to sight, in its sensible influence; but it is its nature to resemble sight. It is also opposed by much unbelief and the natural perverseness of the heart : But its tendency is to realize things invisible, and to give them a present substance in the mind.

This is that divine principle wrought by the Holy Ghost, which enables men to overcome the world, and by which men may live to God. For the faith, so highly commended in this chapter, does not mean a mere assent to revelation, in general, with which so many content themselves. The faith, here spoken of, is wrought by the Spirit of God, unites a man to Jesus Christ, and makes him to act as a New Creature. I observe that many complain that their lives are not so good as they ought to be, who yet make no complaint of their faith. It is a very common thing for men to be much under the power of unbelief, and yet to seem, both to themselves and others, to believe truly. They profess the Christian religion : They never examined the grounds of true faith; and because they have not doubted, they think they believe. What is to be done by such a sort of Christians? Let them, first, be convinced of their unbelief; and, secondly, let them learn the real power of faith.

1. In endeavouring to convince men of unbelief, I would premise, that I do not pretend to ascertain to what degree this unbelief amounts, because it is much greater in some than in others; and there is an endless diversity of cases. All I mean to shew is, that mankind are naturally prone to unbelief; and that even in Christian countries, so called, the great fundamental truths are not believed at all, by

many who profess them. Others, who may, in some sense, believe them, do it so very faintly as scarcely to feel their influence. Hence that faith, which is in the room of sight, is a thing little known and little felt in the world.-I would consider the three great sources of information on this subject, Scripture, experience, and the nature of things.

If you look into the Scripture you find the sinfulness of men is constantly ascribed to unbelief. The people of Israel, in the wilderness, are an emblem of mankind in general. In Moses's history of them you see what men are, and what are the ways of Divine Providence. Miracles on miracles do not convince them so thoroughly of the Providence of God as to induce them to trust in him. After repeated deliverances, they murmur and disbelieve, as if he had done nothing for them. "He smote the stony rock indeed, that the waters gushed out, and the streams flowed withal: but can he give bread also, or provide flesh for his people?" And that which provoked the Lord particularly was, that they trusted not in God, and hoped not in his salvation. If there had been any thing of the realizing principle of faith, they would have set the God of Israel against the gigantic sons of Anak; but it is evident that they did not so, by their total unbelief, and by their proposing to return to Egypt. If you wonder they could be so unreasonably unbelieving after such miracles, recollect what He said who knew what was in man, " If they hear not Moses "If and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead."

What reason have you to think you would not have acted in the same manner, who daily show a disposition to disbelieve God, both in his Word and in his Providence. Indeed in this point a true believer is remarkably different from him who has no divine faith at all. When men begin to have some real faith, they begin also to be sensible of much unbelief; and those who have no real faith, are apt to imagine they have sufficient. The root of the sins of Israel in the wilderness is described as consisting in unbelief; and this secret evil of the heart, which I would wish you to detect in yourselves, is the true cause of the horribly gross sins and vices which fill the world. Did the people of Sodom believe the divine threatenings of destruction? No, they enjoyed themselves in security, till fire and brimstone rained upon them, and destroyed them all. In the case of the flood the warning and preaching of Noah during one hundred and twenty years were not believed. Men saw the heavens and the earth, the weather and the course of nature just the same, and would conclude that it must be an absurd fancy in Noah to build an ark. Do not you see how prone men are to trust to what they feel and see and hear, and to discredit the testimony of God? They believed at last, indeed, both in the one case and in the other. When the fire and brimstone were poured in torrents from heaven upon the cities of the plain, where Lot dwelt, they believed. And when the waters of the flood prevailed in the days of Noah,-they believed also. But this is to trust our own senses, not the declarations of God; and it is such a trust as brings no honour to God nor

profit to man. Such a trust, or rather such a conviction, wicked men will have, when they shall see Christ at the day of judgment, and shall hear him say, "Depart, ye cursed." For, as men mocked before the flood, so do they now. mock, and will continue to mock until the day of judgment, and the last destruction of the world by fire. We have "scoffers walking after their own lusts, saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the Fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were." Indeed when we are told that "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him," we are taught that men are naturally unbelieving.

This same Jewish people, how did they disbelieve every evidence of divine truth concerning Christ! Even when wrath came upon them to the uttermost, they had not the least idea of their destruction by the Romans, as a punishment for their rejection of the Saviour. And, as there is no reason to suppose that the nature of a Jew is different from that of a Gentile, let us, in addition to the Scripture-evidence, which must respect Jews particularly, because they are the only people whose history is particularly related there, see what the experience of our own times testifies concerning the unbelief of mankind.

2. And here, the very existence of such a number of persons who, from age to age, have taken pains to depreciate the Holy Scriptures, and the encouragement which has been given to them, show with what facility men give way to a spirit of unbelief. And he, who seriously should weigh the extreme slightness of those arguments, or rather cavils,

which have been produced on the subject, will be convinced that men are partial in this cause, and readily disbelieve, because they wish to find the Scripture to be a fiction. Let any man, who has gravely attended to this matter, reflect only on the arguments for the truth of revealed religion which he has understood. How many, how clear, how unanswerable! And yet there are times when he finds himself almost overcome by the shadow of a cavil, to which he would be ashamed to allow weight in any other inquiry. These things show, that unbelief is natural to us; unbelief too most unreasonable, supported, as it always is, by the love of sin, and by evil affections and imaginations. What an immense quantity of instruction, and eloquence, and argument, from age to age, has been laid out in defence of true religion! Not in vain. God forbid for God has a Church and Ministry; and by his Spirit, Word, and Ministry ever did and ever will support this Church. But how few the Converts, in comparison of the many who live in gross wickedness, or at least void of any serious religion! To what can all this be owing but to the natural predominancy of unbelief in the heart of man! }

In one point, and that too of infinite moment, the unbelief of men is palpable. Where is the man who duly and fully believes that the punishments of Hell are eternal! They are so believed indeed by real Christians, who rely on the Saviour that delivered them "from the wrath to come." And this shows the importance of that awful truth. For how can men believe in, and worthily receive, Jesus