and whom the sheep willingly follow, as they know Him (x. 1-5). Not being understood at first, the contrast between Himself and His rivals, whom He described as thieves and robbers, was more fully developed, the reference being to the teachers and leaders of the Jewish nation who were in their antagonism to Him leading the people astray (verses 6-8). The evil intention of the thief is contrasted with His good intention (ver. 10). The desertion of the sheep by the hireling in time of danger is contrasted with His devotion to their interests even to death (verses 12-15). In verse 16 Jesus looked beyond the immediate present, the circle of His Jewish disciples to the wider range of His future ministry after His death to the Gentiles (ver. 16). This suggestion of a universal purpose need not be suspected. This “allegory" (Moffatt, Tapoiav) sets forth on the one hand the difference between Jesus as the Good Shepherd and the scribes and Pharisees as thieves, robbers and hirelings, and on the other the intimacy of His relation to His disciples as His sheep, entire dependence and obedience on their part, constant solicitude and absolute devotion on His. In verse 9, which Moffatt properly brackets and which probably belongs elsewhere, Jesus describes Himself as the Gate; faith in Him, such as the blind man had exercised, was the condition of even beginning the life of discipleship.

(iii.) Led by the comparison of Himself to the shepherd to mention death as the utmost proof of devotion, Jesus more fully developed the thought. His voluntary surrender of His life was approved of God because in obedience to God, and evidence of the identity of His purpose with God's (verses 17, 18 and 30). The words " The words “ ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν éoμev" are not to be interpreted metaphysically, the neuter ev signifying unity of substance, and the plural coμev difference of person; but morally and religiously, as Jesus' defence of them shows. The attempt to stone Him for this

supposed blasphemy in claiming deity evoked a self-defence based on the use of the word gods in the Psalms for God's messengers. It is as consecrated and sent into the world by the Father that He alone claims to be the Son of God (verses 31-36). He offers as the test of His claim to faith the conformity of His actions to God's will. The mutual immanence of Father and Son is proved by moral resemblance (verses 37-38). Another attempt at arrest compelled withdrawal from Jerusalem; but argument and appeal had not been altogether vain, for many disciples were won (verses 39-42).

(iv.) The critical problems of John xi. have already been discussed; now we confine ourselves to the theological declarations. Martha's sorrowful reproach Jesus met by an assurance of Lazarus' resurrection, not in the remote future, but in the immediate present through Himself as the Resurrection and the Life, faith in whom secured eternal life. The appeal for her faith was answered by her confession of His Messiahship (verses 21-27). The sorrowful reproach of Mary (ver. 32) called forth no answer in words to comfort her, for Jesus Himself "chafed in spirit and was disquieted"; and either in sympathy with the sisters, or in compassion for the hopeless grief of men in the presence of death, “Jesus wept." Confident of His power, because assured of His answered prayer, He called Lazarus out of the opened grave (verses 32-44). If God cannot and will not raise the dead then Lazarus was not raised. But if God can and will, it is credible that the prayer of Christ was answered, and the power of God was revealed through Him, and thus His filial confidence in God was justified. If we believe that Christ was raised from the dead, need we disbelieve that God through Him raised Lazarus? Here we must leave the problem, as no logical demonstration can solve it; for the solution is bound up with the faith in Himself Christ

inspires in us, and the experience of the eternal life through that faith which becomes ours.

(v.) The impression made by this miracle is represented as so great, that the enemies of Jesus were forced to the resolve at any cost to repress the Messianic movement, which might bring down on Judæa the heavy hand of Rome. As a measure of political expediency Caiaphas advocated the execution of Jesus, although the evangelist attached to His utterance in view of His office a prophetic significance. Our faith does find the same world-wide meaning and worth in the death of Jesus, although our modern modes of interpretation forbid our finding in Caiaphas' words this prophetic oracle (verses 45-53).

(vi.) In this resolve on a judicial murder ended the Great Controversy, the course of which we have endeavoured to sketch. No attempt has been made, as in Westcott's commentary, to read Christian theology into almost every phrase and clause, but the intention has been to present broadly the historical situation, as it developed from stage to stage. Regarding the result of this discussion two remarks may be made. In the first place, I am more than ever convinced that the evangelist is not romancing; if he is, he is one of the most consummate realists in fiction, for so vivid is the impression he makes of reality. In the second place, I cannot find in Jesus' self-witness the advanced metaphysics of the ecclesiastical dogma of the person of Christ; but a moral conscience and a religious consciousness of intimacy with, dependence on, confidence in, obedience to God as Father, which may demand a metaphysical explanation, but is not metaphysical in intention. Opposition threw Jesus back more and more on God, and evoked in Him a fuller and firmer sense of the uniqueness and absoluteness of His relation as Son to God as Father.

ALFRED E. GARVIE.

56

THE MAP AS AN AID TO THE PREACHING OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.

THE appearance of the superb Atlas of the Historical Geography of the Holy Land, planned and edited by Principal G. Adam Smith, and prepared under the direction of Dr. J. G. Bartholomew, will not only adequately meet an urgent need on the part of the biblical student, but should also tend to revive interest on the part of the preacher in the historical portions of Holy Writ. For the preparation of such a work as this it would have been difficult to secure a better combination than that of Drs. Smith and Bartholomew, the one perhaps the leading living authority upon the geography of Bible lands, and the other a supreme master of the whole art and craft of map-making. Their joint labours have co-operated to produce a work of priceless value, which should find a place in the library of every serious biblical student.

It is now a good many years ago that the attention of the present writer was captured by a remark of the late E. A. Freeman with reference to the value of the map as an auxiliary to the effective study of history—a matter upon which it may be said, en passant, that master-historian was accustomed to lay considerable stress. As, in a humble way, himself a student of history the writer has times out of mind made practical proof of the serviceableness of the hint thus obtained. His experience has doubtless been that of many others, who have felt, perhaps more particularly in reading the historical portions of the Old Testament, the need of having at hand a really authoritative historical atlas of the Holy Land. This desideratum is now at length put at the disposal of all who desire to avail themselves of it.

Before passing on to the consideration of what is more especially the topic of the present paper, it may perhaps be not undesirable to give some indication of the character and of the possibilities of usefulness, alike to the student and the preacher, of the publication now under review.

One of the secrets of making history interesting is to be found in the faculty of projecting oneself out of the present into the past, breathing its atmosphere and sharing in its life, whereby the narrative of the historian takes on somewhat of the character of the relation of a personal experience. It may be admitted that this faculty is, in no small measure, a matter of natural aptitude; but not entirely so, for it may be cultivated with some success; and whatever natural ability to do this one may happen to possess, be it great or small, is susceptible of being improved by deliberate effort. There are of course various aids to the cultivation of this faculty, conspicuous among which is the exercise of a disciplined imagination—using this latter term in its proper scientific sense. But imagination, unless it is to mislead, must have suitable material to work upon. Its starting-point is of necessity the written records of the past; but these need supplementing. Second in importance to the study of the records may perhaps be placed travel, and first-hand acquaintance with historic sites. In the case of the Holy Land, however, for obvious reasons, such first-hand knowledge is not obtainable by the majority of preachers and many students; for them it is therefore necessary to fall back upon the picture and the map. So far as the latter is concerned it is now possible to do more in this way than has hitherto been altogether easy; for it is no exaggeration to say that the intelligent use of this noble atlas will enable the student to acquire a tolerably clear mental picture of the Holy Land, including not only