom the Father has given to
the Son, to be redeemed out of the hand of the enemy. We receive the promised Spirit in believing, as well as are justified
freely in believing, in consequence of Christ " redeeming us from
the curse of the law, by becoming a curse for us."42
Still farther, the revelation of the holy and benignant character
of God, made in the penal, vicarious, expiatory death of Christ,
as the subject of the gospel-revelation, is the grand instrument
employed by the Holy Spirit in forming believers to that character which enables them to withstand the evil influence of Satan, to resist him so as to make him flee from them; and the example of our Lord's resistance to the allurement and terrors of
the wicked one, consummated on the cross, —there bruising the
head of the old serpent, triumphing over him,-is a pattern instinct with encouragement to His followers, while resisting His
and their great adversary, in the hope that, through Him who
loved them, they, like Him, shall in due time be made more than
conquerors.
It is equally plain, that as the death of Christ was the necessary and appropriate means for casting out Satan from his dominion in the hearts of men as individuals, it was so also in
reference to depriving him of his power over bodies of men. The
secondary influences of Christianity depend on its primary influences. The former are just the shadow of the latter. It is just
in the degree that that Gospel, which is the record of Christ's
death, is preached and believed, and that that spiritual influence
is put forth which, but for that death, could not have been put
forth-and the putting forth of which is secured by that deaththat mankind are freed from those. evils, both of a religious and
civil nature, which are the result of the unbroken power of the
wicked one-the proofs of its existence, the means of its perpetuation.
Finally, here, it is of importance to remark, that that death
merited, as its reward, that unlimited dominion, that uncontrolled power-both as to external event and inward influence
-which has been conferred on Christ by his Father-in the exercise of which, he puts down the power of the devil, opposed as
42 Gal. iii. 13.




632      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXP. XVI[.
it is to the holy benignant purpose'of his mediatorial reign.
Quickened in the spirit in consequence of his becoming dead in
the flesh, he, as the stronger man armed, enters into the house of
the strong man, and, though he is armed, " binds him and spoils
his goods." It is in the exercise of this power, thus acquired,
that he so regulates the rise and decline and fall of empires-the
progress of commerce, and science, and art, and, indeed, all
events-as to secure the carrying, to all nations, of that Gospel
by which, through the accompanying power of the Spirit, the
prince of this world is ultimately to be expelled from every corner of a world, the whole of which, with scarcely an exception,
had, for so many ages, lain helplessly under his iron yoke.
These last remarks sufficiently show, how the casting out the
prince of this world is connected with the world being judgedthat is, ruled-by Christ. How could our Lord cast out the prince
of the world, if he were not the judge, the ruler, of the world?
and how can HE be the ruler of the world, without its being
made certain, that in due time the prince of the wiorld shall be
completely cast out?
Let us all seriously inquire, whether this great end of our Lord's
death which we have been considering, has been gained with regard to ourselves. We live in a country from which, in some
measure, and only in some measure, Satan has been cast out. But
have we been turned from the power of Satan to God? —have
we ceased to walk according to the course of the prince of the
air,-the spirit who worketh in the children of disobedience?have we become so acquainted with his devices, as not to be deceived by them?-have we been disentangled from his snares?and are we habitually resisting him, stedfast in the faith? Let
us never forget that we are yet his children, his slaves, if we do
his lusts-i. e., do the things that please him.
If we have been apparently delivered from his power, if he has
been seemingly cast out of us, let us take care that we do not
allow him to re-enter, and again to subject us to his power.
That is what he will certainly attempt to do, and what in many
cases he actually accomplishes, both in individuals and nations.
The warning contained in our Lord's parable, is applicable to all
countries and ages. "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a
man, he'walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth
none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I
came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and
garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with him seven other
spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell
there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first."' If
men, after they have clean escaped from those who live in error,
are again allured through the lusts of the flesh —if those who
hlave escaped the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge
of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, are again entangled and
overorne, —the latter end is worse with them than the beginning,
aud it happens to them according to the true proverb, "the dog




PART II.]   THE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.        633
is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed
to her wallowing in the mire."'
When a country has been partially delivered from the power
of darkness, as Spain and Italy were ill the beginning of the
Reformation, and, instead of the Prince of light being invited to
enter in and dwell, means are used to expel him, and invite back
his rival, how dreadful are the consequences! —ages, it may be,
of the debasement and wretchedness which spring from ignorance
and superstition, and tyranny, both civil and. ecclesiastical.
When the wicked one is out, it is wisdom to keep him out.
He always seeks to re-enter, even in the case of the sheep of
Christ, who have been irrevocably rescued from him. And their
security is not in themselves, but in their Deliverer. He will pray
for them when Satan desires to have them that he may sift them
as wheat-He will not allow him to pluck them out of his or his
Father's hand. Yet must they not rest in an indolent reliance,
but, putting oil the whole armor of God, in His strength resist
every attempt, on the part of the lawless one, to effect a re-entrance into the house from which he has been so rightfully expelled. Whatever disguises he assumes, they must refuse to parley with him, and treat him as what he is, and they know him to
be-a liar, a thief, a robber, a murderer.
If we have been delivered from the wicked one, let us be
thankful to Him who has delivered us, and cheerfully and hopefully go on in our opposition to " the adversary," in all his attacks
on our personal. holiness and peace, or on the cause of our Lord,
in the a.ssurance that he shall be bruised under our feet shortly,
and we be made more than conquerors through him who loved
us. Let us, as God gives us opportunity, co-operate with our
Lord and King in casting out Satan, the prince of this world.
This is the appropriate employment of all the followers of our
Lord. Let us remember that he cannot be cast out but in the
name of Jesus, and that none but Christ's true followers axe likely
to be successful in casting him out. When others attempt it, the
fate of the sons of Sceva not unfrequently befalls them.43 Attempts to convert the world on the part, or by means, of unconverted men, have seldom ended in much good to either party.
Let us be very busy at this good work, and not forbid others to
take part in it, though they follow not with us. There are devils
enough for us all to cast out. Let us rather set in good earnest
about the work, each for himself, than quarrel with each other as
to the best way of doing it.
Let us rejoice in every new manifestation of the power of our
Lord-every new proof that his death has gained, is gaining, its
object, in the casting out of the prince of this world. Let us, with
united hearts, supplicate our exalted Redeemer-the Judge, the
Ruler, of the world —to take to himself his great power and reign.
Let us take with us words, and say to him,'.Our Lord and King,
who sittest at thy Father's right hand in the heavens, possessed of
43 Acts xix. 13-17.




634      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXP. XVIII.
all power over all flesh, and working salvation in the midst of
the earth, how long shall "the adversary" whom thou hast vanquished reproach? Shall that enemy blaspheme thy name for
ever? Have respect to the covenant; for the dark places of the
earth, out of which he has not yet been cast, are full of the habitations of horrid cruelty. Arise and plead thine own cause.
" Gird on thy sword, O most mighty, and with thy glory, and with
thy excellency, ride forth prosperously, for truth, and meekness,
and righteousness. Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered, and let them that hate him flee before him."' And let us
not only pray but fight. When he whose name is the Word of
God, Faithful, and True, clothed in a vesture dipped in blood,
goes forth, in accordance with the prayers of his people, on his
white horse, in righteousness judging the world and making war
against its prince, let us see that we be found among the "armies
of heaven, following him on white horses, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean."  Yet a little while, and the toils of conflict will
give way to the joys of victory. Yet a little while, and a voice
shall come out of the throne, " Praise our God, all ye his servants,
and ye that fear him, both small and great." " And a voice shall
be heard as of a great multitude, and as of many waters, and as
of mighty thunderings, Alleluia: the Lord God omnipotent
reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him;
for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made
herself ready. And to her shall be granted that she be arrayed
in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. Blessed are they who are called to the marriage-supper of the Lamb."  "These are the true sayings of
God."
~ 3. The drawing of all men to Christ.
In tracing the history of our race, especially that portion of it
which has become the subject of inspired record, few things are
fitted to make a deeper impression on a devoutly reflecting mind,
than the readiness with which man, consciously or unconsciously,
sets himself to oppose the Divine designs, and the frequency with
which his attempts to frustrate these purposes, are overruled as
the means of accomplishing them. It was the design of God that
the human race should, according to the benediction originally
pronounced on it, not only "be fruitful and multiply," but also
" replenish the earth and subdue it." After the deluge, the family
of man seems to have determined to make a stand against this
law of God, and took measures to prevent their being "scattered
)ver the face of the whole earth." The mad attempt ended in so
confounding their language as that their remaining together ceased
to be a matter of option, and what was meant as a centre of permanent union became the scene of hopeless disagreement-the
spot from which "the Lord scattered them abroad upon the face
of all the earth." The means thev employed to prevent, became
the means of precipitating, the feared catastrophe. The treatment




PART II.]   THE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.      635
of Joseph by his brethren, which was intended to render impossible the realization of his early dreams, prepared the way for the
fulfilment of these almost to the letter. In seeking to crush him,
they were the unconscious, the unwilling, agents in promoting
his remarkable advancement.
The frequent attempts made for the destruction of David by
Saul, under the influence of jealousy, by their results raised him
higher and higher in the estimation of the people, and opened
the way for his being joyfully welcomed by all the tribes of
Israel, to the throne to which he had been destined. Haman's
deep-laid plots for the ruin of Mordecai and his people, proved
the means of his own disgraceful and untimely end, and of his
intended victims being exalted to " light, and gladness, and joy,
and honor."
The most remarkable illustration of the two facts we have noticed, furnished by either sacred or profane history, is to be found
in the manner in which men, consciously or unconsciously, set
themselves to oppose the purposes of God in reference to his incarnate Son, and in which God rendered those attempts the means
of gaining the very objects they were meant to frustrate. Wicked
men raged; they imagined a vain thing; they set themselves in
council, and formed combined purposes against the Lord's anointed. " He that sat in the heavens laughed at them: the Lord held
them in derision."" He permitted them to do all that was in their
aeart, and then showed them that they had only done " whatsoever his hand and his counsel had determined before to be done."4
They flattered themseves that, in putting him to death, they had
permanently deprived him of life, and finally terminated those
proceedings which they had witnessed with a mingled feeling of
dislike and fear, little thinking that death, in that very form
which their malignity had chosen, was necessary to his being
" quickened in the spirit," and that he must die in weakness on a
cross, that he might " live for ever in the power of God." They
had been filled with rage and terror at perceiving that his followers were multiplying, and that, as they phrased it, "the whole
world was gone after him," and, no doubt, thought that his public execution, as if he had been a felonious slave, would scatter
his adherents, and prevent them from ever again rallying; but, to
their permanent confusion, they were soon to find out the meaning of his enigmatic words, " When ye have lifted up the Son of
man, then shall ye know who I am." "I, when I am lifted up
from the earth, will draw all men unto me." The very death of
shame which they with wicked hands inflicted on him was the
foundation of his throne as Messiah; and the cross, the tree of
ignominy, as "the ensign of the people, to which the Gentiles
should seek," while the rest of him who had hung on it in agony
was glorious. Never did the wrath of man so praise God as here.
"He disappointed the devices of the crafty, so that their hands
could not perform their enterprise. He took the wise in their
44 Psal. ii. 1-3.                 45 Acts iv. 28.




636      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXP. XVIII.
own craftiness, and the counsel of the froward was carried headlong."
This third result of the death of Christ-the drawing of all
men to him, the Son of man, as the conqueror of the prince of
this world, and the lawful Prince and Saviour of the race —comes
now to be considered. "And I, if " —or rather, when —" I am
lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." There are
obviously two questions here, to which our attention must be successively turned: What are we to understand by our Lord's
drawing all men to him? and, How is this connected with his
being lifted up from the earth?
1. What is this drawing of all men to Christ?
And first, then, of our Lord's drawing all men to him. The
general idea in the passage seems to be this: Death is generally
viewed as cutting off all connection with the living world. All
the ties are unloosed which bound to his fellow-men him who has
died. He has " no more a portion for ever in anything that is
done under the sun." He has no power to draw his fellow-men
to him. It was to be otherwise with our Lord. His connection
with men was not to be weakened —his power over them was to
be increased-by his death. If he had influence over men when
he lived, he was to have far more influence over them after he
had died. This is the general idea which, on being carefully
considered in the light of other scripture declarations, will be
found to imply in it three things: his making all men, without
exception, the subjects of his mediatorial government; his making all men, without exception, the objects of the invitations of
his Gospel; and his making all whom the Father has given him
-and who are a vast multitude, Gentiles as well as Jews-men
of all ages, conditions, and characters —of every kindred, and
people, and tongue, and nation,-partakers of the blessings of
his salvation. All these, though not in the same way, our Lord
draws to himself in consequence of his being lifted up from the
earth. It is right to remark that the word men is a supplement;
the original words are-" I will draw all to me." Let us briefly
illustrate these important truths.
(1.) All men, without exception, become the subjects of his mediatorial government.
In the first place, our Lord draws all to him, inasmuch as he
makes all men, without exception, the subjects of his mediatorial
government. In the ancient oracles in reference to the Messiah,
it was plainly indicated that he was to have the government of
the world. To Shiloh was to be " the gathering of the people."
He was to be " the Governor among the nations."  "I shall give
thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of
the earth for thy possession." Such is the promise of the Father




PART II.]   TIIE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.        637
to the Son. " Thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a
people whom I have not known shall serve me." Such is the
acknowledgment of the Son to the Father. " The Father," says
our Lord, unfolding the mediatorial economy, "the Father
judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father."
"All things," says he, "are delivered unto me of my Father."
" All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."  " Thou
hast given the Son power over all flesh." It was the purpose of
God, according to his good pleasure, " in the dispensation of the
fulness of times, to gather together in one all things, both which
are in heaven and which are on earth," in or under Christ, who
is " head over all things to the church, which is his body.""'
A change in the mode of administering the government of the
world, plainly took place when our Lord, the incarnate Son, the
perfected Redeemer, sat down on the right hand of his Father.
ienceforward the affairs of the universe are under the immediate
direction of the glorified God-man, to subserve the high, and
holy, and benignant purposes of his mediation. The promise to
Abraham was fulfilled to him in its fullest extent. He became
" the heir of the world.""47  He claimed and treated all men, all
beings, as his rightful property, and thus drew them to him, to
be employed by him as instrumental agents in accomplishing the
ends of his government. There is not a living being in the universe on whom, when he require! its service, he cannot lay his
hand. He has but to say, Come, and he comes; Go, and he
goes; Do this, and he does it. All human, all angelic, power
and activity is entirely at his command. This authority he is
continually exercising; and in the close of the present order of
things he will remarkably manifest it, when, coming in his glory
in the clouds of heaven, with all his holy angels, he shall sit on
the throne of his glory, and draw to him all nations,-when the
quick and the dead, small and great, brought together by his
irresistible fiat, shall stand before his tribunal, and be judged by
him in righteousness.
(2.) All men, without distinction, become the objects of the invitations of his Gospel.
I proceed to observe, in the second place, that our Lord draws
all to him, inasmuch as he makes all men the objects of the invitations of his Gospel. He invites all men, without exception,
to participate in the blessings of his salvation. This, too, was
the subject of ancient prophecy: "Behold, I have given him
for a witness to the people."  "Thou shalt call a nation that
thou knowest not; and nations that knew not thee shall run
unto thee, because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One
46 Psal. ii. 8; xviii. 43. John v. 22, 23. Matt. xi. 27; xxviii. 18. John xvii. 2.
Eph. i. 10, 23.
47 Rom. iv. 13. Heb. i. 2.




638      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXP. XVIII.
of Israel; for he hath glorified thee." He "preaches peace to
them which are afar off, and to them that are nigh."  When he
said, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth," he
added, "Go ye into all the world; Go, teach all nations; Go,
preach the Gospel to every creature." And what is this Gospel?
"God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing unto men their trespasses," seeing " he hath made him to
be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him."  " God so loved the world, that
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosover believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life." This is his voice
from the throne, to which he has risen from the cross and the
grave, " Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons
of man."  " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters,
and he that hath no money."  " Whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely."  "Come unto me, all ye that labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."48 In these invitations,
he draws all men to him-invites all, without exception, to receive eternal life as the gift of God in him.
These invitations, though addressed to all men without exception, have in reality hitherto been presented to comparatively
few. A deep responsibility lies on those to whom he gives the
commission to have the Gospel preached to every creature.
Oh! that they felt it more than hitherto they seem to have done.
And we are assured that, ere "the end come," " this Gospel of
the kingdom shall be preached in all the world."  "The glory
of the Lord," in the face of his Son, as it is reflected in the Gospel, "shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together."
"' The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the
waters cover the sea."49 And wherever these invitations of the
Gospel come, there, we are persuaded, go forth also drawing
influences of the divine Spirit-influences, in too many cases,
resisted and quenched, but influences indicating, like the invitations of the Gospel they accompany, the benignity of him who
sends them forth, and proving how he would have gathered even
those who refused to take refuge under the sheltering wings of
his mercy.
(3.) All whom the Father has given him, —" an innumerable company
out of every kindred, tongue, and nation,"-are put in possession
of the blessings of his salvation.
I have only farther to remark, on this part of the subject, that
our Lord draws all to him, inasmuch as he brings to the possession of the blessings of his salvation, in a state of union with
himself, all those whom the Father has given him. It is the
good pleasure of our Father in heaven, that the Captain of our
salvation should bring many sons to glory, —an innumerable
48 Isa. Iv. 4, 5. Eph. ii. 17. Matt. xxviii. 18, 19. 2 Cor. v. 19, 21. John
iii. 16.  Prov. viii. 4. Isa. lv. 1-3.  Rev. xxii. 17.  Matt xi. 28.
49 Matt. xxiv. 14.  Isa. xi. 5, 9.




PART II.]   THE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.        639
multitude, whom he chose " in him before the foundation of the
world;" " having predestinated them to the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ," to "the praise of the glory of his grace.""0 To
secure their salvation, he gave up his Son to die; and to secure
their salvation, he also raised him from the dead, and gave him
glory, that he might give them that eternal life to which they had
been destined before all worlds. These he, as well as his Father,
loved with an eternal love, and " therefore with loving-kindness
does he draw them."5' That salvation is in him. He only can
confer it; and it can be enjoyed only in that state of union
with him, into which men are brought through the faith of the
truth.
The words before us, when viewed with regard to the saving
operations of our Lord in reference to his peculiar people, are
full of important meaning. They lead us to think of the natural
state of these men as a state of distance from Christ. They
were not originally in him, nor near him,-they were in the
world —far  off,-without —apart from  Christ.  They were
willing slaves of the prince of this world. And the words seem
to indicate, too, that there was no disposition to come near. Left
to themselves, they would never have come near. Had they not
been drawn, they never would have moved, except in the way of
going farther and farther from him.  The history of their being
drawn to him, is not, they willed, and they ran, and then he
showed mercy,-but he showed mercy in working in them the
will and the act of coming to him; "No man cometh to him,
but he who is drawn by the Father;" and here, as elsewhere,
"whatsoever the Father doeth, the Son also doeth likewise."52
They seem also to intimate the nature of the influence by which
the change is produced. They are not driven, —they are not
dragged; they are drawn to him,-drawn by chords of love, by
bands of a man; their minds are enlightened in the knowledge
of his loveliness and love, and their hearts impressed with corresponding affections. They are made " willing in the day of his
power." They are persuaded and enabled to come to him. He
" draws them, and they run after him." For though the influence is gentle and persuasive, it is powerful and invincible. He
draws them to himself. He continues drawing till they are brought
close to him, till they are " one in him, even as the Father is in
him and he is in the Father.""3
In drawing them to himself, he draws them into the enjoyment of all the blessings of his salvation. "'He that hath the
Son hath life."  In him they are justified, sanctified, and redeemed.  They are "complete in him."  He draws them  to
fellowship with him in his righteousness, and Spirit, and blessedness, even here; and he will in due time draw them up to himself in heaven. His prayer in reference to them all-and him the
50 Heb. ii. 10. Eph. i. 4-6.          51 Jer. xxxi. 3.
52 Rom. ix. 16. Phil. ii. 13. John vi. 44; v. 19.
53 Psal. ex. 3. Song i. 4. John xvii. 21-23.




640      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXP. XVIII.
Father heareth always-is, " Father, I will that they also whom
thou hast given me be with me where I am; that they may
behold my glory.""  Thus he draws them individually to himself;
gathering them one by one out of the world lying under the
wicked one; and continues drawing them  farther and farther
from all that is evil-nearer and nearer to himself.
He also draws them together to himself, in the holy institutions
of christian worship. He dwells on earth in his churches. Of
them he says, as of Zion of old, "This is my rest, here will I
stay, for I have desired it;" and thither, by his Spirit, he draws
all his people to have fellowship with him and with one another;
-draws them effectually-they cannot stay away from what our
fathers significantly called his "trysting places."  They are like
the Greeks, saying in their hearts, "we would see Jesus," —-we
wish to " see his face, and here his voice,-for his voice is sweet,
his countenance is lovely."
And as the object of his mission was "to gather together in
one all the children of God scattered abroad," he will never rest
satisfied till he draws them to himself at his right hand, fully
redeemed, soul and body, a glorious and happy company,-at
the great gathering together at his coming; and then, in the
exercise of this power whereby he is able to subdue all things to
himself, having drawn their bodies out of the grave to him, he
will draw them, soul and body, along with himself up throngh
these heavens, into the heaven of heavens; and there, in the
mansion prepared for them in the house of his Father and their
Father, his God and their God, they " shall be for ever with the
Lord." Our Lord will thus draw all his chosen ones to himself.
Of all whom the Father gives him, not one shall be lost. No,
they shall be an unbroken family, whom he brings to glory;
when he presents them a perfect church to his Father, who gave
him  them, he will say, "Behold, I and the children thou hast
given me." And though in every age and country hitherto,
they have been but a little flock, when he has drawn them
all home to himself, they will form " a great multitude, which no
man can number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and
tongues."55
2. What is the connection between this drawing all to him and his
being lifted up?
Having thus endeavored to explain what is meant by our Lord
" drawing all to him," I proceed to the second inquiry suggested
by the words before us —What is the connection between this
drawing all to him, and his being lifted up from the earth?-understanding this, according to the evangelist's exposition of his
penal, vicarious, expiatory death on the cross. This drawing
followed the lifting up-" when"-and it followed it very soon;
54 John xvii. 24.
55 Psal. cxxxii. 13, 14. John xii. 20, 21. Song ii. 14. John xi. 52; xvii. 12.
Heb. ii. 13. Eph. v. 27. Rev. vii. 9.




PART II.]    THE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.       641
but there is much more than mere sequence in the connection.
The connection between our Lord drawing all men to him —inasmuch as he makes all men the subjects of his mediatorial government-and his being lifted up from the earth, has already been
substantially illustrated, when showing the connection between
"the judgment or government of the world" by him, and his
death. It is the promised and merited reward of his obedience
to the death, and it is the appropriate and necessary means of his
carrying into accomplishment the great end of his death-to expiate sin, so as that grace might reign through righteousness unto
eternal life. That death was the strongest conceivable proof that
"he loved righteousness, and hated wickedness:"  "Therefore
God, his God, anointed him with the oil of gladness above his
fellows," making him " King of kings, and Lord of lords:""6 and
how could he save his chosen, if he were not the Lord of the
world?
The connection between our Iord's death and his drawing all
men to him, by the unconditionally free invitations of his Gospel, may be easily stated in a sentence or two. Had not atonement been made by the death of Christ, there could have been
no salvation to offer to any of the fallen race of man. It is because "the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from
all sin," that to men is proclaimed the forgiveness of sins, and
that they are assured that " he that believeth in him shall be justified from all things, from which men could not have been justified by the law of Moses."  "The ministry of reconciliation," has
for its great subject, the atoning death of Christ-his being made
sin in our room-and it is on the ground of this infinite atonement that men are assured that " God is reconciling the world to
himself," and that they are besought to be reconciled to God.
The connection between our Lord drawing all to him, by
putting all whom the Father has given him in possession of the
blessings of his salvation, requires to be illustrated somewhat
more at length. The death of Christ, as the atonement of human
guilt, removes obstacles, otherwise insurmountable, in the way of
any sinner being drawn to Christ as a Saviour. Till, by an adequate atonement, a foundation was laid for mercy being exercised
to sinners, in consistency with righteousness, there could have
been no salvation for fallen man. It is just because Christ has
offered an all-perfect sacrifice in his death, that there is that salvation in Him, which there is in no other. Had he not died, he
would, no doubt, have remained what he always was —mighty,
almighty-but he could not have been mighty to save. Men
never could have been " delivered from the power of darkness,
and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son," had it not
been that " in him there is redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of Divine grace.""'
56 Psal. xiv. 7.  Rev. xix. 16.       57 Co. i. 13, 14.
VOL. I.,41




642      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXP. LVIII.
Then, the death of Christ-viewed as an illustration of the
Divine character-as the subject of a Divine revelation, furnishes
the appropriate and effectual means for drawing the sinner to
him. It is a striking fact, that the truth about the death of Christ
is the grand means of converting men. It is neither " the sign"
-the miracle which the Jew desired-nor "the wisdom," the
abstract reasoning which the Greek desired (though Christianity
hlas many miracles, and may be supported by many most ingenious as well as satisfactory trains of arguments)-which converts
men to Christ. It is the truth about Christ crucified, which is
"the power of God to salvation" to men."8 Till I know and believe this truth-whatever else I know and believe —I stand away
from Christ. The moment I understand and believe this, I am
drawn to him, as an object of my confidence, and my love, and
my obedience. That very event, which seemed fitted to secure that
Jesus should never have another follower- for who would attach
themselves to a dead man-a man put to death in circumstances
of the greatest ignominy?-that very event has in it the concentration, as it were, of all those powerful influences, which ultimately are to make Christianity the religion of the world-which
have already gained it a place in many millions of human hearts,
which no mere man ever occupied —which have made multitudes
feel it right, honorable, ay, delightful, to suffer disgrace, or even
death, for his sake.
How Christ's being lifted up from the earth-dying on a cross
for men-draws all men to him, has been strikingly illustrated
in the history of missions. The Moravians labored in Greenland
for a number of years with no apparent fruit. When they spoke
to the savages of the being and attributes of God-of the sin of
man-of the necessity of an atonement-of the evil of sin-of
the excellence of holiness-of the glories of heaven, or of the
horrors of hell-their hearers talked of seal-catching, and said
they did not understand these things. But, on one of the missionaries one day describing to them, with unusual minuteness.
the sufferings and death of Christ, one of the savages suddenly
stepped forward, and said, "How was that?  Tell me it once
more. I also would fain be saved." This amazed and delighted
the missionaries, and led them to adopt a new method with their
pagan disciples. They preached the cross. They held up Jesus,
lifted up from the earth, and virtue came forth from him. The
brutalized Greenlanders were interested; their dark understandings were enlightened; their stubborn hearts melted;-in a word,
they were drawn to Christ; the Spirit wielded resistlessly his
favorite instrument -the cross.
Ministers, whether among heathen, or nominally christian,
savage, or civilized men, if they wish to draw men to Christ, must
learn to say, " We preach Christ crucified; to the Jew a stum58 1 Cor. i. 23, 24.




PART II.]   TIIE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.         643
bling-block, to the Greek foolishness; but to be called of God"whether Jew or Greek —" the power of God, the wisdom of God."
"I determined to know nothing among you, save Jesus Christ,
and him crucified.""9 The fact of the incarnate Son of God dying
for men, when, announced, strikes the mind, and commands attention. When seen to be true, as a display of disinterested love
on the part of God and his Son-and at the same time of the evil
of sin, and the Divine disposition to pardon and save the sinner
— it quells the jealousies of guilt, and excites confidence and love,
and makes the believing sinner cling to the Saviour in life and in
death.60
Still farther, that death not only removed the obstacles in the
way of drawing men to the Saviour, and furnished the means of
drawing them to him, but it also obtained what was necessary,
and is sufficient, to secure the effectual use of these means. I
refer to the special influence of the Divine Spirit. It is not accurate phraseology —it is not orthodox theology —to say Christ's
death purchased the Holy Spirit. But it is important truth, that
the Spirit, in his sanctifying influence, is communicated only to
those who, through faith in the truth, are interested in the atoning efficacy of the Saviour's death; and, that, to all who are made
the righteousness of God in Christ, that Spirit is most assuredly
communicated: " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the
law, having become a curse for us" —not only "that the blessing
of Abraham"-the justification by faith —" might come on believing Gentiles," but that the promised " Spirit may be given to
all, Jew or Gentile, who believe.""
Such, then, was the death of Christ. He died-died on a
cross-died the vicarious victim, the accepted sacrifice, for man's
transgression; and such have been, such are, such shall be, its
results: the world judged; the prince of the world cast out; and
all men drawn to his conqueror, and their deliverer.
Turning your attention, cursorily, to a few of the practical reflections naturally rising out of the consideration of the last of
these results, I shall shut up the discourse.
How full of consolation to the Christian, the thought that the
Son of man has drawn all to him, as the subjects of his government! How delightful to think that himself; all his friends, all
his enemies, are entirely under the control of the Saviour, and
that nothing can ever, in this or any other world, in time or eternity, happen to him, which is not the dictate of the heart of Himi
who so loved him as to die for him-the work of the hands which
were nailed to the cross for his salvation! How encouraging to
think, that the cause of truth and righteousness is, and must be,
safe, since there is no created power in the universe which is not
subject to Him, who died to attest truth and to promote righteousness 2
59 1 Cor. ii. 2.    60 James          61 Gal. iii. 13, 14.




644      THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXPI XVIII.
How alarming to the enemies of Christ and Christianity, that
He whom they oppose is " Lord of all," and " must reign till all
his enemies are made his footstool!" He is "the one" Ruler.
Judge, and " Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy."82
What cause of gratitude, that, as the crucified One-who was
dead, but is alive, and lives for evermore-in the word of the
truth of the Gospel, revealing a completed atonement-a full and
a free salvation-and offering the benefit of the former, and the
possession of the latter, to the guiltiest of our guilty race,-he is
drawing all men to him, and that the words of this life have come
to us! And what additional cause of gratitude, if we have reason
to believe that the power of his Spirit has, in our case, attended
the invitation of his word, and that, in tender, sovereign, distinguishing, special mercy, he has drawn us to himself! That is the
grand concern. If he has not drawn us to himself hitherto, his
being lifted up from the earth has been in vain for us; and we
are not drawn to him, if we are not drawn from sin, and self, and
the world-his great enemies and ours.
To those who have experienced his attractive power, I need
scarcely say, O seek to feel more of it. He has brought you
towards himself, seek to be brought nearer, and nearer, and nearer
to him, in mind, in heart, in enjoyment, till he draws you wholly
to himself; and, for this purpose, habitually look to Jesus-to
Jesus lifted up from the earth-dying-dying for you-the just
for the unjust.
To thdse who —though he has long been drawing them, by the
invitations of his word, and, it may be, by the strivings of his
Spirit —have never yet moved towards him, I would say, How
deplorably pitiable is your situation, not to feel the attractions of
Him who is so attractive? Even when on the earth, there was a
wonderful power of attraction about him. An infant in the manger, he drew angels from heaven, shepherds from their flocks, and
the magi from the distant east. A poor despised man, he never,
so far as we know, bade any, except one, follow him, who did not,
though at the price of forsaking all, readily obey him. An agonized sufferer in Gethsemane, he drew to him an angel, who felt
honored beyond thought, in being permitted to minister to his
consolation.63 What a crowd of human beings-most of them
hostile to him, but all deeply interested in him-gathered round
his cross; and how much more numerous and deeply interested
the attendant hosts of the spirits of light and of darkness! All
in heaven, and all in hell, have their views directed to him.
Neither devil nor damned spirit-neither angel nor spirit of the
just made perfect-can resist his power to command attention.
How stupid are you who resist such attractions —who regard him
neither with the love which has delight in it, nor with the fear
62 Acts x. 36. 1 Cor. xv. 25. James iv. 12.
63 Jeremy Taylor.




PART II.]   THE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.       645
which has torment?  If you will not be drawn by him to salvation, know that you must be dragged before him to judgment, and
driven from him into everlasting destruction: "'Behold he is
coming in clouds, and every eye must see him."64 You must look
at him then; you must listen to him then. Oh, look at him now;
listen to him now. His eyes will be then as a flame of fire to his
obstinate enemies; but how full of compassion and melting tenderness are they now to you! His voice is a powerful one; and
when He then shall say, "Depart!" the combined power of the
universe cannot resist it. But that voice is now, "Come!" and it
is "spirit and life" to all who listen to it with an obedient ear.
The prince of this world, and his conqueror, are both drawing
you —the one downward to hell-the other upward to heaven;
the one to everlasting death-the other to eternal life; the one to
endless infamy-the other to a crown of glory that fadeth not
away; and will you yield to the one and resist the other? "0 
foolish people, and unwise!" He waits to be gracious. He who
has drawn many to himself, will draw more. The heavenly magnet has lost none of its power: " He that gathereth the outcasts
of Israel saith, Yet will I gather other besides those who are
gathered."  Oh, may he draw us all, and may we run after himdraw us to himself —draw us to hope-draw us to holiness-draw
us to happiness-draw us to heaven-and may we, in time and
eternity, be witnesses to the fulfilment, in our own experience, of
our Lord's words, "And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men
to Ine."
Sinner, to whose ear the word of salvation now comes, and to
whose conscience the Spirit is now intimating that you ought to
attend to it, He is now drawing you. "Will you dare"-as
Rutherford says on another subject —' will you dare to be the
creature that will hold when HE draweth?" Has he not a good
right to draw you —a blood-bouoht one? and is he not drawing
you from the brink of the pit of' perdition, into which, if he let
go his hold, the very recoil will precipitate your fall? He was
lifted up from the earth, that he might become qualified to draw
sinners like you from  destruction to salvation-from hell to
heaven. He died that he might obtain arguments to use with
you-those cords of love-those bands of man,-that he might
obtain authority to employ Divine influence for such a purpose,that he might merit all power in heaven and earth, that he might
use it for man's salvation; and he has been lifted up from the
earth, in another sense, for the same purpose; he revived, and
rose, and ascended on high, to exercise these qualifications: " He
is exalted a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance and remis
sion of sin."65  And will you pour contempt on all this kindness?
Whlen he has shown so clearly how willing he is to gather you,
will you refuse to be gathered?  "Turn ye, turn ye, why will
64 Rev. i. 7.                65 Acts v. 31.




646     THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND ITS RESULTS. [EXP. XVIII.
ye die?" You must die, if you refuse to be drawn to him. Oh,
that you were but fully persuaded of his willingness and power
to draw you-deeply humbled under a sense of your natural unwillingness to be drawn by him-and led to express both these
sentiments in humble believing prayer,-" Turn thou me, and I
shall be turned," —" Draw me, I will run after thee."' I hear thy
voice bidding me come;' "Lord, to whom can I go but to thee?"
"Behold, I come to thee, my help, and my deliverer"-" my
Lord, my God!"
END OF VOLUME ONE.