that, being made shepherds, they may have an opportunity, not of feeding the flock, but of enriching themselves, by making merchandise of them. Had the Scribes and Pharisees any wish to make the people better acquainted with God's word, and, through these means, holier and happier men? No; the situa tions they held, they valued just as sources of worldly honor, emolument, and influence.

And it is still so with a large class of men, assuming the name of christian shepherds and overseers, pastors and bishops. These men are not shepherds-they are "thieves and robbers." The appellations are, in many cases, almost literally applicable to them. They seize places which they have no right to occupyappropriate what does not justly belong to them-and wrongously and violently extort from others the obedience and support to which they have no rightful claim. The porter never opened to them. It is not according to God's will-it is in direct opposition to it-that they hold office in his church.

"The sheep do not follow, them"-the goats follow them. The truly pious, generally speaking, do not follow them as spiritual leaders. They do not believe their doctrines, nor follow their example. Some of the sheep may be seduced for a season, under mistake, to follow them; but generally speaking, it is otherwise. The really pious, in our Lord's time, did not relish the doctrine of the Scribes and Pharisees-they turned away from it. They did not like what was presented to them. Their spiritual senses told them it was not food-it probably might be poison; at best, it was but husks-no fit food for the flock of God -fit only for the swine.

Instead of following such a teacher, the sheep consider and treat him as a stranger; and then-alas, how generally still! stranger and enemy were convertible terms. They flee from him-afraid lest they should be injured by him-as the scared sheep flee from a stranger, when he attempts to act the shepherd's part towards them: "They know not the voice of strangers. They do not know it as they do that of their own shepherd; it is not familiar, it is not pleasing, to their ear. In many cases, where humble unlettered Christians cannot very distinctly point out what is wrong in a scheme of doctrine, nor give the reasons why they think so, they distinctly feel there is something totally different from what they have received and learned from the Bible. This is not conscience-pacifying, heart-changing, heartcheering doctrine. This is not the Gospel of our salvation. It is not by this that men live-it is not in this that the life of our souls is.

The words in the 8th verse refer to this class of persons, and are an emphatic repetition of what our Lord had said before, "All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them." It has been usual to interpret these words just as if they stood by themselves, and did not forın a part of a figurative representation; and interpreters have been a

good deal perplexed in seeking the means of making the statement they contain consistent with the facts of the case. It has been common to consider the term "come," as equivalent to— 'made a public appearance,'-as in the passage, "John came neither eating nor drinking;" "the Son of man came;" and the particle rendered before" has usually been considered as expressive of priority in time.

It is quite obvious that the meaning which the words most naturally express, 'All who have appeared, laying claim to the character of divinely-commissioned teachers previously to my coming, are thieves and robbers,' cannot be adopted; for that were, in other words, to call Moses and all the prophets impostors." Accordingly, it has been common to limit the refer ence to those who laid claim to Messiahship; and to consider the declaration as equal to, All who came professing to be the Messiah before me were impostors.' But we have no reason to think that any appeared before our Lord making this claim;many came after him making it. Others would consider all as equivalent to many-the greater part. But this is to use an unauthorized liberty with the words.

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By another class of interpreters, the particle translated "before," is considered as not referring to time at all. Some of these would render the clause, 'All who have come without me--without my authority;' but the word rendered "before," cannot be translated "without," or "apart from me." By others of this class, the words "before me," have been considered as equivalent to, 'In my place;" and the statement has been considered as indefinite as to time-'All who come in my room-" in my name, as it is elsewhere-are impostors.' But the usage of the language will not suffer this. Others reject the words "before me," as an interpolation; but, though wanting in many manuscripts, the critical evidence of its genuineness cannot be satisfactorily set aside; and the omission of these words would not remove the difficulty. By others still, the words "come before me," are considered as opposed to, come after me," 'All who do not follow me as their leader, but who go before me, putting me behind them.' This, I believe, approximates to the truth; but it is not the right way of bringing it out of the words."

29

What seems to lie at the foundation of right interpretation here,

24 προ

25 This was a recommendation of this exegesis to the Gnostics, who adopted it for the reason which has often led to the ready reception of ill-supported interpretations of Scripture, because it agreed with a favorite hypothesis. They held that, in these words, they had Christ's testimony against the Old Testament.

26 πрó μоν cannot be, as some have insisted, = xwpis μov, and there is no such various reading. It is painful to find such a scholar as Olshausen attempting to show that, by aposiopesis, πρὸ may involve χωρίς. 23 ἐν ὀνόματί μου.

27 πρὸ a8 = αντὶ or ὑπέρ.

29 Campbell, who supposes an ellipsis of dλaxobév.

30 Jeremiah, speaking of himself, says, "I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee"-literally, after thee. I have not gone before, but followed, the Chief Shepherd.'-Jer. xvii. 16.

is to remark that, what our Lord says, he says of himself, under the figure of "the door" of the sheep-fold. The words are literally, 'All-whosoever-come, or have come, before me, are thieves and robbers.' "Before me," putting themselves, as it were, between me and mankind, and thus placing themselves above me, taking the precedence of me. All who, admitted by the porter, pass through me, the door, into the fold, are genuine shepherds. All who come แ before me as the door, and do not seek to pass through it, are thieves and robbers." 'All official men, who do not recognize me and use me as the door of the fold, are not genuine they are merely pretended-shepherds. They stand before the door, not entering themselves, and doing what they can to hinder the sheep from entering.' That was the case with the Scribes and Pharisees, and it has been the case with vast multitudes of men, pretending to be christian teachers and pastors: it is the case with vast multitudes still.

Every man, pretend what he may, who does not practically acknowledge Christ's authority in obtaining and exercising ecclesiastical office-who looks no farther than a patron's presentation, or the ordination, it matters but little whether of a prelate or a presbytery-who is satisfied with mere human authority and call, civil or ecclesiastical-he is not a "shepherd of the sheep"-he is, in the sense in which I have already explained the phrase, "a thief and a robber."

Such men the sheep-the true people of God-do not, cannot, hear that is, listen to, believe, obey. Whatever titles they may wear, whatever claims they may make,--be they called " pope," or "patriarch," or "bishop"-be their style "rabbi" or "reverend," "master" or "doctor," the sheep, when they conduct themselves as they should, will have nothing to do with them. In our Lord's time, they preferred the teaching of the carpenter of Nazareth, and the Galilean fishermen and peasants who followed him, to that of the men who wore large phylacteries, and made long prayers, and sat in Moses' seat; and, in our own times, they will rather frequent the despised conventicle, where a pious man, it may be of moderate talents and limited education, unfolds the doctrine, and enforces the law, of Christ, in simple phrase, and it may be awkward manner, to a handful of those, poor in this world, but rich in faith, who have chosen him as the helper of their joy, not the lord of their faith, than listen to the instruction that causeth to err, though couched in the enticing words of man's wisdom, by men distinguished for their rank, and learning, and eloquence, in the time-hallowed parish church, where many a generation of their ancestors have worshipped, and around the walls of which their ashes repose, or in the venerable cathedral, where, while the

31 The connection makes the general meaning plain-there is, first, in the 7th verse, an assertion that our Lord is "the door"-then, in the 8th, a description of those who do not enter by this door-and then, in the 9th, a description of those who do enter by this door.

variously stoled orders of an ancient hierarchy perform the imposing services of a gorgeous ritual,——

"Through the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault, The pealing anthem swells the note of praise."32

Such appears to me to be the meaning of this beautiful allegory. It is as useful as it is beautiful. It is full of weighty instruction to candidates for office in the church, to those who hold office in the church, and to members of the church generally.

To candidates for office in the church it says, 'See that you enter through the door; beware of climbing up some other way. Remember no authority will compensate for the want of Christ's authority-no call for the want of his call.'

To those who occupy official stations in the church it says, 'Examine the tenure by which you hold your place, and if you find it good, then be diligent in doing its duties. "Give full proof of your ministry." "Feed the flock of God:" be gentle, laborious, wise shepherds. Preach the truth-nothing but the truth-all the truth. Rule well,-"rebuke, instruct, exhort, with all long-suffering and doctrine;" and take the comfort of the kind promise of the Chief Shepherd to the faithful undershepherd-" He shall go in and out, and find pasture." "Lo, I am with you always."

To the members of the church, it says, 'Make a distinction among things that differ. "Try the spirits." Never intrust the management of your spiritual interests to any whom you do not, on satisfactory ground, consider as one of the shepherds who by the porter has been introduced through the door into the fold; and beware, in any way, of giving countenance to those who have climbed up some other way, and whom your Lord warns you against as thieves and robbers. Place yourselves under the care of one as your own shepherd, who, you have reason to think, has indeed entered through the door; and, having done so, treat him as your shepherd,-hear his voice-follow him, not by any means implicitly, but wait on his ministrations-and receive from him "with meekness the ingrafted word." He will never ask you to receive anything on his own authority, nor to do anything merely because he bids you. He but declares to you the mind and will of our common Lord, "the Great Shepherd of the sheep." Take kindly his warnings and reproofs. He watches for your souls, as one who knows he must give ac

count.'

Oh, how high and holy are the enjoyments of a christian pastor and his flock, when they have entire confidence in each other, and mutually strive who shall best perform their respective du ties! Most delightful is it for him to lead them to the green pastures, and to make them repose by the still waters, and most delightful for them to enjoy his pastoral care. It is the antepast

32 Gray.

of that full feast of holy happiness, when all the true sheep, and all the true shepherds, gathered together in the great fold above, shall, by the Chief Shepherd, "the Lamb in the midst of the throne, be fed and led unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

1133

33 There are two elaborate dissertations, on the subject of this Exposition, in the second part of Hasæus' and Ikenius' "Thesaurus Novus Theologico-Philologicus," folio, p. 501-525. Their titles are, "Königsmanni curata inquisitio in scopum et sensum parabolæ de malis pastoribus," and "Baierus de verbis Christi, TúvTES öσ пρò ¿μoυ.” It is finely said of this paragraph, chap. x. 1-18, by ALEXANDER KNOX,- "This portion contains almost the only parable which St. John records; and of all parables which are recorded, this is the fullest of gentleness, amiability, and consolation. It gives a compendious view of spiritual Christianity; the deepest, the solidest, the sweetest, the serenest, the surest, the most comprehensive, that could be conveyed in words. There is a beautiful idea in the beginning of Leighton's fifteenth lecture, of nature's being fitted beforehand for the elucidation of Divine truth. This semblance of a shepherd and his sheep is strongly in favor of such a supposition."—Remains, iv. 359.