myself, as I have often told you, am the true and only way to life; nor can any man go thither by any other way. If ye say ye do not know the Father, I tell you, that no man who knoweth me can be ignorant of my Father, of his will, and the manner of pleasing him for my Father and I are one; so that if ye know me, ye must know the Father also. And, indeed, ye do know him, and have been sufficiently instructed in his precepts.

Philip answered, Lord, shew us but once the Father, and we shall be we shall be fully satisfied.

Jesus replied, have I been so continually with you, and dost thou not yet know me, Philip? I tell you, I and my Father are the same; that is, we agree in one in respect to every thing I have delivered to you so that to know one, is to be acquainted with both. What then can you mean by desiring to see the Father, as if you could be still ignorant of him, after being so long acquainted with me? Do you not believe that the Father and I are one and the same? Whatsoever I speak is the declaration of his will, and whatsoever I do is the operation of his power. Believe me, that the Father and I are one. And if ye refuse to believe my own affirmation, yet, at least, let my works convince you; for they carry in them undeniable evidences of a divine power.

Surely then you have matter sufficient to comfort and support your spirits under the thoughts of my departure from you. Ye have abundant reason to believe, that I have power to perform all the promises I have made you; and the design of my departure actually to perform them. When I am returned to my Father, ye shall soon receive sufficient pledges of my care and remembrance of you. Ye shall be endued with power, not only to perform the same works ye have seen me do, as healing diseases, giving sight to the blind, casting out devils, and the like, for the conviction of

the Jews, but even to do greater things than these to speak with all the kinds of tongues, and to propagate my religion among the Gentiles, even through all the nations of the earth.

And whatsoever ye shall ask of my Father, in my name, as being my disciples, and in order to promote the work of the gospel, shall certainly be granted you. That God may be greatly glorified, by the extraordinary success, and spreading the religion of his Son, I say, that whatsoever ye shall ask, I will take care after my return to the Father, that it shall be granted you. Only ye must remember as the necessary condition upon which all depends, that ye be careful above all things to continue steadfast and immoveable in your obedience to my commands; this is the only true mark you can give of the sincerity of your love towards me; it is more than your grieving, at my departure, or any other external indication of zeal whatsoever.

The Father, I say, shall send you another advocate, and comforter, even his Holy Spirit, the Author, and Teacher of truth, who shall guide and direct, assist and comfort you, in all cases. This Spirit, the sensual and corrupt world cannot receive; having no knowledge of him, nor disposition to be governed by him. But ye know him, and are disposed to entertain him. He is already in you by his secret and invisible efficacy; and shall hereafter appear in you openly by great and visible manifestations.

Thus, though I must depart from you, yet I do by no means leave you comfortless. I leave with you a promise of the Holy Spirit; and I leave you in expectation also of my own return. For though after a very little while, I shall appear no more to the world; yet to you I will appear again, for I shall live again: and ye also shall live with

me.

When, therefore, I have conquered and

triumphed over death, ye shall understand more fully, and it shall appear more visibly, by great and manifest effects, that I act in all things, agreeably to my Father's will, and am perfectly invested with his power: and that ye, in like manner, have my power and commission communicated to you; so that there is a perfect unity and communion between us. Only ye must remember, that the one necessary condition on which all depends, is, that ye continue steadfast and immoveable in your faith in me, and in your obedience to my commands. He, and he only, who embraces my doctrine, and obeys and practises it, shall be judged to be sincere in his love towards me. And he who loves me in that manner, shall be loved by my Father; and I myself also will love him, and manifest myself to him.

Here Judas Thaddeus interrupted his Master, saying, Lord, why wilt thou choose to manifest thyself to us, a few particular persons? and not to the generality of the world?

Jesus replied, I have already told you the reason of my acting in this manner; because the generality of the world are not disposed to obey my commandments, the necessary condition of maintaining communion with me. But ye are disposed to embrace my doctrine, and to obey it; and therefore I manifest myself to you. And whoever else will so love me as to keep my commandments, him also will I and my Father love, and will maintain communion with him, and all spiritual blessings shall be poured down upon him, and he shall be made partaker of happiness and eternal life.

On the contrary, whoever loves me not, that is, obeys not my commandments, shall bave no intercourse or communion with me.

Neither will my Father love or honour him, or make any manifestations of himself to him; for as my commandments are not my own, but the Father's commandments; therefore, whoever dishonours me, my

Father will look upon him as dishonouring himself.

These things have I briefly spoken to you now, according to the shortness of the time I am to continue with you, and to comfort you, for the present, against my departure. But when the comforter, whom I promised you, is come, even the Holy Spirit, whom my Father shall send you on my account, he shall instruct you more fully, recalling to your remembrance, what you have forgotten, explaining what is yet obscure, and supplying what is further necessary to be taught you, and to be understood by you.

In the mean time I take my leave of you, and my blessing I leave with you, not formally, and after the common fashion of the world, but affectionately and sincerely; retaining a careful remembrance of you, and with an earnest desire and intention of returning again speedily to you. Wherefore, be not over much grieved for me and my departure, nor fearful of what may then befal yourselves. I go away from you, but it is with an intention, as I have already told you, to return to you again. If you loved me with a wise and understanding affection, ye would rejoice, instead of grieving, at my present departure; because I am going to my Father, the supreme Author of all glory and happiness.

These things have I told you before they come to pass, that when ye see them happen, your faith in me, and your expectation of the performance of all my promises, may be confirmed and strengthened; the time will not allow me to say much more to you at present; my end draweth near, the ruler of this world, the prince of the power of darkness, is at this instant employing all his wicked instruments to apprehend and destroy me. destroy me. Not that either the power of the devil, or the malice of man, can at all prevail over me; but because the time of my sufferings, according to the appointment

of divine wisdom, is arrived, and that I may demonstrate to the world my love and obedience to my Father! I willingly submit myself to be put to death by the hands of sinful and cruel men. Rise up, let us be going, that I may enter on my sufferings.

Having thus spoken, they finished the passover, with singing an hymn, and went out to the mount of Olives.

On their arrival at the place which was to be the scene of his sufferings, he desired them to fortify themselves by prayer, and forewarned them of the terrible effects his sufferings would have upon them; they would make them all stumble, that very night, agreeably to the prophecy of Zechariah: "I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.” To strengthen their faith, therefore, he not only mentioned his own resurrection, but told them they should see him in Galilee, after he was risen from the dead.

On our blessed Saviour's mentioning the offence that his disciples would take at his suffering, Peter recollected what had been said to him in particular, before they left the house. Grieved therefore, afresh, to find his Master entertain such thoughts of him, and being now armed with a sword, the vehemence of his temper urged him to boast a second time of his courageous and close attachment to his Master. "Though all men, said he, should be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended." But Jesus, knowing that human confidence and security were weak and frail, thought proper to forewarn him again of his danger; and told him, that the cock should not crow before he had denied him.

Peter, however, still continued to repeat his confidence, I will die with thee but neyer deny thee. The disciples all joined with Peter in professing the fixed resolution of suffering death, rather than they would deny their Master: but the event

fully confirmed the prediction of our Saviour. From hence, we may learn, how ignorant men are of their own hearts, and that the strongest resolutions in their own strength avail nothing,

The compassionate Redeemer of mankind, not willing to lose one single moment of the short time of his ministry that yet remained, continued to instruct his disciples in the great truths he came into the world to explain: and from the vines, which where growing round him on the mount of Olives, he began his excellent discourse, with the parable of the vine to the following import.

Hitherto, said the blessed Jesus, the Jewish church and nation have been the peculiar care of Providence; as a choice and goodly vine, likely to bring forth much fruit, is the special care of the husbandmen. But, from henceforth, my church, my disciples, and the professors of my religion, of what country or nation soever they be, shall become the people of God, and the peculiar care of Divine Providence. I will be to them as the root and stock of a vine, of which they are the branches, and my Father the husbandman and vine-dres

ser.

As in the management of a choice vine the skilful vine-dresser cuts off all barren and superfluous branches, that they may not burden, nor exhaust the tree, and prunes and dresses the fruitful branches, that they may grow continually, and bear more fruit; so, in the government of my church, all useless, wicked, and incorrigible members, my Father, by his judgment, cuts off and destroys; but those who are sincerely pious and good, he, by the various and merciful dispensations of his providence towards them, tries, purifies, and amends, that they may daily improve, and be more and more abundant in all good works.

Now ye, my apostles, are such members

as these, being purified in heart and mind, and prepared for every good work, by your lively faith in me, and sincere resolutions to obey my commands. Continue steadfastly in this state, and then you may be sure of deriving all spiritual blessings from me, as the branches receive sap and nourishment from the vine. But as a branch, without continuing in the vine, cannot bear any fruit, but presently dries up and perishes: so ye, unless ye continue steadfast in your communion with me, by a lively faith and sincere obedience, so as to receive grace and spiritual blessings, can never bring forth any good fruit of true holiness and righteousness, but will fall into vanity, superstition, and wickedness, and, at last, utterly perish.

I am, as it were, I say, the root and stock of the vine, whereof ye are the branches. He that continues to adhere to me, by constant faith in me, shall bring forth much fruit unto everlasting life; even as the branch which continues to grow in a vine, and receives sap and nourishment from it. But he that does not continue his relation to me in this manner, is a false and useless professor, and shall be cast out from me, and perish for ever; even as a fruitless branch is cut off from the vine, and left to wither and dry, and is, at last, burnt in the fire.

If you continue in me, by believing my words, and holding fast what ye believe, and obeying and practising it accordingly, no power, or malice either of man or of devils, shall be able to hurt you, or oppose your doctrines. For though I be absent from you in body, yet I will hear your prayers, and my Father himself also will hear you; and whatsoever ye shall ask, for the glory of the Almighty, and the propagation of my true religion in the world, shall certainly be granted you. But above all things carefully remember to demonstrate your continuance in me, by abounding in all good works of holiness, righteousness, and charity. This is the honour which my Father desires and expects from you; even as No. 14.

it is the glory and desire of a vine-dresser, that his vine should bring forth much fruit. And this is the honour that I myself expect from you, that ye should prove yourselves to be really and indeed my disciples, by imitating my example, and obeying my commands. This ye are bound to do not only in duty, but in gratitude also; for as my Father hath loved me, so have I also loved you; and ye in like manner ought to love me again, that you may continue to be loved by me. But the way to express

your love towards me, and to continue to be loved by me is to keep my commandments; even as I, by keeping my Father's commandments, have expressed my love towards him, and continue to be loved by him.

These things have I spoken to you before my departure, that the comfort ye have taken in my presence, may be continued in my absence, and even increased to the coming of the Holy Spirit, as it will be upon this condition, which I have so often repeated to you, that you keep my commandments. And the principal of these commandments is, that ye love one another; not after the common fashion of the world, but in such a manner as I have loved you; nor can you be ignorant what sort of love that is, when I tell you that I am now going to lay down my life for you. This is the highest instance, in which it is possible for a man to express his love towards his greatest friends and benefactors: but this I am now going to do for you and for all mankind. I do not consider you as my benefactors, but as my friends, upon this easy condition only, that ye keep my commandments. I might, indeed, justly call you servants, considering the infinite distance between me and you, and the obligation ye have to obey my commandments; but I have not treated you as servants,, who are not admitted unto their master's counsels, but as friends, revealing unto you the whole will of my Father, with all freedom and plainness.

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I have, I say, behaved myself to you as to the nearest friends. Not that you first obliged me, or did any acts of kindness for me, but I have freely, and of my own good pleasure, chosen you to be my apostles, and the preachers of my gospel, that you may go and declare the will of God to the world, and bring forth much and lasting fruit in the conversion of men to the knowledge of the truth, and to the profession and practice of true religion and virtue. In the performance of this work, whatsoever ye shall ask of my Father in my name, in order to enable you to perform it effectually and with full success, shall certainly be granted you.

Now all these things which I have spoken unto you concerning the greatness of my love towards you, in choosing you to be my apostles, in revealing unto you the whole will of my Father, and in laying down my life for you; I have urged and inculcated upon you for this reason chiefly, as I at first told you that ye may learn after my example, to love one another. The world, indeed, you must expect will hate and persecute you upon my account. But this you ought not to be surprised or terrified at; knowing it is no worse treatment than I myself have met with before you.

Be not, therefore, surprised when ye meet with opposition; nor think to find better treatment in the world, than I myself have done. Remember what I have already told you, that the disciple is not above his Master; nor is he that is sent, greater than he that sent him. If men had generally and readily embraced my doctrine, you might, indeed, have some reason to expect that they would willingly have received your's also. But since I myself have suffered great indignities and persecutions from wicked and perverse, from obstinate and incorrigible men, only for opposing their vices, it is highly reasonable that you should expect to undergo the like treatment upon the like account. In all which sufferings you will, moreover, have this further comfort

able consideration to support you, that the justice of your own cause, and the injustice of your persecutors, will, by that means, most evidently appear; seeing ye are persecuted only for professing and preaching in my name the doctrine of true religion and virtue; and they persecute you only because they know not God, and out of mere malice will not bear to be instructed in his commands.

Indeed, had I not appeared to the world with all possible demonstrations of authority and truth, teaching men a most holy and undeniable doctrine, sufficient to reform their manners and amend their lives, and moreover demonstrating my divine commission by such proofs as ought to satisfy and convince the most doubting and suspicious minds, they might have had some plea and excuse of ignorance for their unbelief. But now since all reasonable evidence has been offered them, and proper methods used for their conversion and salvation, and yetthey wilfully and obstinately reject these means of grace, it is plain they have no excuse for their sin but they oppose and persecute you only because they will not forsake their worldly lusts, and out of mere malice will not bear to be instructed in the commands of the Almighty. So that those who oppose and persecute you, as they have before persecuted me, shew plainly that they are haters of God, and of his most holy commandments. Which is, as I have already told you, a plain evidence of the justice of your cause, and of the injustice of your persecutors.

If I had not, I say, done such works among them as no man ever did, they might, indeed, have had some appearance of excuse for their sin. But now, having seen abundant proofs of my authority, and undeniable evidence of the truth of my doctrine, and yet wilfully and obstinately persisting to oppose it, because inconsistent with their lusts; it is plain that their dishonouring me is dishonour done to God himself, and a direct contempt of his