for this system! Could not the grace that saved them partially save them perfectly? Could not that power of God that saved them from habitual sin, save them from occasional or accidental sin? Shall we suppose that sin, how potent soever it may be, is as potent as the Spirit and grace of Christ? And may we not ask, If it was for God's glory and their good that they were partially saved, would it not have been more for God's glory and their good if they had been perfectly saved? But the letter and spirit of God's word, and the design and end of Christ's coming, is to save his people from their sins. Dr. Macknight, having stated that ȧyviču, purifieth, is in the present tense, most ridiculously draws this conclusion from it: "In this life no one can attain to perfect purity; by this text, therefore, as well as by 1 John i. 8, those fanatics are condemned who imagine they are able to live without sin." Yes, doctor, the men you call fanatics do most religiously believe that, by the grace of Christ cleansing and strengthening them, they can love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and their neighbour as themselves; and live without grieving the Spirit of God, | and without sinning against their heavenly Father. And they believe that, if they are not thus saved, it is their own fault. But a blind man must ever be a bad judge of colours.

Verse 4. Sin is the transgression of the law.] The spirit of the law as well as of the gospel is, that we should love God with all our powers, and our neighbour as ourselves." All disobedience is contrary to love; therefore sin is the transgression of the law, whether the act refers immediately to God or to our neighbour.

Verse 5. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins] He came into the world to destroy the power, pardon the guilt, and cleanse from the pollution of sin. This was the very design of his manifestation in the flesh. He was born, suffered, and died for this very purpose; and can it be supposed that he either cannot or will not accomplish the object of his own coming?

In him is no sin.] And therefore he is properly qualified to be the atoning sacrifice for the sins of

men.

|

Verse 6. Whosoever abideth in him] By faith, love, and obedience.

Sinneth not] Because his heart is purified by faith, and he is a worker together with God, and conse quently does not receive the grace of God in vain. See on ver. 3.

Hath not seen him] It is no unusual thing with this apostle, both in his gospel and in his epistles, to put occasionally the past for the present, and the present for the past tense. It is very likely that here he puts, after the manner of the Hebrew, the preterit for the present: He who sins against God doth not see him, neither doth he know him—the eye of his faith is darkened, so that he cannot see him as he formerly did; and he has no longer the experimenta. knowledge of God as his father and portion.

Verse 7. Let no man deceive you] Either by assering that "you cannot be saved from sin in this life,” or "that sin will do you no harm and cannot alter your state, if you are adopted into the family of God; for sin cannot annul this adoption." Hear God, ye deceivers! He that doeth righteousness is righteous, according to his state, nature, and the extent of his moral powers, Even as he is righteous.] Allowing for the dispany that must necessarily exist between that which 3 bounded, and that which is without limits. As God, in the infinitude of his nature, is righteous; so they, being filled with him, are in their limited nature righteous.

Verse 8. He that committeth sin is of the devil] Hea this, also, ye who plead for Baal, and cannot bear the thought of that doctrine that states believers are të

be saved from all sin in this life! He who committità sin is a child of the devil, and shows that he has still the nature of the devil in him; for the devil sinneth from the beginning he was the father of sin, brought sin into the world, and maintains sin in the world by living in the hearts of his own children, and thus leading them to transgression; and persuading others that they cannot be saved from their sins in this life, that he may secure a continual residence in their heart. He knows that if he has a place there throughout life, he will probably have it at death; and, if so, throughout eternity.

endFor this purpose] EC TOUTO For this very with this very design, was Jesus manifested in the

He who is born of

A. M. cir. 4073. A. D. cir. 69. Impp. Galba, Othone, Vitel. et Vespasiano.

of God.

- seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born

h

A. M. cir. 4073. A. D. cir. 69. Impp. Galba,

Vespasiano.

12 Not as Cain, who was of Othone, Vitel. et that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? cause his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

Be

flesh, that he might destroy, iva Avoy, that he might loose, the bonds of sin, and dissolve the power, influence, and connexion of sin. See on ver. 3. Verse 9. Whosoever is born of God] Teyevvnμevos, Begotten of God, doth not commit sin: "that is," say some, as he used to do; he does not sin habitually as he formerly did." This is bringing the influence and privileges of the heavenly birth very low indeed. We have the most indubitable evidence that many of the heathen philosophers had acquired, by mental discipline and cultivation, an entire ascendancy over all their wonted vicious habits. Perhaps my reader will recollect the story of the physiognomist, who, coming into the place where Socrates was delivering a lecture, his pupils, wishing to put the principles of the man's science to proof, desired him to examine the face of their master, and say what his moral character was. After a full contemplation of the philo- | sopher's visage, he pronounced him "the most gluttonous, drunken, brutal, and libidinous old man that he had ever met." As the character of Socrates was the reverse of all this, his disciples began to insult the physiognomist. Socrates interfered, and said, "The principles of his science may be very correct, for such I was, but I have conquered it by my philosophy." Oye Christian divines! ye real or pretended gospel ministers! will ye allow the influence of the grace of Christ a sway not even so extensive as that of the philosophy of a heathen who never heard of the true God?

Verse 10. In this the children of God are manifest] Here is a fearful text. Who is a child of the devil? He that commits sin. Who is a child of God? He that works righteousness. By this text we shall stand or fall before God, whatever our particular creed may say to the contrary.

Neither he that loveth not his brother.] No man is of God who is not ready on all emergencies to do any act of kindness for the comfort, relief, and support of any human being. For, as God made of one blood all the nations of men to dwell upon the face of the whole earth, so all are of one family; and consequently all are brethren, and should love as brethren.

Verse 11. For this is the message] See chap. i. 5.

From the beginning God hath taught men that they should love one another. How essentially necessary this is to the comfort and wellbeing of man in this state of trial and difficulty, every sensible man must see. All are dependant upon all; all upon each, and each upon all. Mutual love makes this dependance pleasant and doubly profitable. Nothing can be more pleasing to an ingenuous and generous mind than to communicate acts of kindness.

Verse 12. Not as Cain] Men should not act to each other as Cain did to his brother Abel. He murdered him because he was better than himself. But who was Cain? Εκ του πονηρου ην, he was of the devil. And who are they who, through pride, lust of power, ambition, gain, &c., murder each other in wars and political contentions? EK TOV Tоvпрov ecol. To attempt to justify the principle, and excuse the instigators, authors, abettors, &c., of such wars, is as vain as it is wicked. They are opposed to the nature of God, and to that message which he has sent to man from the beginning: Love one another. Love your enemies. Surely this does not mean, Blow out their brains, or, Cut their throats. Oh, how much of the spirit, temper, and letter of the gospel have the nations of the world, and particularly the nations of Europe, to learn!

And wherefore slew he him?] What could induce a brother to imbrue his hands in a brother's blood? Why, his brother was righteous, and he was wicked; and the seed of the wicked one which was in him induced him to destroy his brother, because the seed of God-the divine nature, was found in him.

Verse 13. Marvel not-if the world hate you.] Expect no better treatment from unconverted Jews and Gentiles than Abel received from his wicked and cruel brother. This was a lesson to the church, preparatory to martyrdom. Expect neither justice nor mercy from the men who are enemies of God. They are either full of malice and envy, hateful, hating one another, or they are specious, hollow, false, and deceitful.

"A foe to GoD was ne'er true friend to MAN."

Verse 14. We know that we have passed from death unto life] Death and life are represented here as

He that hateth his brother

A. M. cir. 4073. A. D. cir. 69. Impp. Galba, Othone, Vitel. et Vespasiano.

b

death unto life, love the brethren.

is a murderer.

A. M. cir. 4073.

A. D. cir. 69. Impp. Galba, Othone, Vitel. et

Vespasiano.

two distinct territories, states, or kingdoms, to either of which the inhabitants of either may be removed. This is implied in the term μɛraßeßŋkaμev, from μera, denoting change of place, and ẞaivw, I go. It is the same figure which St. Paul uses, Col. i. 13: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love. The believers to whom St. John writes had been once in the region and shadow of death, in the place where sin and death reigned, whose subjects they were; but they had left that kingdom of oppression, wretchedness, and woe, and had come over to the kingdom of life, whose king was the Prince and Author of life; where all was liberty, prosperity, and happiness; where life and love were universally prevalent, and death and hatred could not enter. We know, therefore, says the apostle, that we are passed over from the territory of death to the kingdom of life, because we love the brethren, which those who continue in the old kingdom-under the old covenant, can never do; for he that loveth not his brother abideth in death. He has never changed his original residence. He is still an unconverted, unrenewed sinner.

Verse 15. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer] He has the same principle in him which was in Cain, and it may lead to the same consequences.

No murderer hath eternal life] Eternal life springs from an indwelling God; and God cannot dwell in the heart where hatred and malice dwell. This text has been quoted to prove that no murderer can be suved. This is not said in the text; and there have been many instances of persons who have been guilty of murder having had deep and genuine repentance, and who doubtless found mercy from his hands who prayed for his murderers, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do! It is, however, an awful text for the consideration of those who shed human blood on frivolous pretences, or in those wars which have their origin in the worst passions of the

human heart.

18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

ceive, Eyvwraμɛv, we have known, the love of God, because he laid down his life for us. Of God is not in the text, but it is preserved in one MS., and in two or three of the Versions; but though this does not establish its authenticity, yet rov Oɛov, of God, is necessarily understood, or тov Xpistov, of Christ, as Erpen's Arabic has it; or avrov eiç ýμaç, his love to us, as is found in the Syriac. A higher proof than this of his love Christ could not have possibly given to the children of men.

We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. We should risk our life to save the lives of others; and we should be ready to lay down our lives to redeem their souls when this may appear to be a means of leading them to God.

Verse 17. But whoso hath this world's good] Hex is a test of this love; if we do not divide our bred with the hungry, we certainly would not lay ders our life for him.. Whatever love we may pretend mankind, if we are not charitable and benevolent, we give the lie to our profession. If we have rat bowels of compassion, we have not the love of God in us; if we shut up our bowels against the we shut Christ out of our hearts, and ourselves out of heaven.

poor,

This world's good.—Tov ẞlov тov кosμov" The life of this world, i. e. the means of life; for so Blog is ofte used. See Mark xii. 44; Luke viii. 43; xv. 12, D; xxi. 4; and other places.

How dwelleth the love of God in him?] That is, cannot possibly dwell in such a person. Hard heartedness and God's love never meet together, much less can they be associated.

Verse 18. My little children] TEкvia pov, Mykeloved children, let us not love in word—in merely allowing the general doctrine of love to God and man to be just and right;

Neither in tongue] In making professions of love, and of a charitable and humane disposition, and resting there; but in deed-by humane and merciful acts;