This remarkable expression occurs four times in the New Testament. In Luke 16:8 the Lord Jesus contrasts with the children of this generation the sons of light. In this passage he holds out the prospect before those who believe on the Light that they will become sons of light. Paul, in Ephesians 5:8, admonishes Christians to walk as children of light, and in 1 Thessalonians 5:5 assures Christians that they are all sons of light. The designation is instructive and appropriate as indicating -

I. THEIR ORIGIN; FOR THE GOD OF LIGHT IS THEIR FATHER. God is Light; he is the Author of natural light, for he first said, "Let there be light: and there was light." He too "hath shined into our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

II. THEIR ILLUMINATION; FOR CHRIST BY THE HOLY SPIRIT ENLIGHTENS THEM. In the forty-sixth verse it is recorded that Jesus said, "I am come a Light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me may not abide in the darkness." Not only does Christ as the Light of the world shine upon us in spiritual glory; but the Holy Spirit illumines the inner nature by opening the eyes of the understanding to perceive the truth and grace of heaven.

III. THEM CHARACTER; FOR THEY ARE LIGHT IN THE LORD. Christians possess the light of knowledge, distinguishing their state from the darkness of ignorance; the light of holiness, by which their condition contrasts with that of those who love and do the works of darkness; the light of happiness and spiritual joy, for they are delivered from the gloom of despondency and of fear.

IV. THEIR CALLING AND WORK; FOR THEIR MISSION IS TO SHINE UPON A BENIGHTED WORLD.

"Heaven doth with us as we with torches do -
Not light them for themselves." It is distinctive of true Christians that they not only receive the light, but diffuse it abroad. They thus adorn their profession, become the agents in the salvation of others, and glorify their God.

V. THEIR FINAL GOAL AND HOME; FOR THEY ARE PREPARING FOR AND HASTENING UNTO THE HEAVEN OF LIGHT. There is a sense in which this present state is the night, which is far spent; the day is at hand. The fullness of light is where God is in his glory, and where he purposes that his people shall be with him, and see his face. The prospect before the sons of light is none other than "the inheritance of the saints in light." - T.

I. ITS DETAILS.

1. The doctrines He taught (vers. 44-50). These words are an abridged statement of our Lord's words uttered at different times. In verse 36 we have, the formal close of our Lord's mission, and this summary appropriately follows. It teaches —(1) The Divinity of His mission (ver. 49). There is nothing that our Lord stated more frequently or plainly than this His name for God is often "He who sent Me." This claim leaves no alternative between receiving Him as a Divine Messenger or rejecting Him as fanatic or impostor.(2) The Divinity of His doctrine (vers. 44, 49, 50). He did not bring it forward as an opinion of the man Jesus, but as the truth He had heard of the Father.(3) The Divinity of His Person. His authority here is clearly co-ordinate with that of the Father.(4) The design of His mission. To be a light to the world; not to judge the world but to save it. The two declarations are synonymous. Men are in a state of darkness, i.e., of ignorance, error, guilt and depravity; at a distance from God who is "light." Jesus is the "light" as He is the author and bestower of that salvation which dispels our moral darkness.(5) The manner of being interested in His salvation. "He that believeth on Me."(6) The doom of those who refuse to believe (ver. 48).

2. The manner of His teaching (ver. 44).(1) Public. He did not confine His teaching to a few, and like Mohammed and other impostors conceal His doctrines, till by private exertions He had secured a considerable body of followers.(2) Earnest. Sometimes He quietly "talked with the people," but at other times He cried aloud and spared not. The conviction He had of the truth and importance of His message produced a holy excitement.(3) Fearless. He well knew how unpalatable His doctrines were and how great the dangers to which He exposed Himself. But He "set His face as a flint, and refused to be ashamed." In all this Christ is a Model to His own ministers.

3. The evidence He produced.(1) He did miracles, i.e., "signs," tokens or signals of the truth of His doctrines. These miracles were —(2) "Great," as the words "so many" may be rendered — far and obviously exceeding human power.(3) Many.

(a)More than those of Old Testament prophets.

(b)Many in kind, remarkable for variety.(4) "Before" His countrymen; not like pretended miracles of later ages for the most part in the presence of those interested in supporting His system.(5) These miracles were also —

(a)Beneficient.

(b)Unostentatious.

(c)At a time and in circumstances where imposture could be detected.

(d)In conformity with Messianic predictions.

II. ITS RESULTS.

1. The body of the Jewish nation did not believe.(1) This disbelief fulfilled prophecy (vers. 38-41).(2) In this prophecy we have the true cause of their rejecting Him. They had blinded eyes and hardened hearts, and therefore they could not perceive and understand.(3) This blindness was first voluntary and self-imposed, then judicial, a punishment of God.

2. A minority who did believe from worldly motives suppressed their convictions (vers. 42-43).

(J. Brown, D. D.)

I. THE CLOSED MINISTRY (ver. 36). It had been a ministry of -

1. Manifested glory. Glory one of the keynotes of the Gospel. The Divine Being looked upon by Israel in the first temple had been rejected by Israel in the second. This glory —(1) Was of a higher order than that seen by the prophet. That was symbolical, this real.(2) Of more frequent exhibition. He had only one glimpse, they repeated manifestations.

2. Offered grace. The ministry was one persistent effort to secure their personal and social redemption.

3. Attesting power (ver. 37).

II. THE FORSAKEN PEOPLE. "Did hide Himself" (ver. 36).

1. The unbelieving majority (ver. 37). The completest evidence had been laid before them. Yet they voluntarily closed their eyes to the light. One would have expected the opposite from ver. 13. But Christ was not deceived by popular applause.

2. The believing minority.

(1)Considerable, embracing many of the rulers.

(2)Sincere, though defective.

(3)Timid, afraid of excommunication.

(4)Reprehensible, preferring human approbation to Divine.

III. THE FULFILLED PREDICTION (ver. 38).

1. The prediction.

(1)That the report of Jehovah's suffering Servant would not be believed.

(2)That the "signs" would not be understood.

2. The fulfilment. This came to pass when the nation misinterpreted the signs, disbelieved the message, and rejected the person of Christ.

3. The connection: the fulfilment necessary because of the prediction.

(1)Not that compulsion was laid upon the Jews to reject Christ to save the credit of a prophet. But —

(2)that the foreordained programme of human history should come to pass. That, however, did not exempt the Jews from guilt.

IV. THE ACCOMPLISHED DESIGN (ver. 89).

1. The law of moral hardening. The truth rejected always results in a diminution of the soul's susceptibility for receiving it.

2. The Author of this law, God. It being part of the moral order of the universe (Ephesians 4:19), God does not shrink from the responsibility.

3. The working out of this law. They could do no other than reject the Saviour, because they hated the light. Lessons —

1. The day of grace may terminate before the day of life.

2. Unbelief seldom springs from lack of evidence.

3. No prediction of God will ever fail.

4. The Divine foreknowledge exempts no man from responsibility.

5. It is perilous to shut one's eyes against the light of truth.

6. Unbelief is a disease for which Christ is the only Physician.

7. Christ the healer of souls is the Jehovah of the Old Testament.

8. It is not enough to believe on Christ; we must also confess Him.

9. They who follow Christ must expect persecution.

10. Who love the praise of men more than the glory of God cannot be saved.

(T. Whitelaw, D. D.)

I. A GUILTY UNBELIEF (ver. 37). Why did they not believe?

1. Not for want of evidence. For many miracles had been wrought amongst them.

2. Not for want of warning (ver. 38). The ministry that was fitted by God to bring them to spiritual knowledge and repentance they turned to opposite results (ver. 40). When a man has not three things —(1) Evidence;(2) The capacity for examining evidence, and(3) The opportunity for doing so — his unbelief is not guilty; but this is not the unbelief of England today.

II. A COWARDLY FAITH (vers. 42-43) arising from —

1. Fear of men.

2. Love of popularity. "Glory" would be a better word than praise. It is implied —(1) That between the glory of men and the glory of God there is an essential difference. Glory in the estimation of men is wealth, fame, titles, etc. In the eyes of God these are worthless. The glory of God is holiness.(2) That a higher appreciation of the glory of man than of God is inimical to a courageous faith. The faith of Peter before the Sanhedrim; "we cannot but speak," etc., is the true type.

III. REDEMPTIVE TRUSTFULNESS (ver. 44).

1. It is faith in Christ's identity with the Father. Christ claimed no position independent of the Father.

2. It is faith, the absence of which tends to a terrible doom — "Darkness," i.e., ignorance, remorse, despair.

(D. Thomas, D. D.)

Perhaps there is no episode recorded in history more interesting than that of Charles V when he landed at Tunis. Ten thousand men and women who were slaves within the city, when they heard of the approach of their deliverer, rose and broke their chains, and rushed toward the gate as the emperor was entering the town; and this mighty procession knelt down, hailed him as their deliverer, and prayed God to bless him. But when Christ the world's deliverer comes to His own His own, alas, receive Him not.

I. THE GOSPEL REPORT IS TRUE AND DIVINELY MIGHTY.

1. It is true because it is implied that it ought to be believed. What is genuinely believable must be true.

2. It is mighty because called "The arm of the Lord." Redemptive truth is "the power of God unto salvation."

II. THOUGH TRUE, ITS TRUTH IS OFTEN UNRELIEVED AND UNFELT. It was so in the days of the prophets, of Christ, of the apostles, and of all subsequent times. "Therefore they could not believe" — not because of the prediction, or of any Divine decree, but because of the state of their minds. As long as men are in the depths of moral corruption they can neither see nor feel Divine things. A malignant nature cannot see love, nor an avaricious generosity and disinterestedness.

III. THESE MORAL STATES OF MIND INIMICAL TO FAITH ARE OFTEN INTENSIFIED BY LISTENING TO THE REPORT. "He hath blinded," etc. (Matthew 13:14; Acts 28:26). It is a fact proved by the nature of things, and patent to the observation of all, that the hearer of the gospel who believes not is made more blind and hard by listening. Then as free agents have the power of counteracting the moral tendencies of things, turning blessings into curses and vice versa. The unbeliever is ever doing the former and the believer the latter.

IV. THE AWFUL RESULTS OF THE GOSPEL UPON MEN POSSESSING THESE STATES OF MIND ARE ALL FOREKNOWN OF GOD. The prophet was told what would be the fate of his "report." But God's foreknowledge did not render the result necessary, nor interfere with freedom of action, nor lessen guilt.

V. ALTHOUGH GOD FOREKNOWS THE TERRIBLE CONSEQUENCES OF THE GOSPEL ON THE UNBELIEVING HEARER, HE STILL COMMANDS IT TO BE PREACHED. The proclamation of Gospel truth is a good in itself, and a good to the universe, though it may enhance the misery of millions. Though God knows that storms will spread fearful devastation, yet He sends them forth. Man is not the only creature to be served.

(D. Thomas, D. D.)

I. THE GOSPEL IS A MESSAGE OR REPORT TO MAN UPON MATTERS OF SUPREME IMPORTANCE. A system introduced by such agency as that of the Son of God could not be insignificant. The gospel is a message —

1. As to the character and claims of God — the Majesty of His nature, the harmony of His attributes, the import of all His relations to the universe as Creator, Governor, Benefactor and Judge.

2. As to the character and condition of mankind; our depravity consequent on the fall, our alienation from God, our exposure to the curse. Beyond the gospel announcements on these subjects we want nothing. Here are the principles of true philosophy and untiring observation. Outside them all is delusion.

3. As to the method of salvation by the intervention of a Mediator — the counsels of eternity respecting it, the Author of it, the nature of His office, the value of His sacrifice, and the effects on earth and in heaven are all clearly and fully set forth.

II. THE GOSPEL IS COMMUNICATED TO MAN FOR THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF BEING BELIEVED.

1. The report of the gospel is worthy of faith on account of the evidence by which it is confirmed. We are not called upon to believe it without evidence. The historic testimony to its authenticity, the fulfilment of prophecy, the performing of miracles, its wonderful adaptation to the circumstances of all men and its wonderful achievements constitute a conclusive claim to the embrace of every enlightened mind.

2. Faith in the report of the gospel is the only medium by which it can be rendered available to our safety and final happiness. Observe the statement of Scripture respecting the connection between —

(1)Faith and justification.

(2)Faith and sanctification.

(3)Faith and the salvation which is the glorious consummation of justification and sanctification.

3. Faith in the gospel results from the operation of Divine power on the soul. "The arm of the Lord" signifies His power, and the manifestation of that arm consists in the implantation of the principle of faith. It is an affecting thought that nothing can overcome the depraved incredulity of the human heart but an agency omnipotent and Divine. This agency is the Holy Spirit secured by the death, resurrection, etc., of Christ.

III. IT BECOMES A MATTER OF SOLEMN INQUIRY AS TO THE NUMBER BY WHOM THE GOSPEL HAS BEEN EMBRACED. "Who hath believed?"

1. The implication which this inquiry involves, viz. that the number is comparatively small. It was so in the days of the prophet, in those of our Lord and the apostles, and in subsequent Christian history. And now, while we must not overlook the revived interest in religion and the success of missions, how few are the saved in comparison with the unsaved.

2. The results which from that implication must be produced.

(1)Compassion for sinners.

(2)Exertion for their salvation.

(3)Prayer that our efforts may be blessed.

(J. Parsons.)

I. THE TEMPERAMENT WHICH RENDERS FAITH IMPOSSIBLE. The statement is a strong one and is derived from Isaiah 6:9,? 10. This refers to no arbitrary act of Divine sovereignty. The Hebrews never conceived of a mere mechanical law, but regarded all sequence as a mode of God's power. And as overlooking intermediate cause they spoke of Him as making day and night, so they spoke of Him as making spiritual day and night. In the stolidity inevitable when the soul refuses the report of God's messengers, and closes itself against the light, they beheld law, and beholding law they discerned God. St. John dwells much upon cans and cannots (John 5:19, 30; John 6:44; John 3:3), which refer to impossibilities which have their root in the presence or absence of certain dispositions; and the "could not" here implies the operation of a spirit incompatible with trust in Christ. The difficulty of ver. 34 arose out of a state of mind impervious to Christ's manifest Divine life. Intellectual cavillings were allowed to intercept spiritual light, and so they could not believe. For the same reason many do not believe now. There is a type of mind which is often praised as a sign of intellectual smartness — disputatious, so constantly posing as debater or critic that the light which would illumine doubts cannot get into the heart. Such should deeply ponder the text.

II. THE SPIRITUAL INACTION WHICH INVOLVES THE LOSS OF FAITH (vers. 42, 43). Compare this with John 8:45-52. Only one then protested, now we learn that there was a considerable party in favour of Jesus although prudential considerations prevented them from confessing Him. What was the consequence of their timidity? A few days after the hiding of Jesus, they were all with two exceptions implicated in the plottings which issued in the crucifixion. It is dangerous to delay the expression of conviction in appropriate action. Christ requires confession, and no peculiarity of disposition should hinder it. So-called reserved people run the risk of weakening their own faith and love as well as hiding God's righteousness (Psalm 40:10). "He who is not for Me is against Me" (Romans 10:8-10).

III. THE ACTION IN WHICH FAITH IS PRESERVED AND PERFECTED (vers. 35, 36, 46, cf. Ephesians 4:15; Ephesians 5:13).

1. Believe and walk. The error of the people is that they stand still, putting their scruples between them and Christ. His command is, Use what light you have; set yourselves in the path which faith in the light shall indicate (Hosea 6:3).

2. Believe that you may be the children of light. Not to believe is to pass into darkness.

(J. M. Lang, D. D.)

There were rulers, chief rulers, and many of them believed. What a pleasing circumstance. God grant that it may be the same with our rulers up to the sovereign; but may their faith go further; for the Jewish potentates did not confess Christ because they feared men and were anxious to secure their praise.

I. THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS OF BELIEVING IN CHRIST. Faith is made a great matter of in Scripture. Salvation hangs altogether on it, "He that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life." Are we then to infer that everyone who is convinced that Christ is the Saviour shall be saved? No, for the rulers were thus convinced, and there are many who believe all the truths of the Bible and yet are not believers. We read that the devils believe and tremble, but never that the devils believe and live. The text helps us to discriminate between a true and a false faith. The faith of the rulers was one which could lie in their bosoms and could be smothered by fear of man and love of his praise. But a true faith cannot be stifled. It must speak out (Romans 10:9). And not only will the lips speak out, but the life in all the graces of the Christian character. We live in days when it is no disgrace to say that we are Christians, but to show it.

II. THERE ALSO TWO GREAT OBSTACLES TO FAITH.

1. The fear of man as withering now as then. "What will the world say?" often casts a damp on godly resolutions. Men cannot bear the thought of ridicule, and so lower the standard of religious conduct and conform to the world. But grace enables the true believer to say, "I will not be afraid," and he "rejoices that he is counted worthy to suffer shame."

2. The love of man's praise in preference to that of God. How many a man's faith is nipped by no other cause? To live agreeably to the gospel is not the way to gain man's praise. Man does not praise the poor in spirit, the meek, etc., but the proud, etc. He therefore who seeks to please the world puts on such qualities as these. But the true believer acts differently. He is not indeed indifferent to the good opinion of his fellow creatures, yet he values God's esteem above this, and to secure that is the great film of his life.

(A. Roberts, M. A.)

I believe there are many in this congregation who wake every morning to pray, and who never let the evening shadows go without perfuming them with their grateful thanks for the mercies of the day; who study their Bibles more than many professing Christians; and who believe that the life they now live is by faith in the Son of God, but who yet do not wish to have it known, and shrink from joining the Church, and making a public acknowledgment of the debt they owe to Christ. They mean to be Christians, but not to avow themselves such. Thus they will leave the world to suppose that their manifest virtues are self-cultured, and that Christian lives may be led without Christ. If I were a pupil of Titian, and he should design my picture, and sketch it for me, and look over my work every day and make suggestions, and then, when I had exhausted my skill, he should take the brush and give the finishing touches, bringing out a part here and there, and making the whole glow with beauty, and then I should hang it upon the wall and call it mine, what a meanness it would be!

(H. W. Beecher.)

I. PRAISE IS ONE OF THE MOST ACTIVE AND IMPORTANT OF ALL THE INFLUENCES THAT AFFECT HUMAN LIFE. A man without a sense of pleasure in other men's approbation is not well fitted to live among men. Its operation tends continually to restrain men from offence. It incites to doing of a thousand things which are agreeable and which we should not have thought of doing if it had not been for the desire to produce pleasure in others, and so reflexively to win their favour. In these directions it cooperates easily with benevolence. When it works upward, and is in alliance with reason, duty, and religion, then it becomes a glorious incitement, a stimulus to industry and to chivalry. If those from whom we desire praise are praiseworthy, then to desire their praise is to set in operation within ourselves the machinery by which we lift ourselves toward their level. Where it includes the approval of great spirits generically, and of God, then the highest form of motive power is reached.

II. THE VALUE OF THIS FUNCTION IN LIFE DEPENDS ON ITS ASSOCIATIONS AND EDUCATION. Of all the faculties it is the most illusive. When not rightly trained it is deceiving, and when improperly exercised it is weakening. Associated with conscience it should reject all undeserved praise. Men ought to be ashamed to be praised for what they know is not true, and when they lay traps for it how beggarly is the degradation to which they have come. How many array themselves on the side of right to be praised! Who accepts truth which is unpopular, and love that which their conscience tells them is just when it will bring down upon them the discredit of the whole community? How easy is it to bring men on the side that is popular. As long as slavery was an accredited fact and not to be disturbed, it was a very ungracious thing to stand up for human liberty; but no sooner was the public sentiment changed than men sprang up thicker than asparagus and cried, "Oh, the preciousness of emancipation." So men think they are following the truth when they are simply lusting for praise. As an auxiliary there can be no objection to it. If a man in the performance of duty afterwards finds himself the subject of praise, all well and good; but it is necessary that it should be the second or the third, and not the primary or dominant motive. Those surrounded by a low-toned public sentiment are apt to have an indiscriminate hankering after praise and to be so demoralized that they even become vain of sinful courses. There are men whose foul tongue is their strength and they glory in it. There are men proud of their rudeness. They think it praiseworthy to be singular in this respect. Men enter into competition with each other as to which can eat or drink the most. Yea, crimes become virtues in the sight of many.

III. ILLUSTRATIONS.

1. As an incitement to artistic work, the love of praise should always wait on and follow achievement, and never precede it. No man who works for praise can ever become a leading artist.

2. This is true also of literary work. No author will live whose paper is a looking glass. No man will write thoughts but he who is utterly unconscious and lost in his subject.

3. In politics everything is made to turn on the popular vote, and our public men grow up questioning not, "What will be the influence of this or that as to the right or wrong?" but, "How will it strike my constituents and affect my chances?" And the inspirations of God in the lines of truth are sacrificed to this miserable and mercenary regard for praise which men want and do not deserve.

4. Of all places there is none where self-consciousness and the love of praise are so fatal as in the pulpit. There is a wide range for the selection of themes by the preacher, but how many are chosen that jar on the nerves of the lovers of pleasure, wealth, etc.? In the treatment especially of great public questions, what conservatism and fear of men's opinions there is? No man can effectually preach the truths of the Christian life who is not willing to throw himself instantly into anything that is needful and be lost to popularity so that it is with truth and God that he stands.

IV. IN THIS SUBJECT WE HAVE MATTER FOR VERY PROFOUND SELF-EXAMINATION.

1. It is a question for many how much of your religion is other than conformity to public custom, and how much is simple conformity to what is respectable.

2. Is the praise you receive beneficial in its effect upon you? Is it preparing you for higher association in the kingdom above? The day hastens. Soon we shall stand before Him who has declared that if in this evil generation we are ashamed of Him, He will be ashamed of us.

(H. W. Beecher.)

I. THE FOLLY OF AN OVER-VALUATION OF THE OPINION OF MEN. The condemnation was not that the rulers loved the praise of men, but they loved it more than the praise of God. This overweening regard to human opinion is —

1. Very common. Not that the esteem of others is sinful, because deference to the opinion of the wise and good is wisely implanted in our nature. The perversion of an instinctive tendency does not convert a good principle into a bad one. The love of praise is not to be condemned if limited to the praise of good men for right sentiments and good actions. It must, however, be an insufficient principle of conduct, because it may be extended to the praise of bad men for bad actions. We must not then say that the love of praise or fear of blame is necessarily sinful. Opinion is the prop and stay of all social intercourse. Reputation for honour, etc., is essential, while man is man. "No man liveth to himself." Jacob said of Judah, "Thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise"; and to stand well in the opinion of good men is a means of blessing to the Church and the world. St. Paul says, "If there be any praise, think on these things." Only remember that this love of praise should be followed by a love of praiseworthiness, and a fear of blame of blameworthiness; otherwise it will be only vanity in disguise. The man who is above or below the good opinion of ethers, must be more or less than man. He who sets no value upon the just estimation of society is often careless of the actions which tend to produce it.

2. It may be abused, and become implicit idolatry like that of the heathen who served the creature more than the Creator. It was the same with the young ruler, Pilate and Felix. "This is the victory that overcometh our faith — even the world."

3. This sinful preference of man to God is dangerous in its issue. It hazards the less of the soul, and draws down the displeasure of God (see following verses).

II. CONSIDERATIONS WHICH MAY CORRECT THIS EVIL.

1. The worthlessness of the men for whose commendation we are ready to renounce Christ. Let us know why and for whom we are prepared to make shipwreck of faith and good conscience. For what did Judas betray Christ? The favour of worthless Pharisees and thirty pieces of silver. For what did Esau renounce his birthright? And for what do we give up the hope of acceptance with Christ? For the wretched smile of triflers, for the ribaldry of Paine and the "don't know" of Spencer — a mess of pottage indeed. "An atheist's laugh is a poor exchange for a Deity offended."

2. The study of the best models. The men of whom this world was not worthy, were not the men who bowed to ruling opinions. Paul conferred not with flesh and blood; Columbus turned a deaf ear to worldly wisdom, or he would never have discovered a new world. Had Milton been swayed by popular opinion he would never have left a name immortal. Defoe was offered wealth and preferment to support government measures by a venal pen, but he sternly refused, and borrowed a guinea to supply his wants for the day. Study the answer of the Three Hebrew Children and the example of Christ. We talk of the public opinion of earth, but forget that there is a public opinion in heaven (Hebrews 12:10).

3. Estimate of the value of the Divine opinion. God is the standard of all excellence. His approbation is the seal of honour.

4. Anticipate the decisions of the great day.

(T. H. Day.)

I. THERE IS NOTHING IN THE NATURE OF PRAISE THAT IS ABSOLUTELY SINFUL. It is nowhere condemned except in the form of flattery, which is not praise but simply lying. It is needful to bear this in mind, because, through erroneous notions, many receive what is done for them or for God's cause with chilling indifference, which has a detrimental effect particularly on the young. To see that praise is not sinful, we have but to study the generous commendations of our Lord and of St. Paul. Then how frequently has it animated the faint and discouraged, as in the case of St. Paul at Appii Forum.

II. THE PRAISE OF MEN AND THE PRAISE OF GOD ARE FREQUENTLY OPPOSED. For man often condemns what God approves, and vice versa. God cannot look upon any form of sin with allowance, but man condones and sometimes applauds the grossest vices.

III. BOTH IN BESTOWING AND ACCEPTING PRAISE WE SHOULD BE GUIDED ENTIRELY BY THE MIND OF GOD. He knows what is praiseworthy, and has revealed His mind on the subject. Never receive or give flattery for what the Bible condemns.

IV. TO THIS UNHAPPY PREFERENCE FOR THE PRAISE OF MAN BEFORE THAT OF GOD MAY BE TRACED THE MISERY AND RUIN OF MANKIND.

(Congregational Remembrancer.)

The human eye of admiration I seek is like the scorching ray that destroys all the delicate colours in the most costly material. Every action that is done only to be seen of others, loses its freshness in the sight of God, like the flower that, passing through many hands, is at last hardly presentable to anyone, much less to a dear friend.

(T. H. Leary, D. C. L.)

A clergyman once had a dream, in which another popular clergyman appeared to him in his garden and asked the time of the day. "Twenty-five minutes past four," said the other. "It is then exactly an hour since I died, and I am damned;" "Damned for what?" said the other. "Not for not preaching the gospel, for I have many seals to my ministry; but I have sought the praise of men more than the praise of God." The first clergyman on going to the service in the evening (Sunday) was asked "if he had heard of the loss of such a church whose minister had died." "When?" said the clergyman. "Twenty-five minutes past three this afternoon!"

There was one Michael Fenwick that travelled with Wesley as a sort of groom, nurse, and occasional exhorter. The good man was vain enough to complain, one day, that his name was never inserted in Wesley's published "Journals." In the next number of the "Journals" he found his name in a connection that probably did not serve to increase his vanity. "I left Epworth," wrote Wesley, "with great satisfaction, and about one, preached at Clayworth. I think none were unmoved but Michael Fenwick, who fell fast asleep under an adjoining hayrick."

(Dr. Haven.)

A message of —

I. LOVE FROM THE FATHER (ver. 49).

1. The substance of the message — a revelation of the Father (ver. 45).

(1)Of His name, Father.

(2)Of His character, love.

(3)Of His gift, the Son.

(4)Of His purpose, salvation (ver. 47).

2. The medium of its transmission — through Christ, God's

(1)Son (ver. 50);

(2)Representative (ver. 44);

(3)Commissioner (vers. 44, 49).

3. The heinousness of its rejection — to reject Christ and His message the same thing as to reject the Father and His message (ver. 44).

II. SALVATION FOR THE WORLD (vers. 46, 47).

1. Of Salvation from the darkness of

(1)Intellectual error.

(2)Moral unholiness.

(3)Legal condemnation.

(4)Eternal death.

2. Of salvation through faith — through hearing, believing, keeping Christ's words.

3. Of salvation forever — through escaping the final judgment and entering at the last day upon eternal life.

III. JUDGMENT FOR THE UNBELIEVING (ver. 48).

1. Its time — the last day.

2. Its author — the Word of Christ.

3. Its ground — unbelief and disobedience.

IV. ETERNAL LIFE FOR THE FAITHFUL (ver. 50).

1. The object of the Father's commission.

2. The burden of the Son's commission.

3. The issue of the individual's faith. Lessons —

1. Thankfulness for the gospel message.

2. Watchfulness against the sin of unbelief.

3. Prayerfulness that the news of salvation may be propagated through the earth.

4. Trustfulness that we may escape the judgment of the last day.

5. Earnestness to lay hold of eternal life.

(T. Whitelaw, D. D.)

I. OUR WORLD IS DARK. God did not make it so, but man has darkened it, and Satan and sin have darkened it. It is a darkness of —

1. Sleep. The sleeper sees not the light. He may dream that he does so, but that is all.

2. Death. With life, light flees.

3. The tomb. Buried, the darkness is double.

4. Satan. He is the ruler of the darkness of this world.

5. Hell. Our world is an earnest of the blackness of darkness forever. The shadow of hell is over it.

II. THERE IS LIGHT FOR IT. Deep as is the darkness, it is not hopeless. There is enough of light in God and heaven yet. Light has not been quenched throughout the universe, though driven from our world.

III. THIS LIGHT HAS COME. It is not in heaven merely; it has come down to earth. The gospel is an announcement of the arrival of the light.

IV. CHRIST IS THE LIGHT. The brightness of Jehovah's glory; the true Light; the Sun of Righteousness; the Day Star; the bright and morning Star. All the light of the Godhead, of heaven, of the universe, is centred in Him. He is the Light of the World because —

1. Of what He shows us of the Father. He that hath seen Him hath seen the Father.

2. Of what He does to us — pardons, heals, comforts, blesses, saves.

3. Of what He is yet to do for our world. His reign shall be the reign of light, and the earth shall rejoice in His light.

V. THE WAY IN WHICH THE LIGHT ENTERS. Not in working or waiting, but believing. Faith ends the darkness, and lets in the glorious light.

VI. THE FREENESS AND UNIVERSALITY OF THE LIGHT. "Whosoever."

(H. Bonar, D. D.)

Perhaps the worst feature of darkness is, that it is so bewildering. You have to walk, and yet your way is hidden from your eyes. This is hard work. God will help His children, will He not? Ay, that He will, but we cannot see how I We look upward, and see no twinkling star; downward and do not even find a glow worm. Surely we shall see a candle in some window! But no! we are lost in a dark wood. Have we not somewhere about us a match that we could strike? We fumble for it; we find it, it is damp, we have no light. The question that now chills the heart is — How can God deliver me? We do not see how He can make a way of escape. What simple. tons we are to fancy that if we do not see a way of deliverance God does not see one either! If you have ever steamed up the Rhine, you have looked before you, and it has looked as if you could go no further; the river seemed to be a lake; great mountains and vast rocks blocked up all further advance. Suddenly there has been a turn in the stream, and at once a broad highway has been before you, inviting you to enter the heart of the country. Perhaps in Providence you are in one of those parts of the river of life where no progress appears possible. You are quite blocked up, and this causes you darkness of mind. Cease from this unbelieving bewilderment. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him, and He shall give thee thy heart's desire."

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

Andrew, Esaias, Isaiah, Jesus, Judas, Lazarus, Martha, Mary, Philip, SimonBethany, Bethsaida, Galilee, Jerusalem, ZionArm, Belief, Believed, Credence, Esaias, Fulfill, Fulfilled, Isaiah, Message, Order, Preaching, Prophet, Report, Revealed, Saying, Spake, Spoke, Spoken, Unveiled1. Jesus excuses Mary anointing his feet.
9. The people flock to see Lazarus.
10. The chief priests consult to kill him.
12. Jesus rides into Jerusalem.
20. Greeks desire to see Jesus.
23. He foretells his death.
37. The people are generally blinded;
42. yet many chief rulers believe, but do not confess him;
44. therefore Jesus calls earnestly for confession of faith.

John 12:38

     1210   God, human descriptions
     7160   servants of the Lord

John 12:37-38

     2351   Christ, miracles
     8744   faithlessness, as disobedience

John 12:37-40

     7712   convincing
     8835   unbelief, nature of

John 12:37-41

     1445   revelation, responses
     2426   gospel, responses

John 12:37-43

     2369   Christ, responses to

Easter Day
Chester Cathedral. 1870. St John xii. 24, 25. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." This is our Lord's own parable. In it He tells us that His death, His resurrection, His ascension, is a mystery which we may believe, not only because the Bible tells us of it, but because …
Charles Kingsley—All Saints' Day and Other Sermons

December 28 Evening
We would see Jesus.--JOHN 12:21. O Lord, we have waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.--I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.--Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

September 8 Evening
Christ the firstfruits.--I COR. 15:23. Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.--If the firstfruit be holy the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.--Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.--If we have been planted together in the likeness of his death we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.--The Lord Jesus Christ . . . shall change our vile …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

September 22 Evening
O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.--MATT. 26:39. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.--He . . . became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.--In the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

May 8 Morning
It pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief.--ISA. 53:10. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.--Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. Being found in …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

February 29 Morning
Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.--PROV. 27:1. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.--Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

June 12. "We Would See Jesus" (John xii. 21).
"We would see Jesus" (John xii. 21). Glory to Him for all the things laid up for us in the days to come. Glory to Him for all the visions of service in the future; the opportunities of doing good that are far away as well as close at hand. Our Saviour was able to despise the cross for the joy that was before Him. Let us look up to Him, and rise up to Him till we get on high and are able to look out from the mount of vision over all the land of far distances. There shall not a single thing come to …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

November 19. "We Would See Jesus" (John xii. 21).
"We would see Jesus" (John xii. 21). When any great blessing is awaiting us, the devil is sure to try and make it so disagreeable to us that we shall miss it. It is a good thing to know him as a liar, and remember, when he is trying to prejudice us strongly against any cause, that very likely the greatest blessing of our life lies there. Spurgeon once said that the best evidence that God was on our side is the devil's growl, and we are generally pretty safe in following a thing according to Satan's …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

May 8. "Except a Corn of Wheat Fall into the Ground and Die" (John xii. 24).
"Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die" (John xii. 24). Death and resurrection are the central ideas of nature and Christianity. We see them in the transformation of the chrysalis, in the buried seed bursting into the bud and blossom of the spring, in the transformation of the winding sheet of winter to the many tinted robes of spring. We see it all through the Bible in the symbol of circumcision, with its significance of death and life, in the passage of the Red Sea and the Jordan …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

April 14. "I if I be Lifted up from the Earth Will Draw all Men unto Me" (John xii. 32).
"I if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto Me" (John xii. 32). A true and pure Christian life attracts the world. There are hundreds of men and women who find no inducements whatever in the lives of ordinary Christians to interest them in practical religion, but who are won at once by a true and victorious example. We believe that more men of the world step at a bound right into a life of entire consecration than into the intermediate state which is usually presented to them at the …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

After Christ: with Christ
'If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be.'--John xii. 26. Our Lord was strangely moved by the apparently trivial incident of certain Greeks desiring to see Him. He recognised and hailed in them the first-fruits of the Gentiles. The Eastern sages at His cradle, and these representatives of Western culture within a few hours of the Cross, were alike prophets. So, in His answer to their request, our Lord passes beyond the immediate bearing of the request, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Universal Magnet
'I, if I be lifted up ... will draw all men unto Me.'--JOHN xii. 32. 'Never man spake like this Man,' said the wondering Temple officials who were sent to apprehend Jesus. There are many aspects of our Lord's teaching in which it strikes one as unique; but perhaps none is more singular than the boundless boldness of His assertions of His importance to the world. Just think of such sayings as these: 'I am the Light of the world'; 'I am the Bread of Life'; 'I am the Door'; 'A greater than Solomon is …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Son of Man
'... Who is this Son of Man?'--JOHN xii. 34. I have thought that a useful sermon may be devoted to the consideration of the remarkable name which our Lord gives to Himself--'the Son of Man.' And I have selected this instance of its occurrence, rather than any other, because it brings out a point which is too frequently overlooked, viz. that the name was an entirely strange and enigmatical one to the people who heard it. This question of utter bewilderment distinctly shows us that, and negatives, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Love's Prodigality Censured and vindicated
'Then Jesus, six days before the passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom He raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with Him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. Then saith one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A New Kind of King
'On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm-trees, and went forth to meet Him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. And Jesus, when He had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt. These things understood not His disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Parting Warning
'Jesus therefore said unto them, Yet a little while is the light among you. Walk while ye have the light, that darkness overtake you not: and he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe on the light, that ye may become sons of light.'--JOHN xii. 35,36 (R.V.). These are the last words of our Lord's public ministry. He afterwards spoke only to His followers in the sweet seclusion of the sympathetic home at Bethany, and amid the sanctities of the upper …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Praise of Men.
"They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God."--John xii. 43. This is spoken of the chief rulers of the Jews, who, though they believed in Christ's Divine mission, were afraid to confess Him, lest they should incur temporal loss and shame from the Pharisees. The censure passed by St. John on these persons is too often applicable to Christians at the present day; perhaps, indeed, there is no one among us who has not at some time or other fallen under it. We love the good opinion …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

The Saviour Lifted Up, and the Look of Faith.
"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."-John iii. 14, 15. "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. (This he said, signifying what death he should die.)"-John xii. 32, 33. IN order to make this subject plain, I will read the passage referred to-Num. xxi. 6-9. "And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much …
Charles G. Finney—Sermons on Gospel Themes

On the Words of the Gospel, John xii. 44, "He that Believeth on Me, Believeth not on Me, but on Him that Sent Me. " against A
1. What is it, Brethren, which we have heard the Lord saying, "He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me"? [4174] It is good for us to believe on Christ, especially seeing that He hath also Himself expressly said this which ye have now heard, that is, that "He had come a Light into the world, and whosoever believeth on Him shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." [4175] Good then it is to believe on Christ; and a great evil it is not to believe on …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

Christ Lifted Up
We have three things to notice. Christ crucified, Christ's glory. He calls it a lifting him up. Christ crucified, the minister's theme. It is the minister's business to lift Christ up in the gospel. Christ crucified, the heart's attraction. "I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." His own glory--the minister's theme--the heart's attraction. I. I begin then: CHRIST'S CRUCIFIXION IS CHRIST'S GLORY. He uses the word "lifted up" to express the manner of his death. "I, if I be lifted up, will …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

Israel and Britain. A Note of Warning
Her rejection of the Lord Jesus is the more amazing because Isaiah gave so clear an account of the Messiah, and so clearly pictured Jesus of Nazareth. Descriptions of him could not have been more explicit than were the prophecies of Isaiah. It would be very easy to construct an entire life of Christ out of the book of Isaiah, beginning with "a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel," and ending with "he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death." …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 31: 1885

Sermon for St. Stephen's Day
Of three grades of those who learn to die unto themselves, like corn of wheat, that they may bring forth fruit; or of those who are beginners, those who are advancing, and those who are perfect in a Divine life. John xii. 24.--"Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." BY the corn of wheat we understand our Lord Jesus Christ, who by His death has brought forth much fruit for all men, if they are but willing not only to reign …
Susannah Winkworth—The History and Life of the Reverend Doctor John Tauler

Answer to the Jewish Rabby's Letter.
WE Are now come to the letter of Mr. W's Jewish Rabby, whom Mr. W. calls his friend, and says his letter consists of calm and sedate reasoning, p. 55. I on the other hand can see no reason in it. But the reader than not need to rely upon my judgment. Therefore I will transcribe some parts of it, and then make some remarks. The argument of the letter is, that the story of Lazarus's being raised is an imposture; or else the Jews could not have been so wicked, as to be on that account provoked against …
Nathaniel Lardner—A Vindication of Three of Our Blessed Saviour's Miracles

Our First Proposition Was, that There is Satisfactory Evidence that Many Pretending to be Original...
Our first proposition was, That there is satisfactory evidence that many pretending to be original witnesses of the Christian miracles, passed their lives in labours, dangers, and sufferings, voluntarily undertaken and undergone in attestation of the accounts which they delivered, and solely in consequence of their belief of the truth of those accounts; and that they also submitted, from the same motives, to new rules of conduct. Our second proposition, and which now remains to be treated of, is, …
William Paley—Evidences of Christianity

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