tion, regardless of consequences, rega.rdful only or him whose Name we bear, and whose honour we would by no mee.ns te.mish? This may be put on various grounds. We put it here on this ground-tha.t it is by thus loving sinners that we arn to be brought into sympathy with tha.t God who loves sinners. "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet pere.dventure for a good man some would even dare -to die. But God commendeth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ d;ed for us." That is one great feature of the Divine Jove-very mysterious, if we think of it, very repugnant to e.11 our preconceptions-that God should love those who were BO opposed to him. There is something here that startles us; there is something here that quite overwhelms us. The truth is, we do not wonder enough at it; we give our wonder to lesser things. Is it not often with us so low as this---only a vacant look as he passes before us? But say, all ye that pass by, have ye seen anything like to this iu your experience, anything BO really wonderfol as God's love to sinners? If we would realize it, if we would breathe the atmosphere of the cross, if we would feel with God in his love to sinners, we must love sinners even as he loves them. 'l'rue, it is e. hard thing to conceive an interest in a sinner, a hard thing to retain that interest when all the romance is gone, a hard thing to undertake some definite direct line of procedure for his reclamation; but that is the Divine arrangement, and Divine grace is offered. '' If ye love not the seen," says the apostle, "how can ye love the unseen?" implying that it is by loving the seen that we are to learn to love the unseen. If we do not know the forbearance and patience which need to be exercised towards sinners, how can we know the Divine forbearance and patience that need to be exercised toward us? It is to be borne in mind that love to our Father-God has an important influence on love to our brother-man. The latter would soon wither and decay if it were not fed from a higher source. He who commands here, spake from Sinai; he now speaks from Calvary. Here him speaking from Calvary. His first word to the sinner is not "Love your brother," but, " Believe on me." Should not an ordinary gratitude prompt to instantaneous obedience to the command ?-R. F.
EXPOSITION. whose will is united with the will of God, CHAPTER V. will not find obedience to the.t will e. task. Vers. 1-12.-Faith is the source of love. Ver. 4.-Ree.son for the preceding state- Ver. 1.-The verse is a sorites. To be- ment: the opposition which causes the lieve in the Incarnation involves birth from difficulty is already overcome. Nothing, God. To be born of God involves loving however, is gained by transferring the full God. To love God involves loving his chil- atop from the end of ver. 3 to the middle of dren. Therefore to believe in the Incar- ver. 4, any more than from the end of ver. 2 nation involves loving God's children. Tov to the middle of ver. 3. The punctuation of "Y•-r•vV'lµ•vov J~ ab-roii is not to be under- the Authorized Version and the Revised stood as meaning Christ to the exclusion of Version is to be preferred. It is the world Christians; it means any son of God, as the that hinders obedience to God's command- next verse shows. ments and me.kes them seem griernlL'l. Bnt Ver. 2.-Another mark by which we can everywhere God's children ( 1riiv -ro i'.-Y•VV11- test our love towards the brethren. Iu ver. µ,vov, as in John vi. 37, 39; xvii. 2) conquer I faith in the Incarnation is shown to in- the world, and that by means of faitb. Tl10 volve this love. Here obedience to Goel is aorist U1 v11<11<raira) ml\rks the victory e.s the teat. To obey God proves love to him, already won e.nd complete: " the victory e.nd this again involves love of his children. that hath vanquished the world is t.his-our Ver. 3.-Reason for the preceding state- faith." ment. '' For the love of God oonsista in this Ver. 5.-Wha.t other way is there of con- (eh. iv. 17), that we keep his comme.nd- quering the worlcl? And how can he who 1uents: and these are not grievous." These believes fail? Belief in Christ unites us to e.re the words, not merely of e.n inspired him, and gives us II share in his victories; apostle, but of an e.ge<l mo.n, with e. wide e.nd he has overcome the world (Johu xvi. experience oflife e.nd its difficulties. "Diffi- 33). cult" ie o. relntive term, depending upon the Vers. 6-12.-The section takes e. new relation between the thing to be done o.ud tum : the teat of the Christian life furnished the powers of the doer of it. The Christian, by the wi\ness of the life itself. This witness 140 TRE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. [ott. v.1-91.