liii. 11), although even then He knew at what a cost this work would
be accomplished (1 Pet. i. 20).
NOTE ON THE RELATION OF THE SON OF GOD TO THE FATHER. (Verses 22-30, John i. 1). On this subject Dr. John Brown says, "That the Son is essentially and eternally related to the Father, in some real sense, as Father and Son; but that while _distinct_ in person (for 'the Word was with God'), He is neither _posterior_ to Him in time (for 'in the beginning was the Word'), nor _inferior_ to Him in nature (for 'the Word was God'), nor _separate_ from Him in being (for 'the same was in the beginning with God'), but _One Godhead_ with the Father;" this would seem to come as near to the full testimony of Scripture on this mysterious subject as can be reached by our finite understanding, without darkening counsel with words without knowledge.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 22. "The beginning of His way" evidently means the commencement of creation, when Jehovah set out in His course of creative and consequently of providential manifestation of His eternal perfections. _When_ this was we cannot tell. We may know the age of our own world, at least according to its present constitution. But _when_ the universe was brought into being, and whether by one omnipotent _fiat,_ or at successive and widely varying periods, it is beyond our power to ascertain. One thing we know for a certainly revealed fact, that there were angelic creatures in existence previous to the reduction of our globe to order and to the creation of man upon it. These holy intelligences contemplated the six days of work of Divine wisdom and power in this part of the universe with benevolent transport. "The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." How many other creatures, and of what descriptions--how many other worlds, and how peopled, might have existed before man and his earthly residence we are unable to affirm. When men, indeed, begin to talk of its being absurd to suppose the universe so recent as to have been only coeval with our own globe, or our own system, they forget themselves. They do not speak considerately nor philosophically. There is no lapse of ages or any point of measurement in eternity. . . . Beginning is as inconsistent with the idea of eternity as termination is. Go as far back as imagination, or as numbers heaped on numbers, can carry you, there still remains the previous eternity, during which our speculative and presumptuous minds may wonder that Divine power had not been put forth.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 23. It was in the last times, that the Eternal Wisdom was set forth unto us, but it was _from everlasting,_ that He was set up to be a king over us. It was in the fulness of time that He offered Himself for us, but it was from the beginning that He was anointed to be priest unto us. It was upon the earth that His gracious lips taught us, but it was before the earth was that He was ordained to be a prophet for us. It is in Him that all are chosen who come unto eternity, and He Himself was chosen from eternity. From everlasting he was set up our King, to set us up an everlasting kingdom. From the beginning was He anointed our priest, to anoint us in a priesthood that shall never end. Before the earth was, He was ordained our prophet, to order our feet in that way which shall bring us from earth to heaven; He was chosen that we might be the chosen people of God.--_Jermin._
Verse 24. The order of creation corresponds to that which we find in Genesis i. Still more striking is the resemblance with the thoughts and language of the book of Job, chap. xxii., xxvi., xxxviii. A world of waters, "great deeps" lying in darkness--this was the picture of the remotest time of which man could form any conception, and yet the co-existence of the uncreated wisdom with the eternal Jehovah was before that.--_Plumptre._
At the period referred to here, creation was not yet actually framed and executed, it was only framed and planned; the whole being at once, in all its magnificence and in all its minuteness, before the eye of the omniscient mind, in its almost _infinite_ complexity, extent, and variety, yet without the slightest approach to confusion! All there, in one vast and complicated, yet simple idea!--_Wardlaw._
Verse 27. God's "setting a compass upon the face of the deep" seems to refer to His circumscribing the earth when in its fluid state, assigning to it its spherical form, and fixing the laws by which that form should be constantly maintained. I think it probable that this refers to the earth in the state in which it is described previous to the beginning of the six days' work, by which it was reduced to order, and fitted for and stocked with inhabitants. How was the fluid element held together in the spherical form? The answer is, God "set a compass upon the face of the deep, saying, This be thy just circumference, O World!" By the power of gravitation, affecting every particle, drawing it to the common centre, the equilibrium was maintained, the globular form effected and kept; which may here be meant by the poetical conception of sweeping a circle from the centre, and defining the spherical limits of the world of waters.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 29. Though great be the noise of the roaring of the sea, great the inconstancy of the tumbling waves, great the looseness of the flowing waters; yet the voice of God's decree is easily heard by them, constant is their obedience unto God's commandment, firmly do they keep the bounds of His law. But in the noise of our disorders, little is God's Word heard by us, in the lightness of our hearts, much is the will of God slighted, in the looseness of our lives every way doth a careless regard of God's law spread itself, which could not but drown us in a sea of God's wrath, did not He who was when the bounds of the sea were decreed, purchase by the red sea of His blood a gracious pardon for us. . . . Fitly is God said to appoint the foundations of the earth only; for that alone founded the whole earth, no more was needful for it. But how little doth God's appointment prevail with man, a little piece of earth. How often are God's purposes in the means of salvation disappointed by him. To lay firm the foundations of grace in man's heart, the Eternal Wisdom, who was when the foundations of the earth were appointed, came down from Heaven, and here was pleased to work out His life thereby to accomplish the work of our redemption. And shall not this, then, make us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling?--_Jermin._
Verse 30. To Wisdom the work was no laborious task. She "sported," as it were, in the exuberance of her strength and might.--_Plumptre._
Verse 31. What was it that here attracted His interest? Man had been created in the image of God--free to stand or fall. This freedom was the perfection of his nature. His fall was permitted as the mysterious means of his higher elevation. His ruin was overruled for his greater security. This _habitable earth_ was to be the grand theatre of the work that should fill the whole creation with wonder and joy. Here the serpent's head was to be visibly bruised, the kingdom of Satan to be destroyed, "precious spoil to be divided with the strong" (Isa. liii. 12). Here was the Church to be framed, as the manifestation of His glory, the mirror of His Divine perfections (Ephes. iii. 10, 21). Considering the infinite cost at which He was to accomplish this work, the wonder is that He should have _endured_ it; a greater wonder that, ere one atom of the creation was formed--ere the first blossom had been put forth in Paradise, he should have _rejoiced_ in it.--_Bridges._
Of all earthly creatures, Christ delights most in men. 1. Because man is the chief of God's creatures upon earth, made after God's image, and for whom all the rest were made. 2. Because He took on Him the nature of men, and not of angels (Heb. ii. 16). 3. He conversed most familiarly with men when He was incarnate. Men only had reason and wisdom to delight in Christ's company, and to give Him occasion to delight in theirs. 4. Because He gave His life for them, that they might live with Him for ever. It seems, then, that He took great delight in them, and means to do so for ever.--_Francis Taylor._
Did our Saviour, before His incarnation, rejoice in the habitable parts of the earth, and delight in visiting and blessing the sons of men? Then we may be certain that He still does so; for He is, yesterday, to-day, and for ever, the same. Still, He prefers earth to heaven; still, His chief delights are with the sons of men; and while, as man, He intercedes for them in Heaven, He still, as God, visits our world, to meet with and bless His people. . . . And how great will be our Saviour's happiness after the final consummation of all things! . . . If He loved, and rejoiced, and delighted in them before they knew and loved Him, how will He love and rejoice in them, when He sees them surrounding His throne, perfectly resembling Himself in body and soul, loving Him with unutterable love, contemplating Him with ineffable delight, and praising Him as their deliverer from sin, and death, and hell, as the author of all their everlasting glory and felicity.--_Payson._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 32-36.
EXHORTATION FOUNDED ON HUMAN OBLIGATIONS TO DIVINE WISDOM.
+I. Because Christ, the Eternal Wisdom, has manifested His sympathy with man, we are under obligations to come into sympathy with Him.+ A man who has manifested his sympathy with, and delight in, another's welfare by most substantial acts of benevolence and self-denial, has taken the most reasonable method of awakening an answering sympathy in the breast of him whom he has thus regarded. And the obligation on the part of the recipient is increased in proportion to the amount of self-sacrifice undergone on his behalf. If such a benefactor desires and asks for the friendship of him whom he has befriended, it would seem impossible that such an appeal could be made in vain. The eternal wisdom of God has gone to the utmost of even His infinite capacity of self-denial to show His delight in, and regard for the human race. This, coupled with His eternal existence and His almighty power, is here made the basis for an exhortation to men to listen to His words, "Now, therefore, hearken unto me, O ye children!"
+II. Those who are thus drawn into sympathy with Eternal Wisdom come under conditions of life.+ Here is a repetition of an oft-repeated truth of revelation, that life and God's favour are inseparable--identical (ver. 35). We can see shadows of this truth in the intercourse of men with their fellow-creatures. If a poor outcast child, surrounded by influences of evil to which he must yield if left to fight them single-handed, is lifted out of his degradation into a godly home, the favour of the friend who thus raises him changes his miserable existence into something worth calling life in comparison. The child who, by wilfulness, has forfeited the favour of a good parent, feels his entire existence clouded, but forgiveness through reconciliation brings light and life back to his life. How much more is it so when we come into sympathy with Christ by hearkening to His voice and taking His yoke, and are by Him lifted out of a life of bondage to sin into the glorious liberty of the sons of God.
+III. Those who refuse thus to come into sympathy with Eternal Wisdom are self-destroyers, because they are God-haters.+ He who refuses to drink of the Fountain of Life, must, of necessity, be left to soul-death. There is nothing that gives more sorrow to a human being than to know that the evil from which he is suffering is self-inflicted. If a man loses his sight through a wound which he receives from another, although he feels his blindness to be a terrible calamity, it lacks the element of bitterness which would be added to it if it had been brought about by his own wilfulness. The man who loses a limb in lawful battle looks upon his loss as an honour, because it was inevitable. But his feeling would be very different if he knew that he had been crippled for life by his own folly. It will be the main ingredient in the bitter cup of those who disregard the invitations of Divine Wisdom that they are moral suicides. The consciousness of this is a perpetual hell to the human spirit. And the mere neglect is sufficient to give the death-blow. It is not necessary to be in positive opposition to God and goodness. Not to listen is to refuse. Not to wait on God is to sin against Him--is to despise the provisions of His mercy.
_ILLUSTRATION OF VERSE_ 34.
Hovering about the avenues of a royal residence, there are in Eastern as well as in other countries, always to be seen groups of people, some of whom are attracted by the impulse of curiosity, others by the hope of obtaining some mark of royal favour. The assiduity and perseverance requisite for succeeding in their suit, and waiting the propitious moment of presenting themselves in the presence of their sovereign, is not, as may be easily supposed, at all times consistent with personal ease and convenience, and, accordingly, here and there may be observed individuals seated upon a stone, or reclining upon the grass, in anxious expectation for the appearance of the sovereign on his way to daily exercise. To sit at the gates of a king is a custom of great antiquity.--_Paxton's Illustrations of Scripture._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 32. O sweet courtesy! as if it were but a small matter that the Eternal Wisdom should become our Master, and teach us as His scholars; or that, being our Lord, He should teach us as His servants; or that, being God, He should teach us as men; yet greater is His love, and, as a Father He teacheth us as His children. And well may He call us His children, for it is He that teacheth us who, by adoption, hath made us to be His children, which by hearkening unto Him we show ourselves to be.--_Jermin._
Verse 34. Uriah watched at David's gate as a token of service (2 Sam. xi. 9). Lazarus watched at Dives' gate as a token of dependence (Luke xvi. 20). Courtiers at royal entrances for smiles of favour. Let the sinner do all these things.--_Miller._
Not watching awhile, and then going away if they be not let in presently, but waiting patiently till they be let in. Not only taking occasion of learning offered, but waiting to find occasions, as petitioners wait on great men till their causes be ended.--_Francis Taylor._
Wisdom here appears as a sovereign, separate and secluded, in the style of Oriental monarchs, so that only those know anything of her who diligently keep watch at her doors. Wisdom, who is universal in her call and invitation (verses 1-3), yet, in the course of communication in order to test the fidelity of her admirers, veils herself at times in a mysterious darknesss, and reveals herself only to those who never intermit their search (Matt. vii. 7).--_Von Gerlach, in Lange's Commentary._
There ought to be an expectation raised in us that the vital savour diffused in and by the Word may reach us; and many are ruined for not expecting it--not waiting at the posts of Wisdom's door.--_John Howe._
Verse 35. 1. _Natural life_ is found by it, not in regard to the beginning of it, but in regard of the comfort and continuance. 2. _Spiritual life,_ or the life of grace. Wisdom is the life of the soul, and what were the world worth if there were no light? 3. _Eternal life,_ or the life of glory. This is indeed the life that Christ, the wisdom of God, died to purchase for us, and lived among us to show us the way to it.--_Francis Taylor._
Verse 36. Doing without is a stupid misery; but hating wisdom is an insane marvel.--_Miller._
Not to love and earnestly seek Wisdom is to _sin against her._ To disregard her is to _hate_ her, and is virtually, though unconsciously, to love death; for it is loving things, which as being opposed to wisdom, bring with them death.--_Fausset._
What meaneth this _all_ where one would think there could be none? Can there be an all to hate Him who loveth all that is? But if it were not so, why do so many resist His holy will, despise His heavenly laws, rebel against His sacred pleasure? Are not these effects of hatred? Besides, so doth He challenge the _all_ of our affection, as not to hate all things for His sake, is to hate Him. Now they that hate Him, which can they love? Surely it must needs be _death,_ because in all things else He is. But that is the fruit of sin, and they that love the tree must needs love the fruit also. But to whom do we speak these things, or why do we speak them? Where shall we find open ears, or seeing eyes, when now almost men care not whom they look after, so that they do not look after themselves?--_Jermin._
A child or an idiot may kindle a fire which all the city cannot quench. In spite of their utmost efforts, it might destroy both the homes of the poor and the palaces of majesty. So a sinner, though he cannot do the least good, can do the greatest evil. The Almighty only can save him, but he can destroy himself.--_Arnot._
_Sin is a self-injury._ There are three facts implied in these words: Firstly, _That man is capable of sinning._ This capability distinguishes man from the brute, and belongs to all moral beings. . . . It is our glory that we _can_ sin; it is our disgrace and ruin that we do so. Secondly, _That sin is something directed against God._ All the laws of man's being--physical, organic, intellectual, and moral--are God's laws, and violating of them is rebellion against heaven. Thirdly, _That sin against God is a wrong done to our nature._ This is true of all sin, physical as well as spiritual. We cannot violate the laws of physical health, without losing at the same time something of the life, elasticity, and vigour of the mind. That sin injures the soul admits of no debate: it is a patent fact written on every page of history, and proclaimed by the deep consciousness of humanity. From this unquestionable fact we may fairly deduce three general truths. I. _That God's laws are essentially connected with the constitution of man._ From this fact two things follow. (1.) That all sin is unnatural. (2.) That an evasion of the penalties of sin is beyond the power of the creature. II. _That God's laws are the expression of benevolence._ We wrong our souls by not keeping God's laws. Obedience to them is happiness. The voice of all Divine prohibitions is, "Do thyself no harm," the voice of all Divine injunctions is, "Rejoice evermore." We infer from this _fact_--III. _That God's laws should be studiously obeyed._ (1.) Right requires it. All God's laws are righteously binding upon the subject, and disobedience is a crime. (2.) Expediency requires it. A life of sin is a life of folly, for it must ever be a life of misery.--_Dr. David Thomas._
Verses 30-36. I. From the beginning, the welfare of man engaged the complacent regard of God our Saviour. He derived delight from the _material_ creation because it was to be subservient to man. II. We may therefore expect that all His communications and intercourse with us would be made to harmonise with our welfare also. We are warranted in expecting that all His communication with us will harmonise with the wants of our nature--that the means will be adapted to the end. Accordingly verses 35 and 36 imply that so perfect is that adaptation between the provisions of mercy and the necessity of man, that he who rejects them wrongs his own soul, that who receives them receives life. III. May we not infer that, even of this habitable part, He would rejoice in some spots more than in others, especially in such as are set apart for the diffusion of His truth and the promotion of His designs.--_Dr. J. Harris._
* * * * * *