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darkness at all," at once lets in a flood of light into our dark hearts, which are too apt to misgive under the apprehension that there is some darkness in our God. Those difficulties which continually present themselves to the carnal mind, when it begins to reason concerning the revealed mind and will of God, do also in a measure force themselves upon the consideration of those who pray that all imaginations may be cast down, and that every thought may be brought into subjection to the obedience of Christ." Natural reason is not so entirely dethroned in the hearts of the faithful, as they desire it should be. Nor does faith rule so perfectly as they could wish. How many vain reasonings retard the growth of the knowledge of Christ in the minds of his people! What questionings and disputings do they oftentimes carry on in their own souls, concerning God and his ways. Sometimes his providential dispensations are more than inscrutable; they are displeasing. And how does the spirit rebel against the dispensations of his grace! Again and again, indwelling sin, wrought upon by the temptations and suggestions of the wicked one, provokes the impious question, "are not his ways crooked?" and "is there not unrighteousness with God?" "Who hath resisted his will?" And, " And, "why doth he yet find fault?" Now here is a

standard provided by the Spirit of the Lord, which we are to lift up against the enemy, when he comes in as a flood, with innumerable hard thoughts of the blessed God, and his ways. "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." Let reason affirm the contrary, as assuredly it will; here is the answer. Let Satan suggest his many blasphemies against God, our reply is at hand; and with this sword of the Spirit, with this word of God, the father of lies shall be discomfited: " God is light." But the reason

why we assign darkness to our God is this; that "he dwells in the light which no man can approach unto.” His light is too bright to admit of any mortal's gaze. We see but a little part of his ways; the vast whole cannot be taken in by our feeble vision. Still we attempt to fathom the bottomless abyss of his counsels, and even wonder that we do not succeed. So great is the folly that still cleaves to us; so prodigious our presumption and remaining ignorance! But "the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation" pities us as a father does his children, and he is well pleased that we should receive a message, assuring us that "He is light, and that in him is no darkness at all." Now this blessed truth is a haven of rest to the troubled spirit. Our tempest-tossed barks enter therein, and find repose. Our scrutiny of God's equity ends here. We say to our souls, "Let God be true and every man a liar." "He will assuredly be justified in his sayings, and overcome when he is judged." The conviction that there is no darkness in him, gives the peace that passeth all understanding of the natural man. "God is light," and "this name of the Lord," this declaration of his nature, "is a strong tower, into which the righteous flee and are safe."

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By the name God," in the verse now under consideration, it is probable that the apostle designates in a peculiar manner the Father. And as it is to the Father that the Scripture refers all decrees in the eternal counsels, even as to the Son and Holy Ghost are assigned the execution of such decrees and counsels, so it is of peculiar importance that we judge rightly of the nature and attributes of that Almighty and glorious potentate, "the King, eternal, immortal, invisible," concerning whom we read, "to us there is one God, the Father."

Not that our apprehensions are correct, if we refer all eternal decrees to the Father, as though the Son and Spirit had no part therein, for the persons of the godhead being one in essence, are also one in mind and purpose. But the Scripture, as before observed, pointing out the Father as the divine originator of all the decrees and counsels which affect the government of the world and human race, (although not without the cooperation and joint counsel of the Son and Spirit,) it is highly necessary that we should entertain a clear and fixed assurance of the perfect equity of our God, as also of his unerring wisdom, and unimpeachable goodness. In regard to the blessed Jesus, there is in some minds, through ignorance, a more perfect confidence, that He is light, than that the Father is light. When Jesus proclaims himself the Light of the world, and at the same time appears invested with all the attributes of the tenderest human sympathy, some will acknowledge that his benignity demands their confidence, while at the same time their minds misgive, as it regards the Father's love, when they discover that none shall attain to the kingdom of the Son, save those who have been assigned him by the Father, from before the foundation of the world. But with too many, the error is pride of heart, rather than a timid misapprehension of the truth, and such persons are so hardy as to affirm, that if certain statements of the Scripture are to be interpreted according to the obvious meaning of the words, then is there darkness in God. Still, the Scripture cannot be broken, and the gracious message remains upon record for the consolation of the church: "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." And is it conceivable that we should be wiser than God, and that our light should exceed his light? But when we begin to measure his

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light by our own, what is this but to say, we have the capacity for so doing? All will acknowledge in words, the folly of dealing thus with the great God. It would indeed seem to be an infatuation that could not possibly possess any rational mind. The blindness appears too gross, too monstrous. And yet this is a blindness proper to man, and even believers are partly affected by it. Certainly they are liable to it, as they often perceive and confess to their shame and grief. But how shall we enough admire the goodness that prompted the apostle's message? It is not accompanied by any upbraiding. There is no reproof of our remaining unbelief and foolish proneness to measure God's light by our darkness; his wisdom by our ignorance; and the vastness of his designs, by the littleness of our own. Far from it. The Lord bears with our folly; and for the full joy of our souls, he will have his servant declare to us the message "heard of him."

6. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.

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Some commentators have said that there is very little, any, connexion observable, in the apostle's arrangement of truth in this epistle. That his statements, although highly important, are disjointed, and do not appear to succeed necessarily in the order in which he has placed them. And it must be granted, that if we look in this epistle for an unbroken demonstration of any one truth in the form of an argument, which shall be conclusive in its reasoning, from the logical accuracy with which every successive truth or inference is linked with the preceding one, we shall be disappointed.

Nevertheless, a spiritual connexion may have existed in the apostle's mind, as he expressed his sentiments; a connexion the less obvious, it may be, because spiritual. Indeed, we must admit, that this epistle is remarkably unintelligible to the natural understanding, on account of its deeply experimental nature, and because it goes far beyond that surface of truth, which the natural man can in a measure apprehend. But by continually bearing in mind the specific object for which the apostle wrote this epistle, it may help us to discover a considerable degree of connexion not otherwise apparent in its several parts. Now the apostle stated in ver. 4, that his communications were for the saints, in order that their joy might be full. But he knew that very many would receive his word with joy, who had no root in themselves; consequently that it was a matter of great importance to mark distinctly the difference that exists between the true and false professor. John had no mind to take the children's bread, and give it unto dogs," nor would he cast his pearls before swine; therefore we find him as careful on the one hand, to detect hypocrisy, as he is zealous on the other, to build up the believer in his most holy faith. His beautiful and consolatory addresses to believers are interwoven with sharp animadversions upon unsound professors. And for this reason, that their hypocrisy being discovered to themselves, the Lord peradventure might grant them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth." But also for the sake of believers, who are in danger of being imposed upon by the fictitious faith of "false brethren, crept in unawares." Now in regard to the primary object of the apostle,-that of promoting to the utmost of his power the full joy of believers, we cannot imagine a more perfect execution of his intention, than the plan

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