HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 9.-Tlie Divine daybreak. The evangelist writes as one who loves admires and venerates him of whom it is his office to inform his fellow-men. He bas one great ~gure to portray, one great n!me to exalt, one great heart to unfold. His language 1s i;uch as would not be befittIDg were he heralding the advent even of a prophet or a l'aint. How bold, how beautiful, how impr<'ssive are his figures I John speaks of the Di,ine Word, uttering forth the thought and will of God in the hearing of mankind, 0f the. Di,ine Life, quickening the world from spiritual death; of the Divine Light'. scattering human darkness, and bringing in the morning of an immortal day, No terms can be too lofty in which to welcome the advent of the Son of God-a theme worth_,. of praise for ever ardent, of a son~ for ever new. I. CHRIST IS IN HillSELF THE TRUE LIGHT, 1. As distinguished from, thouah 0 sym- bolized by, physical light. When you watch for the morning, and see the crimson dawn fill all the east with promise of the coming day; when from the hill-top at noon you scan the landscape where valley, grove, and river are lit up by the splendour of the ~ummer sun; when you "almost think you gaze through golden sunsets into heaven ; " when you watch the lovely afterglow lingering on snow-clad Alpine summits; when by night you watch the lustrous moon emerge from a veil of clouds, or trace the flaming constellations;-then, remember this, Christ is the true Light. 2. As contrasting with false lights. It is said that upon some coasts wreckers have been known to kindle misleading lights in order to lure confiding seamen to their destruction. Emblem of teachers and of systems that deceive men by representing his bodily and earthly interests as of supreme importance-that bound his horizon by the narrow limits of time, that tell him that God is unknowable. Opposed to such is that heavenly light which never leads astray, and never pales or sets. 3. As distinct from the imperfect lights, in which there was Divine truth, although but dim. '!'here were in such philosophy as the wise and lofty-minded heathen produced, rays of truth which came from God; but these were mingled with the smoke and mists of human error. The Hebrew prophets proclaimed Divine truth and inculcated Divine righteousness; yet they were lost in the Christ who fulfilled them, as the stars are quenched before the rising sun. 4. Christ was the true Light, as revealing the truth concerning God and his character and purposes of mercy; as pouring the lustre of moral purity over a sin-darkened world; as diffusing abroad spiritual life, and with it spiritual b1ightness, gladness, and hope. He is both luminous and illuminating. IL CHRIST 1s THE LIGHT COMING INTO THE WORLD, In himself he was and is the true Light; but we have reason to be grateful, becanse, as the Sun of Righteousness, he has arisen upon the world with healing in his wings. 1. This light came into the world even before the advent-has always been streaming into human nature and human society. Reason and con.science are" the candle of the Lord," by which he lights up our inmost being. He who first said, "Let there be light I" having provided that which is natural, did not withhold that which is spiritual. 2. Yet this ''coming" was especially in the earthly ministry of our Redeemer. Conversing with Nicodemus, Jesus ~aiJ.. "The Light. is come into the world;" and before the close of his ministry he cried, "I am come a Light into the world "--expressions exactly correspondiug with the lan- guaue here used by John. It was to a world which needed him, which was in dnrkness a□ d the shadow of death for want of him, that the Saviour came. His whole ministry 0
was a holy, gracious ~hining; and in his li11:ht there were many wh_o loved to walk. 3. The Divine liuht did not cease to come mto the world when Christ ascended. In fact, at first, th~ wor!d ,renerally neither welcomed nor even recognized its Divine Enligbtener. Only after the vain attempt to quench the heavenly light did men learn OH, t. 1-\.il.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST JOHN. 55
its preciousness and power. From the celestial sphere this glorious and nnqnenchable Luminary casts its illumining and vivifying rays in EL wider sweep. Ghrist has by hi~ Spirit boen constantly "coming" into the world, anrl. with ever-extending beneficence, and has thus been delivering men from the horrors of a moral midnhi;ht gloom. Ill. CnmsT IB THE LIGHT THAT LIOIITETH EVERY MAN. The largeness of this lan- guage quite accords with the teaching of the New Testament generally. ]. There is in every human breast a Di vino light-the light of the Word-not dependent upon human forms of doctrine. A ray from heaven will guide all those who look for it, and wh0 nre ready to be led by it. 2. The purpo~e of Christ's coming into the world wa~ th;it all men might through him enjoy spiritual illumination. The need of such enlii;hten- ment is apparent to all who consider the ignorance and sinfulness of mankind, calli11~ for both a revelation of truth aad supernatural motives to obedience. Jews and Gentile,; both, if in different measure, required a new and spiritual daybreak. Christ came ,; a Light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the Glory of God's people Israel." Not merely all the nations of men, but all classes and conditions, and even all characters, needed this Divine shining. 'l'hose whose eyes were turned to the light found in him the fulfilment of their desires. 'l'hose who had been trying to content themselves with darkness, in many cases learned to cherish a better hope, and came to enjoy a purer satisfaction. PRACTICAL APPEAL. The day has broken, the sun shines; Christ, the true Light, lighteth every man. Yet it is for each hearer of the gospel to decide whether he will accept the light and walk in it, or not. The mere shining abroad of spiritual light is not enough ; there must be an eye to behold the celestial rays, and that eye must be opened by the influences of the Spirit of God, that it may welcome the sacred sunlight. There are still those who love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. For such, until their hatred or indifference towards Christ be changed, the day has dawned, and the Sun has risen, in vain.-T.