_I am_, &c. Our Lord having gone with his disciples to the mount of Olives, employed the remaining hours of his ministry in delivering to them a long and most excellent discourse, recorded in this and the following chapter. This discourse he began with the parable of the vine, taken probably from th... [ Continue Reading ]
_Every branch in me_ True believers, who by faith have an interest in, and union with Christ, are the branches of the vine here spoken of. Though, as to the place of their abode, their religious sentiments in lesser matters, and their modes of worship, they may be distant from each other, yet they m... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now ye are clean_ All of you, to whom I now speak, are made clean from the guilt and power of sin through the word which I have spoken unto you, whose sanctifying influence has operated on your hearts, and which, when applied by the Spirit, is the grand instrument of purifying the soul. _Abide in m... [ Continue Reading ]
_If ye abide in me_, &c. Our Lord having laid before his disciples the awful consequences of falling from grace, now proceeds to point out some of the peculiar advantages which should accrue from a contrary spirit and conduct; the first of which is that all their prayers should be heard and answered... [ Continue Reading ]
John 15:8, and those who disobeyed the gospel, are here intended. The former, because, as truth is here opposed to unrighteousness, it must signify not only the truths discovered by revelation, but those likewise respecting religion and morality, which are discoverable by the light of nature, and wh... [ Continue Reading ]
_As the Father hath loved me_ As certainly as he hath loved me; and with that kind of love wherewith he hath loved me, namely, with a love of approbation and delight, constancy and perseverance; _so have I loved you_ As truly, as affectionately, as invariably: _continue ye in my love_ Keep your plac... [ Continue Reading ]
_This is my commandment_ This I especially enjoin you, whether as apostles or private Christians; _that ye love one another_ Cordially and constantly; even, if it be possible, with as great fervency and constancy, _as I have loved you_ So as to be ready to sacrifice your lives for each other, as I e... [ Continue Reading ]
_Greater love_ To his friends, (of whom here he only speaks,) _hath no man than this_ That is, a greater degree of love than this never existed in the world; _that a man lay down his life for his friends_ That a man should be willing, not only on some sudden alarm, or in some extraordinary and unexp... [ Continue Reading ]
_These things I command you_, &c. Again I would remind you, that if you would continue thus to be the objects of these my Father's gracious regards, you must carefully practise your duty to each other, as well as to him; you must continue to love one another; and this you should the rather do, as yo... [ Continue Reading ]
_If I had not come and spoken unto them_ Thus plainly; _they had not had sin_ Their guilt would not have been so great. “If I had not appeared in person among them, according to their own prophecies, and proved my mission by arguments which put it beyond all reasonable possibility of doubt, they wou... [ Continue Reading ]
_If I had not done among them_, &c. If I had wrought no miracle at all among them; nay, if I had not done such extraordinary works as no other man ever did, not even their prophets, or Moses himself; _they had not had sin_ Any degree of sin comparable to that which they are now under: _but now they... [ Continue Reading ]