half truth has given to faith an all-but death wound. In the works of fiction a character is often portrayed, clothed with every moral deformity, the object being but the same-to discredit truth, to impugn the doctrines of Christ, or to clothe with contempt the men who teach and defend them; in the latter case, a man of straw answers the purpose best, involves the least amount of thought, and makes the deepest impression. This conduct is of all the most treacherous and wicked; by the side of it Tom Paine was uprightness itself. In living and working, however, under the influence of this spirit, such men are often painfully convicted of great self-treachery, and hence their impatience of reproof and hatred of close dealing and real instruction, and the disposition they frequently manifest to live upon the most superficial praise and the good opinion of others.

III. That it perpetually aims at a superficial and ignorant self-justification. "How long dost thou make us to doubt?" said these Jews. They were prepared to admit that not to believe on the Great Teacher promised them when he should appear would be a sin; but then these words also imply that the signs and evidences attending the advent of the Messiah had been withheld by him who now appeared in their midst as the sent of God. To what miserable expedients will not unbelief resort! To those very men the Faithful and True Witness could say, "If I had not done the works which none other man did, ye had not had sin, but now ye have no cloak for your sin ;" and again, "If ye believe not me, believe me for the very works' sake." The truth was, light had reached them, but they would not come to it, because their deeds were evil. Pride and prejudice held possession of the house, and their unlawful property being held in peace, they did not wish to lose the latter or to have the former disturbed. These religious teachers knew enough of Christ to believe that the first thing he would do with them would be to

exorcise this spirit of falsehood and self-treachery, and hence their "How long dost thou make us to doubt?" The same spirit is abroad now, and the many elaborate and simple, learned and illiterate attempts which tens of thousands make who hear the Gospel constantly and from day to day, to impeach the truth of Christ, and to show the reasonableness of their doubts in relation to the Gospel, may be resolved into the unwillingness of the soul to have a religion, the first step towards the possession of which in volves self being dethroned, with the insincerity and self-treachery which ever accompany such a state of mind. But, though there may be many devices in the heart of man, of this we may be assured, that the counsel of the Lord shall stand. Foolishness is said to be bound up in the hearts of children, and this is no less true of men also. And myriads living under its influence may spend their lives seeking to unravel its numberless threads; may twist them, and twist them, again and again, with aching fingers, hearts, and heads, seeking to make a cord strong enough so to bind God as that he shall not righteously touch them even for sin. This is the world's old work, age after age diligently pursued; for the heart unchanged, and having nothing from God, can only produce its own. The spirit enfranchised by truth and love, will ever work and elaborate that which is towards liberty and life; while under the reign of error and enmity it will as certainly produce that which is towards bondage and death. Men may be logical and acute, and may fill their minds with objec tions in which they may imagine they find some valid reason for thinking, if not saying, with those men of old, "How long dost thou make us to doubt?" and fondly conclude that their doubts are so strong that they shall never be disturbed. But let us not be deceived: there are moral forces within us, and truths without us, by which God can work and sweep away at once and forever all our most intelligent objections as easily as a cobweb is

driven before the blast of a whirlwind.

IV. That in attempting this it will not hesitate to traduce the holiest and best, even God himself.

"How long dost thou make us to doubt?" said these men. They charged home their unbelief upon the great Author of faith himself. The true light shone upon their path, while yet they remained in thick darkness, and declared that this darkness came from the very Sun which threw its healing and beneficent rays upon them. What is there that the heart under the influence of its enmity and perverseness will not do? Many who in the present day hear the Gospel preached faithfully and constantly, would not like to say to Christ, "How long dost thou make us to doubt ?" and yet nearly all the arguments which many now use to justify their want of faith in him must be resolved into this spirit. If Christ be presented to us in the Gospel as the object of faith, and we do not believe, it must be either his fault or our own; let the reader look to his reasons for not believing, and see into what he can resolve them. It is an awful thing to say to Christ, either directly or indirectly, "How long dost thou make us to doubt?"

V. It will sometimes do this under the guise of a pretended frankness and ingenuousness.

From the form in which the Pharisees put this question, it appears as though they would have tempted Christ to believe that they were willing to believe if they could; that they were anxious to do that which was very right in the matter, but that the means by which they could reach the truth was withheld from them by the Great Teacher himself. Who would have thought that this spirit was the same that said, when witnessing his miracles, He hath a devil, and is mad"? And how often does the most wilful unbelief and hatred of the truth of Christ take this form of pretended frankness and sincerity-"We are willing to believe, but cannot, sir"? If truth were but revealed in

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any other shape; came to us in any other form; if it were but more simple and less mysterious; if one would but come to us from the dead, or we could but go to heaven, and come back again; if we could really see God and hear him speak audibly; if, if, &c., &c. But this is but the old objection after all—“How long dost thou make us to doubt? If we are not content with what God has said, nothing which he could say would answer our purpose. Our Saviour answered the principle from which all these objections proceed when he said, "If ye believe not Moses and the prophets, neither will ye believe, though one rose from the dead." Notwithstanding all the apparent frankness and ingenuousness which often characterize the objections urged against Christ and his Gospel, most of them have their root in indolence and insincerity.

VI. That the works and words of Christ are so self-witnessing as to their Divine origin as to leave men without excuse in their rejection.

The words of the Pharisees denied the truth of this position, but Christ maintained it to their condemnation. "I am," said he, "the light of the world, and whoso followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." Light necessarily manifests and proves itself; it serves to discover other things, but needs no help to show itself. As the sun in nature reveals itself by its own light, so the great Sun of truth is a self revealing sun. The words of Christ ever bring evidence of their own origin to the heart which receives them, and hence he could say, "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love. darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil." Men are blinded by their own natural aversion to the truth, and close their eyes lest the light of the knowledge of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine in them; while of the works of Christ he himself said, "The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness of

me, but ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I told you." And again, "If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not."

VII. That to those who are willing to learn and believe, they need to be seen and heard but once.

Christ maintained this position, also, in self-justification against all the accuations and sophistries of his fellowcountrymen, and will maintain it in spite of all the objections which are brought against it by many now. Light once perceived brings to the eye of a living man its own attestation of its nature and powers, and needs no other demonstration than that which it brings; and one miracle would be as satisfactory as to the divinity of the claims of Christ to an ingenuous mind as a thousand. Numbers who heard the words of Christ, and saw his works, did believe at once; and thousands of our strongest Christians now trace their conversion to an instant perception of, and receiving of, the truth. "How long dost thou make us to doubt?" "How long!" The language of Christ to them in reply was in substance the same as it is to many now, "How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge." If men could but establish the fact that they were not under an obligation to believe at once, they would thus establish their right to procrastination, in other words-to ruin their own souls.

Let us take heed, therefore, and beware of self-treachery, which simply means self-trust, and that of the most ordinary and superficial character. "How long dost thou make us to doubt ? They were willing to be deceived, and built their question upon the noisy, turbulent, surface passions and enmities of their mind; had they gone down deeper within, they would have found other reasons for their suspense than the Great Teacher's words. If we are determined upon the justification of our unbelief, our hearts will bring us plenty of materials with which to accomplish

our desire; but of this we may be certain, that the faithful and true Witness will not find it difficult to deal with either our hearts or words on some future day. If, therefore, we have any difficulties, let us take them to him at once, praying him to instruct us through his own word, and we shall prove the truth of the Divine promise, that "to the upright there ariseth light in the darkness."

In the interesting incident, then, which we have contemplated, we have a striking illustration of the desperate wickedness and deceit of the human heart, and of our terrible liability under the influence of pride and selftrust to the most fearful self-deception. Such is the hatred of the natural mind to the humbling truths of the Gospel, that it will not hesitate to charge its most desperate forms of unbelief on God himself, and under the influence of a subtle enmity, will often put forth a life-long and elaborate effort to justify its rejection of the truth, and that in opposition to the voice of conscience and the felt wants of the soul. So that even now, as of old, the experience of every truly converted man is but an illustration of the old promise, "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power;" and in the faith by which the soul overcomes its own prejudice and enmity, and finds rest in truth and God, we have proof of the immortal youth and undecaying vigour of Christ, of the force and beauty of his Spirit's teaching, and the invincibility of his own intelligent and allconquering love. If, therefore, we would not be bound by the strong threads which our own sophistical hearts are perpetually elaborating, or fall by the intellectual snares of the great adversary, we must seek to be possessed of a simple self-renouncing faith in a present and living Saviour; we must be willing to surrender all, that we may gain all; and so prove the truth of his own words-" If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself."