h<'a.rd and obeyed. "Thou lrnowest that our witness is true," is the conviction' which oomes home to the mind of every patient and earnest student of these writings. "That our witness is true." He has the whole "glorious company of the apostles " at his back. He has " the holy Church throughout all the world" on his side. " He knoweth that he saith true, that ye also may believe." In these Epistles we have two infinitely necessary things which oan never be separated without serious injury to both-principles of conduct and principles of faith. They contain a summary of Christian ethics and a. summary of Christian belief. They teach us, on the one band, the Way, on the other, the Truth; and these two combined are the Life. " This is the true God, and eternal life." Who does not feel that for the study of suoh writings something more is needed than the student's thirst for knowledge, and the scholar's keenness of perception? There is need of the believer's understanding to "know him that is true," and of the Christian's purity of heart to welcome him. That collect, the language of which is so largely drawn from the First Epistle, will help us to enter upon the study of it in the right spirit, the Collect for the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany- " O God, whose blessed Son was manifested that he might destroy the worlcs of the det,il ( eh. iii. 8), and make us the sons of God ( eh. iii. 1), and heirs of eternal, life ( oh. v. 20); Grant us, we beseech thee, that, having tliis hope, we may purify ourseloes ei,en as he is pure ( eh. iii. 3); that, when he shall appear ( eh. iii. 2) again with power and great glory, we may be made like unto him ( eh. iii. 2) in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where with thee, 0 Fatlier, ( eh. i 2), and thee, 0 Holy Ghost, he liveth and reigneth, ever one God, world without end (comp. eh. v. 20). Amen.'' THE
FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. EXPOSITION. the Word of life, we declare to you also, that CHAPTER I. ye also may have communion with us." Vere. 1-4.-1. THE INTRODUCTION. It Ver. l.-The first clause states what or declares the writer's authority, based on how the object is in itself; the next three personal experience; announces the subject- state St. John's relation to it; "which," in matter of his Gospel, to which this Epistle the first clause nominative, in the others is forms o. companion; and states his object in accusative. The neuter (if) expresses a col- lective and comprehensive whole (John iv. writing the Epistle. 22; vi. 37; xvii. 2; Acts xvii. 23, etc.); the These opening verses help to rnise the attributes of the A/ryo, rnther than the rco.der to the high frame of mind in which A6-yos himself are indicated. Or, as Jelf the apostle writes. Emotion, suppressed expresses it, " the neuter gender denotea under a sense of awe ancl solemnity, is immaterial personality, the masculiue or feminine material personality," In the be- shown by the involved construction through ginning is not quite the same aa in John i. which his thoughts struggle for utterance. 1; there St. John tells us that the Word was We are reminded of the introduction to the in existenre before the world was created; Gospel, especially in the first clause. Jloth here that he was in existence before he was announce to us the subject of the writing nmmfested. Thus far all is -indefinite; the philosopher, about to expound a. law of which follows-the Word who i~ the Life. nature, might begin, "That which wa.s from Both set before us, in the aim pleat language, the beginning declare we unto you." What truths of profoundest meaning. But while follows is in o. climax, me.king the meaning ln the Gospel he seems to lose sight of his clearer at each step : seeing is more tlrn.n readers in the magnitude of his subject, hearing, and handling than seeing. The here the thought of his "little chilcl!:en" is climax is in two pairs, of perfects and of o.orists; the aorists giviug the past nets, the uppermost. perfects the permanent results. Together 'l'he construction of the first three verses they sum up the apostolic experience of that may be te.ken in more ways than one; but boundless nctivity of Christ, of which the almost certainly the main verb is &.1rayyb.. world could not contain the full account (John xxi. 25). lleheld (e8ea.O'aµ,Ba.) is more '/1.oµ•v, and the clauses introduced by 8 give than have seen (ewpd1<a.µev). Seeing might the substance of the a.,ra.-yy•.\la. The sentence be momentary; beholding implies that is broken by the parenthetical var. 2, after steady contemplation, for which the beloved which the muin po.rt of ver. 1 is repeated for disciple had large aml abundantly useJ op- clel\rness. Reduced to o. simple form, the portunities. In our hands handled we may sso o. referenoo to Luke xxiv. 39, where the whole runs thus:" That which was from ·\li°I same verb is use,l ('f'J'/'/1.a</)l,O"a."TE); and still beginning, which we have heard, which we. moro to John xx. 27, where the demanded ho.vo seen with our eyes, which we looked test of handling is o1l'erecl. to St. Thomas, upon, and our ho.ncls hl\ndle,l, concerning pl'Ovokiug the confession of faith to whiel, l. JOHN. 2 THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOIIN. [cH, I. 1-10