heaven; and less than this will not dispose us to such glories, which, being the portion of saints and angels, and the nearest communications with God, are infinitely above what we see, or hear, or understand.—TAYLOR. It will be found true, that where there is no obedience, there is no right knowledge of Christ: but, out of all question, where there is not a competency of knowledge, there can be no obedience; and as these two lodge together, so observe what attends them both; 2 Thess. i. 8, "He shall come in flaming fire, to render vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." that God should Christ." And if there be any that think to shroud unpunished amongst the thickets of ignorance, especially amidst the means of knowledge, take notice of this, though it may hide the deformity of sin from your own sight for a time, it cannot palliate it from the piercing eye, nor cover it from the revenging hand of Divine justice. As you would escape then that wrath to come, come to wisdom's school, and how simple soever ye be as to this world, if you would not perish with the world, learn to be wise unto salvation.-LEIGHTON. in revelations and holy precepts, and, upon the stock of his Father's greatness, having demonstrated great power in miracles, and these being instanced in acts of mercy, he mingled the glories of heaven, to transmit them to earth, to raise us up to the participations of heaven; he was pleased, by healing the bodies of infirm persons, to invite their spirits to his discipline, and by his power to convey healing, and by that mercy, to lead us into the treasures of revelation; that both bodies and souls, our wills and understandings, by Divine instruments, might be brought to Divine perfections in the participations of a Divine nature. It was It was a miraculous mercy that God should look upon us in our blood, and a miraculous condescension that his Son should take our nature, and even this favour we could not believe without many miracles; and so contrary was our condition to all possibilities of happiness, that if salvation had not marched to us all the way in miracle, we had perished in the ruins of a sad eternity. And now it would be but reasonable, that, since God, for our sakes, hath rescinded so many laws of natural establishment, we also, for his, and for our own, would be content to do violence to those natural inclinations, which are also criminal when they derive into action. Every man living in the state of grace is a perpetual miracle, as his passions are made reasonable, as his reason is turned to faith, and his soul to spirit, and his body to a temple, and earth to 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.-See Commentary on Chap. IV. ver. 14, in § CCXL. 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. -By all which hath been spoken of the mission of the Spirit in great abundance, after Christ's sitting at the right hand of God, we should learn with what affections to receive the Gospel of salvation, for the teaching whereof the Holy Spirit was shed abroad abundantly on the ambassadors of Christ; and with what heavenly conversations to express the power which our hearts have felt therein, to walk as children of the light, and as becometh the gospel of Christ; to adorn our high profession and not to receive the grace of God in vain. Consider that the word thus quickened will have an operation, either to convince unto righteousness, or to seal unto condemnation; as the sun, either to melt, or to harden; as the rain, either to ripen corn or weeds; as the sceptre of a king, either to rule subjects or to subdue enemies; as the fire of a goldsmith, either to fine gold, or to devour dross! as the waters of the sanctuary, either to heal places, or to turn them into salt-pits, Ezek. xlvii. 11. Consider, according to the proportion of the Spirit of Christ, in his word revealed, shall be the proportion of their judgment who despise it. The contempt of a great salvation, and glorious ministry, shall bring a sorer condemnation, Heb. ii. 2-4. Sins against the light of nature are no sins in comparison of those against the gospel. The earth which drinketh in the rain that falls oft upon it, and yet beareth nothing but thorns and briars, JESUS went unto the mount of Olives. 2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. 3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, 4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. 8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. 9 And they which heard it, "being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 12 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. 13 The Pharisees therefore said unto him, "Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. 14 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. that sent me beareth witness of "I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. me. 19 Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, "Ye neither know me, nor my Father: "if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also. 20 These words spake Jesus in 'the treasury, as he taught in the temple and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come. 21 Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and 'ye shall seek me, and "shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come. 22 Then said the Jews, Will a Lev. xx. 10. Deut. xxii. 22.-6 Deut. xvii. 7. Rom. he kill himself? because he saith, ii. 1- Rom. ii. 22.-d Luke ix. 56; & xii. 14. ch. Whither I go, ye cannot come. iii. 17-e ch. v. 14.- ch. i. 4, 5, 9; & iii. 19; & ix. 5; & xii. 35, 36, 46.-g ch. v. 31.- See ch. vii. 28; & x. 29.-i ch. vii. 24.-k ch. iii. 17; & xii. 47: & xviii. 36.- ver. 29. ch. xvi. 32.-m Deut. xvii. 6; & xix. 23 And he said unto them, 15 Mat. xviil. 16. 2 Cor. xiii. 1. Heb. x. 28.-n ch. 2 'Ye are from beneath; I am from above: "ye are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 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. 25 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge of you: but 'he that sent me is true; and v. 37.-o ver. 55. ch. xvi. 3.-p ch. xiv. 7-9 Mark xii. 41.-r ch. vii. 30.8 ch. vii. 8.- ch. vii. 34;&xiii. 33.-u ver. 24 ch. iii. 31.-y ch. xv. 19; & xvii. 16. 1 John iv. 5.-z ver. 21.-a Mark xvi. 16.-b ch. vii. 28.-c ch. i. 32; & xv. 15.- ch. iii. 14; & xii. 32.-e Rom. i. 4.-f ch. v. 19, 30.-g ch. iii. 11.- ch. xiv. 10, 11. ver. 16.-k ch. iv. 34; & v. 30; & vi. 38.1 ch. vii. 31; & x. 42; & xi. 45. READER.-When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, no man, Lord.-O wonderful power of conscience! Man can no more stand out against it, than it can stand out against God. The Almighty, whose substitute is set in our bosom, sets it on work to accuse. It is no denying, when that says we are guilty; when that condemns us, in vain are we acquitted by the world. crites With what bravery did these hypocome to set upon Christ! With what triumph did they insult upon that guilty soul! Now they are thunderstruck with their own conscience, and drop away confounded; and well is he that can run away farthest from his own shame. No wicked man needs to seek out of himself for a judge, accuser, witness, tormentor. There yet stands the mournful adulteress. She might have gone forth with them, nobody constrained her stay; but that which sent them away staid her, conscience. She knew her guiltiness was publicly accused, and durst not be by herself denied as one that was therefore fastened there by her own guilty heart, she stirs not till she may receive a dismission. Could she be in a safer place than before the tribunal of a Saviour? Might she have chosen her refuge, whither should she have fled? O happy we, if, when we are convinced in ourselves of our sins, we can set ourselves before that judge who is our Surety, our Advocate, our Redeemer, our Ransom, our Peace! HALL. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. -O Son of God, though thou wouldst not then be a judge, yet thou wilt once be: thou wouldst not in thy first coming judge the sins of men; thou wilt come to judge them in thy second. The time will come when, upon that just and glorious tribunal, thou shalt judge every man according to his works. That we may not one day hear thee say, "Go, ye cursed," let us now hear thee say, "Go, and sin no more."—HALL. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world.The sun, we know, is the fountain of all the lights that we have upon earth, without which we could see nothing, not so much as the way that is before us, but should always be groping and stumbling in the dark; whereas by it we can discern every thing that is about us, or at any distance from us, as far as our sight can reach. In which respect our blessed Lord is the Sun indeed; "the light of the world," "the true light that lighteth every one that cometh into the world," Heb. i. 9, "a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel," Luke ii. 32, “a marvellous light," 1 Peter ii. 9, whereby we can see things that are not visible to the eye as plainly as we do those that are. For this "day spring from on high," this Sun of righteousness, hath visited us, "to give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace," Luke i. 78, 79; to show us the invisible things of God and direct us to all things belonging to our everlasting peace and happiness. He hath made them all clear and manifest to us in his gospel: "but whatsoever maketh manifest is light," Eph. v. 13; wherefore he is said to have "brought life and immortality to light through the gospel," 2 Tim. i. 10, because he hath there so clearly revealed them to us, that |