Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."

Our Lord proceeded to assert the truth and importance of the statement he had made; "Verily, verily, I say unto you, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and ye receive not our witness."20 "We" not improbably includes John the Baptist, whose doctrine of repentance or change of mind, is entirely coincident with our Lord's doctrine of the new birth. Our Lord thus gently, but powerfully, exposed Nicodemus' inconsistency, q. d., 'You say that you know that I am a teacher sent from God, and you admit John to be a prophet; and yet when we tell you what we know to be true, instead of readily receiving it, you doubt, and hesitate, and object, and cavil. You are come to inquire of me concerning the nature of the Messiah's kingdom, but how will you ever receive the truth respecting it, so widely different from what you as a Jew expect, when you discover so much backwardness to receive the doctrine, comparatively level to your comprehension, that a great inward change, to be effected by the Spirit of God, is necessary to the enjoyment of its blessing, and indeed to the understanding of its nature?'

"If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things?" q. d., 'Your behavior gives me little encouragement to go forward and unfold to you the truth about that kingdom of God, to inquire about which was the greatest purpose of your visit. For if you find so much difficulty in receiving what is comparatively an earthly thing, a doctrine respecting things level to ordinary apprehensions-the doctrine that carnal men, men occupied with sensible and present things, must undergo an inward change, a change of mind and heart, of conviction and feeling,-must become spiritual men to fit them for the reception of a spiritual Saviour, and the possession of a spiritual salvation,'-how shall you ever be brought to believe "the heavenly things," the doctrine of the kingdom of heaven, which is as remote, as heaven is from earth, from anything which could have entered into the mind of man; the doctrine of the manner in which spiritual blessings are to be obtained by the Messiah, the persons for whom they are to be obtained, and the manner in which they are to be invested with them?'d

The doctrine of our Lord here is that so plainly taught by his Apostles, that to the understanding and enjoyment of the bless ins of the Christian salvation, a though change of nature, of

28 Ezek. xxxvi. 25-27 Jer. xxxi. 31-33.

80 John iii. 12.

"John iii. 11. See Note D.

mind and heart, is necessary. "If any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold all things are become new." "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned." As Christians, "we are God's workmanship, created anew in Christ Jesus to good works.""

"And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven,"" q. d., These heavenly things have never yet been clearly unfolded to men. No man has been in heaven to penetrate into these yet hidden counsels of God. "The Son of Man" (a name borrowed from the Old Testament Scriptures, by which the Messiah was indicated),-the Son of Man who had been in heaven "with God," ay, whose residence as to his higher nature is even now in heaven, he alone can reveal them." Our Lord does not here say in direct terms that HE was this Son of Man, though the words, and probably the manner, seem to have been intended to suggest this idea.

All this statement, infinitely important as it is, is properly speaking preliminary, and it is at the 12th verse that our Lord proceeds to tell of "heavenly things;" to reveal the doctrine of the kingdom. To understand our Lord's words aright, we must never forget that he was teaching the true doctrine of the kingdom of heaven, of the deliverance to be accomplished by the Messiah, to a pharisaic Jew, who labored under the false notions. common to his nation and sect.

Had Nicodemus been called on to state his opinion about the kingdom of heaven, he probably would have done it in some such terms as these:-'Like David the king of Israel, the Son of Man, Messiah the Prince, shall be lifted up, exalted, to a glorious throne, that all the Jewish people may be delivered from degradation and slavery, and raised to dignity, wealth, and power: For Jehovah loves his peculiar people, and gives them that illustrious person, called in the prophets his own, his begotten, Son, to be their deliverer and ruler; and while he sends him to deliver Israel, he sends him also to punish and destroy the Gentile nations, and all Israelites shall enjoy the blessings of his reign, while all the Gentiles who do not submit to him, and become tributaries to the holy nation, shall fall before his triumphant arms.'

Hear, however, the true doctrine of the kingdom of God from him who comes to establish it. 'Messiah shall indeed be lifted

312 Cor. v. 17. 1. Cor. ii. 14. Eph. ii. 10. 33 John i. 1; vi. 62.

22 John iii. 13.

34" has generally (e. g., by Erasm. Ernesti, &c.) been regarded as the par ticiple of the imperfect-the same with os v. Now, although this is admissible, the connection here rather indicates the proper meaning of the present."-THODr. Campbell translates it "whose abode is in heaven." See Note E.

LUCK.

up," not however as David was exalted to the throne, but as the brazen serpent was elevated on a pole; and the purpose of his being thus lifted up is not Israel's temporal deliverance, but men's spiritual and everlasting salvation, that men might not perish but have eternal life; and the manner in which men are to obtain possession of this salvation, is not by being born Jews, or by submitting, if Gentiles, to the resistless arms of an earthly conqueror; it is by believing the truth about this deliverance. Whosoever believeth shall not perish, but have eternal life: For God so loved, not Israel merely, but the world, that he gave-devoted to death as a victim-his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but have everlasting life: For God sent not his Son to destroy the Gentile nations, but to be the Saviour of men, without reference to their national descent; and all who believe the truth with respect to this spiritual Deliverer, shall be made partakers of his spiritual salvation, whether they be Jews or Gentiles; while all who do not believe the truth, whether they be Jews or Gentiles, shall be excluded from the blessings of his salvation, and be punished for their rejection of the heavenly messenger, and his heavenly message.' Such, in substance, is our Lord's statement; and if Nicodemus in any good measure apprehended its meaning, he must have been persuaded now of the truth of our Lord's statement, "that a man must indeed be born again," that even a Jew must undergo a very thorough change of mind and heart, to see, or to enter into, this kingdom.

Let us now examine our Lord's doctrine of the kingdom of the Messiah somewhat more particularly. Let us attend to the account contained in the words before us,

I. Of the Messiah-the only begotten Son of God—the Son of Man-sent by the Father.

II. Of the design of the Messiah's mission: negatively, not to condemn the world; positively, that the world through him might be saved that they should not perish, but have everlasting life.

III. Of the grand means by which this design was to be accomplished-by the Messiah's being lifted up as the brazen serpent was lifted up in the wilderness by God's giving him.

IV. Of the manner of obtaining a personal interest in the blessings thus procured-believing the Divine revelation respecting the Messiah.

V. Of the origin of this economy of mercy-the love of God to the world

VI. Of the guilt and punishment of those who refuse to avail themselves of this method of salvation.

Let us turn our attention to these most important topics in their order.

"Lifted up" is a feeble rendering for úwoe; Campbell's version is prefer able—" placed on high."

1. OF THE MESSIAH.

Let us consider the account here given of the Messiah. He is described as the only begotten Son of God-as the son of Man-and as, Sent by the Father.

1. The Son of God.

The Messiah is described as "the only begotten Son of God."" This is an appellation of the Messiah borrowed from the 2d Psalm, which is obviously prophetic and Messianic. "I will declare the decree; the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee." It must be plain to every reflecting mind, that such terms as those now under consideration, when applied to denote the relation subsisting between our Lord and his divine Father, must be understood in a figurative, or, more properly speaking, perhaps, an analogical sense. The principle of interpreting such phrases is a plain one. It is this, "That the terms are to be understood in their ordinary meaning as far as, and no farther than, we know from satisfactory sources they are not inapplicable to the subject in reference to which they are employed." "Son" is a word descriptive of a human. relation with which we are familiar, and in its proper literal meaning suggests the following ideas:-Identity of nature-derivation of being-posteriority-inferiority-similarity-mutual affection. "Only begotten Son" suggests the idea of the individual being the only person standing in that relation to him who is termed the Father; and the idea also of that concentration of affection which naturally originates in this circumstance.

แ

Now, what are we taught in reference to the Messiah, when he is called "the only begotten Son of God"? We are taught, in the first place, that he is of the same nature with his Father— that is, that he is God. The word Son suggests this idea. and much more strongly, when it has the epithet "only begotten" prefixed to it, or when he is called God's own Son"-"the Son of himself"-"his proper Son," in contradistinction to those who receive this appellation merely from their being brought into a peculiar relation, formed to a peculiar character, and being the objects of a peculiar affection on the part of God, while God is the object of a peculiar affection on their part. When the Messiah is termed the only begotten Son of God, his proper divinity is asserted. He who is our Saviour is "the great God." The ideas of derivation of being, posteriority, and inferiority, though naturally suggested by the name Son, are not to be con sidered as intended to be conveyed by that term when applied to the Messiah; for this plain reason, that these ideas are incompatible with tha identity of nature which is the very first idea

36 John iii. 16.

suggested by the term, and which, from innumerable passages of Scripture, we know does belong to him.

A second truth in reference to the Messiah, suggested by his being called "the only begotten Son," is, that while He is of the same nature with the Father, He and the Father are in some respects distinct from each other. The Father is not the Son, nor is the Son the Father; though in reference to the possession of the one divine nature the Father and the Son are one.

A third important truth taught us by the Messiah being termed the Only-begotten of God, is, that he is the object of the supreme love of the Father. A father loves his son, especially his only son. The love of the First person of the Godhead to the Second is expressed by the love which a father has for his son, his only son. "The Father loves the Son."97 He knows his infinite excellence; and, if I may use the expression, which seems to imply a solecism, up to the infinite measure of his knowledge he loves him. This last idea seems obviously to have been intended to be brought before the mind in the passage under consideration, as what chiefly commends the love of God to the world, is that he gave his only Son to be their Saviour. These, then, are the truths respecting the Messiah taught us by his be ing termed "the only begotten Son of God."

§ 2. The Son of Man.

The Messiah is described as "the Son of Man." This is an appellation which our Lord employs more frequently than any other in speaking of himself, whether in private or public, in the midst of his friends or of his enemies. The phrase, taken by itself, seems just a Hebraism for “ man:" -as in the 4th verse of the 8th Psalin, "What is man that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" Every one at all acquainted with the use of parallelism in Hebrew composition generally, and especially in Hebrew poetry, must see that "man,” and "the son of inan," are here equivalent expressions.

To understand its meaning, when used as an appellation of the Messiah, we must turn to a passage in the 80th Psalm, v. 17. Let thy hand be upon the Man of thy right hand, upon the Son of Man whom thou madest strong for thyself" the same person who is spoken of in the 15th verse under another of the figurative prophetical appellations of the Messiah-" the branch" which Jehovah had made strong for himself In the passage generally referred to as the origin of the appellation, Daniel vii. 13, the reference, no doubt, is to the Messiah; but he is there spoken of, not as the Son of Man, but as "one like unto the Son of Man," or having the appearance of a man. While the expression, a son of man, as we have already remarked, is in itself just equivalent to man; the designation, 38 John iii. 18, 14.

VOL. I.

S" John v. 20.

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