Jesus was preferred to John, infinite degrees, in dignity, and glory. It is a blessed thing to have this witness in ourselves, and cry joyfully, this is He.

16. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

Whatever we are, or have, is from his fulness; it is not

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our own, we have received it. And grace for grace." That is, grace upon grace, grace of all kinds; the grace of remission, the grace of holiness, the grace of eternal acceptance with God. Can this be our own work, or merit ?

17. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

The law had no grace in it, but death and a curse for every transgression; the law was only a shadow of good things to come. But all grace needed by sinful man, and the full performance of God's truth in all his promises, came by Jesus Christ.

18. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

And therefore all other knowledge of him is false, or insignificant. We could as soon make a world, as know him of ourselves; but if we cleave to Christ's knowledge of God, it is the same as if we had it from our own sight.

19. And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

20. And he confessed, and denied not: but confessed, I am not the Christ.

21. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

They expected that Elias himself would come in person before Christ, according to Malachi iv. 5: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." John said, he was not Elias in this sense, though in another he was, as coming

in the spirit and power of Elias. The Scripture is all for life and power; and without this, Elias, if he had come himself, would have done them no good. John is asked if he was the prophet spoken of by Moses, in the book of Deuteronomy xviii. 15-18.

22. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

If this question were put to us, one by one, what should we say? Are we Christians, and children of God, by repentance, faith, and conversion, or not?

23. He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

How long

We have heard who Christ is, even the Lord God, and that our life and salvation come with him. shall we not prepare?

24. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

25. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

They intimated by this question that he took too much upon himself. In answer to which he tells them, that his baptism, of itself, could do them but little good, and was for a farther end, namely, in order to Christ, whose unworthy servant he was, and who alone had power to help them.

26. John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not:

Can this be said of us? us, is Christ preached to know him?

Have we the Scriptures before

us continually, and do we not

27. It is he, who, coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose

SECTION IV.

Chap. i. ver. 28-37.

THE TESTIMONY OF JOHN.

28. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!

The lamb appointed, and accepted of God, and of whom the daily sacrifice, and paschal-lamb, were only figures, or prophecies. "Which taketh away the sin of the world:" ours, and the sin of every man born into the world. This one saying of Scripture is worth the whole world. And the meaning is, that if our sin is not thus taken away, it will remain in full force against us for ever. Behold, therefore, the Lamb of God, taking up the sin of all, and bearing the heavy load of it in his own body; but let us remember that nothing but a sense of our guilt can induce us to turn our eyes to Christ. So long as we have one excuse for ourselves, we shall never look to the Lamb of God. Earnest longing, and humble looking, do all. Who can fathom the depth of this expression, or say how far the virtue of this sacrifice extends ?

30. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.

31. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

32. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

33. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

John says that he did not know him, as the Christ, the Son of God, ver. 34. It may seem strange that John should never have known Christ, as such, before his baptism, considering what is related in Luke i. Doubtless, there was an over-ruling providence in it, that his testimony might have the greater weight, by being given him at the instant, from above. "The same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost:" verily, no other baptism, without this, will profit us; and we are plainly told that this is one great end of our being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Acts ii. 38.

34. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

And nothing less can be all we want, to deliver us from sin, and to bring us to God. What has he done, what do we desire he should do for us, and to what end do we believe in him as the Son of God?

35. Again the next day after, John stood, and two of his disciples;

36. And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

This is the third time of John's bearing witness to Jesus, and the second time of his bearing witness to him as "the Lamb of God." Let not this be repeated to us in vain. Let us remember the sin of the world, and that it can be forgiven in no other way. Whenever we feel sin as a burden, to hear that God has appointed such a way for the pardon of it, will be joyful news to us.

37. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

They heard John with effect, they believed. We hear in this gospel John's preaching; what do we resolve on? Are we resolved to follow Jesus without delay, as they did, or not? All is told us for this end. Let us pray, pray sincerely, for the feeling heart, and then we shall have the hearing ear. Let us follow Jesus; where else shall we have one happy moment?

John, by his baptizing, preaching, and manner of life, had drawn the eyes of all upon him; and the Jews therefore, who expected the coming of the Messiah about that time, sent some of the Pharisees, who were persons of note and authority, as messengers, to inquire into his character and pretensions. In answer to which John tells them what he was, and particularly that he was not the Christ; but his messenger, forerunner, and witness, and the person sent to point him out to others. To Christ then we must go; and happy will it be for us if John the Baptist brings us to him by his testimony, and through his ministry of repentance.

SECTION V.

Chap. i. ver. 38—42.

THE CALLING OF JOHN, ANDREW, AND PETER.

38. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye?

We may hence learn, that the moment we look and turn to Christ, he sees, and turns to us. "What seek ye?" He knew, but would have them speak. He is always pleased to hear us tell our wants. What then does each of us want from him? Till we know this we cannot follow him.

38. They say unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?

This was saying and meaning, a great deal. They owned him as their Master and Teacher, and desired to be with him. We call him Master, and Lord, and yet, alas! too frequently, we do not care how little we learn from him, or have of his company.

39. He saith unto them, Come and see.

They came and saw