38. He that believeth on me. He who takes the salvation which Christ offers is the one who believes on him. As the Scripture hath said. This is not a verbal quotation, but a reference to such passages as Isa. 58. 11; Zech. 14. 8; Prov. 18. 4. Out of his belly. Or, as we would say, out of his heart; " though strictly speaking one figure is as correct as the other. The reference is to "the inmost heart, which, saturated with Christ's life, opens like the rock (Exod. 17. 6) and pours forth its spiritual wealth." Shall flow rivers. Every person who has received the true spirit of the Gospel must impart it to others; either consciously by his active endeavors and his testimony, or unconsciously by his influence. (3) He who has been blessed becomes a blessing. Living water. The Gospel of Christ, in an abundant tide of joy and grace.

39. This spake he of the Spirit. The Spirit of God in the hearts of believers is the especial revelation of the New Testament, and the high privilege of Christian experience. For the Holy Ghost was not yet given. Literally, for the Spirit was not yet," meaning not that the Spirit was not in existence, but that it was not as yet manifested. Jesus was not yet glorified. Glorified" is the word used every-where in John of the sufferings, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, taken as a whole. The Holy Spirit delayed his coming to the Church until Christ, the head of the Church, ascended to heaven.

40. When they heard this saying. The words were in themselves striking, and were delivered under the most striking circumstances. They rang out upon the solemn stillness of the temple, in a moment of intense feeling, and they deeply impressed those who heard them. This is the Prophet. The Prophet promised by Moses in Deut. 18. 15, whom some expected as the Messiah, and others as his forerunner.

41. Others said. Perhaps those who had heard and seen Jesus before, and had given closer attention to his words. This is the Christ. Not any prophet or herald, but the long-expected King himself. They looked for him as a conqueror, and so he was, but not in such form of conquest as they anticipated. Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Knowing that Jesus came from Galilee, they supposed that he had been born there; and the Jews of the capital could not believe that their Messiah would arise in such a despised province.

42. Hath not the Scripture said. They pointed to the prophetic utterances concerning Christ as the evidence that Jesus could not be the Messiah. Yet if they had examined his record they would have found that he precisely fulfilled the prophecies. Seed of David. This was the promise (Isa. 9. 6. 7; 11. 1-5), and Jesus, who was a descendant of David, accomplished it. Town of Bethlehem. The birthplace of David, which was also expected by the Jews to be the birthplace of their promised Messiah, from the prediction in Micah 5. 2. (4) How much of the opposition to Christ springs from ignorance of him!

43. A division........because of him. How much of division has been caused since that time by the name of Jesus! Even now the line is drawn between those who believe in Christ and those who reject him.

44. Some....would have taken him. Some, inspired by the rulers' hate, desired to have Jesus arrested as a pretended Messiah and the enemy of the people. No man laid hands on him. There was some invisible power which held them back from laying hands on Jesus, as the incident in the following verses shows.

HOME READINGS.

M. Jesus the Christ. John 7. 37-52.
Tu. Jesus the despised. John 7. 1-14.
I. Jesus the teacher. John 7. 15-36.
Th. Jesus the water of life. Isa. 55. 1-7.
F. Jesus the Prophet. Deut. 18. 15-22.
S. Jesus the Son of David. Luke 2. 1-14.
S. Jesus the Prince of Peace. Isa. 9. 1-7.

GOLDEN TEXT.

Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Matt. 16. 16.

45. Then came the officers. The police of the temple, who were under the orders of the council, and had been expected to seize Jesus. The chief priests and Pharisees. These are spoken of collectively as forming the Sanhedrin, or supreme council of the Jews, the same body which, six months later, succeeded in their purpose of putting Jesus to death. Why have ye not brought him? They were in session, called together for the very purpose of condemning Jesus, whom they expected to find in their power.

46. Never man spake like this man. They were not overawed by the multitude, for we never read of any great number of his friends in Jerusalem; but they were subdued by the calm majesty of his manner and the power of his words. Their report was even more true than they realized, for never was there such a teacher as Jesus, whose knowledge reached from heaven to the heart of man, and whose revelation of truth was new to the world.

47. Then answered them the Pharisees. The men who were considered models of correct teaching, and who could therefore speak with authority. Are ye also deceived? They spoke as if to believe in Jesus were to show great folly. (5) How like their tone is that of some skeptics and unbelievers of to-day!

48. Have any of the rulers? It is probable that none of the ruling class in Judea were openly followers of Jesus, though there were some, like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, who secretly believed in him. Such has been the history of all great causes. The leaders of science were against Kepler and Galileo; the leaders of the Church were against Wesley; the leaders of society were against the antislavery movement, and are now against the temperance movement. (6) Great reforms come not from the upper social strata, but from the people.

49. This people who knoweth not the law. The educated scribes looked down with great contempt on the ignorant masses, as the ancient Jewish writings abundantly show. So there are still religious teachers who believe that the people are to be controlled and kept in subjection by being kept in ignorance, and not permitted to think for themselves. By the law, they meant not only the written Scripture, but also a vast mass of unwritten traditions, which they considered of equal authority.

50. Nicodemus. See notes on Lesson IV, April 25. His timid, hesitating nature is perceived in every allusion. Yet his conduct on this occasion shows that he had grown in force of character, since to oppose such a powerful majority required moral courage. Came to Jesus by night. A reference to the night visit two years before. See John 3. Being one of them. A member of the council, and a scribe or teacher of recognized authority.

51. Doth our law? As if he said, "You despise the multitude for not knowing the law, but are you following it, you who know it so well?" Judge any man. Cautious as the words were, they were perhaps as strong as any man could be expected to speak in the face of such bitter, unreasoning prejudice.

52. Art thou also of Galilee? This shows how utterly unreasonable was the ruling faction. They cannot answer a fair question, but must give abuse instead of argument. Out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. If this meant that no prophet had ever come from Galilee, it was evidently a falsehood or a mistake, for Jonah certainly was a Galilean, Nahum and Elijah probably. But they probably intended to say that the Prophet, referred to in verse 40, would certainly not come from Galilee.

LESSON HYMN. S. M.
Hymnal, No. 435.

No man can truly say
That Jesus is the Lord,
Unless thou take the veil away.
And breathe the living word:
Then, only then, we feel
Our interest in his blood;
And cry, with joy unspeakable,
"Thou art my Lord, my God!"

O that the world might know
The all-atoning Lamb!
Spirit of faith, descend and show
The virtue of his name.

ANALYTICAL AND BIBLICAL OUTLINE.
Jesus in Six Aspects.

I. THE WATER of Life.

1. Come unto me, and drink. v. 37.

"Ho, every one that thirsteth." Isa. 55. 1. 2. Rivers of living water. v. 38.

"A well of water, springing up." John 4. 14.

11. THE GIVER OF THE SPIRIT.

1. This spake he of the Spirit. v. 39.

"Will pour my Spirit upon thy seed." Isa. 44. 3. 2. Given....Jesus....glorified. v. 39.

"If I depart, I will send him." John 16. 7.

III. THE MESSENGER OF GOD.

Of a truth this is the Prophet. v. 40.

"Will raise up unto thee a Prophet." Deut. 18. 15. IV. THE ANOINTED ONE.

1. Others said, This is the Christ. v. 41.

"The Christ, the Son of the living God." Matt. 16. 16.

2. Of the seed of David. v. 42.

"Raise unto David a righteous Branch." Jer. 23. 5. 3. Of the town of Bethlehem. v. 42.

"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem." Matt. 2.1.

V. THE GREAT TEACHER.

Never man spake like this man. v. 46.

"Taught....as one having authority." Matt. 7. 29. VI. THE REJECTED ONE.

Have any of the rulers....believed? v. 48.
"His own received him not." John 1. 11.

THOUGHTS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.
Various Opinions of Jesus.

Just as in that day people were grouped in various classes by their estimates of Jesus and their relations to him, so it is still. The name of Jesus is the touchstone which tests the true character of men.

1. There are some who thirst after the water of life, and seek Jesus. Such find in him all that they need, an abundant supply, and they become in turn the means of blessing to others. Every saved soul is a fountain of life. v. 37-39.

2. There are some who will admit that he was a great teacher, a wise man, the noblest of the human race, but not that he is their redeemer. We read of many compliments, half-patronizing in their tone, paid to Christ by skeptics like Rousseau, Theodore Parker, and others; and many who do not believe in him yet honor him. v. 40.

3. There are some who do not accept Christ because they are in ignorance concerning him. These very people who rejected Jesus did not know that he belonged to the seed of David and was born in Bethlehem. There are many opposers of the Gospel now, who are just as ignorant. No one but a wise man should venture to deny his claims, and a truly wise man will not. v. 41, 42.

4. There are some who confess that they cannot understand Jesus. "Never man spake like this man!" Many people are amazed at the character and personality of Jesus, who do not believe in him. They feel a strange awe in the contemplation of him; they cannot classify him: they admire the sublimity of his teachings, but they fail to accept his salvation. v. 45, 46.

5. There are half-hearted believers. Such was Nicodemus. In his heart he believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but he lacked the courage of his convictions. There are many such now who do not confess Christ

openly. They lose both the fleeting pleasures of the world and the enduring joys of the kingdom. v. 50-52. 6. There are open enemies. Such were the Pharisees then. Such were Voltaire and Paine, and other infidels of the past, and such are some noisy unbelievers now. The time will never come when Christianity will be without enemies; but still it goes on its conquering way and triumphs over the world. v. 44-49.

English Teacher's Notes.

THE object of a cry is to awake attention. Many cries are uttered when there is no adequate cause for them, no pressing need that attention should be roused. But where any person who is habitually quiet, gentle, and calm utters a cry we know there must be a very strong reason for it. Now of one Man it was foretold, "He shall not strive, nor cry, neither shall his voice be heard in the streets." Isa. 42. 2. Yet in the chapter whence our passage for to-day is taken, we are twice told that "Jesus cried." There are only two other occasions on which such an expression is used; the one just before our Lord left the temple for the last time (chap. 12. 44), and the other when his redeeming work was finished and he "cried with a loud voice." (In Matt 27. 50, the Greek word is the same as the one used by John. The other "cry," Matt. 27, 46, is a different word.) We are sure, therefore, that the words he uttered on these occasions were of the highest importance and that they expressed truths which all were intended to note and remember.

Of the two passages in chap. 7, the first refers to our Lord's mission, as the One sent from the Father: the other, which we have to consider to-day, announces his own sending forth of the Spirit, and we have the subject of his discourse to the woman of Samaria brought before us here in a fuller and more perfect manner.

Let the class first notice what it was that our Lord announced with this cry.

We must try and realize the circumstances and It was one of the three the surrounding scene. great Jewish feasts, the feast of tabernacles, or of the ingathering at the close of the year. Never did Jerusalem assume a more festive aspect than at this season, as will probably be explained in other notes. And every day throughout the week rejoicing crowds watched the water drawn from the pool of Siloam, carried up the hill into the temple, where it was poured out, together with a libation of wine, at the side of the altar. But on the last day this striking ceremony was omitted. Why? See what it was meant to signify. Water is, as we all know, It is not, like a great necessity to the life of man. bread, his nourishment, but without it no nourishment could be of service to him. So highly is water prized in the scorching East that the Arabic name for it is "the gift of God." A well-watered land was one of the blessings bestowed upon Israel. Deut. 8. 7; 11. 11. And spiritual blessing is promised over and over again in the prophets, under Isa. 12. 8; 32. 2; 35. 7: the type of water. 41. 17, 18; 44. 3; 49. 10; 55. 1; 58. 11; Jer. 31. 12;

Ezek. 34. 26; 47. 1, etc.; Joel 2. 23. These promises |
were most of them connected with the coming of
Messiah, the "root of Jesse," the "King" who
should rule in righteousness, and however little the
Jews may have entered into the actual meaning of
what was promised, they certainly understood by
it something from God which should satisfy their
hearts. While by the seven days' ceremony they
kept these promises in memory (specially that in
Isa. 12. 3), by the omission of it on the eighth day
they showed that the fulfillment had not yet taken
place; the "wells of salvation" had not yet been
opened.

And on the very day that the joyous ceremony is wanting and the absence of the real thing is specially impressed on the festive crowd, Jesus stands among them and cries: "If any man thirst, let him come unto ine and drink!" The living water is actually at hand! The promises of old are close upon their fulfillment.

Look well at the announcement. It is not a mere draught of blessing spoken of. The water is to be "in" him that believes in Jesus. And not that only it is to flow "out of" him. He shall not only be satisfied himself, but shall be a channel of blessing to others. Of the "in him" Christ had already spoken to the woman of Samaria. This is the first revelation of the water flowing "out of him." When the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in any heart, that heart is not to be shut up, to enjoy the blessing alone.

Now notice the effect that this cry had upon the people.

could say, "I spoke openly to the world" (chap. 18. 20), was accused and condemned as a malefactor and put to a shameful death. But for this the promise could not have been made good. The Holy Spirit could not be given till Jesus was glorified. And the path to this glory-not the glory of the eternal Son, but the glory of the man Christ Jesus-lay through the cross. Without his suffering there could be no gift of living water. The Rock must first be smitten, that the stream might be poured

out.

And thus he was proved to be the Christ. For as it was Christ who was to give the living water, so it was Christ who was to suffer, that he might enter into his glory. Luke 24. 26. And so it was immediately on Peter's confession of him as Christ (Golden Text) that he began to show his disciples that he must suffer. Let each consider,

What it cost him, as Christ, to give the living

water.

What a gracious offer he makes of it to all who thirst.

And ask himself,

Have I accepted and thanked him for it?
Am I living in remembrance of what it cost him?

Berean Methods.

Hints for the Teachers' Meeting and the Class.

Give a concise outline of the events in Christ's life between the third passover and the feast of tabernacles, including his visits to Phenicia, Decapolis, Cesarea Philippi, Capernaum, and Samaria....Circumstances under which Jesus went up to the feast of tabernacles. See the earlier part of the chapter containing the lesson. ....State concerning the feast of tabernacles, its origin, form of celebration, what it commemorated. Consult the Bible Dictionary on this subject....The services on "the last day, that great day of the feast," what were

It was a bold announcement to make. Here was a priceless gift wanting, a gift that must come from above, a gift divine, a gift the absence of which was deeply felt by all. And this Galilean cries that he will give it! But instead of wondering at such boldness the crowd tacitly acknowledges his right they?....To whom had Jesus spoken words similar to thus to speak, and it draws forth from them the expression: "This is the Prophet;" and, "This is the Christ."

But there were some who heard the cry who were not there merely as listeners. They had come, in fact, with a different purpose. The Pharisees and chief priests had "sent officers to take him." They came to apprehend a dangerous foe to the community, and they hear from his lips these "wonderful words of life," this marvelous promise, comprising in itself all that ancient prophets had foretold. And "no man laid hands on him." They could not do it with this cry ringing in their ears! And when questioned as to why they had not carried out their charge, they replied: "Never man spake like this man." Lastly notice how the announcement and promise were to be made good.

In spite of the effect produced we do not read that the people believed in Jesus. The Pharisees were only the more enraged when they saw the power of his words, and one of their number, the secret disciple, Nicodemus, got a sharp reply to his mild plea for tolerance. Wrath and hate must gather thicker until their purpose has reached its climax,and he who

verses 37, 38?.... Find in this lesson six different aspects of Jesus, and illustrate them by passages of Scripture. (See Analytical and Biblical Outline.).... Find in this lesson six classes of people in their relations, and show how these classes are represented now. (See Thoughts for Young People.).... Be sure to ask your scholars to which of these classes they would choose to belong....Impress upon the class four words in verses 37, 38: 1.) Thirst; 2.) Come 3.) Drink; 4.) Believe.... Show, too, that every believer gives out that which he has received, and thus becomes a blessing to others.

temple-court. It is the festival crowd jostling by, and people halt as they hear this unusual, startling voice What is this cry? It begins, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink!" "Who is it?" people say. "Where is he?" They halt, twist their heads, look this way and that. Ah, there he is, standing out attractive as possible, that little eyes and little hearts distinct. majestic, speaking in his own regal, gracious may be won to the glorious center-Christ.

A. D. 29.]
LESSON XII. JESUS AND ABRAHAM.
John 8. 31-38, and 44-59. [Commit to memory verses
32-36.j