March 31

John v.—30. I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

31. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. 32. There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. 33. Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. 34. But I receive not testimony from man; but these things I say that ye might be saved. 35. He was a burning and a shining light; and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. 36. But I have greater witness than that of John; for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me that the Father hath sent me. 37. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his sha

38. And ye have not his word abiding in you; for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. 39. Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. 40. And ye will not come to me that ye might have life. 41. I receive not honor from men. 42. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. 43. I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. 44. How can ye believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only? 45. Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. 46. For, had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. 47. But, if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

Jesus could not conceive of himself as separate from the Father. When he declares that he can do nothing of himself, he is not speaking of the inability of a mere man to perform the mighty works of resurrection and judgment committed to his hands, but of the impossibility of the Son's separating himself from the Father, with whom he existed in an essential unity of being, which, by the necessity of the case, rendered them one in thought, will, and act. The testimony of others that he was the Son of God, even that of so honored a prophet as John the Baptist, was nothing in comparison to the testimony of works which only the will of God, acting in and through him, could perform.

Yet with this consciousness of divinity, and this prerogative of judgment, Jesus did not upon earth fulfil the office of Judge. He even submitted himself, his character, his works, his claims, to the judgment of men; he honored the reason of his hearers by submitting to this the evidences of his mission; he honored their religious sentiment by referring to their own Scriptures for testimony concerning himself. But pride and ambition, leading them to look for the pomp and power of earthly royalty in their Messiah, closed their eyes to the evidences alike of the works and the word of God. The reception we give to Christ is the test, at once, of our sincerity in seeking the truth, and of our love to God the Father.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 135, 151, 188.

O God, who hast spoken to us by thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ! grant us, we pray thee, that faith in him which is eternal life. May we believe all that God the Lord hath spoken!

We thank thee for the many means which thou hast provided for our growth in grace and knowledge. Make thy holy Word to be our nourishment, our guide, and the great source of our comfort. May we by it be made wise unto salvation! May it ever be as a lamp to our feet, and a light to our path! O Lord! thou only teachest to profit: thou art the fountain of light and wisdom and truth. Do thou, we pray, by all the means of grace, lead us onward in the way to heaven.

Pardon our many sins and short-comings. Cleanse thou us from secret faults. Keep us back from presumptuous sins. Help us, O Lord! to serve thee better, and to love thee more heartily. Sanctify us wholly, body, soul, and spirit. Let us not be conformed to this world, but transformed by

the renewing of our minds. May thy Holy Spirit enlighten our understandings, and purify our hearts! We bless thee that thou hast granted us peaceful rest in the night-season. Now take our souls, O holy Father! into thy keeping. Whether we live, may we live unto thee; and whether we die, may we die unto thee; so that, living or dying, we may be evermore thine. We look to thee in trust for all things needful in this life. Continue thy favor to this family; be very gracious to all our friends; and show thy mercy and salvation unto all men. Follow with thy blessing the worship and teachings of thy Church upon thy holy day. May streams of life flow from thy sanctuary through all the week! Revive thy people; and quicken unto a new life souls dead in trespasses and sins. O Lord! hear these our prayers, and grant unto us an answer of peace; for we come to thee trusting not in our own righteousness, but in the alone mediation of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.