(X) Ver. 12-27. The great Law of Christianity-Farther promises respecting the Holy Spirit." These things I command you (says our Saviour), that ye love one another;" on which passage we offer two brief femarks-the authority enjoining, and the nature of the command. 1. "I command you," says the Saviour: angels and prophets spake "in the name of the Lord;" and nothing like this, in matters of religion, occurs, except when God himself speaks, in all the Old Testament. And not only does Christ command in his own name, but delegates to apostles and evangelists to act and to command in his name, from whom all their authority was derived. Does not this place the authority of Christ above both men and angels? Is it not assuming the style of Deity?

2. The command is also worthy of the authority-a precept the most unexceptionable that heaven ever gave. This, in another place (chap. xiii. 34.), our Lord calls a new commandment; not that it was absolutely so, for love to God and man, we have seen, was the substance of the ten commands. But, 1. It was a neglected command. Doddridge remarks (from Raphelius), that Xenophon calls the laws of Lycurgus very new laws, several ages after they were made; because, though widely known, they had been little acted upon. So the Scribes and Pharisees had, by their traditions, in great measure made void this first and great command. 2. It was a renewed law: our Lord had largely explained, and amply illustrated it, in his Sermon on the Mount, and on other occa

:

Our Lord then places his attachment to his disciples in another point of view it was not only compassion, but it was friendship. He had treated his disciples, and particularly the apostles, as friends, to whom he had communicated his mind freely and fully, and not with that reserve which men exercise toward their slaves or servants. "All things which I have heard from my Father I have declared to you." He had recently opened to them the mystery of his sufferings and death, and the glory which should follow, both to him and them. He admonishes them, also, that they were indebted to his grace and favour for all the privileges which they enjoyed. They had not chosen him for a Master or a Saviour; but he had chosen them for disciples, and ordained them to bring forth much fruit, and that in continuance, to the divine glory. He prepares them, however, for the hatred of the world, and for the persecution which would necessarily arise out of it; reminding them that he had sustained and conquered both. The world had hated both him and the Father, which implies not only the absence of love (as the expression is sometimes used), but an enmity of heart against those truths and duties which the gospel enjoined upon them. They shut their eyes that they

CHAP. XVI. Ver. 1. Not be offended.-Camp. "ensnared." Literally, "scandalized;" i. e. that persecution should not, by coming unexpectedly, prove a stumbling-block to their faith.

Ver. 2. They shall put you out of.-Camp. " expel you from." This refers to Jewish excommunication. Whosoever killeth you.-The highest degree of

excommunication included a forfeiture both of property and life.--Will think he doeth God service. Doddr." Will think he offereth [acceptable] service to God." Camp." Offereth sacrifice to God." This explains Rom. viii. 36: "For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."

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, 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 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;

[the Holy Spirit.

9 Of sin, because they believe not

on me;

10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no

more;

11 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.

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 shew you things to come.

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

15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said that he shall take of mine, and shew it unto you. (Y)

might not see the former, and they hardened their hearts that they might not feel

the latter.

CHAP. XVI.

(Y) Ver. 1-15. The office of the Holy Ghost-the Comforter.-Our Lord, in the beginning of this chapter, repeats the warning which he had previously given to his apostles against persecution from the world, with this addition: "Yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." A remarkable instance of this occurs in the case of Paul, who, before his conversion, "verily thought"-that is, conscientiously, that he "ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth," whose disciples he persecuted to prison and to death. (Acts xxvi. 9, 10.) And we doubt not but other Jewish persecutors might be equally conscientious. And, even in more modern times, we are persuaded that

many persecutors in the Romish Church thought that they were doing God service when burning his saints under the name of heretics. But it is to be observed that Paul never urges this in apology for his conduct on the contrary, though one of the most successful and accomplished of the Apostles, he never thought himself worthy of the name, because he had per secuted the Church of God. (1 Cor. xv. 9.) Ignorauce, arising from depravity, is no excuse for sin.

The predicted sufferings of their Lord, and the persecutions they were warned to expect, having filled their hearts with sorrow, the apostles seem to have sunk into silent grief, asking uo farther questions: our Lord, however, recalis their attention to the mission of the Great Comforter whom he had promised to send, but who, according to the economy of redemption, and the tenor of prophecy, could not come till after his death and resurrection. "It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I

Ver. 8. He will reprove.-Doddr. and Camp. "Convince." So it often signifies.

Ver. 12. I have yet many things to say-that is, 'much farther instruction to vive; but as you are not yet prepared to receive it, the Holy Spirit shall be given to struct you after my resurrection.

Ver. 13. When Ile, the Spirit of Truth.-The pious Mr. Hervey long since remarked the strong

evidence which this passage affords to the personality of the Holy Spirit; for though the Greek word for Spirit (pneuma) is neuter, all the pronouns are masculine-He, himself, &c, which he thinks can only be accounted for by the personality of the Holy Spi rit. Letters, No. 21. See also Dr. Smith's Messiah, vol. ii. p. 748, where the argument is ably justified.

16 ¶ A little while, and ye shall not see me and again, a little 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 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 enquire 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 shall weep and lament, but

ye

XVI. the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.

[disciples for a time only.

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.

23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it

go not away the comforter will not come ; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.' Our Lord then goes on to explain more particularly the office of the Holy Spirit in the conversion of the world. "He will reprove,' or, more properly, convince the world (1) of sin-and especially of unbelief, because they rejected the Messiah and Saviour of the world: (2) Of righteousness-that is, of Christ's personal innocence and purity; "because (says he) I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;" intimating that, were he the least defiled with sin, the Father would not accept the sacrifice he offered, nor receive him into glory. (3) Of judgment-i. e. of the divine judgment already inflicted upon Satan, the prince of this world, and soon after to fall upon a guilty nation, who have been led by him into the deepest of all crimes. (See Expos. of ch. xii. 31, p. 320.)

The Holy Spirit is then spoken of as their Guide into "all the truth"-that is, evangelical or divine truth; for this promise hath no reference to other truths, whether natural or scientific. But he endowed them with the spirit of prophecy; and revealed to them the character, the offices, and work of the Saviour, and thus promoted his glory; it being, as the Scriptures assure us, a constant object with the divine persons to promote each others' glory: the Father glorifies the Son, the Son the Father, and the Holy Spirit both.

When our Lord subjoins, "All things that the Father hath are mine," it implies

an assumption of the divine perfections utterly unjustifiable in a mere creature; but it has here reference more particularly to the great scheme of human redemption, revealed by the Father to the Son, by both to the Holy Ghost, and by him to the apostles and first preachers, and through their means to all succeeding ages.

But the sanctifying and consoling influences of the Holy Spirit must not be confined to the first preachers only, nor to the apostolic age. The learned Calvin remarks on this passage: "He [the Holy Spirit] shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you;" that the words imply, that we may receive the Spirit to this end, that we may enjoy the benefits of Christ. And what does the Spirit confer on us? To be washed in the blood of Christ; to have sin removed and abolished in us by his death and passion; to have our old man crucified; and to experience the power of his resurrection, by causing us to walk in newness of life; in short, to be made partakers of all his blessings. The Spirit then bestows nothing on us that was not in Jesus Christ, of whom he receives it to give to us. In the same manner we ought to think of the doctrine; for he does not enlighten us with the view of leading us the least astray from the Son of God; but he displays and opens to as the treasures which are hid in JesusChrist. In short, the Holy Ghost bestows on us no other riches than those of Jesus, to the end that he may manifest the glory of Christ, and magnify it in all and by all."

25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.

26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:

27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.

28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.

29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.

[in Christ's name.

30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.

31 Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe?

32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that 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.

33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (Z)

(Z) Ver. 16-33. Christ farther discourses of his death and resurrection, and of the trials awaiting his Apostles.-In our last section we ventured to affirm (as, indeed, we have often done before) that the gift of the Holy Spirit was by no means confined to apostolic times, but is, and was intended to be continued, so long as Christ shall have a church on earth. We now resume this most important topic, in order to show, by a brief quotation, that this was most decidedly and explicitly the doctrine of the Reformers of the Church of England, to prove which we shall quote one of the Homilies which they published, and ordered to be read in the Established Church:

"Our Saviour Christ, departing out of the world unto his Father, promised his disciples to send down another Comforter, that should continue with them for ever, and direct them into all truth; which thing to be faithfully and truly performed, the Scriptures do sufficiently bear witness. Neither must we think that this Comforter was either promised, or else given, only to

the Apostles, but also to the universal Church of Christ, dispersed through the whole world. For unless the Holy Ghost had been always present, governing and preserving the church from the beginning. it could never have sustained so many and great brunts of affliction and persecution, with so little damage and harin as it hath. And the words of Christ are most plain in this behalf, saying, that the Spirit of Truth should abide with them for ever; that he would be with them always (he meaneth by grace, virtue, and power), even to the world's end.'

"Also in the prayer that he made to his Father, a little before his death, he maketh intercession, not only for himself and bis apostles, but indifferently for all them that should believe in him through their words, that is to wit, for his whole church. And again, St. Paul saith, 'If any man have not the spirit of Christ, the same is not his.' Also, in the words following: We have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.' Hereby, then, it is evident and plain to all men,

Ver. 25. In proverbs-(Twice). Marg. "Parables." So Doddr. Though this is not the same word usually rendered parables, it is sometimes used as synonimous with it, for the eastern proverbs are often highly figurative and enigmatical. See Note on Matt xiii. 3.

Ver. 29. No proverb.-Marg, "Parable," as in

Jesus prays]

CHAP. XVII.

THESE words spake Jesus, and

lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast

sent.

4 I have glorified thee on the earth:

[for himself,

I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.

8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and

that the Holy Ghost was given, not only to the Apostles, but also to the whole body of Christ's congregation, although not in like form and majesty as he came down at the feast of Pentecost." (Homily for WhitSunday, Part 11.)

In the following words our Lord expresses himself somewhat enigmatically: "A little while and ye shall not see me.' The meaning of which we take to be, that for a little while he should be taken from their view by death, but soon return; and then they should see him again, after his resurrection: but this also would be only for a little while, because he must go to the Father, and they should see him ascend. This is called a Proverb, but (as remarked in our note) more properly a parable, or enigma, which our Lord, finding their minds thus perplexed, elucidates by another. He compares their situation, during the time of his death, to that of a woman in travail, full of anxiety and pain till she is delivered, and then filled with a reverse of joy and transport, which must undoubtedly have been the case, when they beheld their risen Saviour, and saw him ascend to glory. "And in that day ye shall ask me nothing;" that is, after our Lord's resurrection and ascent to glory, they should need to make no more personal inquiries; and so it was: for in a few days afterwards, the miraculous influences of the Holy Spirit were poured down in such a wonderful manner,

as to furnish them with all the wisdom and knowledge requisite to their important office.

Previously to this conversation, our Lord had instructed his disciples to offer their petitions to the almighty Father in his name; but it should seem that they had done, as we too often do, neglected to use their privilege; for "hitherto they had asked" little or 66 nothing" in that name. He therefore now encourages them thus to ask, by assuring them (if we rightly understand the 26th verse) to this effect; that the Father would be so well pleased to receive their petitions in his Son's name, as a proof of their attachment to bim, that (if of a proper nature) he would immediately grant them, without any particular application from him to second it. "For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me." Having said these things for their encouragement, he concludes with telling them "In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." "Yes: the promis'd tribulation,

Saviour, in the world we find; Find the pledge of pure salvation In a patient, cheerful mind. "We on all our foes shall trample, Sharers of thy victory; Followers of thy great example, Conqueror of the world through thee." C. Wesley,

CHAP. XVII. Ver. 2. To as many as.-Doddr. and Camp. "To all that."

Ver.3. The only true God,-On this verse, see

Dr. Smith's Messiah, vol. ii. p. 294-301.

Ver. 4. I have finished-i. e. I am upon the point of finishing. See chap. xix. 30.