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passage, on the other hand, and the whole connection seems plain. A night has passed away. A sunrise is over the whole party assembled in the temple court. And our Lord begins again to teach by proclaiming a beautiful truth, appropriate to the occasion, "I am the light of the world.” 12.-[Then spake Jesus again them.] The expression "spake again" exactly fits in with the preceding narrative. It carries us back to the 2nd verse, where we read that our Lord was sitting in the temple and teaching the people, when the woman taken in adultery was brought before Him. This naturally interrupted and broke off His teaching for a time. But when the case was settled, and both accuser and accused had gone away, He resumed His teaching. Then the expression comes in most naturally, "He spake again." Once admit that the narrative of the woman is not genuine and must be left out, and there is really nothing with which to connect the words before us. We are obliged to look back as far as the 37th verse of the last chapter.

The same remark applies to the word "them.” The natural application of it is to "the people" whom our Lord was teaching, in the 2nd verse, when the Scribes and Pharisees interrupted Him. Leave out the narrative of the woman, and there is nothing to which the word "them" can be referred, except the angry council of the Pharisees at the end of the seventh chapter.

[I am...light...world.] In this glorious expression our Lord, we cannot doubt, declares Himself to be the promised Messiah or Saviour of whom the prophets had spoken. The Jews would remember the words, "I will give thee for a light of the Gentiles." (Isai. xlii. 6, xlix. 6.) So also Simeon had said, He would be "a light to lighten the Gentiles." (Luke ii. 32.) Why He used this figure, and what He had in His mind in choosing it, is a point on which commentators do not agree. That He referred to something before His eyes is highly probable, and in keeping with His usual mode of teaching.

(1) Some think, as Aretius, Musculus, Ecolampadius, Bullinger, and Bp. Andrews, that He referred to the sun, then rising while He spoke. What the sun was to the earth, that He came to be to mankind.

(2) Some think, as Stier, Olshausen, Besser, D. Brown, and Alford, that He referred to the great golden lamps which used to be kept burning in the temple courts. He was the true light, able to enlighten men's hearts and minds. ornaments, or at most, emblems.

They were nothing but

(3) Some think, as Cyril and Lampe, that He referred to the pillar of cloud and fire which gave light to the Israelites, and guided them through the wilderness. He was the true guide to heaven, through the wilderness of this world.

The first of these three views seems to me most probable, and most in harmony with the context.

Rupertus remarks, that two grand declarations of Christ followed each other on two successive days at Jerusalem. On the last day of the feast He said,—“If any man thirst let him come unto Me and drink.” (John vii. 37.) The very next day He said,—“ I am the light of the world."

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[He that followeth me.] This means 'following" as a disciple, servant, traveller, soldier, or sheep. What the teacher is to the scholar, the master to the servant, the guide to the traveller, the general to the soldier, the shepherd to the sheep, that is Christ to true Christians. "Following" is the same as "believing." See Matt. xvi. 24-19, 21. John x. 27, xii. 26. Following here, we must always remember, does not mean copying and imitating, but trusting, putting faith in another.

Musculus and Henry observe, that it is of no use that Christ is the light of the world if we do not follow Him. 'Following" is the point on which all turns. It is not enough to gaze upon and admire the light. We must "follow" it.

[Shall not walk in darkness.] The expression "darkness" in the New Testament sometimes denotes sin, as 1 John i. 6, and sometimes ignorance and unbelief, as 1 Thess. v. 4. Some have thought that our Lord referred to the woman taken in adultery, and to such deeds of moral darkness as she had been guilty of. The meaning would then be,-"He that follows Me and becomes my disciple shall be delivered from the power of darkness, and shall no longer commit such sins as you have just heard of."-Others, on the contrary, think that our Lord only referred to the intellectual darkness and ignorance of man's mind, which He had come to illuminate. The meaning would then be," He that follows Me as my disciple shall no longer live in ignorance and darkness about his soul." decidedly prefer this second view. The promise seems to me to have a special reference to the ignorance in which the Jews were, about everything concerning Christ, as shown in the preceding chapter.

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[Shall have...light of life.] This expression means,-"He shall possess living light. He shall have spiritual light, as much supe

rior to the light of any lamp or even of the sun, as the living water offered to the Samaritan woman was superior to the water of Jacob's well." The spiritual light that Christ gives is independent of time or place, -is not affected by sickness or death,-burns on for ever, and cannot be quenched. He that has it shall feel light within his mind, heart, and conscience,-shall see light before him on the grave, death, and the world to come,-shall have light shining round him, guiding him in his journey through life, and shall reflect light by his conduct, ways, and conversation.

Chrysostom thinks that one purpose of this promise was to draw on and encourage Nicodemus, and to remind him of the former saying Jesus had used about light and darkness, John iii. 20.

Augustine remarks on this verse, "What is our duty to do, Christ puts in the present tense: what He promiseth to them that do it, He hath denoted by a future time. He that followeth now, shall have hereafter,-followeth now by faith, shall have hereafter by sight. When by sight? When we shall have come to the vision yonder, when this night of ours shall have passed away." I should be sorry however to confine the promise to so limited an interpretation as this, and though I have no doubt it will only be completely fulfilled at the second advent, I still think that it is partially and spiritually fulfilled now to every believer.

Calvin remarks, that in this verse "Benefit is offered not only to one person or another, but to the whole world. By this universal statement Christ intended to remove the distinction, not only between Jews and Gentiles, but between learned and ignorant, between persons of distinction and common people." He also says, "In the latter clause of the verse, the perpetuity of light is stated in express terms. We ought not to fear therefore lest it leave us in the middle of our journey."

Brentius remarks, that if a man could continually "follow" the sun, he would always be in broad daylight in every part of the globe. So it is with Christ and believers. Always following Him, they will always have light.

In this most precious and interesting verse there are several things which deserve our special attention.

(a) We should note the great assumed truth which lies underneath the whole verse. That truth is the fall of man. The world is in a state of moral and spiritual darkness. Naturally men know nothing rightly of themselves, God, holiness, or heaven. They need light.

(b) We should note the full and bold manner of our Lord's declaration. He proclaims Himself to be "the light of the world." None could truly say this but One, who knew that He was very God. No Prophet or Apostle ever said it.

(c) We should note how our Lord says that He is "the light of the world." He is not for a few only, but for all mankind. Like the sun He shines for the benefit of all, though all may not value or use His light.

(d) We should note the man to whom the promise is made. It is to him "that followeth Me." To follow a leader if we are blind, or ignorant, or in the dark, or out of the way, requires trust and confidence. This is just what the Lord Jesus requires of sinners who feel their sins and want to be saved. Let them commit themselves to Christ, and He will lead them safe to heaven. If a man can do nothing for himself, he cannot do better than trust another and follow him.

(e) We should note the thing promised to him who follows Jesus,-viz., deliverance from darkness and possession of light. This is precisely what Christianity brings to a believer. He feels, and sees, and has a sense of possessing something he had not before. God "shines into his heart and gives light.' He is called out of darkness into marvellous light." (2 Co. iv. 4—6; 1 Pet. ii. 9.)

Melancthon thinks that this verse is only a brief summary of what our Lord said, and must be regarded as the text or keynote of a long discourse.

Bullinger remarks how useful it is to commit to memory and store up great sentences and maxims of Christ, like this verse. 13. [The Pharisees...said unto him.] These "Pharisees" were probably some of the multitude who had come together to hear our Lord's teaching, and not those who brought the woman taken in adultery to Him. The Pharisees were a powerful and widelyspread sect, and members of their body would be found in every crowd of hearers, ready to raise objections and find fault with anything our Lord said, wherever they thought there was an opportunity.

[Thou barest record of thyself.] This would be more literally rendered, "thou dost witness about thyself."

[Thy record is not true.] This means, thy testimony is not trustworthy, and deserving of attention." The Pharisees evidently could not mean "thy testimony is false." They only meant that it was an acknowledged principle among men that a man's testi

mony to his own character is comparatively worthless. Our Lord Himself had admitted this on a former occasion, when He said before the council,-"If I bear witness of myself my witness is not true." (John v. 31.) Solomon had said,—“Let another praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips." (Prov. xxvii. 2.)

14.-[Jesus answered...though I bear record...true.] Our Lord meant by these words that even if He did testify of Himself, and make assertions about His own office and mission, His testimony ought not to be despised and disregarded as not trustworthy. Whether His enemies would hear it or not, what He said deserved credit, and was worthy of all acceptation.-"The testimony that I bear is not the testimony of a common witness, but of one who is thoroughly to be depended on."

[For I know whence I came, etc.] Our Lord here gives a solemn and weighty reason why His testimony to Himself ought to be reverently received by the Jews, and not refused. That reason was His divine nature and mission. He came to them and stood before them not as a common prophet and an every-day witness, but as one who knew the mysterious truth that He was the Divine Messiah that should come into the world."I know whence I came :-I came forth from the Father, to be His Messenger to a lost world. I know whither I go :-I am about to return to my Father when I have finished His work, and to sit down at His right hand after my ascension. Knowing all this, I have a right to say that my testimony is trustworthy. You, on the other hand, are utterly ignorant about Me. You neither know nor believe my Divine origin nor mission. Justly, therefore, I may say that it matters little whether you think my testimony deserving of credit or not. Your eyes are blinded, and your opinion is worthless."

Chrysostom observes that our Lord "might have said, I am God. But He ever mingleth lowly words with sublime, and even these He veileth."

Bucer, Chemnitius, and Quesnel observe that our Lord's argument is like that of an ambassador from a king, who says,—“I know my commission and Who sent Me, and therefore I claim attention to my message."

Webster paraphrases the sentence,-"I speak in the full consciousness of my previous and future existence in the glory of the Father; and I therefore feel and assert my right to be believed on my own testimony. If you knew whence I came and whither I