Parochial and Plain Sermons

HERE are serious men who are in the habit of describing- Christian FaiLh as a feeling" or a principle such as ordinary persons cannot enter into; a something" stmng'e and peculiar in ifs very nature, different in kind from every thing" tlmt affccts and influences us in mattors of this world, and hot admitting" any illustration from our conduct in them. Thcy consider that, because itis a spiritual girl, and heavenly in its origin, itis therefore altog'ether superhuman; and that to compare iL with any of our naturel principles or feeling's, is to thinl unworthily of iL. And thus they lead others, who wish an excuse for their own irrelig'ious lives, to speak of Christian Faith as extravagant and irrational, as if it wcre a mere fancy or feeling-, which some persons had and others had hot; and which, accordingly, could only, and would necessarily, be felt by those who were disposed that cerLain way. Now, thaL the object on which FMth

Rcliious Faitk l¢aNonaI, x 9  fixes our thoug.hts, that (he doetrines of Seripture are most marvellous and exeeedingin glory, unheard and unthougt of elsewhere, is quite truc; and if is also (rue that no mind of man will form itself fo, habit of Faith without Che preventing and assisting" influences of Divine Graee. But if is not af ail h'ue (hat Faith i(se]f, i. e. Trust, is, strange prineiple of action; and fo.say that if is irrafional is even an absnrdlty. I me,qn sueh, Faith as that of Abraham, menioned in Che text, whieh led him fo helieve Gol's word when opposed fo his own experienee. And if shall now be my endeavour fo show To hear some men spe,qk (I mean men who seoff af religion), if mig.ht be thoug, ht we never aeted on Faith or rus, exeept in religious maters; whereas we are aeting on trust every hour of out lires. When faitlx is said fo be a religous prineil,le, if is (I repeat) tire (hings believed, hot the aet of believingthem,vhieh is peeuliar fo relig'ion. Let us take some examples. t is obvious that we trust o out me»zo. We do hot now witness vhat ve saw yesterday; yet we have no doubt if took place in the way we «e»te»tter. We recollect clearly the circumstances of morning and afternoon. Our confidence in our memory is so strong that a man might reason with us all day long, without persuadlng us that we slept through the day, or that we returned from a long journey, when our memory deposes otherwise. Thus we bave faith in our memory; yet what is irrational here? Again, even when we use reasoning, and are convinced of any thing by reasoning, what is if but that we trust the general soundness of our reasoning powers? From knowing" one thing we think we can be sure about anotber, even though we do hot see il. Who of us would doubt, on seeing strong shadows on the ground, that the sun was shiuing out, though our face happened tobe turned the other w8y? IIere is faith without sight; but there is nothing" against reason here, unless reason can be against itself. And what I wish you particularly to observe, is, that we continually trust our memory and our reasoning" powcrs in this way, though they often decelve es. ŒEhis is worth observing, beeause il is sometimes said that we eanuot be eerlait that out faith in religion is not  mistake. I say out memory and reason offert deeeive us  yet no one says il is therefore absurd and irrational fo continue fo trust them; and fox- this plain reason, beeause o» tke wkole they are true and faithful witnesses, beeause il is only at limes that they mislead us; so that the chance is, that they are right in this case or hat, whleh happens fo be before us; and (again) because in all praetieal matters we are obliged fo dwell upon hot what may te2o««ibly, but what is likely fo be. In m,tters of daily lire, we h,ve no lime for fastidious and perverse faneies about the minute chances of out being, deeeived. We are obliged fo aet al once, or we should eease fo lire. There is a elmnee (il eannot be denied) that our food to-day may be poisonous,—we eannot be quite eertain,—but il looks the saine and fastes the saine, and we have good fi-iends round us; so we do hot abstain ri-oto it, for ail this chance, though it is real. ŒEhis neeessity of aeting promptly is out hap-

]c@io«s F«it ationaL 193 piness in thls world's matters; in the eoneerns of a future life, als! we have rime for earnal and resfless houhts abou possibilifies. And this is out trial; and i will be out eondemnafion, if wifl the experienee of the folly of sueh idle faneyings abou wha may be, i maters of this life, we ye indulge them as regards tire future. I i be said, Lha we someimes do distrus out reasonin powers, for instance, when hey lead us o some unexpeeed conclusion, or ngain out memory, when anoher's memory eonradiets iL, flfis only shows tha there are things which ve should be weak or hasty in believing; whieh is quite true. Doubfless there  sueh a fault as eredu]ity, or believing too readily and too mueh (and this, in religion, wc call superstition); but this neither shows that all trust is irrationa], nor again that trust is necessarily irrationa], which is founded on wha is butlikely to be, and may be denicd without an aetual absurdity. Indeed, when we eome to examine the subjcet, if will be round that, strietly speking, we know little more than that we exist, and that there is an Unseen Power whom we are bound fo obey. Beyond this we must trust; and first out senses, memory, and reasoning powers; then other authorlties:so that, in faet, almost all we do, every daff of out lives, is on trust, i. e. But it may be said, that belief in these informants, our senses, and the like, is hot what is commoMy me by faith;that fo.trust our senses and reon is in faet nothing more than fo trust ourselves;and though flese do sometimes m[s]ead us, yet they are so eontinually about us, and so af eommand, that we ean use D] o

 94 Rel,;«iozs Fait/ them t.o eorreet eaeh other; so that on Lhe whole we gain ri'oto these the truth of flfing's quite well enouh fo net upon;that on the other lmnd if is, very different thing" ri'oto this Lo trust another person; and th,t faith, in the Seripture sense of the word, is tmstin i another, and therefore is hot proved fo be rational by the foregoing illustrations. Let us, fhen, nnderstand faith in this sense of relianee on lac wor<ls q/a+zotker, as opposed fo trust in onesclf. This is the commoi meaning" of fhe word, I gr,mt when we contrast if fo sig'ht and fo reason; and yet what I lmve already said h its use in reminding" men who are eager for demonstration in matters of religion, that there are difficultics in mattcrs of sense and reasoning" lso. But fo proceed as I have proposed.—It is easy fo show, that, even considering faith as trust in another, if is no irrational or strange principle of conduct in the concerns of this lire. For when we consider the subject attentively, how few things there are which we tan ascertain for ourselves by our own senses and reason! After ail, what do we know without trusting others? c know that we are in a certain state of health, in a certain place, bave been alive for a certain number of years, have certain principles and likings, have certain persons around us, and perhaps bave in out lires travelled fo certain places ata distance. But what do we know more? Are there hot towns (we will say) within fifty or sixty toiles of us which we bave never seen, and which, ncvertheless, we fully believe to be as we bave heard them described? To extend our view;—we know that land stretches in eve W direction

R«li«ious Fait Ratiosza[.  95 of s,  eertain number of toiles, nd (hen there is se on all sides; tha we are in an island. Bu who bas ee he land all around, and has proved for himself ha tire fae is so? Wh, hen, eonvinees us of i? /he re2)orl OE o[er,his rus, this fai/h in fes/imony whieh, when religion is eoneerned,/hen, and only hen, the proud and sinful would fain eall irraional. And wlm I have insaneed in one se of faets, whieh we believe, is equally rue of numberless oflmrs, of almosL all of hose whieh we hink we know. Consider how men in he business of lilç, ny, all of us, eonfide, are obliged fo eonfide, in persons we never sxv, or knov bu slightly; ha.y, in their hand-'itings, which, for what we kno% may be foyed, if we are o speculate and fancy what ma te. çe  upon our trust in them implicRly» because common sense tells us, that with proper caution and discretion, fuith in others is perfectly sale and rational. Sclpture, thcn, only bids us act in respect  a future lire, as we are every day acting aD present. Or» again, how certain we all re (when we think on the subject) that we must sooner or later die. No one seriously thinks he can escape death; and men dispose of their property und arrange their affairs, confidently contemplating, hOt indeed the exact rime of their death, still death as sooner or later to befall them. Of course they do  it would be most irrational in them not to eXl)eCt iD. Yet observe, wtat rooE bas any one of us that he shall die? because other men die? how does he know thut? bas he seen them die? he caa know nothing of what took place before he was born, nor of what hal»pens in other countries. How little, o2

 9 6 _ieliiots 'ait/t IYatiozaL indeed, he knows about if af all, exeept that iL is a reeeived Jàet, and exeept that if would, in truth, be idle fo doubL whaL mankind as a wole witness, thouh eaeh individual has only his proportionate share in the universal testimony! And, further, we eonstantly believe Lhings even againsL out ovn judgmenL; i.e. when we Lhink out informan likely fo know more about the rentrer under eonsideration than ourselves, whieh is the preeise case in the question of religious faith. And thus fl'om relianee on others we aequire knowledge of all kinds, and proeeed fo reason, judge, deeide, aet, form plans for the future. And in all this (I say) tru«t is n he boLtom; and flfis he world ealls firudenee (and x'ightly); and hot fo rusL and aeL upon trust, i»»'udenee, or (i may be) headstron folly, or nadneaa. But if is needless to proeeed; the world eould uo go on withou trust. The mosL disLressing evenL tha ean happen fo  state is (we know) Lhe spreadin of  wanL of confidence between man and man. Distrust, want OEfaith, breaks Lle very bonds of human soeiety. No5 then, shall we aeeounL i only mtional for a mnn, when he is ignoranL, fo believe his fellow-man, nay, fo yield fo another'sjudgment s betr than his own, and yet think if againt «eason when one, like Abraham, gives ear to the Word of G, and sers the promise of God above his own shortsighted expectin? Abraham, it is true, rested in hope beyond hope, in the hope afforded by a Divine promise beyond thaL hope suggested by nature. He had faneied he never should have a son, and God promised him a son. BuL mighL he noL well address those self-wioe persons who neglecL fo walk in the steps of his faith, in the lauage of jus reDroof? « If e reeeve the wtnes of «» » (he mgh well urge with the ADosfle)» « tire no at the promise of God through unbe]ief, bu was strong in faith, giving glory fo God, and being fully persuadcd tha wha He had promised Hc was able also to erform." But if may be objected; "True, if we knetfor certain» God had spoken to us as Ho did fo Abraham, if were then madness indeed in us fo disbelieve Him; but if is hot IIis voice ve hear, but na»'s speaking in His namc. The Church tclls us, that God has revealed to man His will; and the Ministers of the Church point to a book which they say is holy, and contains the words of God. How are we to know whether they speak truth or no? To believe this, is if according to reason or against if?" This objection brings us to a very lrg'e and weighty question, thoug'h I do hot think if is, generally speaking, a very practical one; riz. what are our reons for believing the Bible came from God? If any one as]s this in  scoffing way, he is not fo be answered; for he is profane, and exposes himself o the curse pronounced by St. Paul upon the haters of the Lord Jesus. But if a. man inqres sincerely, wishing to find the truth, waiting on God humbly, yet perplexed af lnowing or -itnessing the deeds of scorners and daring blasphemers, and at hcaring their vain reasonings, and hot knowing what fo think or say about them, let him consider the following remarks, -ith which I conclude. ow, first, whatever such proihne persons may  1 John v. 9.

about their willingness to believe, if they could find reason, whowever willing thcy may profess themselves to adroit that we daily take things on trust, and that to act on faith is in itse]f quite a ratiinal pricedure, mthiugh they may pretend that they do hot quarrel with being required to believe, but say that they do think if hard that bcttcr cvidence is hot given them for bclieving" what they are bid believe undoubtingly, riz. the divine authority ofthe Bible,—in spire ofall this, depcnd upon if, (in a ve T great many cases), they do murmur aU being required fo believe, they do dislike being bound to act without seeing, they do prefer to trust themselves to trusting" Goal, even though if could be plainly proved to them that God was in truth speaking fo them. Did they see God, did He show IIimself as IIe will appear af the last day, still they would be faithful fo their own miserable and wretched selves, and would be practically disloyal to the authority of God. Their conduct shows this. Why otherwise do they so frequently scoff af religiius meni as if timid and narrow-minded, merely because they fear fo sin? Why do they ridicule such conscientious persons as will hot swear, or jest indecorous]35 or live dissolutely? Clearly, if is their very faith itself they ridicule; not their believing on false grounds, but their believing- af all. tIere they show what if is which rules them within. They do not like the rie of religion Ihey do not like dependence. To t.rust another, nauch naore to trust him implicitly, is fo acknowledge oneself to be his inferior; and this man's proud nature cannot bear to do. tic is apt fo think if unmanly, and to be

-Zcl«ivus 'ait ]ationaL  99 ashmned of i; he promises himself liberty by breakin the ehaiu (as he eonsiders if) whieh binds him to his 2Xlaker and Redeemer. You will say, why flleu do sueh men trus eaeh otler if they are so proud? I answer, tha they eanno help i; and, again, tha while fley trust, they are trusted in turn; whieh puis them on, sor of equaliy with others. Unless this mutual dependenee takes lflaee, i is true, they eanno bear to be bouud to trus another, o depend on him. _And this is the reason tla sueh meu are so given fo cause tmnults and rebellion in national affairs. They se up some imag'e of ffeedom in Lheir minds,, ffeedom from the shaekles of dependenee, whieh they fldnk their natural rlgh, and whieh they aire to gain for themselves;  liberty, mueh like tha whieh Safari aspire af ter, when he rebelled agains God. o, le these men 10rofess wha they will, abou their no finding" faul with F,ith ou its own aeeount, they do dislike i. And i is therefore very mueh fo out purpose fo aeeustom our minds to the faef., on whieh I have been insisting, tha almost every thing we do is grounded on mere trus in others. We are ri'oto out birflx dependent crcatures, utterly dependent;—dependent immeditely on man; and that visible dependence reminds us forcibly of out truer and fuller dependence upon God. Next, I observe, tlrat these unbelleving men, who use hard words against Scripture, condemn themselves ou of their ow mouth;—in this way. If is, mistake to suppose that our obedience fo God's will is merely foundcd on our bclief in the word of such persons as tell us Scrlpture came from God. We obey God primarily because we actually feel His presence in our consciences bidding us obey Him. And this, I say, confutes these objectors on their own ground; becmrse the very reason they give for their unbelief is, that fl,.ey trust thcir own sight and reason, because their own, more than the words of God's Ministcrs.:Now, let me ask, if they trust their senses nnd their reason, why do they hot trust thcir conscience too? Is not conscience their own? Their conscience is as mueh a part of themselves as their reason is; and it is plaeed within thcm by Ahnighty God in order fo balance the influence of sight and reason; and yet they will not attend to it; for a plain reason,—they love sin,—they love to be their own masters, and therefore they will hot attend to that secret whisper of their hearts, whieh tells them they are o their own masters, and that sin is hatefifl and ruinous. Nothing shows this more plninly than their conduet, if ever you appeal to their conscience in favour of your view of the case. Supposing they are using proçane lang'uage, murmuring's, or seotfing's at religion; and supposing-a man says to them, "Y ou know in your henrt you should hot do so;" how will they reply? They immediately get angry; or they attempt to turn svhat is said into ridicule; any thing will they do, exeept answer by reasonin.:No; their boasted argumentation then fails them. It flics like a eowm'd before the slight stirring" of eonselenee  and their passions, these are the only champions left for their defenee. They in effeet say, "We do so, beeause we like if;" lerhaps they eve, avow this in so many words. " He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart bath turned him asidc, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand i?,, And are such the persons whom any Christian can in any degree trust? Surely faith in them would be of all conceivable confidences the most irrational, the most misplaced. Can we allow ourselves fo be perplexed and frightened af the words of those who carry upon them the tokens of their own inconsistency, the mark of Cain? Surely not; and as fhat first rebel's mark was set on him, "lest any finding him should kill him," in like manner their prcsence but reminds us thereby to view fhem with love, though most sorrowfully, and fo pray earnestly, and do our utmost (if there is ought we can do), that fhey may be spared the second death;—to look on them with awe, as a land cursed by God, the l»lain of Siddim or the ruins of Babel, but which He, for our Redeemer's sake, is able fo renew and fertillze.:For ourselves, let us but obey God's voice in our hearts, and I will venture to say we shall bave no doubts practically formidable about fhe fruth of Scripturc. Find out the man who strictly obeys fhe law wifhin him, and yet is an unbeliever as regards the Bible, and then it will be rime enough to consider all that variety of proof by which the truth of the Bible is confirmed fo us. This is no practical inquiry for es. Our doubts, if we bave any, will be round to arise after disobedienee; it is bad company or corrup books whieh lead to unbelief. It is sin whieh quenehes the Holy Spirit. And if we but obey God strictly, in rime (through I-Ils blessing) faith will become like sight; we shall have no lnore difliculty in finding what will please God than in moving" our limbs, or in understanding file conversation of our familiar friends. This is the blessedness of confirmed obedience.:Let us aire af attaining it; and in whatever proportion we now enjoy if, praise and bless God for His unspea.kable gift.

HERE is much instruction conveyed in the circumstance, that the Feast of the IIoly Trinity iramediately succeeds that of Whit Sunday. On the latter Festival we comnlemerate the coming of the Spirit of God, who is promised to us as the source of all spiritual knowledge and discernment.:But lest we should forger the nature of that illumination which He impmoEs, Trinity Sunday follows, to tell us what if is hot; hOt a light accorded fo the reason, the gifts of the intellect; inasmuch as the Gospel has ifs mysteries, its diffictflties, and secret things, which the Holy SpMt does hOt remove. The grace promised us is given, hot that we may know more, but that we may do better. If is given fo influence, guide, and strengthcn us in pefforming" our duty towards God and man; it is given to us as creatures, as sinners, as men, as immortal beings, hot as more reasoners, dislmters, or philosol»hical inquircrs.

If teaches what we are, whither we are going, what we must do, how we must do if; if enables us fo change' our fallcn nature fi'om evil fo g'ood, "fo make oursclves a new heurt and a new spirit." But if tells us nothing" for the sake of telling if; nelther in His Holy Word, nor through our consciences, has the Blessed Spirit thought tlt so to act. Not that the desire of knowing sacred thing's for the sakc of knowing" them is wrong. As knowlcdg'e about earth, sky, and sea, and the wonders they contain, is in itse]f valuable, and in ifs place desirable, so doubtless there is nothing- sinful in g'azin wistthlly af the marvellous providences of God's moral g'overnance, and wishing" to understand them. But still God his hot g'iven us such knowlcdg'e in the Bible; and therefore to look into the Bible for such knowlcdge, or to expect if in any way fi'om the inward teaching- of the Holy Ghost, is z dangerous mistake, and (if may be) a sin. And since men are apt fo prize knowledge above holiness, therefore if is most suitab]y provided, that Trinity Sunday should succeed Whit Sunday; to warn us that the enlig-htening vouchsafed to us is not an understanding" of" all mysteries and all knowledge," but that love or charity which is "the fulfilling of the Iaw." And in marrer of fact there bave been vel T grievous mistakes respecting" the nature of Christian knowledg-e. OEhere have bcen af all rimes men so ignorant of the object of Christ's coming, as to consider mysteries inconsistent with the light of the Gosl0el. They have thought the darkness of ludaism, of which Scripture speaks, to be a state of intellectial ignorance; and

Tlze C/zristi« zl'fystcri«s. ChristianiLy to be, what they terre,  "ration,al religion." And henee fliey hnve argued, liaL no doctrine whieh was md«eriou«, i. e. oo deep for human reason, or ineonsisten£ with heir sel-devised notions, eould be contained in Scripture; as ff if were honouring Christ fo maintain that when He said a thing, He could hOt have meant what IIe said, because te would hOt have said if. Nicodemus, though a sincere inquirer, and (as the event shows) a truc ibllower of Christ, yet at first was sta.rtled af the mysteries oF the Gospcl. IIc said to Christ, " lIow ean these thigs be?" He ff.lU the temptation, and ovcrcame if. But there are others who are altogether oended and fifll away on being exposed fo it; as those mentioned in the sixth elmpter of St. John's Gospcl, who went baek and walked no'more with Him. The Feast of Trinity sueeeeds Penteeost; the light of the Gospel does hot remove mysteries in religion. This is out subjeet. et us enlarge upon it. 1. et us eonsider sueh dieulties of religion, as press upon us independently of the Seriptures. Now we shall find the Gospel has hot removed these; they remain as great as belote Christ eme.How exeellen is this world! how very good and air is the face of nature how pleasant if is fo walk into the green country, and "to meditate in the field t the eventide  " As we look round, we eannot but be persuaded that God is mos good, and loves His ereatures; yet amid all the splendour we see around us, and the happy beings,

zo6 The Chrislian 3,[ysh'ries.

thousands and ten thousands, whieh live in the air and water, the question cornes upon s, " But wh is tkere 2)abt i.t tte world?" We see tllat the brutes prey on eaeh other, inflicting violent, unnatural deaths. Some of them, too, are enemies of man, and harm us when flmy have a.n opportunity. And man tortures others unrelenting'ly, nay, condemns some of them fo a life of suffering. Much more do pain and misery show themselves in tlle histo W of man —the numberless diseases and casualties of human lire, and out soows of mind; —tllen, further, the evils we inflict on each other, our sins and their awfifl consequences. Now why does God permit so mueh evil in His own world? This is a difficulty, I say, which we feel at once, before we open the Bible; and which we are quite unable fo solve. We open the Bible  the fact is acknowledged there, but it is hot explained af all. We are told that sin entered the world tkrong]t the _Devil, who tempted Adam to disobedience; so that God created the world good, t]tong]t evil is in it. But why He thought fit to surfer this, we are hot told. We know no more on the subject than we did before opening the Bible. It was a mystery before God gave His revelation, it is as great a mystery now; and doubtless for this reason, because knowledge about if would do us no good, it would merely satisfy curiosity. If is hot practical knowledge. g. Nor, again, are the diticulties of Judaism removed by Chfistianity. The Jews were told, that ff they put to death certain animals, they shofld be admitted by way of consequence into God's favour, which their continual transgressions were ever forfeiting. Now there was something mysterious here. How should the death of unoffending creatures make God gracions te the Jews? They could net tell, of course. All that could be sald te the point was, that in the daily course oi 6 human arfairs the unorfending constantly surfer instead of the offcnders. One man is ever suffering for the fault of another.:But this experience did net lighten the diftlculty of se mystcrious a provision. It was still a mystery that G od's fivour should depeud on the death of brute animals. Does Christiauity solve this difficulty? No; it continues it. The Jewish sacrifices indeed are donc away, but still tllcrc remains One Great Sacrifice for sin, infinitely higher and more sacred than all other conceivable sacrifices. According te the Gospel message, Christ bas voluntm'ily suffered, "the just for the unjust, te bring us te God." Here is the mystery continued. Vhy xvas this surfering necessary te procure for us the blessings, which we were in ourselves nnworthy of? We de net know. We should net be better men for knowing why God did net pardon us without Christ's death; se tic has net told us. One suffers for another in the ordinary course of things; and under the Jewish Law, too; and in the Christian scheme; and why all this, is still, mystery. Another difficulty te, thoughtful Israelite would m'ise from considering  the state of the heathen world. hy did net Almighty God bring all nations into tIis Church, and teach them, by direct revelation, the sin of idol-worship? tic would net be able te answer. God had chosen one nation. If is truc the saine principle of preferring one te another is seea in the system of the

o8 Te Cristian zystcrics. whole world. God gives men unequal advantages, comforts, education, talents, helth. Yet this does not.satisfy us, why He has thought fit fo do so af all. Here, again, the Gospel rec%mizes and confirms the mysterious fact. lFe are born in  Christian country, others are hot; we are baptized; «ve are educated; others are not. We are fitvoured above others. But why? 1Ve cannot tell; no more than the 3ews could tell why they were fitvoured;and for this reason, because to know if is nothing fo us; it would hot make us better mcn to know if. It is intended that we should look to ourselves, and rather consider why we have privileges given us, than why others bave hot the saine. Our Saviour repcls such curious questions more than once. "Lord, and what shall this man do. 9'' St.:Peter asked about St. ffohn. Christ replied, "If [ will that he tarry till I corne, wkat is t]at fo thee?.Follow thon Thus the Gospel gives us no advantaes in respect to mere barren knowle@e, above tbc ffcw, or above the unenlightened heathen. 3.:Nay, we may proceed fo say, further than this, that it increases out diffcullies. It is indeed a remarkable circumstance, that the very revelation that brings us l»'aclical and useful ]cnow[ed, qe about our souls, in the very act of doin2 so, nay (as it would seem), in consequece of doing" so, brings us mysteries. We gain spiritual light af the priee of intellectual perplexity; a blessed exchange doubtless, (for which is better, to be well and happy within ourselves, or to know what is going on af the world's end?) still at the price of perplexity. For instance, how infinitely important and blesscd is the news of eternal happiness? but we learn in connexion vit] this joyful truth, that there is a stars ofendless miser too.:Now, how great a mystery is this! yet the difficulty goes hand in hand with the spiritual blessing.. It is still more strikingly to the point fo refer to the message of mercy itse]f. We are saved by the death of Christ; but who is Christ? Christ is the Very Son of God, Begotten ot' God and One with God from everlasting', Goal incarnate. This is our inexpressible comfort, and a most sanctifying' truth if we receive it rig.htly; but how stupendous a nlystery is the incarnation and sufferings of the Son of God! Here, hot merely do the good tidings and the mystery go tog.ether, as in the revelation of etcrnal lire and etcrnal death, but the very doctrine which is the mystery, brings the comfort also. Veak, ignorant, sinful, desponding 5 sorrowful man, gains the knowledge of an infinitely merciful lrotector, a Giver of all good, most powerful, the Worker of all ïig.hteousness within him; af what price? af the price of a mystery. "The Vord was ruade flesh, and dwe]t anlong, us, and we beheld His glory;" and He laid down His lire for the world. What rightly disposed mind but will gladly make the exchang'e, and exclaim, in the languag'e of one whose words are almost sacred among us, "Let it be counted tblly, or frenzy, or fury whatsoever; if is our conlfort and our wisdom. We care for no knowle@e in the world but this, that man hath sinned, ind God bath suffered; that God bath ruade [i3 r

Himself the Son of 3[an, and that men are ruade the righteousness of God ." The same singular connexicn between religious light and comfort, and intellectual dm'kness, is also seen in the doctrine of the Trinity. Frail man requires pardon and sanctification; can ho do otherwise than gratefully devote himself fo, and trust implicit]y in, his Redeemer and his Sanctifier? But if our Redeemer were not God, and our Sanctifier were not God, how great would bave been our danger of preferring creatures to fle Creator! Yf'hat a source of light, f,'eedom, and comfort is it, to know we cannot love Them too much, or humble ourselves before Them too reverently, for both Son and Spiri are separately God! Such is the2»'acical effet of the doctrine; but what a mystery also is therein involved! A'Vhat a source of perplexity and darkness (I say) to the reason, is the doctrine which immediately results from it! for if Christ be by Himself God, and the Spirit be by Himself God, and yet there be but One God, here is plainly something altogether beyond out comprehension; and, though we might bave antecedently supt)osed them were numberlcss truths relating to Ahnighty God whiih we could neither know nor understand, 5-et ceoEain as flis is, if does hot make this mystery af ail less overpowering when it is revealed. And if is important to observe, that this doctrine of the Trinity is wt 2ro.posed i, Scri_ptere as a mjste. It seems then that, as we draw i'orth many remarkable facts concerning" the natural world whiih do hot lie on its surface, so by meditation we deteet in Revelation this remarkable principle, which is hot openly propounded, tkat 'eliyious liyht is intellectual da'rl«ness. As if our gracious Lord had said fo us; "Scripture does not ai»» af making mysteries, but they are as shadows brought out by the Sun of Truth. When you knew nothing of revealed light, you knew hot revealed darkness. Religious truth requires you should be told somet]d»g, your own imperfect nature prevents your knowing all; and to knov ometkig, and ot all,2a'tial knowlede, must of course perplex; doetrines imperfeetly revealed must be mysterious." 4.. Such being the necessary mysteriousness of Scripture doctrine, how can we best tutu if to account in the contest which we are engaged in with our evil hemoEs? Now we are given to see how fo do this in part, and, as far as ve see, let us be thankful for the gift. If seems, then, that diiîlculties in revelation are especially given fo prove t]e realit# of ourfaiN. What shall separate the insincere from the sincere follower of Christ? When the many own Christ with their lips, what shall try and discipline His true servant., and detect the self-deceiver? Difficulties in revelation mainly contribute fo this end. They are stumbling-blocks to proud and unhumbled minds, and were intended to be such.:Faith is unassuming, modest, thankful, obedient. If receives with reverence and love whatever God gaves, when convinced if is His ft. But when men do hOt feel rightly their need of His redeeming mercy, their lost condition and their inward sinfulness, when, in fact, they do not seek Christ in good earnest, in order to gain something, and do something', but as a marrer of curiosity, or speculation, or form, of course these difficulties will become grear objections in rhe way of their receiving" His word simply. And I say these difficultles werc intended to bc such by Him who "scattereth the proud in the imag'ination of their hearts." St.:Pcter assures us, that thar saine corner-stone which is unto them thar believe "'2recious," is "uuto them which be disobedienr,, stone of stumbling', and a rock of offence," "whereunto also (he adds) t]e# were a2)lgointed l. "' And our Lord's eonduer through IIis ministry is a eontinued example of this. He spoke in parables", thar they mighr see and hear, yer nor undersrand,—a rig-hteous deteetion of insineerity; whereas rhe saine diflîeulties and obseurities, whieh offended irrelig.ious men, vould but ]ead the humble and meek fo seek for more light, for information as far as if was to be obtained, and f.r resignafion and eontentedness, where if was hOt gven. Vrhen Jesus said,... '" Exeepr ye ear the flesh of rhe Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye have no lith in you..... Many of His disciples.... said, This is  hard saying: wbo ean hear if?.... and ri'oto that rime many.... wenr baek, and walked no more wirh Him..... Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, fo whom shall we go? Thou hasr the words of eternal lire." Here is tl'.e trial of faith, a diffculty. Those "" that believe nor" fall awav; the true disciples remain firm, for they feel their eterna iMerests af stake, and ask the veLv plain and practical, as well as affcctionate question, " 2'o who»t shall we go 1,, if ve lcavc Christ? Af another rime our Lord says, " I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent (those who trust reason rather than Scripture and conscience), and hast revealed them unto babes (those who humbly walk by iaith). Even so, Father, for so i seemed good in Thy sight.L" 5. Now what do we g'ai, ri'oto thoughts such as these? Our Saviour gives us the conclusion, in the words which follow a passage I bave just read. "OEhere-. fore said I unto you, that no man eau corne uuto Me». except if were given him of My Father." Or, again,. ":No man ean corne fo [e, exeept the Fathcr, whieh hath sent Me, draw him." ŒEhcrefore, if we feel the necessity of coming • to Christ, yct the diftàculty, lct us recollect that the ŒEift of coming is in God's hands, a.ud that we must pray Him to give it fo us. Christ does hot merely tell us, that we cannot come of ourselvcs (thouh this Hc does tcll us), but He tells us also with whom the power of coming is lodged, with His Father,that we m,y seek if of Him. If is true, religion bas an austere appearance to those who never bave tried if; ifs doctrines fifll of mystery, ifs precepts of harshness; so that it is uninviting3 offendin different men in different ways, bu in some way offending al]. Vhen then we feel within us the risins of this opposition to Christ, proud aversion fo His Gospel, or a low-minded longing after this world, let us pray God fo dra.w us; and though we cannot more a step without I-Iim, at least let us try fo move. He looks into our hearts and sees our strivings even before we strive, and tIe blesses and strengthens even out feebleness. Let us get rid of curious and presmnptnous thoughts by going about out business, xvha.tever if is; and let us mocl; and baffle the doubts which Safari whispers fo us by actiJg against them. lXTo marrer whether we believe doubtingly or hot, or know clearly or hot, so that we act upon our belief. The test will follow in rime; part in this world, part in the next. Doubts may pain, but they cannot lmrm, unless we give way fo them; and that we ozttt wt fo give way, out conscience tells'us, so that our course is plain. And the more we are in earnest fo "work out our salvafion," the less shall we eare to know how those things really are, which lorplex ris. Af length, when our hearts are in our work, we shall be indisposed fo take the trouble of listening fo eurious truths (if they are but curious), though we might lmve them explained fo us. For wh,t says the tIoly Scripturc? tlmt of speculations "there is no end," and they are « wearlness of the flesh;" but that we naust "fear God and keep ttis commandments; for this is the whole duty of man ."