my commandments, but, in a sense quite peculiar, my commandment.'

(2.) The example of Christ.

Let us now turn our attention to the second motive by which the injunction is enforced-our Lord's example. The force of the first motive is, 'I, a divine messenger—a divine person-your Redeemer and proprietor-command you to love one another, as I have loved you; and therefore you ought to do it.' The force of the second motive is—‘I, so officially, so essentially great, and so intimately connected with you, I have loved you all with a special love, and given you all very abundant evidence of this my special love; surely every one of you should specially love all whom I specially love, and should give to each proofs of your special love to them, similar to those which I have given of my special love to them and to you.'

It has been questioned whether the thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth verses, are to be interpreted as merely the expansion of the idea expressed in the close of the twelfth verse, "I have loved you," as equivalent to, Thus have I loved you ;' or whether the key to them is not to be found in the seventeenth verse, "These things "—that is, 'the things I have just stated'-"I command you "-declare to you"in order that you may love one another;" equivalent to, 'These statements are intended as motives to mutual christian love.' In the first case, the thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth verses, are answers to the question, 'How does Christ love his people? how does he display his peculiar affection to them?' In the second case, they are an answer to the question, Why should Christians love one another?' The truth is, both questions are here resolved. The leading object seems to be the resolution of the latter; but its satisfactory resolution involves that of the first. When our Lord tells them how he loved them, he says in effect, as he had done in express times on a

similar occasion, when he gave them a symbolical representation of his love to them, "I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you." 1

To illustrate this part of our subject satisfactorily, it will be necessary that we first attend to those displays of special love to his people, that our Lord here refers to, and then show how these are motives generally to their regarding each other with special love, and more particularly to displays of love to each other, similar to those displays of his love to them all. How did Christ love his people? or to put it in the form which the circumstances of the case seem to call for, How did Christ love-i. e., manifest his love tohis apostles, to whom he was now speaking? First, He was just about to give them the greatest proof of friendship which can be given. He was about to give his life for them. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends;" and that is what I am about to do for you.' Secondly, He had made them the objects of his peculiar complacent regard, as persons who were really desirous of doing whatever he commanded them; and while they retained that character, they would not lose that complacent regard. "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." Thirdly, He had treated them as "friends,” -possessors of this special complacential regard,--by unfolding to them, so far as they were capable of apprehending it, the whole truth respecting the wonderful communication he had come from heaven to make, and the wonderful work he had come from heaven to earth to perform,-the economy of salvation." Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you." Fourthly, He had selected them, and appointed them to a great important salutary work, their success in which was assured by all necessary

1 John xiii. 15.

assistance in it being secured in answer to believing prayer. "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." It was thus that our Lord had loved, thus that he had manifested his love to his apostles. And he brings these manifestations of his love to them all, before their minds, that they might act as motives to mutual love, that they should "love one another." The statement was well fitted to gain its object. It is plain that it is congruous and proper that they who are the objects of a common love to him, should be objects of a mutual love among themselves; and that an opposite state of things is in the highest degree incongruous and improper; and every one of these manifestations of love to them all, bears in its bosom both an example and a motive, that they should love one another as he has loved them,-that they should do to each other as he had done to them all. This outline I shall endeavour to fill up in the remaining part of this section of the exposition. The argument is, 'Christ loves his people, he shows that he loves his people,-therefore they should love one another, they should prove that they love one another.'

The first proof of Christ's peculiar love to his apostles, that he notices, is that he was about to lay down his life for them. That is not said in so many words, but it is obOur Lord's death, which

viously implied in what is said. was just at hand, was a voluntary death. He was to "lay down his life." Though his death was in the highest degree violent, it was at the same time in the highest degree voluntary. "No man took his life from him" against his will; "he laid it down of himself. He had," what no mere man has or can have "power," authority," to lay down his life; and he had power," authority, "to take it again." That life he laid

1

1 John x. 18.

down for his friends-for his apostles-for all his friends in all succeeding ages-for the church whom he loved-he laid it down "for them," in their room-he laid it down “for them," for their benefit-to save them from destruction, to obtain for them salvation. "He was wounded for their transgressions, he was bruised for their iniquities; the chastisement of their peace was upon him; and by his stripes they are healed." He redeemed them from death as a penal evil, by submitting to death as a penal evil. He redeemed them from the curse, by becoming a curse in their room. He bore their sins on his own body to the tree, and in thus bearing them he bore them away.

This is the highest proof of love that can be given. Nothing is so valuable to a man as his life. The father of lies for once spoke truth when he said, "Skin for skin, yea all that a man hath will he give for his life." He will part with everything in the shape of property, rather than with life. A man may prove his love for his friend in many ways-by parting with his property-by submitting to toil, and sacrifice, and suffering; but the strongest proof he can give of love is to part with his own life, to secure the life and happiness of his friend. That is the extreme limit of human friendship, if it do not even lie beyond that limit. If mortal affection went so far, it never did go farther. This is the proof Christ has given of his love to all his friends.

Had there been nothing in it but this, it had been a wonderful proof of love-the greatest proof mere man can give of love for man; but how does the greatness of the manifestation of love swell out on us, when we remember that he who died was not merely an innocent, a perfect man -was not a glorious incarnate angel-but "the Word made flesh," "God manifest in flesh,"-and that those he died for had no claim on him for such a manifestation of love,

1 Isa. liii. 5.

VOL. III.

2 Job ii. 4.
2 A

for any manifestation of love-that indeed, but for their being guilty and depraved, such a manifestation of love would have been altogether unnecessary; and finally, that the death he died for them-the only death that could have done them any good, was death under the curse— the death of a felon and a slave-the death of all deaths the most painful, and the most disgraceful-" a death overhung with all external circumstances of barbarity, and shame, and exasperated into tenfold agony by strange mysterious pangs-the direct impressions of the righteous displeasure of a holy and righteous God for the sins of men." Well might our Lord say he was about to manifest love to his friends, as great as human friend ever had manifested, ever could manifest, for human friend. Strong as the statement is, how immeasurably is it within the truth??

The second proof of our Lord's love to his friends is stated in the fourteenth verse- "Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you." These words are often understood as meaning, 'You will make it plain that you really are animated by friendly feelings towards me that you love me that in that sense ye are my friends, and you will be acknowledged by me to be so, if ye yield an unreserved obedience to my commandments. Not otherwise.' This is a most important truth; and no words, taken by themselves, could more appropriately express it. But to interpret them so would entirely break the chain of thought. Our Lord is plainly speaking not of their love to him, but of his love to them. "Ye are my friends," is just equivalent to, 'I regard you with that complacent approbation with which friend regards friend;' and the whole verse is very nearly synonymous with the first part of the tenth verse,-"If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love." The

Brown Patterson.

2 Well might Calvin say, "Plusquam ferrea aut lapidea corda esse oportet, quæ non emolliet tam incomparabilis divini amoris suavitas."

3 John xv. 14.