the habitual character of John's testimony to Christ. He was, throughout his ministry, continually proclaiming Christ's great- ness and superiority to himself, both in nature and dignity.
[Cried] The Greek word so rendered, implies a very loud cry, like that of one making a proclamation. Parkhurst defines it in this place as " speaking out very openly."
[He that Cometh after me.. ..pr^ef erred hefore....was hefore we. This sentence has caused much discussion and some difference of opinion. The Greek words literally translated would be, " He that cometh after me has become, or been made, in front of me, — for he was first of me." I feel no doubt that our English version gives the correct meaning of the sentence. — Hammond's note on the text is very good.
The first " before," signifies before in place, position, or dig- nity. The Greek adverb so rendered, is used forty-nine times in the New Testament, but never once in the sense of " before in point of time or age."
The second " before," signifies before in point of time or ex- istence. " He was existing before me, at the time when I was not." The expression is certainly remarkable and uncommon, but there is another exactly like it in this Gospel, " It hated me before it hated you," where the literal rendering would be, "it hated me first of you."
The sentence " he was before me," is a distinct statement of Christ's pre-existence. He was born at least six months after John the Baptist, and was therefore younger in age than John. Yet John says, " He was before me. He was existing when I was born," If he had meant only, that our Lord was a more honourable person than himself, he would surely have said, " He is before me."
The greatness of John the Baptist's spiritual knowledge ap- pears in this expression. He understood the doctrine of Christ's pre-existence. Christians are apt to think far too slightingly of John the Baptist's attainments, and the depths of his teach- ing.
16. — [Q/* His fulness have all we received^ This sentence means, " all we who believe on Jesus, have received an abundant sup- ply of all that our souls need out of the fall store that resides in Him for His people. It is from Christ and Christ alone, that all our spiritual wants have been supplied."
Waterland, in his book oa the Trinity, calls particular atten- tion to this expression. He thinks that it was specially used with a view to the strange doctrines of the Gnostics in general, and th« Cerinthians in particular, whose heresies arose before