the abstract, giveth us ground to consider, after what manner it is that
he is the Truth and the Life, as well as the Way; and that for clearing
up and discovering of his being an absolutely perfect, transcendently
excellent, incomparably preferable and fully satisfying way, useful to
believers in all cases, all exigents, all distresses, all difficulties,
all trials, all temptations, all doubts, all perplexities, and in all
causes or occasions of distempers, fears, faintings, discouragements,
&c. which they may meet with in their way to heaven. And this will lead
us to clear up the duty of believers, on the other hand, and to show how
they should, in all their various cases and difficulties, make use of
Christ as the only all-sufficient way to the Father, and as truth and
life in the way, and so we will be led to speak of Christ's being to
his people all that is requisite for them here in the way, whether for
justification or sanctification; and how people are to make use of him
as being all, or, as being made of "God to us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption," 1 Cor. i. 30.

Ere we come to the words in particular, we would look upon them as
having relation to Thomas his words in the preceding verse, wherein he
did little less than contradict what Christ had said in the 4th verse,
and learn several very comfortable points of doctrine, as,

I. That Jesus Christ is very tender of his followers, and will not cast
them off, nor upbraid them for every escape whereby they may provoke him
to anger and grieve his Spirit; but gently passeth by many of their
failings, when he findeth they are not obstinate in their mistake, nor
perverse in their way. For how gently and meekly doth he here pass over
Thomas his unhandsome expression, finding that Thomas spake here, not
out of obstinacy and pertinaciousness, but out of ignorance and a
mistake. And the reason is, because, 1. Christ knoweth our infirmity and