another, and seek not the honour that cometh of God only?" He meant by that saying, that they were not honest in their reh'gion. With all their apparent desire to hear and learn, they cared more in reality for pleasing man than God. In this state of mind they were never likely to believe.
A deep principle is contained in this saying of our Lord's, and one that deserves special attention. True faith does not depend merely on the state of man's head and under- standing, but on the state of his heart. His mind may be convinced. His conscience may be pricked. But so long as there is anything the man is secretly loving more than God, there will be no true faith. The man himself may be puzzled, and wonder why he does not believe. He does not see that he is like a child sitting on the lid of his box, and wishing to open it, but not considering that his own weight keeps it shut. Let a man make sure that he honestly and really desires first the praise of God. It is the want of an honest heart which makes many stick fast in their religion all their days, and die at length without peace. Those who complain that they hear, and approve, and assent, but make no progress, and cannot get any hold on Christ, should ask themselves this simple question, — " Am I honest ? — Am I sincere ? — Do I really desire first the praise of God ?"
Let us mark, lastly, in this passage, the manner in which Christ speaks of Moses. He says to the Jews, — " Had ye believed Moses ye would have believed me : for he wrote of me."
These words demand our special attention in these latter days. That there really was such a person as Moses, — ^that he really was the author of the writings commonly ascribed to him, — on both these points our Lord's testimony is distinct. " He wrote of me." Can we suppose for a moment that our Lord was only accom-