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mense the benefit; how valuable the means by which it is conveyed! It is a blessing, too, which is open to all; as accessible as that simple element which is to be found every where. It is not confined to a particular district of the earth, to this or that mountain, but may be had in every place where there is a sun to enlighten the eye, or air to breathe; wherever there are human beings, there are persons who may enjoy this eternal life; wherever men worship the Father in spirit and in truth, there they will serve him acceptably. Let us not despise this blessing because it is common, but rather take occasion thence to admire the unlimited be nevolence of the giver.

John iv. 27-42.

27. And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman, yet no man said, What seekest thou, or, Why talkest thou with her?

They were desirous to know the reason of this extraordinary appearance of Jesus conversing familiarly with a Samaritan; a thing never practised by Jews; but respect for their master prevented them from attempting to gratify their curiosity by asking him or her any questions.

28. pot,

The woman then left her water

She was so elated with the discovery which she had made, and in so much haste to communicate it to her countrymen, that she forgot the purpose for which she came to the well.

And went her way into the city, that is, Sychar, and saith to the men,

29. Come, see a man which told

me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ?

It appeared, from what this woman said in the twenty-fifth verse, that the Samaritans expected the Messiah, as well as the Jews; and, from what she says here, that they supposed he would be possessed of extraordinary miraculous powers.

30. Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

31. In the mean while his disciples prayed him," asked him," saying, Master, eat.

32. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

The disciples, having gone to Sychar to procure food, and having returned, pressed their master to partake of what they had provided, well knowing that he stood in need of refreshment; but the prospect of doing good, which had just opened upon him by his conversation with this woman, so much engaged his attention, that he felt no inclination to eat. In answer, therefore, to the pressing intreaties of his disciples, he says that he had food to eat with which they were not acquainted. This they understood literally of natural food.

33. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?

34. Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

Christ, having received instructions from God to make men acquainted with the Divine will, particularly in regard to a future life, and to work miracles in Vol. 2.]

N n

says

proof of his authority, speaks of himself in this and other places as sent by God into the world. As the peculiar residence of God is supposed to be heaven, the same thing is sometimes expressed by coming down from heaven. "I came down from heaven,' Christ, "not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me." John vi. 38. To accomplish this work, he now declares, would afford him more pleasure than the gratification of his natural appetites in eating and drinking; and he assigns this as the reason of his present indifference to food.

35. Say not ye, There are yet four months to the harvest?

That is, Is it not usual with you to say, when ye sow seed, In four months time there will be harvest? This is the common interval, in that country, between the times of sowing and reaping. Many indeed have supposed that Jesus refers to the distance of harvest at the time when he spake, and that it was then four months off; but as Jesus was now returning to Galilee from Jerusalem, where he had been to observe the passover, which corresponds to our Easter, that is, the latter end of March or the beginning of April, and as the Jewish harvest took place before the end of May*, there could not be four months till harvest. Besides, the fatigue and thirst which Jesus is said to have experienced on this occasion, correspond much better with the warmth of the summer season than with the cold of winter.

Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields: for they are white already to harvest.

There are four months between the time of sowing and that of harvest; but it is not so in regard to the spiritual harvest of which I am speaking; for no sooner is the seed sown than the harvest appears; as you may satisfy yourselves by looking at the fields, which are

Harmer, Vol. i. p. 68.

already covered with crowds of people coming to me, in consequence of what I said to this woman. Having mentioned harvest, Christ still pursues the simile.

36. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal,

Eternal life, in this passage, belongs equally to the reaper and the fruit; it is the wages of the preacher; it is also the reward of the convert.

That both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

By "him that reapeth," the disciples of Jesus are intended, and by "him that soweth," Jesus himself. To encourage them in their labours in preaching the gospel, he assures them that they will be rewarded with eternal life, and that their joy in such a benefit will be increased by sharing it with himself.

37. And herein is that saying true, One soweth and another reapeth.

Your case exemplifies the justice of the proverbial saying, that the sower and the reaper are two different persons, and that what one man bestows labour upon, another reaps the benefit of. In what manner this saying was applicable to them he proceeds to show.

38. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

That is, In the commission which I have given you to preach the gospel, I have sent you to gather fruits, the seeds of which have been sown by other men, by myself and the prophets who went before me, who, by our instructions, have prepared the world for the reception of the gospel. This consideration may furnish you with encouragement for your work.

39. And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him, for the saying of the woman, which testified, "who testified," He told me all that ever I did,

Being a woman of unexceptionable character, they gave her full credit, when she informed them that he discovered an acquaintance with transactions in her life which could be known to a stranger no other way than by divine communication, and hence concluded him to be a prophet. The object of their visit was not merely curiosity, but to request his stay with them, in order to further acquaintance.

40. So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them; and he abode there two days,

41. And many more believed, because of his own word, that is, "his doctrine."

42. And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying; for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the saviour of the world.

By "the world" these Samaritans probably meant no more than the Jewish world, in which sense the term is sometimes used*: for it is not likely that they had any ideas that the Gentiles were to become partakers of the benefit of Christ's mission, of which the apostles themselves remained ignorant, till it was communicated to them by divine revelation.

Chap. xii. 19. xviii. 20.

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