the middle of the feast He entered the Temple, and taught. The leading persons enquired with a mixture of surprise and contempt, how He had attained sufficient knowledge of the Law to qualify Him for a public instructor, since He had not received a liberal education. He replied, that His doctrine was not His own, as men acquire knowledge by study, but a message which He was commissioned to deliver, and that the preparation of the mind for receiving it consisted (not in abilities or learning, but) in a desire to do the will of Him that sent Him; so that every one that was thus inclined, would be enabled to form a just opinion of His pretensions. He added, as a criterion, that the teacher who comes forward of his own accord, in one form or other pursues his own interest; whereas he who disregards self, and seeks only God's glory, proves himself to be in reality, what he claims to be, God's messenger. He exposed their insincerity by observing, that none of them kept the Law for which they affected so much zeal; and that they were even then meditating a flagrant breach of it,-Why go ye about to kill Me? Their motive was, His having broken the Sabbath, on His last visit to Jerusalem, by healing the cripple at Bethesda. He required them to judge fairly, and if they did not scruple to dispense with the Sabbath that they might perform the act of circumcising, not to condemn Him for restoring on that day a man to the use of his limbs. The argument appears to have had its proper effect upon the more candid. Some even ventured to think, as He spake so boldly, and was not opposed by the rulers, that even they might believe Him to be the Messiah. Others doubted, because they supposed they knew whence Jesus was, and they had been taught that when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence He is. The remark surprises us, because the priests, of whom king Herod enquired the place of His birth, answered without hesitation; and in the course of the next

conversation some recollected that the Scripture said, that He cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem. The whence then must mean, not from what town, but what parents; and this answer seems to say, You know my reputed father, but you know not my real one. Ye both know Me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of Myself, but He that sent Me is true, whom ye know not. Alarmed at His increasing popularity, as many seemed disposed to acknowledge Him, saying, Can the Messiah do greater miracles? the Pharisees and chief-priests now made their first attempt to apprehend Him; but unintimidated, He continued to speak, obscurely intimating His approaching decease, telling them that He was yet to stay a little longer with them, and that then He should go to Him who had sent Him; and they would seek Him, but in vain, for where He should be, they would not be able to come. Not understanding Him, they asked if He would visit their countrymen dispersed among the Gentiles, and even teach the Gentiles themselves. The arrival of the officers probably ended the discourse.

Undaunted, on the last the greatest day of the festival, Jesus again came forward, and more explicitly declared Himself, inviting, by an allusion to Isaiah's prophecy, Come ye to the waters, every one that thirsted to come unto Him and drink, describing Himself as the Fountain of living water, in opposition to the cisterns provided by men. We are informed, that this is a reference to the gift of the Holy Spirit; and His words, he that believeth on Me as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water, teach us, that it will not only be communicated to satisfy the believer's own thirst for spiritual blessings, but will be, as He told the woman of Samaria, a spring within him, whence streams will flow for the cleansing and refreshing of others. The reference is general, it is therefore impossible to know

to what text He referred; but there are several passages in the Prophets which convey the same meaning, though not in the same terms. His words derive a peculiar energy from the occasion upon which they were spoken; for upon this day it was the custom to fetch water from the spring Siloam, which issued from a rock under the Temple; some of which was drunk with joyful acclamations, while the rest was poured over the evening sacrifice, the people singing, from Isaiah xii. 3. With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. This was said to be done in remembrance of the miracle by which the thirst of their forefathers in the desert was relieved; and it was brought as a drink offering to supplicate for rain against the approaching seed time. The Jews also allow that it is emblematical of the Holy Spirit; so that their ancestors could hardly have misunderstood Jesus. The people were divided in their opinion; some maintained that He was the Prophet who was expected as the Messiah's harbinger, and some that He was the Messiah Himself. Others asserted, that as the Messiah was to spring from David, and to be born at Bethlehem, it was impossible that this Galilean could be He; so ignorant were they of the lineage and birthplace of Jesus. The officers themselves were too much impressed with what He had spoken to seize Him; and Nicodemus ventured to suggest, that a man ought not to be condemned wthout a trial: so they all withdrew to their own homes, without coming to any determination, and Jesus retired to the Mount of Olives.

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18. A woman', taken in an act of Adultery, is brought before Jesus, who declines to condemn her as a Judge, but as a Teacher admonishes her to sin no more. John viii. 1-11.

The enemies of Jesus, having failed in their late attempt to take Him by force, concerted a specious plan to ensnare Him; and accordingly very early the next morning, when He had returned to teach, they brought in an Adulteress, whose guilt was undeniable, since she had been taken in the very act, committed perhaps in some apartment of the Temple, which on this festival used to be turned into a scene of revelry. They observed, that Moses had commanded that such offenders should be stoned, and desired to have His decision. Their question was a dilemma, from which there seemed to be no escape. Had He ordered them to put the Law in force, they would have accused Him to the Governor of assuming independent authority; and if He had referred them to his tribunal, they would have represented Him to the People as a partisan of Rome, a betrayer of their liberties, and a despiser of their lawgiver. To show His unwillingness to interfere, He stooped down, and wrote with his finger on the ground, as was the custom of the Rabbis, when they did not choose to be disturbed. As, however, they would take no denial, He unmasked them by saying, Let him among you who is without sin cast the first stone; intimating that they themselves were

I have observed in the Introduction, that this Narrative has been from an early age suspected of being an interpolation. It certainly is not noticed by the Greek commentators; it does not appear in the principal ancient versions, and the text differs very greatly in its readings in the MSS. which preserve it. Modern critics endeavour to show, that the style is unlike that of St. John; and yet even these, as Tittmann and Tholuck, are satisfied that it is not an invention, but a genuine tradition, which, being written on the margin, was transferred afterwards to the text; and the latter allows that the spirit of it is in perfect harmony with the essence of Christianity.

guilty of the very sin for which they brought the woman to be judged; for so we must understand avaμágтntos, He who is without that sin; for none avowedly are without sin of any kind; nor would a general charge come so powerfully home to the conscience. It was, as Jesus complained on another occasion, both literally and figuratively, an adulterous generation; and this interpretation is confirmed by the fact, if it be truly reported, that adultery was then so common, that the practice of trying by the waters of jealousy women suspected of it had been abolished; the trial according to the rabbinical comment being only effectual, when the husband was innocent. It was customary when criminals were put to death for the witness to cast the first stone. He then stooped down to write a second time, perhaps to show that He had dismissed the case, and thus gave them an opportunity of withdrawing, and they all, convicted by their conscience, went out one by one. Their scheme failed, and their hypocrisy was exposed. With consummate wisdom, He thus defeated their malice, without seeming to know it; and as He had before refused to divide an inheritance between two brothers, (Luke xii. 14.) so now He evaded the office of a Judge, which they would have thrust upon Him, without losing sight of the Moralist; Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more. The accusers had disappeared, and no trial could take place; but in dismissing her, He both showed that He knew her guilt, and exhorted her to amend her conduct; as Augustine says, He did condemn, but it was the sin, not the sinner.

82. The discourse, in which Jesus declares His existence before the birth of Abraham, is abruptly terminated by an attempt of His auditors to stone Him. John viii. 12-59.

Jesus is said to have been left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. The people therefore remained, and as He had