their clinging to or indifference to any thing, is our real belief or unbelief. We believe not Christ's resurrection any more than His apostle Thomas believed it. Say rather, far less; for his hopes and affections did believe in it, it was his understanding alone that was unsatisfied. But our hopes and affections do not believe in it, and our understanding rather does not deny it than with confidence affirms it.

To such, therefore, that most precious passage of the Scripture, which contains our Lord's appearance to Thomas, and his joyful confession when his understanding was enabled to go along with his wishes, can be as yet of no interest at all. Neither their belief nor their unbelief are the same with the apostle's. They are of a far different kind; far more resembling that evil heart of unbelief spoken of in the Hebrews,-which departs from the living God, which is confirmed, not by any difficulties of the understanding, but only through the deceitfulness of sin.

But it is not to such that Christ reveals Himself. The gracious words, "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands," &c., will never be spoken to them. By a far different process must Christ be sought: not by the understanding, but by the heart. By obeying Christ's commandments you will be best assured of Christ's glory. By thinking of Him at all, you will best learn to

think of Him with assurance. And here we see how our help does not and cannot stand in the help of man. If the matter were to satisfy the understanding, we might produce again our Lord's appearance and words to Thomas, and the unwilling doubt might again be changed into joyful certainty, and cry out, "My Lord and my God." But how can man, by telling us to hope make us hope; or by telling us that we ought to love, make us love really? Alas! it is impossible. Things are mightier than words. The world around you, so busy and so real to you, utterly excludes all mere human teaching. One thing only we could hope to do, not to persuade you to hope and to love, for that were vain; but to persuade you to pray to Him in whose gift hope and love and faith are. If our words could reach thus far, they would do all that could be desired of them. We can but pray you to pray to God; to ask His help for the very weaknesses which most beset you; to ask Him, in Christ's name, and through the virtue of Christ's blood, to give you the faith which you need: a faith not of words but of feeling; not contented with merely not denying, but with its whole heart and soul affirming.

This

is the faith which overcometh the world; this is

the faith which enters into God's rest.

November 28, 1841.

SERMON XXI.

THE PATRIARCHS-FAITH TRIUMPHANT IN DEATH.

HEBREWS, Xi. 13.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

THE part of this verse on which I would wish more especially to dwell, is that in which it says, "These all died in faith." For many are well content to live in faith many years, looking forward I mean to some good thing which is not yet manifest, and doing much and enduring much in order to gain it. And this no doubt is a faith after its measure; it does elevate the character far more than it would be elevated without it: he whose object is removed from him by ten years, or by one year, or even by a few months and weeks, and

who works on steadily towards it, is far above him who can only work for a thing actually before him, or in immediate prospect, to be enjoyed to-morrow if not to-day. But the difference is immense between the faith which looks to the most remote earthly prospect, and that which looks for its reward after death. And therefore I said that I wished particularly to direct your attention to that part of the text which says that the Patriarchs all died in faith; not having, even up to their latest hour, received the promises which they hoped for.

Now, the excellence of this faith, which places its object beyond death, may be seen in two respects. First, as it is in itself greater and bolder, existing in spite of greater difficulties. It is this, because it is fixed upon an unknown object; our objects in this life, however remote, are such as we know or can well conceive of; there are no kinds of human pleasure, of such pleasure at least as we ourselves are ever likely to desire, which are not in some degree familiar to our minds already. And not only are they in themselves familiar, but there is nothing of exceeding strangeness for the most part interposed between us and them; nothing but difficulties or hardships of which we have a tolerable notion beforehand. Whereas the faith which looks beyond the grave, has for its object that which no man can adequately conceive of;

and between it and its object there lies the most wonderful and awful change in the world, the change of death. And therefore the faith which is not staggered either by the incomprehensible nature of its object, or by that startling change which must be undergone before the object can be reached, is at once entitled to the praise of great strength and boldness; it holds on its way with a determined bearing, such as in itself we cannot but admire. But farther, the faith which stops short of death may be, and often is a faith which looks to a good object; to the accomplishment of some great work, or to the enjoyment of honourable rest, an old age relieved from labour, respected and beloved. Good objects, I would not say otherwise; yet surely not the best nor the highest. But the faith which looks beyond death is content with no less object than God Himself. It may be said that nothing hinders our faith from looking forward to a revival of earthly happiness, to an union with those friends whom we have most loved here. But I believe that practically, whatever we might think possible beforehand, the faith which is strong enough to look beyond the grave does not fix its view chiefly upon any known pleasure to be again revived, upon any known love to be eternally continued; but upon One who is truly the great end of all being, upon the knowledge of and communion with God and Christ. I do