It is " full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to goclly persons." Let such never forget that they live in a world where God overrules all times and events, and where nothing can happen but by God's permission. The very hairs of their heads are all numbered. Sorrow and sick- ness, and poverty, and persecution, can never touch them, unless God sees fit. They may boldly say to every cross, — " Thou couldst have no power against me, except it were given thee from above." Then let them work on confi- dently. They are immortal, till their work is done. Let them suffer patiently, if needs be that they suffer. Their "times are in God's hand." (Psl. xxxi. 15.) That hand guides and governs all things here below, and makes no mistakes.
We see lastly, in these verses, the miserable end to which unbelievers may one day come. We find our Lord saying to His enemies, — "Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me ; and where I am thither ye cannot come."
We can hardty doubt that these words were meant to have a prophetical sense. Whether our Lord had in view individual cases of unbelief among His hearers, or whether He looked forward to the national remorse which many would feel too late in the final siege of Jerusalem, are points which we cannot perhaps decide. But that many Jews did remember Christ's sayings long after He had as- cended into heaven, and did in a way seek Him and wish for Him when it was too late, we may be very sure.
It is far too much forgotten that there is such a thing as finding out truth too late. There may be convictions of sin, discoveries of our own foil}7, desires after peace, anx- ieties about heaven, fears of hell, — but all too late. The teaching of Scripture on this point is clear and express. It is written in Proverbs, — " Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer ; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me." (Prov. ii. 28.) It is written of the foolish