Bethesda; it was His divine power which made LECT. him whole. Nor could our Lord otherwise than XVIII. as the God-man sustain the office of Mediator: for, as it has been said by an ancient author already cited', "a mediator between God and man must partake of the nature of both God and man. Otherwise he cannot be a mediator." And again, as another of the old Fathers says, "It behoved the Mediator between God and man, by virtue of His relation to both, to bring both into agreement; and to effect that God might accept man, and man yield himself to God." This was the plan Divine wisdom conceived; a plan to save the sinner without overlooking the sin, which consistently with the Divine nature and government could not be left unaccounted for: but "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

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Like to this too is the result of the argument in the tenth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, where we have an argument to prove the insufficiency of legal sacrifices to take away sin, derived from the nature of the things offered up; which it is obvious bear no proportion, either to God who was to be propitiated, or to man for whom they were offered, or to sin which they should expiate." Therefore God provided Im

See Lect. IV. the argument of which being here repeated, some few of the expressions also, it will be perceived, have been retained.

"Oportuerat enim Mediatorem Dei et hominum, per suam ad utrosque domesticitatem, et ad amicitiam et concordiam utrosque reducere, et facere ut Deus assumeret hominem, et homo se dederet Deo." Iren. adv. Hæreses, 1. iii. 20.

XVIII.

LECT. manuel, the God-man, in whom met both the natures, Human and Divine; who alone could satisfy the one, and by affinity redeem the other. And thus the contemplation of Christ as both God and Man is calculated to produce that triple tie of faith and hope and love by which the soul of man is bound and raised to its God.

We may see the necessity of believing this great Article of the Christian faith, its immediate connexion with holiness of life and peace of mind and conscience. We believe this great truth regarding our Redeemer, because God has revealed it in His holy word, because Christ proved it in His wondrous life, and witnesses of unimpeachable veracity have recorded the proofs of it in the Gospels. But besides these reasons, which should be enough for any Christian man, those who will receive it find its wondrous confirmation within, even in those fruits of improved life and restored peace which it was designed to produce.

Our Evangelist dwells on both aspects, and describes our blessed Lord to us both as God and Man; declaring the truth authoritatively as an inspired writer, and recording it as uttered by our Lord Himself, and illustrating it as proved by the events natural and supernatural of His twofold life. And while in such records as the raising of Lazarus, and other touches of genuine nature and sympathy, the human side is sufficiently brought out, yet in his authoritative statements, as well as in his report of the Lord's discourses, our Evangelist seems specially to dwell upon the divine: because even in those infant days many false prophets, many deceivers, were gone out into the

XVIII.

world; even then were there many antichrists": LECT. and our Evangelist, whether in his Gospel or Epistles or Apocalypse, both to correct the false teachers of his day and the revival of their errors in our own, is most express upon this important point; while his grand object is set forth in words which should be graven on our hearts, " these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through His name."

a 1 John ii. 18-23. iv. 1-3. 15. 2 John 7. ch. xx. 31.

N

LECTURE XIX.

THE FIRST AND THE SECOND RESURRECTION.

LECT.

XIX.

JOHN V. 24-29.

OUR Lord now proceeds, in these memorable verses, to expand the statement contained in the twenty-first and twenty-second verses above, regarding His quickening and His judicial work. He begins with a short abstract, as it were, of what He is about to explain, contained in the first of these verses, where He speaks of certain who have life, and shall not come into condemnation. Who are these? "He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me." Every one who may be thus described. But this hearing implies attention, and readiness, and obedience; such as is enjoined by that Divine voice which came "out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, hear Him";" such as is so often enjoined by the Lord Himself when He says, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." "Hear and understand." And this hearing is connected with believing: "he that heareth and

a "To hear,' in the language of the Spirit, is to obey.' 'He that heareth my word,' is therefore, 'He that keepeth my commandments.'" A Plain Commentary. "Sic audit ut credat: nam copula hane vim habet." Grotius. "Qui audient nihil est aliud quam qui obaudient." Aug. in Jo. Tr. xix. 10.

b Luke ix. 35.

e Matt. xiii. passim, xv. 10.

believeth." Faith is coupled with hearing; and LECT. hearing is put first, for "faith cometh by hearing,

and hearing by the word of God."

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But what do these hear? My word," "the voice of the Son of God." And upon whom do these believe? "On Him that sent me;" on Him, the very essence of belief in whom is in this, That He sent me:" as we read farther on in this Gospel, "Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on Him that sent me. And he that seeth me, seeth Him that sent me:" and as we read above," he that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him." The intimate manner in which these two sentences," He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me," are connected together and intertwined, warrants us in applying the terms of the one to the other. He that heareth the Son heareth the Father: he that believeth on the Father will also believe on Him whom He hath senth. And this the passages lately quoted plainly affirm.

But what is said of such hearers and believers? of every one who thus hears and believes? "he hath everlasting life." Observe our Lord does not here use the future, but the present. He does not say shall have, but hath. The future indeed is implied in the present; but such have it even now for they have now the beginning of it, that which shall issue in the fulness of everlasting life;

XIX.

"Sermo bimembris hoc valet:

g v. 23.

Qui (verbum ejus, qui misit me, et) verbum meum audit, et credit (mihi et) ei qui misit me &c." Bengel.