hearers a, is applicable to us at this day. They indeed expected a Messiah, whilst they rejected him whom God had sent ; and therefore our Lord says so re- peatedly, " Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me :" and so far his address to them is not applicable to us, who all acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ. But what he adds, is as applicable to us as ever it was to them ; since in an unregenerate and unconverted state it is impossible for us ever to behold the face of God in peace.
I am aware that this is an observation that must occasion pain : but, if such persons still exist as those to whom the declaration was made, it is surely the office of love and charity to apprise them of it. You will therefore receive my friendly suggestions in the spirit with which they are offered to you, whilst I shew,
I. To whom this declaration was made —
They are here clearly described by our Lord him- self :
1. The worldly-minded —
[" Ye are of this world : I am not of this world." Now the worldly are not only put in a state of contrast with the Saviour himself, as in this and other places'5, but with the children of God also : they are represented as being " wiser in their generation than the children of light0;" and as hating them on account of their stricter course of life : " If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth youd."
Now it is really not difficult to discover, to which of these opposite parties we belong. Let us only ask, Which we more esteem ? which we more desire ? which we more delight in, the things of time and sense, or the things which are invisible and
eternal ? - I ask not, Which of the two engages more of
our time ? for our social and civil duties require a great deal of our time : and God himself permits us to labour six days, and to reserve the seventh only for him. But the question is, On which of the two is our heart fixed? Which do we mainly affect, the things of this, or of the future world ? If only we
a John vii. 33, 34. and xiii. 33. with the text.
b John xvii. 14, 16. c Luke xvi. 8. <> John xv. 19.
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mark, which of the two chiefly engages our thoughts, when our minds are free to fix upon the things which are most interesting to us, we shall then see the real bias of our minds, and our true character as before God God has ex- pressly warned us, that " if we love the world, the love of the Father is not in use;" and therefore we are assured beyond all doubt that the lovers of this present world are justly placed among those to whom the declaration in our text pre-eminently pertains.]
2. The unbelieving — ■
[" If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." Now there is as great a difference between the be- liever and the unbeliever, as between those who are of this world, and those who are of God. Only see the conduct of believers, and the matter will be as clear as the light itself. The true believer is humbled for his sins, and, under a con- sciousness of his utter inability ever to reconcile himself to God, he flees to Christ, and lays hold on him, and relies wholly upon his meritorious blood and righteousness, and glories in him as all his salvation and all his desire. The unbeliever, on the contrary, neglects him, and seeks for him- self some other ground of hope, if not openly and professedly, yet in the real feelings and dispositions of his soul.