V. 16.-God so loved the world, that he gave (saith St. John) his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 19. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light.

JOB, Ch. xxiv. V. 15.-The eye of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me, and disguiseth his face. 16. In the dark they dig through houses. 17. The morning is to them even as the shadow of death; if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.

ISA. Ch. lvii. V. 21.-There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

It seems that in all ages of the world the characteristic of crime is to love darkness. The writer of Job declares it-the prophet Isaiah repeats it-and St. John confirms the statement. In these days the fact is spiritually proved, for the wicked still love the obscure, entangled falsehoods of the scribes and pharisees of all ages and nations, in preference to the clear truths of the Sun of Righteousness.

V. 28.-Ye yourselves bear me witness that I said I am not the CHRIST, but that I am sent before him.

The clear, open candour of St. John is in perfect unison with his mission, which was to prepare the way for the GOD of truth.

V. 36. 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.

HAB. Ch. ii. V. 2.—Jehovah answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, it shall not lie. 4. But the just shall live by his faith.

What is the faith which both the Prophet and the Evangelist lay so great stress upon? He, with his usual clearness, tells us, it is the belief in the SONthat belief which his Gospel so strenuously inculcates, viz., That CHRIST, the Son of man, is the EMMANUEL, by whose mediation alone we can hope to attain everlasting life.

CHAP. IV.

V. 10.-JESUS answered, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith, Give me drink, thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

JER. Ch. ii. V. 13.-For my people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Let us apply this gracious reply of our Saviour to ourselves, that we may heartily implore him to bestow upon us the gift of his grace to enable us to drink of the living waters he so mercifully offers us.

V. 21. JESUS saith, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father.

MAL. Ch. i. V. 11.-For, from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering, for my name shall be great among the Gentiles, saith JEHOVAH.

That this prophecy of our Saviour has been awfully fulfilled, we may all bear witness, for we know that the Jews are dispersed all over the earth, and that they have no abiding place in Jerusalem, and that GOD and CHRIST are worshipped among the Gentiles.

CHAP. V.

V. 17.-JESUS answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. 18. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with GOD.

LEVIT. Ch. xxiv. V. 16.--And he that blasphemeth the name of JEHOVAH shall surely be put to death.

Surely the Jews understood the purport of their own phraseology, and if so, our SAVIOUR upon this occasion asserted his divinity, for he uses the very words which they declare to mean “ Equality with GOD." Thus, likewise, they understood the term Son of GOD, and, as says Jones of Nayland, "The whole context proves that the Jews understood him to mean, not unity of will, but unity of nature." This is evident, for they sought to kill him on the charge of blasphemy, and when he repelled the charge by appealing to their own law, they were the more irritated.

V. 25.-JESUS saith, 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. 26. For, as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself. 27. And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of Man.

DAN. Ch. vii. V. 13.—And behold, One like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14. And there was given 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 his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

The last paragraph of the above quotation teaches us clearly that CHRIST's kingdom is a spiritual one;

and it is generally found that the explanation of a metaphor is given at the close of the paragraph that contains it. CHRIST CHRIST says, "That to the Son is given to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man," which phrase is declared to mean "Equality with GOD" by the Jews themselves; and thus we find that JESUS CHRIST teaches the solemn truth, that he is the TRUE GOD.

V. 29. Then shall come forth they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation.

DAN. Ch. xii. V. 2.-Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

We are so often and distinctly told in the Scriptures on what condition we are to obtain everlasting life, that no one can plead ignorance.

CHAP. V.

V. 39. Search the Scriptures (saith our SAVIOUR), for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me.

All the commands of our merciful SAVIOUR tend not only to our edification, but also to our happiness. Ask those who have searched the Scriptures with pious and honest minds, whether the delight does not increase with the research, and whether the beautiful and sublime truths that are always unfolding themselves to their view, do not afford exhaustless satisfaction.

CHAP. VII.

V. 17.-JESUS saith, If any man will do God's will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

This concise decision of our SAVIOUR is adapted to the understanding of all people, and it is daily verified by the learned and the unlearned. Did his holy religion enjoin no self-examination and no self-condemnation, it would have fewer opponents. Good and pious minds find it so perfectly consonant to their wants and desires, that its truths and its injunctions convey to them irresistible conviction.

V. 37. 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.

ISA. Ch. lv. V. 1.-JEHOVAH saith, Ho! every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat. Yea, come ye, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

The same merciful invitation is given to us by JEHOVAH and CHRIST; no one can read the two parallel passages, and not perceive the identity of the two Divine Persons.

V. 38. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive.

ISA. Ch. xliv. V. 3.-For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground; I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessings upon thine offspring (saith JEHOVAH.)

How beautifully does St. John, as well as Isaiah, explain the real signification of the metaphors which they use !