the Saviour, whom he loves, ever been revealed to his organs of sense. It is by faith alone that he apprehends both the Father and the Son ; deriving from their love all his motives to action, and from their power all his ability to act. It was thus that St. Paul lived: " The life which I now live in the flesh," says he, " I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for mea." The object too, after which he aspires, is altogether unknown to him as an object of sense: he has never been carried up to heaven, to behold the glory that is there ; nor has heaven been brought down to him, that he might know wherein its blessedness consists. But he believes that there is such a place, and that the blessedness of it will be an ample compensation for all that he can do or suffer in the way to it : and therefore " he looks not at the things which are seen and are temporal, but at the things which are unseen and eternal V In the whole of his way to heaven, " he walks by faith, and not by sight."]
This life, however, involves hiin in continual con- flicts—
[It is thought, by some, that a life of faith must, of ne- cessity, be very easy, since the person so living has nothing to do but to believe. But it is no easy matter to go contrary to the dictates of sense; and to act, in reference to things invisible, as we would if they were present to our sight. In living by faith, we are withstood continually by those mighty enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world pre- sents to us its temptations on every side, if by any means it may engage us to follow some object of time or sense, and relax our pursuit of those higher objects on which our souls are bent. The flesh too solicits us, and pleads, yea, and strives and fights for indulgence; and, being ever present with us, is at all times ready to betray us into the hands of our enemies, and to bring us into subjection to its unhallowed lusts. And need I say, that Satan, too, is active to destroy us ? So inve- terate is his enmity, and so powerful his opposition, that all other enemies together are nothing in comparison of him. St. Paul says, " We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places0." Who can tell what "devices" that subtle foe puts forth in order to destroy us? His wiles are absolutely innu- merable : they are such as nothing but Omniscience can guard us against, and Omnipotence enable us to defeat.]
And these conflicts he must steadily maintain —
* Gal. ii. 20. » 2 Cor. iv. 18. c Eph. vi. 12.