The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 141

punisl1 the people forth()irobihtrROy by blind- forced n.nd wilful rejection of the Divine in!'. lh<'ireyee and hardening their hellrt, and Word is visited by oondign withdrnwment "'""n 11.rr<'et.ing the oonvenrion R.nd healing of the faculty to receive even more ar.ocssihle of the covenant people. This aame solemn &nd apprehensible truth. This is the gron.t ptl.l!•n!?c fa quoted in four other plMoe in law of Divine operation in the nnturo of 1\11 the N<'w Teet.'tment. Perhaps Luke viii. 10 moral beings. This law is dosc.ribcd na a ie hardly to be reg11:rded a.a R oitntion ; e. diatinotly foreseen ovent, nnd by LXX. na ,small port.ion only of the pnaeRge is intro- an apprehensible e.nd even oonspiououe foot, du<'C'<l. from the prophet without reference nnd it is quoted by St. John as the direct con- to him, and this is inverted in order. In sequence of the Divine notivity. Ho does Mott. xiiL H, 15 th,:,re is the neru-er e.pproBOh not mean to say that, because Ise.inh fore- to the LXX., ,vhioh, however, transforms told this as a Divine reprobation, they, the ~•',::it 1Vl:lt, "to hee.r, hear ye," into r,,,rafi whether they would or not as individunls, a.xoorr•.,.•• " by hearing ye sh&ll hear; " o.nd were fated to die the death of blindness but similarly with the other ole.uses,-the im- they conld not believe, been.use, on ' the pcrnt:i,e of God's oomma.nd t.o the prophet principle involved in Isa.ie.h's predictions, being resolved int.o the future of moet tho Divine government had fulfilled itself, certain &ecomplishmcnt., e.nd in pl&ee of bad eoted upon its universal ln.w, nnd in •• Lest they understand with their heart, &nd oonsequence of vows and eots of wilful dis- convert, a.nd he rGod) heal them," LXX. obedience, they had thus fa.lien into the curse re&ds, "Lest ... should convert, &nd I [who tha.t belongs to e. neglect of the Divine. give you the command to deliver such e. "They could not believe." Thus even now message, notwithstanding its results upon disinclination to God e.nd to righteousness them] hce.l them." Thie St. M&tthew has leads to moral incapacity. Sin is punished followed. Me.rk iv. 12 be.e given a different by its natnral consequences : unbelief is representation age.in. and, while omitting a punished by unsnsceptibility, t.o clearest considemble portion of the passage, pa.sees evidence; prejudice by blindness; rejection to the climax, whioh is put thus: "Lest they of Divine love by ino.bility to see it at its should be converted, and their sin shonld best. How is this natural evolution brought be forgiven them," showillg that the evan- a.bout? Surely by laws of God. What are gelist, looking to the Hebrew rather than to these le.we but God's we.ye of acting with the LXX., has resolved its meaning into e. all moral agents whatever? clearly related paraphrase. In Acts xxviii. Ver. 41.-These things sa.id Isaiah, be- 26, '%7 the paBSB.ge e.lmost verbally follows oauae I hs nw his glory, and he spa.ke of him. the LXX. Here ill the remarks of St. John By this reference to the theophany of Isa.. the whole pe.seage seems independent of the vi. 1, 2 the eve.ngelist here identifies Christ LXX., e.nd to have resolved the Hebrew with the .Adonai whom the prophet se.w in •• imperative," addressed to the prophet, his vision. e.nd thus expresses his conception into e.n awful a.seura.nce of Divine e.genoy of the Christ (comp. 1 Cor. x. 4; PhiL ii. in the matter. Instead of "shut their 6). Because the prophet so.w the glory of eyes," Hebrew imperative, or LXX. "their Christ, the unntterable me.jesty of the eyes they closed," l«rl.,.,,.uau, LXX., he says, "Word of God," he delivered, e.s we know, 'TE'T"6tf,N>J«•v, Ee hath blinded their eyes; this tremendous burden. Few utterances of nnd so with the other terms : Ee hardened 1 the New Testament convey in more startling their heart ; in order that they should not form the conviction of the apostles touching (lest they should) see with their eyes, a.nil the pre-existence of the Lord, and the iden- peroeive with their heart, and should turn, tification of the Divine Personality of the and I should heal them. In ltfu-"'JUU the Christ, with the highest conception tha.t the evangelist, returning t.o the first person, Hebrew prophet entertained of the Almighty draws a distinction between the retributive One, of the eternal Godhead. activity of the pre-existent Christ of the Ver. 42.-There are seversl illnstro.ti,1DS earlier revelation and the historical Saviour. in this verse that the dietion of the evange- There is no slip or negligence. Godet and list differs from that which he usee when Hengstenberg go a long way in me.king recording the words of Christ. Thus IJµ"'r God the .Author of the sin and rejection, µ,,,.,.., is peoulie.r to John himself, and thu11 and the cause of the impollllibility of their is an a'.1ru{ >...-y&pu,o"; but µ,,,,,-01 occurs five repentance and hea.l.ing. Tl1at which w all the several quotatioDS of this pal!Bage we 1 "Or,, "when," of D, r, A, other uncials leam from Isaiah'■ oracle is that the un- and Fathers, in T.R. and Authorized Ver. sion, is a correction probo.bly from 8.-,, whioh 1 DEw"P"'"'" of T.R. is replaced by is preferred by La.chmann, Meyer, Tregelles, ,,,,:,P"'".,,, by R.T. with Tischendorf (8th. Tischendorf(8th edit.), Westoott and Hort, edit.), Tregelles, Alford, and A, B. l:C also R.T., l:C, B, L, M, X, 1, 33, and numeroua hu e.n emendAtion of ln,pwr~""'"· qnotations. cu. xn. 1-60.J THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. 147