the power of sin, and all things not put under Christ ; — ■ so long their happiness and peace must needs be incom- plete. This is what St. Paul meant when he said, " We ourselves, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." (Rom. vii. 23.)
Yet this same personal absence of Christ is no cause of sorrow to the children of this world. It was not to the unbelieving Jews, we may be sure. When Christ was condemned and crucified, they rejoiced and were glad. They thought that the hated reprover of their sins and false teaching was silenced for ever. It is not to the careless and the wicked of our day, we may be sure. The longer Christ keeps away from this earth, and lets them alone, the better will they be pleased. " We do not want this Christ to reign over us," is the feeling of the world. His absence causes them no pain. Their so-called happiness is complete without Him. All this may sound very painful and startling. But where is the thinking reader of the Bible who can deny that it is true ? The world does not want Christ back again, and thinks that it does very well without Him. What a fearful waking up there will be by-and-by !
We learn, for another thing in this verse, that Chrisfs personal return shall he a source of boundless joy to His helievi7ig people. It is written, "I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." Once more we must take care that we do not narrow the meaning of these words by tying them down to our Lord's resurrection. They surely reach much further than this. The joy of the disciples when they saw Christ risen from the dead, was a joy soon obscured by His ascension and withdrawal into heaven. The true joy, the perfect joy, the joy that can never be taken away, will be the joy which Christ's
JOHN, CHAP. XVI. l^l
people will feel when Christ returns the second time, at the end of this world.
The second personal advent of Christ, to speak plainly, is the one grand object on which our Lord, both here and elsewhere, teaches all believers to fix their eyes. We ought to be always looking for and " loving His appearing," as the perfection of our happiness, and the consummation of all our hopes. (2 Peter iii. 12; 2 Tim. iv. 8.) That same Jesus who was taken up visibly into heaven, shall also come again visibly, even as He went. Let the eyes of our faith be always fixed on this coming. It is not enough that we look back- ward to the cross, and rejoice in Christ dying for our sins; and iqnoards to the right hand of God, and rejoice in Christ's interceding for every believer. We must do more than this. We must look forward to Christ's re- turn from lieaven to bless His people, and to wind up the work of redemption. Then, and then only, will the prayer of eighteen centuries receive its complete answer, — " Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Well may our Lord say that in that day of resurrection and reunion our " hearts shall rejoice." — " When we awake up after His likeness we shall be satisfied." (Psalm xvii. 15.)
We learn, lastly, in these verses, that lohile Christ is absent believers tnust ash much in prayer. It is written, " Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name : ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."
We may well believe that up to this time the dis- ciples had never realized their Master's full dignity. They had certainly never understood that He was the one Mediator between God and man, in whose name and for whose sake they were to put up their prayers. Here they are distinctly told that henceforward they are to " ask in His name." Nor can we doubt that our Lord