not upright in him." Here he marks the evil of un- belief in its nature, as the fruit of pride and hypocrisy ; and in its tendency, as leading to destruction.
Let us notice, then, the evil of it,
1. In its nature —
[Persons would fain have it thought, that their unbelief arises from want of evidence : but in whomsoever it is found, provided he have had the means of information fully set before him, we hesitate not to affirm that it is the offspring of pride and hypocrisy. Men will not submit their wisdom to the wisdom of God ; and, instead of receiving humbly what he has revealed, they will presumptuously sit in judgment upon him, and teach him, what he shall reveal, and in what manner he shall reveal it. They like not to be told that they are such guilty and helpless creatures as they really are. They like not to have all grounds of self-confidence taken from them ; and to be necessitated to found their hopes altogether on another, even though that other be the Son of God himself. They like not that measure of self-denial and of devotedness to God, which the Scriptures require of them. Hence they endeavour to explain away the force of Scripture, if not to set aside its au- thority altogether. They do not examine it with the candour which they would exercise in the investigation of any other subject: they have a bias within them, arising from their pre- judices and their passions: they wish to find occasion against the Scriptures, or an interpretation which shall enable them to evade their force. They do not set themselves diligently to conform to the word of God, as far as they believe it true : so that their whole conduct shews that " their soul is not upright in them." This habit of mind does not prevail in all to the same extent; but in every unbeliever is it found : and it is at the root of unbelief, wherever that baneful evil exists.]
2. In its tendency —
[It operated to the ruin of those who would not listen to the warnings of the prophets respecting the judgments that would be inflicted on them by their Chaldean invaders. And a similar consequence ensued to those who rejected the Saviour of the world. And what other effect can ever be produced by it? Were not the Apostles commanded to declare, through all the world, " He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not, shall be damned?" Nor does this consequence result from any arbitrary appointment of God : it is, and must be so, in the very nature of things. " This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life ; and this life is in his Son : he that hath the Son, hath life ;