our relation to God, then would he have had many children amongst us, whose evidence would be clear, and their claim indisputable. But we must stand or fall by another test, even by that proposed by our Lord himself*1. See then what ye have to do. You have not to fulfil the whole law in order to become children of God ; {that were indeed a hopeless case :) but to get the love of Christ in your hearts. And can you feel any backwardness to that ? Methinks, the difficulty should be to refrain from loving him. Only think who he is ; and what he has done and suffered for you : think what excellencies unite in him, and how great will be the comfort of loving him : think how willing he is to reconcile you to God, and to bring you into the family of heaven. Only believe in him, love him, and give yourselves to him ; and all shall yet be well with you, both in time and eternity.]
d Compare 1 Cor. xvi. 22.
John viii. 46. If I say the truth, why do ye not believe me ?
ONE would reasonably suppose, that if Almighty God were to become a man, and to labour for the instruction of his creatures in .a way of daily and familiar intercourse, and were to confirm his testi- mony by miracles without number, it would be impossible for men to withstand the influence of his word. But the experiment has been made ; and men have shewn a degree of perverseness, of which one could scarcely have conceived them capable. Some- times they would endeavour to justify their opposition, by accusing our Lord Jesus of violating the law of Moses. But they were invariably put to shame ; the falsehood and malignity of their charges being exposed by him with unanswerable force and demonstration. It was to opponents of this description that he ad- dressed the words before us : " Which of you con- vinceth me of sin ? i\nd, if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me ?"
From these words, I will take occasion to mark,
I. The prevalence of unbelief —