John xiv. 1 . Let not your heart he troubled : ye believe in God, believe also in me.
AS God is eminently distinguished by that cha- racter, " The Comforter of all them that are cast down," so did Jesus evince his title to it during the whole time of his sojourning on earth : there was no distress which he did not remove from those who made their application to him ; and not unfrequently did he anticipate the wants, which the unbelief or ignorance of his followers made them unable to ex- press. He had now been revealing to his Disciples the things which were speedily to be accomplished : and, perceiving that they were greatly dejected by the prospect before them, he encouraged them in the words which we have read ; " Let not your hearts be troubled :" and then he prescribed an antidote, sufficient to dispel all their fears : " Ye believe in God ; believe also in me."
In discoursing on these words, we shall shew, I. The troubles which he taught them to expect —
There were three in particular which seemed most to affect them ;
1. Their bereavement of his presence —
[This, if it had been only to a remote quarter of the globe, or after the manner of Elijah's departure, would have greatly depressed their minds ; because of the love he had manifested towards them, and their entire dependence on him for instruc- tion and support but to have him withdrawn from them
by cruel sufferings and an ignominious death, was distressing beyond measure ; so that the very thought of it filled them with the deepest concern ]
2. The disappointment of their worldly hopes —
[They had supposed he was about to establish an earthly kingdom, and that they should be exalted to situations of great dignity. But when they heard, that, instead of reigning over other nations, he was to be rejected by his own ; and that, instead of elevating them to posts of honour, he himself
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