going in and out in Jerusalem? And was he not daily teaching in the temple, and yet they laid not an hand upon him? The very season and time of his out-coming testifieth that he had an evil conscience in doing of it, and therefore he came not in the daylight. He that hath an evil conscience feareth the sun, he dreadeth the light, and he seeketh to execute his purpose in the night. The night maketh an evil man impudent. All these things manifest unto us that Judas had an evil conscience, but it was not well wakened; but when it was wakened, then he despaired, and he had hell in his soul, and got no rest till he hanged himself.

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Now I go forward to the communication betwixt the Lord and the guard. John saith, "The Lord knowing all things that should happen unto him," and that were to come unto him, he cometh forward, he fleeth not away, he hideth not himself, he is not drawn out of a hole as men who have done an evil fact, but unrequired he cometh forth unto them, and upon his own free motive he offereth himself unto them; then he tarrieth not till they begin to talk, but first the Lord speaketh, and saith, "Whom seek ye?" and they answer, (not knowing him by the face,) they say, Jesus of Nazareth." He answereth, not denying himself, "I am he;" he confessed himself. Will ye mark these things? When he saith, "he knew all things that should come unto him," John would let you see that the Lord Jesus willingly and wittingly offered himself unto the death. This taking and laying hands upon him cometh not of haphazard; no, the Lord knew well enough all the things that should come to him; he is taken wittingly, and as he is taken wittingly, so is he taken willingly; and he is readier to offer himself to be taken than they are to take him.

But to come to the words. He saith, Whom seek ye here ?" and when they say, "Jesus of Nazareth," then he answereth, "I am he." These words do testify, that wittingly and willingly he offereth himself to be taken. And if ye mark, ye shall see in his answer such mildness as is unspeakable. He beginneth not to speak in wrath; and when they say, "Jesus of Nazareth," he giveth not an answer scornfully; so that, as he offereth himself

willingly, so ye see also such a mildness in him when he is taken, (even as the Scripture spake,) as he had been a lamb. So that ye see that neither in word nor deed he uttereth any thing to hinder his obedience to his Father. This, then, is the thing that John recommendeth unto us, and letteth us see, even that Jesus Christ was willing to die. And this lesson we should all learn, if it shall please God to call any of us to suffer for Jesus Christ's sake, that we suffer with such willingness and pleasure, that we run to death, and embrace it with our arms. Let this mildness utter itself in all thy doings. Away with that scorning; if thou would be like Jesus Christ, die in peace, and willingly; look not to the instrument, nor the hangman who putteth hands on thee; but lift thine heart to the God of heaven, and say, O Lord, seeing that it is thy will that I die, mine eye is on thee, and as Jesus Christ offered himself willingly to be a sacrifice for the sins of the world, even so am I willing to obey thy will. It is noted that Judas was amongst the rest, and no question the eye of the Lord is on him, but never a word he speaketh to him. Now, I think that this standing of Judas is mentioned to let us see two things: The first is, that patient suffering of Jesus Christ; he beginneth not to upbraid him, and to speak angry words to him, or to look to him angrily. Some would have thought that the Lord seeing Judas, might have said to him, Well, traitor, art thou there who hast betrayed me? No, he giveth him not an angry look; he is even a very lamb, as the prophet speaketh of him; a lamb without anger either in look or in word, but in suffering he useth such a mildness and patience as is wonderful. Next, to let us see that impudence of the traitor Judas; how durst he face the Lord Jesus whom he betrayed? A traitor is aye impudent and shameless, he hath aye a hard heart, and then a brazen face to the man whom he hath betrayed. Ye see how dangerous a thing it is once to harden the heart against Christ, and once to begin to do evil against conscience; if thine heart begin once to be indured,' thou shalt not come back, whilst thou comest to extreme induration, 2 i, e. Even until; in the Latin Commentary, usque dum.

1 i. e. Hardened.

and at last to perdition. Judas could never come back, after that once his heart was hardened against the Lord, but past forward, till he came to that final induration and hardness of heart. Therefore, far be it from us once to begin to harden our hearts against the Lord. If thou beginnest once, thou shalt grow in hardness, till thou comest to that final induration. Lord, save us from that sin, the hardness of heart against the truth, and against Jesus Christ! It is to be feared that these men, who, with the betrayers of Jesus Christ, have set their faces against Christ and his true religion, and against their native country, and go forward in such induration and obstinacy of heart, that they shall come to that part of Judas. And it is a rare thing to see a man who hath gone so far forward in induration come ever back again to grace. Now, we have the effect that follows on this word that he speaks, "I am he;" for these words are no sooner spoken (albeit they be few and gentle) but they are all amazed, "tremble, and fall down backward to the ground." It is an admirable thing that one word (and that so mildly spoken) should have wrought such an effect; for it is such a word as they would have wished for. It is very wondrous that such a gentle word should, as a whirlwind, or as a flash of fire, so have struck them. No question, this is to let them see that the Lord needed not to have been taken with them, except it had been his own will. No, it was not possible for them to touch one hair of his head; for he saith himself, in the tenth chapter and 7 eighteenth verse of this Gospel, "No man taketh my life from me ; I have power to lay it down, and to take it up again." So the Lord, by this wonderful effect of that word, "I am he," will let them know that they had no power to lay hands on him if it had not been his own will. And no doubt he hath had a respect unto them; howbeit they were enemies to him, yet he wished them well. And by the striking of them to the ground he would let them see, that if they encountered with him they would die; and he will let them see his power, that he might cause them to repent, or else to make them inexcusable; and to let them see that he was the Lord of glory, and that they put hands to the Lord of glory, and slew

the Lord of life. We may gather of the effect of this word, that if such a sober and gentle word, coming out of the mouth of Jesus Christ, did drive them upon their backs, and cast them to the ground, what if Jesus Christ had spoken an angry word? What force would that have had? If the bleating of a lamb had such a force, what force shall the roaring of a lion have? Where shall the wicked stand? And if the voice of the Lord Jesus, humbly, and like a lamb, standing before them himself alone, and speaking with such gentleness, had such effect as to throw them down upon the ground, what effect shall that roaring, full of wrath and indignation, at that great day, not out of the mouth of a lamb, nor of an humble man, Jesus of Nazareth, but out of the mouth of a lion, out of the mouth of Jesus Christ the Judge, sitting in his glory and majesty, and saying to the wicked, "Away, ye cursed, to that fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels," Matth. xxv. 41, what effect, then, shall that voice have? Whither shall that voice drive them? And, further, mark, if that voice had such an effect, being no threatening nor boasting, but gentle and mild, now what effect shall this voice have, whereby he threateneth the world, by his servants, with his judgments? If the mild speaking had such a force, what effect shall these terrible threatenings have against the wicked? For it is another thing when Christ threateneth in wrath, and when he speaketh meekly. Now, as certainly as this word, that Christ himself spake, wrought such an effect, as certainly also the word of Jesus Christ, which he putteth into the mouth of his faithful teachers and pastors here in this world, shall be effectual, either to thy life or to thy death; and as certainly the same word shall have effect to drive the wicked men upon their backs, as Zechariah saith, chap. i. 4, 5, 6. When the men are dead that have spoken that word, after it hath been spoken it shall be found living, and that same voice shall have effect when we are dead. "It is true," (saith the Lord,) "my prophets died with your fathers, but my voice, which I put into their mouths, died not with them; and your fathers knew that that word which I did put into their mouths was living, and never left them, until it brought on judgment upon

them." The Lord grant that every soul may reverence the word of Jesus Christ, for it shall be found that either it was spoken to thy salvation or to thy damnation; and heaven and earth shall vanish away, before one jot of that word pass away without its own effect.1

But now let us see what they do after they are fallen down upon the ground. Leave they off? No, no, they rise again, and the Lord Jesus standeth still and letteth them rise again; and when they are risen they speak nothing, but he speaketh first, and he saith, “Whom seek ye? And they say, Jesus of Nazareth. And he answereth, I am he." Now, this is a strange thing. Who can think that these men, who found so great a power proceeding out of the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ, finding such force, should have meddled with him again? But left they him for all this? No, but they get up again, and pursue him, and take him, and bind him. It is a hard matter to be given over to a reprobate sense, that is, to want feeling. When the Lord taketh out of the soul, in his judgment, all sight and sense, that person is miserable; and if thou be once stricken with that senselessness of the soul, albeit thou be thrown down upon thy back, thou shalt get up again, like a drunken man, and fight against the Lord; and that man is worse than any beast, horse, or mule. For, once strike a horse down, and he hath a feeling thereof, and he will beware of the like peril again ; but a man, who should have reason, after that the Lord hath once stricken him with senselessness, there is no beast so senseless as he is; and as he is senseless, so he shall not leave off from evil doing; and he shall count no more of the power of God than of a

1 In the Latin Commentary, he adds, Neque putandum est, &c. (p. 882.) "Nor are we to imagine that the efficacy of God's word is lessened, because it is stored up in an earthen vessel. For the most precious perfume may be kept in an earthen ves

sel. 'We have this treasure,' says Paul, 'in earthen vessels,' 2 Cor. iv. 7." The original editors of these Lectures seem to have intended at first to have taken up six verses at a time, and, if they had adhered to this arrangement, the first Lecture should have ended here. But, as appears from the Epistle Dedicatory, (p. 9 of this edition,) they compared their labours with the Latin Commentary. It takes up the first three, and then the next four verses, and this has led them to anticipate in the remainder of this Lecture.