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Christ promises to send the

will keep my words: and my Father will love him, will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

ST. JOHN.

and we

24 He that loveth me not, keepeth not my sayings: and f the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which

sent me.

25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, h he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

27 i Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not

el John 2. 24 Rev. 3.20-f Verso 10. Chap. 5. 19, 33. & 7. 16. & 8.28 & 12. 49.Verse 16. Luke 24. 49. Chap. 15. 26. & 16. 7.-h Chap. 2. 22. & 12. 16. & 16. 13. John 2. 20, 27.

And will manifest myself to him.] All my faithful disciples shall see me after my resurrection and I will manifest my power and goodness to all those who believe in and obey me'; even to the end of the world.

22. Judas] The same as Thaddeus and Lebbeus, the brother of James, and author of what is called the Epistle of Jude. How is it] Or, how can it be―ri yeyover, what is to happen? on what account is it 1 Judas, who was probably thinking that the kingdom of Christ should extend over all the earth, wonders how this can be, and yet Christ manifest himself only to his disciples and not to the world, ver. 19. To this our Lord, in a more express manner than he had done before answers 23. If a man] Not only my present disciples, but all those who shall believe on me through their word, or that of their

successors;

Love me Receive me as his Saviour, and get the love of God shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost:

He will keep my words] Observe all my sayings, and have his affections and conduct regulated by my Spirit and doc

trine:

My Father will love him] Call him his child; support, defend, and preserve him as such.

And we will come unto him] God the Father, through his Son will continue to pour out his choicest blessings upon his head and upon his heart:

Holy Ghost to his disciples.

as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be
troubled, neither let it be afraid.

28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come
again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I
said, "I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that,
when it is come to pass, ye might believe.
30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: P for the prince
of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and
as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise,
let us go hence.

i Phil.4.7 Col. 3. 15.-k Verse 1-1 Verse 3. 18-m Verse 12. Chap. 16. 16.& 21. 17-n See Chap 5.18. & 10.30. Phil 2.6- Chap. 13. 19. & 16.4.-p Chap. 12.31 € 16. 11.-q Chap. 10. 18. Phil.2.8. Heb. 8.8.

which shall fill you with the fulness of God: on your own ac count, therefore, ye should have rejoiced and not mourned. My Father is greater than I.] In ver. 24. Christ tells his disciples that the Father had sent him; i. e. in his quality of Messiah, he was sent by the Father to instruct, and to save mankind. Now, as the sender is greater than the sent, chap. xiii. 16. so in this sense is the Father greater than the Son; and in this sense was the passage understood by Ori gen, Jerom, Novatian, and Vigilius, who read the text thus; The Father, & repas, who sent me is greater than I. It cer tainly requires very little argument, and no sophistry, to reconcile this saying with the most orthodox notion of the Godhead of Christ; as he is repeatedly speaking of his divine, and of his human nature. Of the foriner, he says, I and the Father are one: chap. x. 30. and of the latter, he states with the same truth, The Father is greater than I.

29. I have told you before it come to pass] Lest my death should be a stumbling-block to you, I have spoken of it beforehand, and showed you the necessity of it, that when it hap pens ye may believe, that as I could predict it so clearly and so circumstantially, so all the good, which I have promised shall be the result, may be confidently expected by you and that your sorrow, if not entirely removed, may at least be much mitigated.

30. The prince of this world] Tovrov, of this, is omitted by And make our abode with him] Will make his heart our ABDEGHKLMS. Mt. BH. one hundred others; both the Sytemple, where God, the Father, Son, and Spirit, shall rest, re-riac, latter Persic, all the Arabic, and several of the primitive ceive homage, and dwell to eternity. Thus will I manifest myself, to the believing, loving, obedient disciple, and not to the world, who will not receive the Spirit of the truth.

24. He that loveth me not, &c.] fence we learn, that the man who is not obedient to the testimonies of Christ does not love him and the Spirit of this truth has said, He who loves not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed, 1 Cor. xvi. 22. 26. He shall teach you all things] If in the things which I have already spoken to you, there appear to you any obscurity; the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, Counsellor and Instructer, will take away all your doubts, free you from all embarrass. ment, and give you a perfect understanding in all things: and this Spirit ye shall shortly receive.

And bring all things to your remembrance] Here Christ promises them that inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which enabled them not only to give a true history of his life and death, but also gave them the most perfect recollection of all the words which he had spoken to them, so that they have been able to transmit to posterity the identical words which Jesus uttered in his sermons; and in his different discourses with them, the Jews, and others.

27. Peace I leave with you] The Jewish form of salutation and benediction. A wish of peace among them is thus to be understood: May you prosper in body and soul, and enjoy every earthly and heavenly good! For the meaning of this word, see Matt. v. 9.

Fathers. I rather think the omission of the pronoun makes the sense more general; for had he said THIS world, the words might have been restrained to the Jewish state, or to the Roman government. But who is the person called here the prince of this world?

1. Mr. Wakefield thinks that Christ speaks here of himself, as he does in chap. xii. 31. (see the note there) and translates this verse and the following thus: For the ruler of this world is coming; and I have nothing now to do, but to convince the world that I love the Father, and do as he commanded me. On which he observes, that our Lord speaks of what he shall be, when he comes again, and not of what he then was: com. pare ver. 18. chap. xvi. 16. xvii. 2. Matt. xxviii. 18. Phil. ii. 9. And how often does he speak of himself as the Son of man, in the third person? See his vindication of this translation in the 3d vol of his New Testament.

2. Others think that our Lord refers to the Roman govern. ment, the ruler of the world, who, by its deputy, Pilute, was going to judge him, but who should find nothing (Evpnoti ovder, which is the reading found in some excellent MSS. and Versions, and is followed by almost all the primitive Fathers) as a just cause of death in him-nothing in the whole of his con duct which was in the least reprehensible: and this, indeed, Pilate witnessed in the most solemn manner. See chap. xviii. 38. xix. 4, 12. see also Luke xxiii. 4, &c. and Matt. xxvii. 24.

3. But the most general opinion is, that Satan is meant, who My peace I give unto you] Such tranquillity of soul, such is called the prince of the power of the air, Eph. ii. 2. and who uninterrupted happiness of mind, such everlasting friendship is supposed to be the same that is called the god of this world, with God as I enjoy, may ye all enjoy! and such blessedness I 2 Cor. iv. 4. and who, at his last and most desperate trial, the bequeath unto you; it is my last, my best, my dying legacy. agony in the garden, should be convinced that there was noNot as the world giveth] Not as the Jews, in empty wish thing of his nature in Christ, nothing that would coincide es; not as the people of the world, in empty compliments. with his solicitations, and that he should find himself com. Their salutations and benedictions are generally matters of pletely foiled in all his attacks, and plainly foresee the impend custom and polite ceremony, given without desire or design;-ing ruin of his kingdom. It is very difficult to ascertain the but I mean what I say; what I wish you, that I will give you. real meaning here: of the different opinions proposed above, -To his followers Jesus gives peace, procures it, preserves it, the reader must take that which he deems the most likely. and establishes it. He is the author, prince, promoter, and keeper of peace.

Neither let it be afraid] Mnde deiλɛiarw, let not your heart shrink back through fear of any approaching evil. This is the proper meaning of the word. In a few hours ye will be most powerfully assaulted: but stand firm-the evil will only fall upon me; and this evil will result in your comfort and salvation, and in the redemption of a lost world. 28. I go away] To the Father by my death: And come again unto you.] By my resurrection.

Ye would rejoice.] Because as the Messiah, I am going to receive a kingdom, and power, and glory, for ever. There fore as my friends ye should rejoice in my elevation, though for a while it may put you to the pain of being separated from me; besides, I am going that I may send you the Holy Spirit,

31. Arise, let us go hence.] Calinet supposes that Christ ha ving rendered thanks to God, and sung the usual hymn, Matt. xxvi. 30. Mark xiv. 26. rose from the table, left the city, and went towards the garden of Olives, or garden of Gethsemane, on the road to which, a part of the following discourse was delivered. It was now about midnight, and the moon was al most full, it being the 14th day of her age, about the time in which the Jewish pass-over was to be slain.

The reader should carefully note the conduct of our Lord. He goes to die as a SACRIFICE, out of love to mankind, obedi ence to the Divine will, and with unshaken courage. All our actions should be formed on this plan. They should have the love of God and man for their principle and motive; his glory for their end; and his will for their rule. He who lives and acts thus, shall live for ever. Amen

The union of Christ

ST. JOHN.

with his followers,

CHAPTER XV.

The union of Jesus Christ with his followers, represented by the parable of a vize and its branches, 1-11. He exhorta them to mutual love, 12. Calls them his friends, and promises to lay down his life for them, 13-15. Appoints them their work, and promises them success in it, 16. Renews the exhortation to mutual love, 17; and foretels the opposition they would meet with from the world, 18-21. The sin of the Jews in rejecting Christ, 22-25. The Holy Spirit is promised as a witness for Christ, and the Comforter of the disciples, 26, 27. (A. M. 4033. A. D. 29. An. Olymp. CCII. 1.1 AM the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. is withered and men gather them, and cast them into the fire,

14 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh

away: band every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken

unto you.

44 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for with out me ye can do nothing.

6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and

Gen. 9. 11. Dea. 22. 3 Isa. 5.1, 2. Jer. 2. 21-b Matt. 15. 13. Isa. 1. 25. 5936- Chap. 13. 10. & 17. 17. Eph. 5. 26. 1 Peter 1. 22-d Col. 1. 23. John 26-e Hos. 14, 18 Phil. 1. 11. & 4. 13.

NOTES-Verse 1. Iam the true vine] Perhaps the vines which they met with on their road from Bethany to Gethesemane, might have given rise to this discourse. Some of the disciples were probably making remarks on the different kinds of them, and our Lord took the opportunity of improving the conversation, according to his usual manner, to the instruction of their souls. He might here term himself the true rine, or vine of the right sort, in opposition to the wild and barren vine. Some MSS. and several of the Fathers, read the verse thus: I am the true vine, ye are the branches, and my Father is the husbandman. Some think, that as this discourse followed the celebration of the eucharist, that our Lord took occasion from the fruit of the vine, used in that or dinance, to introduce this similitude.

2 Every branch in me] I stand in the same relation to my followers, and they to me, as the vine to the branches, and the

branches to the vine.

and they are burned.

7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, bye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you; con. tinue ye in my love.

101 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

f Or, severed from me. Acts 4. 12.-g Matt. 3. 10. & 7.19.-h Verse 16. Ch. 14.13, 14. & 16 2-1 Matt 5.16. Phil. 1.11.-k Ch.8.31. & 13.35-1Ch. 14. 15, 21, 23.- Ch. 16.24.& 17.13. 1 John 1.4.

TOLLY Ovdsv-separated from me, ye can do nothing at all.
God can do without man, but man cannot do without God. Fol-
lowing the metaphor of our Lord, it would be just as possible
to do any good without him, as for a branch to live, thrive, and
bring forth fruit, while cut off from that tree, from which it
not only derives its juices, but its very existence also.
Nearly similar to this saying of our Lord, is that of Creeshna
(the incarnate God of the Hindoos) to his disciple Arjoon:
"God is the gift of charity; God is the offering: God is the
fire of the altar by God the sacrifice is performed; and God
is to be obtained by him, who maketh God alone the object of
his works." And again, "I am the sacrifice; I am the wor
ship; I am the spices; I am the invocation; I am the fire:
and I am the victim. I am the Father and Mother of this
world, and the Preserver. I am the Holy One, worthy to be
known; the mystic figure O'M; (see on chap. i. 14.) I am the
journey of the good; the Comforter; the Creator; the Wit-
the place of all things; and the inexhaustible seed of nature:
I am sun-shine, and I am rain; I now draw in, and now let
forth." See Bhagvat Geeta, p. 54. and 80. Could such sentiments
as these ever come from any other source than divine revela.
tion? There is a saying in Theophilus, very similar to one of
those above : Θεος ου χωρεῖται, αλλά αυτός έστι τόπος των όλων
God is not comprehended, but he is the place of all things.
6. If a man abide not in me] Our Lord in the plainest man.
ner intimates, that a person may as truly be united to him as
the branch is to the tree that produces it, and yet be afterward
cut off and cast into the fire: because he has not brought forth
fruit to the glory of his God. No man can cut off a branch
from a tree, to which that branch was never united: it is ab-
surd and contrary to the letter and spirit of the metaphor, to
talk of being seemingly in Christ-because this means no-
thing. If there was only a seeming union, there could be onl→
a seeming excision: so the matter is just where it began; no-
thing is done on either side, and nothing said to any purpose.

He taketh away] As the vine-dresser will remove everyness; the resting place; the asylum, and the Friend. I am nafruitful branch from the vine; so will my Father remove every unfruitful member from my mystical body-such as Judis, the unbelieving Jews, the apostatizing disciples, and false and merely nominal Christians, who are attached to the vine by faith in the word and divine mission of Christ, while they live not in his life and spirit ; and bring forth no fruit to the glory of God; and also every branch which has been in him by true faith; such as have given way to iniquity, and made shipwreck of their faith and of their good conscience; all these he taketh away.

He purgeth it) He pruneth. The branch which bears not fruit, the husbandman aipei avro taketh IT away; but the branch that beareth fruit kadaipei avro, he taketh away FROM ii. e. he prunes away excrescences, and removes every thing that might hinder its increasing fruitfulness. The verb Saipo, from cara, intens, and apo, I take away, signifies ordinarily to cleanse, purge, purify: but is certainly to be taken in the sense of pruning or cutting off, in this text, as the verb purgare, is used by HORACE, Epist. lib. i. ep. vii. v. 51. Cullello proprios purgantem leniter ungues. "Composedly PARING his own nails with a penknife." He who brings forth fruit to God's glory, according to his light and power, will have the hinderances taken away from his heart; for his very thoughts shall be cleansed by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.

3. Now ye are clean] Kadapoi sore, ye are pruned. As our Lord has not changed the metaphor, it would be wrong to change the expression.

Through the word] Aia rov λoyov, through that word--that doctrine of holiness which I have incessantly preached unto you, and which ye have received. Perhaps our Lord more immediately refers here to the words which he had spoken concerning Judas, chap. xiii. 21-30. in consequence of which, Judas went out and finished his bargain with the chief priests: he being gone off, the body of the apostles was purified; and thus he might say, Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

4. Abide in me] Hold fast faith and a good conscience; and let no trials turn you aside from the truth. And I will abide in you-ye shall receive every help and influence from me that your souls can require, in order to preserve and save them to eternal life.

These two things are absolutely necessary to our salvation: 1. That we continue closely united to Christ by faith and love; and live in and to him. 2. That we continually receive from him the power to do good; for as the branch, however good in itself, cannot bear fruit from itself, through its own juice, which it has already derived from the tree, and can be no longer supported than it continues in union with the parent #tock; neither can ye, unless ye abide in me. As the branch partakes of the nature of the tree, is nourished by its juice, and lives by its life; so ye must be made partakers of my di vine nature, be wise in my wisdom, powerful in my might, and pure through my holiness.

3. Without me ye can do nothing] Χωρις εμου αν δυνασθε

He is cast forth] Observe, that person who abides not in Christ, in a believing, loving, obedient spirit, is, 1. Cut off from Jesus, having no longer any right or title to him or to his salvation. 2. He is withered-deprived of all the influences of God's grace and Spirit; loses all his heavenly unction; be comes indifferent, cold, and dead, to every holy and spiritual word and work. 3. He is gathered-becomes (through the judgment of God) again united with backsliders like himself, and other workers of iniquity; and being abandoned to his own heart and Satan, he is, 4. Cast into the fire-separated from God's people, from God himself, and from the glory of his power. And, 5. He is burned-is eternally tormented with the devil and his angels, and with all those who have lived and died in their iniquity. Reader! pray God that this may never be thy portion.

7. If ye abide in me, &c.] "Those," says Creeshna, "whose understandings are in him, (God,) whose souls are in him, whose confidence is in him, whose asylum is in him, are, by the inspired wisdom, purified from all their offences, and go from whence they shall never return." Geeta, p. 59.

Observe, in order to have influence with God, we must, 1. Be united to Christ-if ye abide in me. 2. That in order to be preserved in this union, we must have our lives regulated by the doctrine of Christ-and my words abide in you. 3. That to profit by this union and doctrine, we must pray-ye shall ask. 4. That every heavenly blessing shall be given to those who continue in this union, with a loving, obedient, praying spirit:-ye shall ask what ye will, &c.

8. Herein is my Father glorified] Or, honoured. It is the honour of the husbandman to have good, strong, vigorous vines, plentifully laden with fruit: so it is the honour of God, to have strong, vigorous, holy children, entirely freed from sin, and perfectly filled with his love.

10. If ye keep my commandments, &c.] Hence we learn, that it is impossible to retain a sense of God's pardoning love, without continuing in the obedience of faith.

11. That my joy might remain in you] That the joy which

The disciples are friends of Christ,

12

ST. JOHN. and should love one another 18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father, I have made

known unto you.

16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

17" These things I command you, that ye love one another.

n Ch.13.34. 1 Them. 4.9. 1 Pet. 4.8. 1 Jn. 3. 11. & 4.21.- Ch. 10. 11, 15. Rom. 5.7.8. Eph. 5.21 Jn.3.16-p Ch.14.15,23 See Matt. 12.50-q See Gen. 15.17 Ch.17.26. Acts 90.27-r Ch.6.70. & 13. 18. 1 Jn. 4. 10,19. Mat. 28.19. Mk.16.15. Col. 1.6.

I now feel on account of your steady, affectionate attachment to me, may be lasting; I give you both warnings and directions, that ye may abide in the faith.

That your joy might be full.] Or, complete-Anpwon, filled up: a metaphor taken from a vessel, into which water or any other thing is poured, till it is full to the brim. The religion of Christ expels all misery from the hearts of those who receive it in its fulness. It was to drive wretchedness out of the world, that Jesus came into it.

Bishop Pearce, by joining spot to xapa, and not to petvn, translates the verse thus: These things have I spoken, that my joy in you may remain-which is according to the meaning given to the first clause.

12. That ye love one another] See on chap. xiii. 34. So deeply was this commandment engraven on the heart of this evangelist, that St. Jerom says, lib. iii. c. 6. Com. ad Galat. that in his extreme old age, when he used to be carried to the public assemblies of the believers, his constant saying was, Little children, love one another. His disciples, wearied at last with the constant repetition of the same words, asked him, Why he constantly said the same thing? "Because (said he) it is the commandment of the Lord, and the observation of it alone is sufficient." Quia præceptum Domini est, et si solum fiat, sufficit.

13. That a man lay down his life for his friends.] No man can carry his love for his friend further than this: for when he gives up his life, he gives up all that he has. This proof of my love for you, I shall give in a few hours; and the doctrine which I recommend to you, I am just going to exemplify myself. There are several remarkable cases in heathen antiquity, where one friend offered his life for another. The two following will not stand dishonourably, even in the book of God; because every thing loving and pure, in heathen, Jer, or Christian, must come from the God of love and purity. When Cyrus had made war on the king of Armenia, and had taken him, his wife, and children, with Tigranes his son, and his wife, prisoners; treating with the old king concerning his ranson, he said, How much money wilt thou give me to have thy wife again? All that I have, replied the king. And how much wilt thou advance to enjoy thy children again? All that I can produce, answered the king. By reckoning thus, said Cyrus, you prize these at twice as much as you possess. Then turning to Tigranes, he said, How much wilt thou give as a ransom, that thou mayest have thy wife? (Now Tigranes had been but lately married, και υπερφίλων την, γυναικα, and loved his wife exceedingly.) He answered, I will, indeed, O Cyrus, ka ans un capny, ransom her even with MY LIFE, that she may be no longer in thraldom. See XENOPH. Cyrop. lib. iii. c. 2. The second example, which is too long to be inserted, is that affecting account of the friendship of Nisus and Euryalus, given by Virgil in the ninth book of the Eneis. These two friends, leagued together, had slain many of the Rutulians in a night attack: at last Euryalus was taken prisoner. Nisus, concealed in a thicket, slew several of the enemy's chiefs with his javelins: Volscens, their general, not seeing the hand by which his officers were slain, determines to wreak his vengeance upon his prisoner. Nisus seeing his friend about to be transfixed with the sword, rushing out of the wood where he lay hidden, he suddenly cries:

ME ME! adsum qui FECI! in ME convertite ferrum,
O Rutuli! MEA fraus omnis:nihil ISTE-nec ausus,
Nec potuit-Calum hoc, et conscia sidera testor!
TANTUM infelicem NIMIUM DILEXIT AMICUM.
EN. lib. ix. 1. 427 &c.
ME! ME! he cried, turn all your swords alone
On MB: the fact confess'd, the fault my own.
HE neither could, nor durst, the guiltless youth:
Ye moon and stars bear witness to the truth!
His only crime (if friendship can offend)

Is too much love to his unhappy friend." DRYDEN. Those who understand the beautiful original, will at once per. ceive, that the earnestness, confusion, disorder,impatience,and burning love,of the FRIEND, are poorly imitated in the above tame translation. The friendship of David and Jonathan is well known: the latter cheerfully gave up his crown to his friend; though himself was every way worthy to wear it. But when all these instances of rare friendship and affection are seen, read, and admired, let the affected reader turn his astonished eyes to Jesus, pouring out his blood, not for his friends, but for his ENEMIES; and in the agonies of death, making supplications

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19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you: if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. 23 He that hateth me, hateth my Father also.

t Verse 7. Ch. 14. 13.-u Verse 12-v 1 John 3.1, 13-w1 Jn. 4 5. Ch. 17.14y Matt. 10.24. Luke 6 40. Ch. 13. 16. -z Ezek. 3.7.-a Matt, 10, 22 & 2.9. Ch.16.3 — 6 Ch.9.41.-c Rom. 1.20. James 4.17.- d Or, excuse. -e 1 John 2.23.

for his murderers with, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do! and then let him help exclaiming if he can, "Lamb of God, was ever pain,

Was ever LOVE like THINE !"

15. Henceforth, I call you not servants] Which he at least indirectly had done, chap. xiii. 16. Matt. x. 24, 25. Luke xvii. 10. I have called you friends] I have admitted you into a state of the most intimate fellowship with myself, and have made known unto you whatsoever I have heard from my Father, which, in your present circumstances, it was necessary for you to be instructed in.

16. Ye have not chosen me] Ye have not elected me as your Teacher: I have called you to be my disciples; witnesses and depositories of the truth. It was customary among the Jews, for every person to choose his own teacher.

And ordained you] Rather, I have appointed you:-the word is enra, I have PUT or placed you, i. e. in the vine. The odorus Mopsuensis, as quoted by Wetstein, observes that na is here used for £øvrevoa, (I have planted) "and in say ing this, our Lord still makes use of the metaphor of the vine; as if he had said, I have not only planted you, but I have given you the greatest benefits, causing your branches to extend every where through the habitable world." The first ministers of the Gospel, were the choice of Jesus Christ: no wonder then that they were so successful. Those whom men have since sent, without the appointment of God, have done no good. The choice should still continue with God, who knowing the heart, knows best who is most proper for the Gospel ministry. To be a genuine preacher of the Gospel, a man must, 1. He chosen of God to the work. 2. He must be placed in the true vine-united to Christ by faith. 3. He must not think to lead an idle life, but labour. 4. He must not wait till work be brought to him, but he must go and seek it. 5. He must bour so as to bring forth fruit, i. e. to get souls converted to the Lord. 6. He must refer all his fruit to God, who gave him the power to labour, and blessed him in his work. 7. He must take care to water what he has planted, that his fruit may re main-that the souls whom he has gathered in, be not scattered from the flock. 8. He must continue instant in prayer, that his labours may be accompanied with the presence and bless. ing of God.-Whatsoever ye shall ASK. 9. He must consider Jesus Christ as the great mediator between God and man, proclaim his salvation, and pray in his name-Whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, &c. See Quesnel.

18. If the world hate you] As the followers of Christ were to be exposed to the hatred of the world, it was no small consolation to them to know, that that hatred would be only in proportion to their faith and holiness; and that consequently, instead of being troubled at the prospect of persecution, they should rejoice, because that should always be a proof to them, that they were in the very path in which Jesus himself had trod. Dr. Lardner thinks that #porov, is a substantive, or at least an adjective used substantively, and this clause of the text should be translated thus: If the world hate you, kno10 that it hated me your CHIEF. It is no wonder that the world should hate you when it hated me, your Lord and Master, whose lips were without guile, and whose conduct was irreproachable. See the Doctor's vindication of this translation, WORKS, Vol. I. p. 306.

19. Ye are not of the world-therefore, &c.] On this very account, because ye do not join in fellowship with those who know not God, therefore they hate you. How true is that saying,

"The laws of Christ condemn a vicious world,
And gall it to revenge."-

GAMBOLD.

20. If they have kept my saying] Or, doctrine. Whosoever acknowledges me for the Christ, will acknowledge you for my ministers,

Some translate the passage thus: If they have WATCHED MY sayings, i. e. with an intent to accuse me for something which I have said; they will WATCH yours also: therefore be on your guard. Пaparnoɛiv, has this sense, as we have had occa. sion to observe before; and perhaps Tapety, has the same sense here, as it is much more agreeable to the context.

21. Because they know not him that sent me] This is the foundation of all religious persecution: those who are guilty of it, whether in church or state, know nothing about God. If God tolerates a worship, which professes to have him for its object; and which does not disturb the quiet or peace of soci ety-no man has the smallest right to meddle with it; and be

Christ warns his disciples of the

CHAPTER XVI.

24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.

25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. fCh 2.2&7.31. & 932. g Psa. 36. 19. & 69.4.-h Luke 24.49. Ch. 14. 17,26. &z 16. 7, Acts 2-1 John 5,3

that does, fights against God. His letting it pass, is at least a tacit command, that all should treat it as he has done.

22 But now they have no cloke for their sin.] They are without excuse. See the margin, and see the notes on chap. ix. 41. Christ had done such works as demonstrated him to be the Messiah-yet they rejected him; here lay their sin; and this sin, and the punishment to which it exposed them, still remain; for they still continue to reject the Lord that bought them. 25. Written in their late] See on chap. x. 34. These words are taken from Psal. Ixix. 4. This Psalm is applied to Christ, chap. ii. 17. xix. 28. to the vengeance of God against Judea, Acts i. 20. The Psalm seems entirely prophetic of Christ His deep abasement is referred to, ver. 2-6. his prayer for his disciples and followers, ver. 7. that for himself, in the garden of Gethsemane, ver. 15-19. his crucifixion, ver. 20-22. the vengeance of God against the Jews, from ver. 23. to ver. 29. the glorious manner in which he gets out of all his sufferings, ver. 3), the abolition of the Mosaic rites and ceremonies, ver. 32. compared with Isa. Ixvi. 3. and finally, the esablishment of the Gospel through the whole world, in the 33d and follow ing verses. The reader will do well to consult the Psalm before be proceeds.

persecutions they should suffer.

26 b But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, i he shall testify of me:

27 And k ye also shall bear witness, because I ye have been with me from the beginning.

k Luke 24.48. Acta 1.8,21,22 & 2.32. & 3.15. & 4. 20, 33. & 5. 32. & 10,39. & 13. 31. 1 Pet. 5.1. 2 Pet. 1.16.-1 Luke 1.2. 1 John 1.1, 2.

miracles than any other had done, ver. 24.1 for Elijah and Elisha raised the dead; cured diseases; and made fire to come down from heaven. Did Christ do greater miracles than Moses did in Egypt-at the Red Sea-at the rock of Horeb; and at the rock of Kadesh? Did Christ do greater miracles than Joshua did in the destruction of Jericho-in the passage of Jordan-in causing the sun and moon to stand still? To all this may be answered, Christ's miracles were greater: 1. As to their number. 2. As to their utility-they were wrought to comfort the distressed, and to save the lost. 3. Christ wrought all his miracles by his own power alone; and they wrought theirs through his power only. 4. Christ wrought his numerous miracles in the space of three or four years, and in the presence of the same people; and the others were wrought from time to time in different centuries.

Some critics have confined the whole of this chapter to the apostles of our Lord, and the work of propagating Christianity, to which they had been called. The whole comment of Rosenmuller on this chapter proceeds on this plan; and at once shows how nugatory it is. What learned labour has there been in the world, to banish the spirit of Christianity from the earth, while the letter was professed to be scrupulously regarded! 1. The spiritual union spoken of by Christ, is not merely necessary for his primitive disciples, but also for all who would be Christians on earth, and beatified spirits in heaven. 2. The brotherly love here inculcated, is the duty and interest of every Christian soul on the face of the earth. 3. The necessity of adorning the Christian profession by bringing name of the Lord Jesus. 4. The appointment to, and prepara. tion for, the work of the sacred ministry, must ever be primarily with Christ: for those who have no higher authority than that which they derive from man, are never likely to be useful in Christianizing the world. 5. The persecution to which the apostles were exposed, has been the cominon lot of Christians from the foundation of Christianity. 6. The consolations and influences of Christ's Spirit have not been the exclusive privileges of the apostles; they are the birthright of all the sons and daughters of God.

26. But when the comforter is come] See on chap. xiv. 16. 26, 27. He shall testify-and ye also shall bear witness] He shall bear his testimony in your souls, and ye shall bear this testimony to the world. And so they did, by their miracles, their preaching, their writings, their lives, and by their deaths. Our Lord appears to reason thus: In every respect the unbelief of the Jews, is inexcusable. They believe not my doc-forth corresponding fruits, is the duty of all who name the trine, notwithstanding its purity and holiness. They be lieve not in the Father who sent me, notwithstanding I have confirmed my mission by the most astonishing miracles. One thing only remains now to be done, i. e. to send them the Holy Spirit, to convince them of sin, righteousness, and judgment: and this he shall do, not only by his influence upon their hearts, but also by your words: and when they shall have resisted this Spirit, then the cup of their iniquity shall be filled up, and wrath shall come upon them to the uttermost.

But in what sense can it be said, that Christ wrought more

CHAPTER XVI.

Christ warns his disciples, and foretels the persecutions they should receive from the Jews, 1-4. Foretels death, and promises them the Comforter, 5-1. Points out his operations among the Jews, and in the world, 8-11. His peculiar influ ences on the souls of the disciples, 12-15. Speaks figuratively of his death and resurrection, at which his disciples are puzzled, 17, 18. He explains and illustrates the whole by a similitude, 19-22. Shows himself to be the Mediator between God and man, and that all prayers must be put up in his name, 23-28. The disciples clearly comprehend his meuning, and express their strong faith in him, 29, 30. He again foretels their persecution, and promises them his peace and sup. port, 31-33. [A. M. 4033. A. D. 29. An. Olymp. CCII. I.]

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HESE things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.

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2 They shall put you out of the Synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he doeth God service.

3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father nor me.

4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. Matt. 11.6. & 4. 10 & 25.31.-b Chap. 9 22, 34. & 12.42.-e Acts 8. 1.& 9.1. & 26. 3, 19, 11-4 Chap. 15. 21. Rom. 10. 2. 1 Cor. 2. 8. 1 Tim. 1. 13.-e Chap. 13. 19. 614.29.

NOTES-Verse 1. These things have I spoken] Particularly what is mentioned in the two last chapters.

Be offended) Ίνα μη σκανδαλισθητε, that ye should not be stumbled. May not fall away from the faith, nor receive any injury to your souls, as that man does to his body, who stum bles or falls over a stone, or block, in the way, which he has not discovered.

2. They shall put you out of the synagogues] They will excommunicate you, and consider you as execrable, and utterly unworthy to hold any commerce with God by religion, or with man by civil fellowship. See on chap. ix. 22. In these excommunications they were spoiled of all their substance: see Ezra z. 8. and see also Heb. x. 34. and deprived of their character, their influence, and every necessary of life. Though the Jew ish people had the most humane laws, yet they were a most vindictive and cruel people.

That whosoever killeth you, &c.] This Paul found; for more than forty Jews bound themselves under a curse, that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed him; Acts xxiil. 12, 13 and agreeably to this, it is said, in that Tract of the Talmud which is entitled Bammidbar, R. xxi. ad. Num. xxv. 13. "He who sheds the blood of the ungodly, is equal to him who brings an offering to God." What the Zealots did is notorious in history. They butchered any person in cold blood, whom they pretended to believe was an enemy to God, to the law, or to Moses; and thought they were fulfilling the will of God by

5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?

6 But because I have said these things unto you, h sorrow hath filled your heart.

7 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 k if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;

f See Matt. 9. 15-g Verse 10, 16. Ch. 7. 33, & 13, 3. & 14. 28.—h Verse 22. Ch. 14. 1.-i Ch. 7. 39. & 14. 16, 26. & 15. 26.-k Acts 2. 33. Eph. 4. 8.-1 Or, convince.m Acts 2. 22-37.

these human sacrifices. We had the same kind of sacrifices here in the time of our Popish Queen Mary.

3. Because they have not known the Father] See on chap. xv. 25. Ignorance of the benevolence of GOD, and of the phi lanthropy of CHRIST, is the grand fountain whence all religious persecution and intolerance proceed.

4. At the beginning] I would not trouble you by speaking of these things pointedly at first, when I chose you to be my disciples; but have referred them to the present time, lest you should be discouraged: and now only declare them because it is absolutely necessary that you should be put upon your guard.

5. None of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?] In chap. xiii. 36. Peter had asked, Lord, whither goest thou? and Thomas, much the same in chap. xiv. 5. both of whom had received an answer. But now, at the time when Jesus was speaking this, none of them asked this question, because their hearts were filled with sorrow; ver. 6.

7. It is expedient-that I go away] In other places he had shown them the absolute necessity of his death for the salvation of men: see Matt. xx. 19. xxvi. 2. Mark ix. 31. x. 33. Luke ix. 44. xviii. 32. This he does not repeat here, but shows them, that, by the order of God, the Holy Spirit cannot come to them, nor to the world, unless he first die: and consequently men cannot be saved but in this way.

8. He will reprove] Eλeytet, he will demonstrate these mat. tera so clearly as to leave no doubt on the minds of those who

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10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see

me no more;

11 P Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

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13 Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.

14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. 15

All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said 1, that he shall take of mine, and show it unto you.

16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again a lit. tle while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. 17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see n Acts 2. 3-0 Ch. 31 4, & 5. 32-p Acts 26, 18,- Luke 10. 18. Chap 12. 31. Eph. 2. 2. Col. 2 15. Heb 2. 14.- Mark 4. 33. 1 Cor. 3. 2. Heb. 5. 12-8 Ch. 14. 17 & 15. 26.- Ch.14.26. 1 John 2. 20, 7.

are simple of heart; and so fully, as to confound and shut the mouths of those who are gainsayers. See Acts ii. 1, &c. The world] The Jewish nation first, and afterward the Gentile world; for his influences shall not be confined to one pcople, place, or time.

9. Of sin] Of the sin of the Jews in not receiving me as the Messiah, though my mission was accredited by the very mira. cles which the prophets foretold: see Isa. xxxv. 3-6. This was literally fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit was given; for multitudes of Jews were then convinced of this sin, and converted to God: see Acts ii. 37.

If we take this prediction of our Lord in a more general sense, then we may consider that it is one of the grand offices of the Holy Spirit to convince of sin; to show men what sin is; to demonstrate to them that they are sinners, and to show the necessity of an atonement for sin: and in this sense the phrase repi apaprias, may be understood; and in this sense it is used in multitudes of places in the Septuagint: but the words because they believe not in me, restrict the meaning | particularly to the sin of the Jews in rejecting Christ as the

Messiah.

10. Of righteousness] Of my innocence and holiness, because I go away to my Father; of which, my resurrection from the dead, and my ascension to heaven, shall be complete proofs. Christ was treated by the Jews as an impostor, as a magician, as one possessed by the devil; as a wicked person, seducer, and destroyer of the law. His vindication from these charges he chiefly referred to the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, who, by his influences on the minds of the people, and by his eloquence and energy in the ministry of the apostles, convinced both the Jews and the Gentiles that the sentence of the Jewish rulers was unjust and infamans; and that the very person whom they had crucified, was both Lord and Christ-Lod, the great Governor of the universe; and Christ, the Lord's anointed, the promised Messiah. It was a matter of the utmost consequence to the Christian cause, to have the innocence and holiness of its founder demonstrated; and the crime of the Jews in putting him to death, made manifest to the world. This also has been literally fulfilled: the universe that has heard of him, believes the righteousness and innocence of Jesus; and the Jews, his persecutors, are confounded and execrated throughout the habitable globe.

11. Of judgment] Of the false judgment of the Jews in con, demning the Lord Jesus, who, some think, is intended here by the ruler of this world: see chap. xiv. 30. Others think that Satan is meant, whose usurped power over the world, was now to be greatly restrained, and by and by totally destroyed: see chap. xii. 31. Col. ii. 15. Rev. xi. 15. xii. 10, 11. Perhaps our Lord's meaning is, that, as a most astonishing judgment, or punishment, was now about to fall upon the Jews, in consequence of their obstinate infidelity; the Holy Ghost, by the ministry of the apostles, should demonstrate that this judgment, severe as it might seem, was amply merited by this worst of all people: and may we not say, that their continuance in the same crime, sufficiently vindicates the judgment of God, not only in its being poured out upon them at first, but in continuing to pursue them. It is necessary to observe, that it was one office of the Spirit to convince of a judgment to come: and this he did particularly by the apostles, in declaring that God had appointed a day in which he would judge the world, by him whom he had appointed for that purpose: Acts xvii. 31. And we find that while Peter was asserting this doctrine at Cæsarea, Acts x. 42. the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Jews and the Gentiles which were present, ver. 44, &c. and many were converted unto the Lord.

One general exposition may be given of these three verses. The Holy Spirit will convince the world of sin committed, and guilt and condemnation thereby incurred. Of righteous ness of the necessity of being pardoned, and made righteous through the blood of the Lamb, who, after being offered up for sin, went to the Father, ever to appear in his presence as our intercessor and of judgment-of the great day thereof, when none shall be able to stand but those whose sins are pardoned, and whose souls are made righteous. In all that our Lord says here, there seems to be an allusion to the office of an advocate in a cause in a court of justice; who, by producing witnesses,

death and resurrection

me and again a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?

18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.

19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me and again a little while, and ye shall see me?

20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and la ment, but the world shall rejoice and ye shall be sorrowfu!, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.

21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and " your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

u Matt. 11. 27. Ch. 3, 35. & 13. 3. & 17.10.- Verse 10. 19.-w Verse 2. Ch. 13. 3.-x Isa. 26. 17.-y Verse 6.1, 27. & 20, 2). Acts 2, 46, & 13. f. 1 Pet. 4. 8.

Ch.7. 33. & 13.33 & 14. Luke 24. 41, 52 Ch.14,

and pleading upon the proof, convicts the opposite party of sin, demonstrates the righteousness of his client, and shows the necessity of passing judgment upon the accuser.

The faith of the Gospel discovers unto us three different states of man: it shows him, 1st. Under sin, in which there is nothing but infidelity towards God, because there is no faith in Jesus Christ.

2. Under grace, in which sin is pardoned, and righteousness acquired by faith in Christ: who is gone to the Father to carry on, by his intercession, the great work of redemption. 3. In the peace and glory of heaven, where Christ will reign with his members; the devil, with his angels and servants, being banished into hell by the last judgment. Thus, in the Christian revelation, we are made acquainted with three grand truths, which contain the sum and substance of all true religion. The first is, the general corruption of human nature, and the reign of sin till the coming of Christ. The second is, the reparation of our nature by the Lord Jesus, and the reign of righteousness, by his grace: Rom. v. 21. The third is, the condemnation of sinners, and the total destruction of the kingdom of sin, and of all the power of the devil, by the last judgment.

12. Ye cannot hear them now.] In illustration of these thres points, Christ had many things to say; but he found that his disciples would only bear general truths; yet in saying what he did, he sowed the seeds of the whole system of theological knowledge, and heavenly wisdom, which the Holy Spirit of this truth afterward watered and ripened into a glorious har rest of light and salvation, by the ministry of the apostles Dr. Lightfoot supposes that the things which the apostles could not bear now, were such as these: 1. The institution of the Christian Sabbath, and the abolition of the Jewish. 2. The rejection of the whole Jewish nation, at the very time in which they expected to be set up and established for ever. 3. The entire change of the whole Mosaic dispensation, and the bringing the Gentiles into the church of God.

13. He will guide you] He will consider your feeble infant state; and as a father leads his child by the hand, so will the Holy Spirit lead and guide you. The Vulgate, and some copics of the Itala, read, he will TEACH you all truth; but this, and more, is implied in the word oonynocɩ, he will lead; be sides, this reading is not acknowledged by any Greek MS. He shall not speak of himself] He shall teach nothing contrary to what I have taught you.

But whatsoever he shall hear] Of the Father and me, that he shall speak: and thus show the intimate consent between himself, the Father, and Christ. It is one conjoint testimony, in which the honour and glory of the Holy Trinity, and man's salvation, are equally concerned.

And he will show you things to come.] He will fully explain every thing that may now appear dark or difficult to you; will give you such a knowledge of futurity, as shall, in all necessary cases, enable you to foretell future events; and shall supply every requisite truth, in order to make the new cove nant revelation complete and perfect.

15. All things that the Father hath are mine] If Christ had not been equal to God, could he have said this without blasphemy? And shall show it unto you.] As Christ is represented the ambassador of the Father; so the Holy Spirit is represented the ambassador of the Son: coming vested with his authority, as the interpreter, and executor of his will.

16. A little while) He had but a few hours to live. And ye shall not see me] I shall be hidden from your view in the grave.

Again a little while] In three days after my death: Ye shall see me] I will rise again, and show myself to you. Or, as I am going, by my ascension, to the Father, in a short time, ye shall see me personally no more; but in a little while I shall pour out my Spirit upon you, and others, through your ministry; and ye shall see me virtually in the great and wonderful work which shall then take place in the hearts and lives of men. This may also refer to his coming again to destroy the Jewish state; and also to judge the world: but how can this latter be said to be in a little while? Because a thousand years are but as a day in the sight of God: Psa. xc. 4.

18. What is this that he saith] They knew from what he

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