[descent from Abraham.

were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but

he sent me.

43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

ye

44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, be

cause there is no truth in him. When

he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

47 He that is of God heareth God's: words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. (C)

Jesus now explains the reason why they cannot enter into his views and principles. They were carnal and worldly men, and acted upon carnal and worldly principles : they "judged according to the flesh." On the other hand, He was of another world; judged and acted on far different principles; and always did and said those things which pleased God his Father.

While delivering this discourse, of which (as, likewise, of all his discourses) we have only an outline, many believed on him, or at least professed to do so, to whom he said, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed:" "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make ye free;" that is, my doctrine, which is from above and is as true as God is true, shall set you at liberty from the lavery of

ignorance and vice-ye " shall be free indeed."

"Oh! still that needful grace impart,
On thee my trembling soul I cast:
Perfect thy work within my heart,

And own my worthless name at last!"

(C) Ver. 33-47. The Jews boast of being Abraham's seed, and therefore free, which Jesus controverts.-We must, for a moment, turn back to the preceding section, and notice the nature of the liberty here spoken of; which is illustrated by showing them the nature of sin, and the misery to which it subjects mankind (ver. 34). "Whosoever committeth sin, is the servant (or slave) of sin." The unbelieving Jews take offence at the offer of spiritual liberty, as if it were a reflection upon their present

Ver. 43. Because ye cannot hear my word.— Doddr. reads the latter clause interrogatively: "Is it because ye cannot hear my word?" But Camp.

thinks the Greek word hear, in this place, means to hear patiently, and renders it, ye cannot bear my words." Comp. ver 47.

Ver. 44. He was a murderer.-Gr. "A killer of men." He brought death into the world."He is a liar, and the father of it-i. e. of lying. So Camp.

Ver. 46. Which of you convinceth me-Camp. "convicteth me"-of sin? i. e. of falsehood, here contrasted with the truth,

48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?

49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.

50 And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.

51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.

[revile Christ.

situation. "We are Abraham's children," say they, and never were in bondage to any man ;" which cannot mean that none of the children of Abraham had ever been in bondage, for they surely could not have forgotten Egypt aud Babylon; but it must refer to themselves, the present generation of Jews, as not in bondage; and even this was hardly true, for, with all their show of freedom, Judea was subject to a Roman governor and his military guard. Our Lord, however, had no reference to political circumstances; His kingdom was "not of this world," and the liberty which he offered them was of a nature purely spiritual -a freedom from the curse of the law, and from the power of sin, to which they were now under a worse subjection than that of Rome.

They call themselves children of Abraham; and our Lord, alluding to his family, remarks that there were slaves therein as well as children; and that the bondwoman and her son, Hagar and Ishmael, were expelled thence, while Isaac, the heir, remained to possess the inheritance: therein intimating that, if they ill-treated the Son

of God, as Ishmael did Isaac, they also should be cast out of God's house, and banished to foreign lands, as indeed proved to be the case.

To understand our Lord's subsequent discourse, we must remember that Ábraham had a twofold posterity-the children of his body, and of his faith. In respect of the former he admits-"I know that ye are Abraham's seed;" but in respect of the latter, he denies their relation to the patriarch: "If we were [truly] Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham;" but ye are the offspring of another father, and his deeds ye do. Ye seek to kill me, because I tell you the truth: Abraham did not thus. Ye therefore are the children, not of Abraham, but of him who was a murderer from the beginning, and an enemy to the truth. "I speak [and do] that which I have seen with my Father [God]; ye, that which ye have seen with yours [Satan]. Hence the contrariety of our conduct and character-hence I seek to enlighten you; and hence ye seek to kill me."

Ver. 48. And hast a devil.-Gr. "Demon;" so ver. 49, 52. Comp. chap. vii. 20, and Note. The word "devil," in the original of ver. 44, is diabolos.

Ver. 51. Shall never see death.-Dr. Camp. admits that this refers to eternal death; but remarks that the ambiguity of the original should be preserved, as it is by our translators, to give a just idea of the dialogue.

Ver. 53. And the prophets are dead-rather, " And the prophets [which are] dead."

Ver. 55. I shall be a liar.-Camp. "I should

speak falsely, like you.”

Ver. 56. Abraham rejoiced-Camp. "longed "-te see my day. Bp. Warburton conceives this passage refers to a prophetic vision which Abraham was favoured with at the time he offered up his son Isaac, and to which St. Paul refers, Heb. xi. 19.

Ver. 57. Thou art not yet fifty years old.-He could not be more than 35 (nor, we think, so much), but his visage was inarred more than any man's (Isa. n. 14), which might well give him the appearance of advanced age,

Christ before]

[Abraham.

59 Then took they up stones to cast at him but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. (D)

(D) Ver. 48-59. Jesus accused of being a demoniac, challenges a higher rank and antiquity than even Abraham.—In the close of the preceding section, Jesus tells the cavilling Jews around him, "He that is of God heareth God's words;" namely, those which I deliver in his name: "Ye therefore hear [them] not, because ye are not of God;" that is, not under divine influence, as he told them before. "No man can come unto me, unless the Father who hath sent me draw him." (Chap. vi. 44.) This is indeed an humbling truth, that salvation is of God alone; and, to proud hearts, the most humbling truths are the most offensive; and hence the Jews again cry out, "Say we not well, that thou art a Samaritan and hast a devil?" (or rather demon.) The most spiteful names they could think of are now called forth. To the former of them he makes no reply; they must know that he was a Jew: to the latter be gives a simple and dignified de nial: "I have not a devil." God is my Father, and I honour him by attributing to him the glory that is his due. Ye dishonour me by such ridiculous and unfounded insinuations. Whatever you may think, I solemnly assure you (ver. 51), "If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death." To see death, and to taste of death (ver.52), appear to be synonimous expressions, meaning to experience it: the only question is-What death is here intended? Certainly not mere mortality, for Abraham was dead, and the prophets were dead, nor did our Lord ever intimate that either himself or his apostles should be exempted from it. But there is a second death, for which the expression is sometimes used (see Rev. ii. 11; xx. 6, 14); and the phrase is evidently equivalent to that which Jesus used to

Martha, the sister of Lazarus (ch. xi. 25, 26); "He that believeth in me shall never die;" and both phrases, literally taken, mean, "shall not die for ever."

"Now (say they) we know that thou hast a devil: Abrahani is dead, and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?" Here our Lord introduces some expressions respecting his pre-existence and divinity, which have been the subject of no little controversy, even to the present time. But instead of offering any observations of our own, we shall present our readers with the following extract from a very superior pen :

"The opponents of Jesus, in their virulent cavils against him, had mentioned Abraham, their national ancestor, a man so signally favoured of God, that his name served as a proverbial example of diguity and honour. They understood our Lord's declarations as involving such assumptions of superiority, that they demanded, "Art thou greater than our father Abraham? Whom makest thou thyself?" With his characteristic calmness he assured them, that Abraham had indeed regarded him as a superior; that, guided by supernatural revelation, the patriarch had really enjoyed such a mental prospect of the time when the Messiah should appear, and of the blessings of his reign, as filled him with pleasure and exultation! "Your father Abraham earnestly desired that he might see my day; and he did see it and rejoiced." This turned the conversation. The Jews, not understanding, or affecting not to understand, that Jesus spake of an anticipative vision, exclaimed, "Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abrabam?" Now, therefore, the question was brought to the single point of co-ex

Ver. 58. Before Abraham was, I am.-A celebrated foreign Professor remarks, that the common "interpretation is required by the tenor of the discassion The objection turned upon existence; therefore the reply must refer to existence also. The objection was, Thou canst not have seen Abrahain, for thou art not yet fifty years old; thou wast not then born.' Jesus answered, I was before he was.' Thus the reply corresponds to the objection." Rosenmuller in loc. quoted Smith's Messiah.

Ib.d. I um.-This clause, according to Dr. Smith, is attended with some difficulty. We shall give an outline of his remarks.-1. Some suppose it alludes

to Exodus iii. 14, but the Heh, is in the future; see our Note there. 2. The predicate of the proposition may be left to be supplied by the minds of the hearers-I am [the Christ]. Comp. Mark xiii. 6, with Matt. xxiv. 5. 3. The present, "I am," may be taken in the sense of the past, "I was." This is not unusual. Doddr. and Camp. render it, "Before Abraham was born I am;" which is perfectly literal.

Ver. 59. Going through the midst, &c. This latter part of the verse is wanting in some MSS. and versions, and is omitted by some learned Edi tors-perhaps as unnecessary.

The man blind]

CHAP. IX.

[from his birth.

pretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came

birth.

man which was blind from his

2 And his disciples asked him, say ing, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay;

7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by inter

8 The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?

9 Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he.

10 Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?

11 He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.

12 Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.

13 They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.

14 And it was the sabbath day when

istence. It was necessary for Jesus either to deny the assumption, or to admit and confirm it. He did not do the former; but he gave an answer which his opponents viewed as being either directly or constructively impious and blasphemous, i. e. as admitting their imputation." (Smith's Messiah, vol. i. 164, 165.)

The last declaration of our Lord, that he existed before Abraham, so enraged his

enemies, that they took up stones to stone him; but he was not to die by stoning, nor was his time yet come: Jesus therefore concealed himself for the moment, and then mixing in the crowd (and having nothing peculiar in his dress), he passed throngh the midst of them without being perceived, and thus again for the present escaped the malice of his enemies.

CHAP. IX. Ver. 1. And as Jesus passed by.The omission of this name in the original, seems to intimate a connexion between this event and the preceding. The New Testament (any more than the Old), we must recollect, was not divided into verses, or even chapters, by the inspired writers. This chapter may therefore connect with the preceding, thus-Jesus, "going through the midst of them [the multitude], passed by [them], and as he passed by or, in passing by, he saw," &c.

Ver. 2. Who did sin ?-If this question, as is generally supposed, referred to the Pythagorean notions, it may be illustrated by the following Note from Dean Prideaux:-" As to lesser crimes (i. e. those which might not require everlasting punishment], their opinion was, that they were punished in the bodies, which the souls which committed them were next sent inte. According to this notion it was that the disciples asked Christ, in the case of the man who was born blind, who had sinned, that he should be born blind." Prid. Connect. vol. ii. 340.

Ibid. Who did sin?-Bp. Pearce renders this, "Who sinned? This man, that he is become blind? or his parents, that he was born blind?" But we doubt much if this can be justified.

Ver.3. Neither hath this man sinned, nor his pa

rents-That is, so as to be the occasion of his misfortune: this seems necessarily implied.

Ver. 6. He spat ........ and made cloy.-Several Eastern travellers, particularly Capt. Light, speak of a superstitious notion of the use of saliva in curing bad eyes, and other disorders (see our Exposition of Mark viii. 23); but none of them speak of a clag salve for that purpose: this, indeed, seems more calculated to destroy sight than to restore it.-Marg. "He spread the clay upon the eyes."

Ver. 7. Go wash-i, e "wash thine eyes."--In the pool of Siloam.-This was supplied by a fountain of the same name, which arose in the southwest part of Jerusalem.Siloam is by interpretation sent-and therefore tallies with the circumstance of his being sent thither. He washed and came seeing.There is this remarkable difference between cures wrought naturally and miraculously the former, effected by some surgical operation, always require great caution to prevent relapse: the eyes, for instance, must be guarded against too sudden a display of light, and, in general, very gradually exposed to it; but this man came seeing— i, e. in the full possession of his eye-sight, without either shade or guard.

Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.

15 Then again the Pharisees also asked him, how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.

16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.

17 They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.

CHAP. IX.

[his blindness.

18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight.

19 And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see?

20 His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind:

21 But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. (E)

22 ¶ These words spake his parents,

(E) Ver. 1-21. Jesus gives sight to a man born blind.-Whether this event followed on the same day after Jesus left the temple, or on a subsequent one, is neither certain nor important, only we know that it was on the sabbath. The question of the disciples seems to have reference to some previous conversation which they had held with the Scribes and Pharisees, on the subject of the transmigration of souls, which Some of their Rabbies had borrowed from

the Pythagoreans; or, perhaps, as Dr. Lightfoot suggests, they might have imbibed the stranger notion, that an infant might commit sin even in his mother's womb. Our Lord, however, always avoided such curious questions; and merely replies, that this blindness had happened to the man, neither for his own sins nor for those of his parents, but that an opportunity might be afforded to display the power of God through him. "As long as I am in the world," says he, "I am the light of the world;" and, in perfect harmony with that character, he proceeds to give sight to this poor man who had been born blind, and who had never yet seen the sun and knowing that his time was short, he sets us an example that well illustrates his own precept to work while it is called to-day! The day of our Saviour's labours was hastening to a close, and so is ours. The night is coming, when we can no more work either for God's glory, or our own salvation. "There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave," whither we all are hastening. (Eccles. ix. 10.)

This blind man was a beggar; on which circumstance Bp. Hall beautifully remarks:-"Those that have eyes, and hands, and feet of their own, may be able to help themselves; those that want these helps must be beholden to the eyes, hands, and feet of others. The impotent are cast upon our mercy. Happy are we, if we can lend limbs and senses to the needy. Affected beggary is odious that which is of God's making justly challengeth relief."

The cause of this man's affliction is uncharitably supposed to be some personal transgression of either the man himself or of his parents. Though sin was, indeed, primarily the cause of all the misery in the world; yet it is both uncharitable and unjust to refer the misfortunes of the afflicted to their personal transgressions. Afflictions are often sent for our benefit, and to exercise our patience under them, or to display the glory of God in our deliverance from them.

We are not disposed to allegorize away the facts of Scripture history; yet we may often derive useful and important reflec tions from the analogy between natural and spiritual objects. There is a mental blindness, to which our whole race is subjected through sin; for we are born spiritually blind, and it is Christ alone, who is the light of the world, that is able to enlighten our minds in the knowledge of himself and of divine truth. The means used in the recovery of spiritual sight, are often as strange and unpromising as the clay plaster on this poor man's eyes. The