An observation by Vinet that strikes at the "symbolism" defense of idols

Alexander Vinet:

One thought which allows itself to be penetrated by another is no true thought. A system which receives all systems favourably is not one itself, but rather, whatever the appearance it puts on and the claims it urges, a negation of all system. A religion which does not deduce its character from its object, but its object from its character, cannot pretend to the name of religion. Involuntary impressions, an involuntary state of the soul, point out no distinct object, and may be produced by objects the most different. The unknown and obscure object of these various emotions may take such or such a given name, but the name does not make the object. Under the undefined name of God, it is perhaps in the universe that I believe, in my sensations, in myself. Everything reduces itself to shadows, to mere appearances, in this religious syncretism. There, where everything is symbol, where the object always escapes, the object itself becomes a symbol, and God is only another name for the universe. And, moreover, while defining nothing, and consequently allowing everything, one does not fail to exclude; one excludes by this very manner of allowing, for positive doctrines will not be treated thus; they consent, indeed, to be denied, but not to be reduced to the value of pure forms; it is the very politeness shown them that wounds, and this species of intellectual toleration accorded them offends them more than enmity.

Alexander Vinet: Jesus Invisible & "invisible Saviour"

Alexander Vinet:

JESUS INVISIBLE.

''It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you: but if I depart, I will send him unto you."-John xvi. 7.

At the idea of the persecution and sufferings which Jesus Christ had just set before his disciples in endless perspective their heart is overwhelmed. Amazement closes it against love. Taken up entirely with themselves, they think not of their Master. He himself, though present and close to each of them, requires to remind them of his presence, and putting into their mouth a question which they themselves ought to have asked, he says, "None of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?" And then anticipating, or following their thought, he himself answers the question which he had thus suggested, or rather another question which he perceives to be included in the first. "Whither goest thou" has doubtless this meaning: Why do you go away? Why do you not remain in the midst of us? Why do you leave us alone upon the earth? A question, brethren, implying great trouble and anxiety; a question which will appear very natural if we can put ourselves in the place of the disciples, and which our Lord answers even before he has heard it, apparently without any expression either of reproof or surprise.

The disciples were not then what they afterwards became. Jesus Christ had constrained them, so to speak, to believe in his bloody death as an event certain, necessary, and near. But Jesus Christ was to come forth from the tomb, to re-appear among the living; and why, when he had resumed possession of life, should he not prolong his stay in the midst of them in the bosom of his Church? How could this Church dispense with him? What was to become of it, or rather must it not be annihilated by the absence of its Head? They find not in themselves any answer to these questions; or, to speak more properly, they do find one; they find in the feeling of their feebleness and unbelief the most disheartening of answers, and they are obliged to say that if the future prospects of the Church depend only on them, frail and shaking reeds, the Church has no future.

Such was their weakness that Jesus Christ could not, at least at this time and with his own mouth, fully solve the difficulty which rises in their breasts. His reply, though complete in itself, is to them necessarily incomplete and temporary. It calms and re-assures rather than gladdens and edifies them. The Master has spoken. That is something. The Master has explained that a great advantage is to result from his departure; this is much, if they have regard to the authority of him who speaks, but it is little for persons in such a situation as theirs, and (remarkable circumstance!) before they have received or enjoyed the compensation which is promised them, I mean the mission of the Comforter, they are not in a condition either to appreciate this compensation, or form an idea of it. It is for the Comforter himself to make them know the Comforter; it is for the benefit promised to furnish them by actual enjoyment with the proper measure of its value. The words of Jesus are no doubt precious, precious as instruction, precious as a prophecy, the accomplishment of which will gloriously display the infallibility of the divine Prophet, but it is at a later period that its full value will be felt. At the time of delivery it is to the apostles like many other prophecies, "a light shining in a dark place."

Let us do justly, brethren; all of us would, like them, have been apt to ask Jesus, "Lord, why goest thou away? Remain with us, Lord! for without thee we are nothing, and far from thee we perish!" And perhaps we are tempted to ask even in the present day; perhaps the absence of Jesus, and of every visible sign of his invisible presence, alarms our faith, and this longing to see, which suggested to the heart of the disciples the mournful question, "Whither goest thou?" perhaps this longing agitates ourselves, and dictates to us on different occasions many objections, it may be many murmurings, analogous to the question put by the disciples.

Let us suppose, then, that the question is ours, and that the answer is given to us, the only difference being that we do not say like the disciples, "Whither goest thou, Lord?" but "Lord, why hast thou gone away, and why dost thou not remain amidst us till the end of time?” Let us listen to the reply of Jesus.

But no: before his reply let us listen to our own. He alone will tell us the whole truth, and even any answer which we might give ourselves comes from him. We are wise only with his wisdom. There can be no question of concealing any thing from him; but it may be proper to see whether before knowing the proper answer of Jesus Christ to the question of his disciples, we and they also might not have some means of accounting for the departure and disappearance of Jesus Christ.

Let us suppose, then, that the Son of man, in condescension to the weakness of his disciples, and our secret wish, had consented after his resurrection to remain upon earth until the last day of the last age reserved for its existence. He could not thus remain except to die daily, or to be for ever triumphant. On which of these two alternatives must we fix? You know too well, brethren. Jesus Christ, always equally entitled to be loved, will always be equally hated. The same thirst for his blood will exist in all places and at all times; so that were Jesus Christ to appear successively in different countries, each of them would in its turn be moistened with his precious blood. Horrible to think, and horrible to say! Jesus, each time he sprung again from the bosom of the earth, (become his mother,) would again yield up his innocent and hallowed flesh to the wicked; all forms of execution would alternately be tried on his adorable body; all the fearful varieties of human corruption would be exercised, and, if possible, exhausted in this eternal parricide, and the Church called, according to the words of St. Paul, to fill up what is wanting in the sufferings of her Head; in other words, to represent and continue him in this part of his work, the Church would suffer with him, unless indeed she were, as the example of the first disciples might lead us to suppose, to flee far from his cross, leaving there at most some St. John to whom Jesus, more a stranger upon the earth than before, would not be able to give the charge of another Mary.

If it accords with piety to believe that the Son of God died once, the just for the unjust, if that is the very basis and foundation of the mystery of godliness, it is impious to believe that the Son of God could more than once be clothed with mortal flesh, and that the blessed seed of the woman was more than once to allow his heel to be bruised by the angel of darkness. Let us hasten then to reject this first alternative, though the most probable and the only one admissible, and Jesus, as we have supposed, continuing to honor the earth with his presence, let us conceive that, instead of enduring an eternal passion, he is to enjoy an everlasting triumph.

He has conquered; while living and clothed with our humanity, he has put infidelity completely to flight. The hosannah of some hundreds of Israelites on the road to Jerusalem has become the cry of all nations. Jesus reigns; he is the King of all the earth; he is the King of kings. His peaceful dominion is absolute. He has no more enemies, no more rivals, and what has been emphatically said in the Jewish book of an earthly king is strictly true of Jesus: "The earth is silent before him." His kingdom, whatever he may have said to the contrary, is of this world. Still this kingdom, glorious as it appears, is but a place of exile. For if humanity before it attains to glory in the heavenly places is an exile for the just, how much more must it be so for the Prince of the just? Jesus Christ is not in his proper place, and therefore methinks I hear Him exclaim as in the days of his ministry, "How long shall I be with you?" The subjects of this King of the world have here an advantage over him, and it is found, though in contradiction to the very words of Jesus, that the servant is more than his Master. For Jesus Christ having suffered once, what can those around him have to suffer? A single look from him crowns them with glory; to have been seen and noticed by him, to have received from him an order, a question, a sign merely, is enough to be in the eyes of all other men something more than a king; fidelity always recompensed, always sure of being applauded, no longer costs any thing; the idea, and even the name of disobedience have disappeared from all minds; there is no longer, on the part of the friends of Jesus, either difficulty to be surmounted or struggle to be maintained. It is no longer by fire that men are saved, nor by much tribulation that they enter into glory. The sacrifice is no longer salted with salt, or rather, there is no longer a victim. Religion is no longer a sacrifice; the blessing of the narrow way, and the kingdom of heaven taken by violence, are henceforth only empty sounds. After having asked what Jesus Christ is doing here below, it only remains to ask what his disciples are doing, and why, if we may so express it, earth is not already transformed into heaven?

Such are the replies which the most superficial knowledge of the Gospel at once suggests. Let us now listen to Jesus Christ. His reply alone is complete, and goes to the very bottom of the question. His answer alone can be called an answer. The question of the disciples had reference to themselves. "Why dost thou go away?" meant, Why dost thou leave us alone? what will become of us without thee? This is only part of the question which we have not already answered. We have omitted to place ourselves in the position of the disciples. The first thing which Jesus Christ does is to place himself in it, as is clearly shown by the very first words of his reply; "It is expedient for you that I go away." Let us see in what this expediency consists; an expediency not confined to the first disciples, but applicable to our case also.

"If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you."

Remain with us, Lord, and we will be comforted. Such, brethren, would perhaps have been our answer; for we indeed feel a general need of consolation. Alas! in their unhappiest moments it is for being alive and existing that many would wish to be consoled. But who can console better than Jesus? Jesus absent is only one misery more, and who can console us for the absence of Jesus?

Jesus might have answered, Are you consoled? does my presence suffice you? is the void of your heart filled? Is the disquietude of your spirit calmed? have you peace? No; and yet I am in the midst of you. You can every day see me, speak to me, and hear me, and after your manner you love me how is it, then, that while I am alive and present, something within you still cries for peace and comfort? Thus it appears you still require to ask, still to receive the Comforter.

Here the words following the text remind us that we must not give a strict interpretation to the term Comforter. The comfort in question is not merely that which compensates for a lost good, or makes it be forgotten. It is that which puts an end to the soul's solitariness, unites it to its object and its end, and puts it in possession of its true good. It implies all the light, strength, and life, of which it is susceptible; new eyes, a new heart, a second birth; the omnipotence of God in the feebleness of man. The Comforter is the Holy Spirit.

The signs or effects of his presence are numerous and varied. But as the object is to prove that the departure of Jesus is the condition of this Supreme grace, and that it is necessary for him (remarkable circumstance!) to go away in order to give place to the Holy Spirit, let us ascend from mere particular acts of grace which may seem to be compatible with the personal presence of Jesus Christ, to the more general acts which are the principle and source of all the rest. We shall then have no difficulty in understanding how these, and consequently all others, could only be formed and developed after the departure of the Son of man, and we will conclude with saying to this Divine friend, Yes, Lord, thy departure was necessary; it has been good for us that thou didst go away.

Two consolations of the Comforter, two gifts of the Holy Spirit, compose the whole new man. The one is faith; the other is that love in the Spirit of which St. Paul has said that it gives life. Jesus Christ is the object of both, but it is on condition of becoming invisible to us.

The first of the gifts of the new covenant is faith. The property of faith is to attach itself before all and above all to what God has said, be it command, instruction, or promise, and whether written on some material substance or engraven on the tablet of our heart. To believe is to repose entirely on the infallibility and faithfulness of God; it is to place his testimony above all kinds of certainty or guarantee; it is to regard every word proceeding from his mouth as more substantial and real than the reality itself; it is in practice to regard duty in the form in which God has enjoined it as the clearest and most imperative of all obligations; it is, consequently, to go forward with unflinching eye, and meet coming events as we would meet God himself; it is not to ask for sight, but to consider sight either as the special recompense of faith, or as a merciful solace which God, when he deems it necessary, may concede to our weakness; it is, in terms still more general, to live in the Spirit, which is the best part of ourselves; to renounce the tyrannical domination of the senses, and uniformly look to the foundation, the very essence of the truth, instead of looking to external accidents or signs; it is to prefer the invisible, which is eternal, to the visible, which passes away, and the possession of the sovereign good to the sensible signs of its presence: in fine, in regard to what especially concerns Jesus Christ, it is to bless God that the Word was made flesh, and that eternal Wisdom dwelt with the children of men, but not to regard Jesus Christ, although perfect man, as an ordinary individual, whose presence is indissolubly-attached to the body which represents him, as if he would be less present, less near, and less united to us when our eyes should cease to behold him. Now, such was the disposition of the disciples, and such, brethren, is human nature in general, that had Jesus Christ remained upon the earth, faith, the divine principle of a new life, would have remained for ever in an infant state. Its case would have been that of a young bird whose parent will not permit it to try its wings. Men would have reposed on the corporeal presence of Christ; not upon his spiritual, which is his real presence. Even with a Jesus Christ, poor and humble, we would have walked by sight; the man would have obscured the God ; the pure idea would never have been entirely disengaged from the external fact; all the thoughts of the Christian would have remained contracted and temporal; never would he have risen to that glorious liberty of the spirit which was to be the glory of the Gospel economy. In fine, the natural weakness of the disciples would have made them at every moment fall back upon this visible and present Jesus, who behooved, as such, to suffice for all our wants, and whose presence must therefore have made our state of minority perpetual. In regard to the present day, moreover, it would not be we who believed, but he who believed for us, who would live for us, and be the Christian while there were no Christians. The magnificent developments of the Christian Church would thus be strangled in the birth; or, to speak more properly, there would be no Christian Church; if by the Church we mean the assembly of those who walk by faith, and live in the Spirit.

After faith, I have named love in the Spirit. This is the second characteristic of the new man. He loves ; but the essential difference in this respect between him and other men is, that he loves spiritually. All human affection is carnal in its principle. The soul, which is of the earth, is the seat of this love; it does not go the length of the spirit, which is the sense of divine things. To love spiritually, is to love as God loves and wishes to be loved. All in love that is only nature, instinct, taste, self-complacency, all that in love is made in the image of the world and of time, disappears or is subordinate. Love, purified and made divine, rises and attaches itself to what is invisible and immortal; it becomes at once more tender and more holy, more intimate and more respectful; it loves God in every soul, and loves every soul in God. The believer who sees all things with the very eye of God, loves, if we dare so express it, with the very heart of God. And, to quote an example which brings us near our subject, almost all the world loves Jesus. Even the enemies of Christianity have a kind of love for Jesus. How is it possible not to love him who was meek and lowly in heart; who loved little children, and loved the poor; who chose to lead their life, and used his power only to succor and bless? In fine, how is it possible not to love him whose gentle name, for the eighteen centuries during which it has been pronounced, awakens in all minds ideas of clemency and peace, justice and mercy? But none of these men of the world, who after their manner love Jesus Christ, could have more love for him than the son of Jonas; and do we not know that Jesus deserved to be loved otherwise than he was by St. Peter; that though doubtless affected by his simple-hearted attachment, he however repulsed it, or at least restrained it; and felt indignant at this disciple when he was unwilling that his Master should taste of death? The affection of Peter was not spiritual; that of the world for Jesus is, if possible, still less so. It is a human attachment which Jesus does not count sufficient, and which he cannot accept; for this attachment does not contain any of the principles of the new life which he came to confer upon men, no spark of that fire which he hastened to kindle on the earth. This attachment does not lead to God. And how should it lead those whom, in the day when Divine wrath was threatened and pardon offered, it could not lead to the foot of the cross? But this attachment remained human so long as Jesus himself remained in a human condition. It could not take wings and fly away into heaven till Jesus himself should have ascended. Till then, Christ was only a person, and not the way, the truth, and the life. He was not loved as the way, the truth, and the life are loved; but loved as a person is loved. The visible, corporeal, limited person, behooved to disappear, in order to make room for the idea which it represented, and at the same time concealed. It was necessary that the love of Christ should not be liable in any way to division or change. In one word, it was necessary that in Christ men should truly love Christ. Human weakness in some measure demanded this salutary privation of Christ; a privation resembling that which the child suffers when the milk of its mother is withheld, in order to accustom it to more solid nourishment. The disciples at first did not understand this necessity, and how should they have understood it? But shortly after they saw it as if it had been transparent. I know no man after the flesh ;" exclaims the Apostle of the Gentiles, "yea, though I have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know I him no more." Do you hear? He congratulates himself on the fact, and glories in it. Another man would have gloried of having seen Christ. St. Paul, who probably had seen him, sets no value on his bodily presence. He considers it far more important to inform us that he does not know him according to the flesh; and this, doubtless, in order that he might teach us also to know and love him, not in that bodily way, but spiritually.

If faith and spiritual affection are the life of the Church, it was for the advantage of the Church that Jesus, instead of remaining in the midst of her, should go away. This has been well proved by fact. Where was the Church before the departure of Jesus? Nowhere; not even in the bosom of that college of Apostles who we have reason to believe knew Jesus far less, and loved him less completely than a poor Christian peasant now knows and loves him. If, as we are too naturally inclined to believe, corporeal presence is of great moment, and far superior to remembrance, the Apostles, having Jesus in the midst of them, must have been stronger than the Apostles separated from Jesus. And then we ought not to forget that the Spirit (for we are speaking of the Spirit,) had not been given to Jesus by measure, and that he had full power to take of his own, and to give to his friends. Why did he not do so? Why had his lessons less effect on the Apostles than those of the Apostles themselves afterwards had on others? Why was not his mere presence equivalent to an abundant and perpetual effusion of the gifts of the Comforter? Why is it that we may say of Jesus what at a later period was said of St. Paul, "His bodily presence is weak, but his letters are powerful." For, indeed, the facts cannot be disputed. Before the departure of Jesus Christ there is no Church, but there is one immediately after. Those men who after a long residence with their Master, put questions to him, and start doubts which almost make us blush for them, are after his departure enlightened, intelligent, resolute men. This Church, in which he leaves only his remembrance, and in which the visible signs of his power lasted only a very short time, still subsists, and even now, amid the decline of all belief and the overthrow of all systems, is the only thing which has strength, life, and a future. It is at least evident that the existence of the Church did not depend on the visible presence of its Head, and Jesus knew well what he was saying when he declared to his disciples that it was expedient for them that he should go away. "What! shall we suffer less? Shall we be less despised? Will our task be more easy?" Methinks I hear them putting these questions, which, however, Jesus had already answered by anticipation. So far from suffering less they were to suffer much more, and suffer with joy. Such is the advantage which they derived from their Master's departure. Facts thus afford a striking confirmation of what our Saviour foresaw, and prove that his departure was expedient.

But it is said that we suppress the miracle of Pentecost. We do not suppress it. Then it is said we overlook the meaning of the words, "I will send you another Comforter." We do not overlook it. We have not pretended that God is not the Master of his gifts, that he cannot withhold them, and that this one has no date. We believe that the manifestation of divine power on the day of Pentecost was necessary, and that nothing superfluous was then done; for the wonderful magnificence of God always restricts itself to what is necessary. But we have an important observation to make; it is, that God never forces any thing, never attacks our liberty, and that his grace is nothing but an eloquence altogether divine, a spirit speaking to a spirit, the Spirit of God to the spirit of man. He knocks at the door, but does not force it; he knows too well how to make it open. Though every thing is mysterious, there is nothing magical in the work of conversion; the laws of our nature are observed, and we cease not for one instant to be men. We apply this to the great revolution which took place in the heart of the disciples. It was the work of God, but this work God had himself prepared. God had rendered it naturally possible, by withdrawing his Son from the earth and reducing his disciples to mere faith and love. From him alone could they receive what they in fact received, but they could not receive it before their Master had exchanged his residence upon earth for the mansions of heaven: then only could their human confidence become faith, their human affection become love in the Spirit. This is all that we wished to establish, and we think that our trouble has been well bestowed.

The view of Christ risen, was decisive alike in regard to the calling of the disciples, and their future prospects. Without this view, nothing is possible ; and the Lord's tomb, empty though his friends knew it not, buried for ever both their hope and the Church. This event may suffice to explain their joy, their first ardor and devotedness. But let us not lose sight of the ideas which have been occupying our attention. What is Christianity when realized in the heart, but just the triumph of the invisible over the visible, and the reign of faith? What is the new life which attaches itself to this principle, but just a love superior by its purity and spiritual character to all earthly loves? The only question is, whether the germ of these two virtues, which constitute the whole of Christianity, could have been developed in a Church in which Jesus should have been personally present, even to the end of the world? We have tried to prove the contrary, and our only remaining question is: If this is not the meaning of our Lord's words, what do they mean? Apart from those ideas, how can we understand that it would have been advantageous for the disciples to see their Master go away, and that it can be advantageous to us to be deprived of his presence? Without dwelling on the fact that the earth could not retain Jesus Christ beyond the term fixed by eternal prescience, do we not perceive that his presence prolonged, (we mean his corporeal presence,) might be an obstacle to the accomplishment of some of the ends for which he had come in the flesh? Was not his departure the natural signal for the advent of the Holy Spirit? And was it not when the earth should possess spiritual men, who are the people of the new covenant, when the works of the Spirit should be manifest, and its fruits abundant on the earth, that this same Spirit should be able, in the words of our Saviour, to convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment? We leave you, brethren, to answer these questions, being impatient to arrive at the practical lessons which flow, as it were, spontaneously from our text.

Could we venture to maintain, brethren, that is was good for the disciples that Christ should go away, and that what was necessary and expedient for them is useless and bad for us? None of us certainly will say so. It is too evident that the situation, the wants, are still the same, and that we cannot any more then the Apostles dispense with the painful privation which their Master imposed on then.

No Christian whoever consents to it willingly. The resolution to do so depends on the measure of his spirituality, in other words, in proportion as Jesus Christ is possessed by the heart, is the distinctness of vision belonging to the eye of faith. But nothing is more universal or more natural than regret for not having seen Jesus Christ, than the desire of one day seeing him, I would almost say a feeling of envy in regard to the privileged persons who beheld him in the form of a servant. Forgetting how weak these persons were during the lifetime of their Master, and that all their strength dates from a period when their divine Head was no longer present on the earth, excepting by his Spirit, many imagine that they could do all with Jesus Christ were he to become visible, that there would then be neither doubt nor fear, that they would thenceforth be all ardor for the service of their great Master. That on a first impression man should think and speak thus, is conceivable, and may be pardoned; but after reflection how can they continue to use this language? and when they do use it, how far must they be from a full understanding of the Gospel!

What is the human body? A living statue. The body is an image, a memorial of the existence and presence of a moral being, to which through the body, so to speak, are addressed all the feelings which this being can inspire. That the soul never is without the body, and that their indissoluble union is an essential condition, an ineffaceable characteristic of human nature, we entertain no doubt, and we have even the sanction of the Gospel itself, which does not speak of the immortality of the soul, as philosophers do, but of the resurrection of the flesh. This flesh, however, this organization, though necessary to enable man to manifest himself and fulfill his destiny, does not constitute the man. This we all admit when we refuse to estimate a man's worth by his body, or any thing apparently dependent on his body, and make it wholly depend on his intellect and will. How can the element which we refuse to take into account in the valuation be the man himself, the whole man? On the other hand, is not the man, the whole man, in that intellect and will, which alone we introduce into the account?

Moreover, in our attachments we rise superior to the impressions which body can produce upon body; the more we rise (if I may so express it) above the statue to the man whom it represents, the more we feel satisfied with ourselves. An affection on which neither the external decay of the object loved, nor its absence, nor death, would have any power, such an affection would justly be entitled to the highest honor. It would not, I admit, be love in the Spirit in the gospel acceptation, but nothing would more strongly resemble it, nothing be more proper to give the idea of it, or even according to circumstances originate the desire or presentiment of it.

If any being should be loved purely, it is undoubtedly the Son of God. The worship in spirit, which he has recommended and rendered possible, is nothing less than the spiritual adoration addressed to the Spirit. If the Son of God appeared in the flesh, it was not to make us adore his flesh or corporeal presence, but to dwell among us, to be man like us, to lead a human life, and submit to death. He has given this as a support to our love; but our love should attach itself to that in him which thinks, invites, and loves. If it is not eternal truth and the eternal God that we love in Jesus Christ, we do not yet love him as he desires to be loved.

But since we are at this moment considering not so much principles as consequences, let us reply to those who exclaim, "O how strong we would be if we could only see Jesus Christ!" Alas! how many saw him, saw him at full leisure, and remained weak! So would it be with you, brethren, were Jesus Christ to appear and converse with you, if he did not at the same time communicate the Holy Spirit, which, as you know, was given to the first disciples only under the condition of his own absence. No doubt it was a high honor, as well as a great comfort to have seen the Son of man under the form of a servant, which is the foundation of his own glory. The first Apostles had so seen him; it was necessary for the execution of the apostolate; and we hear St. Paul, when misapprehended by a portion of the primitive Church, exclaiming, "Have not I too seen Jesus Christ?" But that has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with the question which we are considering. The question is this: The Spirit having been able to supply the place of Christ, and complete his work, could Christ, by his presence, have supplied the place of the Holy Spirit? Could his presence produce in us what the Holy Spirit might not have produced in us, or could not produce? Nothing, absolutely nothing, authorizes us to think so. Any analogy would be deceptive. The mere aspect of a great personage, the mere report of his presence, has sometimes, on grave emergencies, exercised a decisive influence. But however great the results might be, they were human. The means and the effect were not disproportioned to each other. But spiritual effects demand a spiritual cause, and the fact of Christ's corporeal presence, considered in itself, is not so. There is nothing spiritual in it. If it did not absolutely exclude the agency of the Spirit, it could not supply its place; but we are satisfied that the establishment of the reign of the Spirit in the Church is dependent on the presence of Jesus Christ at the right hand of his Father, and not on his presence in the midst of us.

This absence of a visible and corporeal Christ is regarded as a privation, a loss. But it is the flesh itself, it is the charm of the present life that makes us deem it so. Jesus Christ absent is not diminished, or rather, though absent, is not absent. His Spirit is himself. He is wholly present in the presence of his Spirit. It has been said of a great captain, that his ghost could have gained battles; but the Holy Spirit is not the ghost of Jesus Christ, who left us more than his portrait when he left us the Comforter. And if it is true that a perpetual warfare is allotted to Jesus Christ on the earth; if, as we doubt not, he is ever engaged in fighting battles, it is not his shade, but himself, that fights and wins them. In giving us his Spirit, he does more than take of his own to give it to us, he gives himself; yes, just as personally, just as effectually as on that memorable day when the sun was extinguished in the heavens. He still gives himself, though without shedding of blood, in glory and in power, invisible to the eyes of the flesh, but visible to the eyes of the soul, and immediately and personally apprehended by faith.

It is true that the hope of Christ's return must have some value. Whatever may be the form of that return, in whatever manner Christ may manifest himself on the great day, it has been promised to our faith, and will make that day differ from those whose fleeting hours compose the period of our pilgrimage. There will be a manifestation, a sight. Sight has always been the recompense, the encouragement of faith. But the first thing necessary was to believe.

Jesus Christ did few miracles, in other words, granted little to sight, when he met with much unbelief. After all, faith is life. Sight is royalty; but in order to reign, and before reigning, it is necessary to live; and sight is glory and felicity only to him to whom long before seeing it has been given to believe.

"Enough of this," you say, "perhaps too much. None of us have the idea, far less the hope, of withdrawing the Son of man from the blessed light of heaven to make him dwell a second time in the sad darkness of this life." I believe it, brethren; but do you not claim something which, in effect, is the very thing which you disavow?

If you presume not to claim the visibility of Jesus Christ's personal presence, you wish it in some other manner; in other words, you wish visible signs of his invisible presence. If the signs for which you call are only those fruits of the Spirit, those good works, that holy activity which constitutes and manifests Christianity in the heart, assuredly you are right. These signs, and many of them, are required, and we have only one observation to make in regard to them, and it is, that these signs of the presence of Jesus Christ you ought in the first instance to ask from yourselves.

But it is not of this holy desire that we speak. There is another less pure, that which suggested to the Israelites the rash demand, Make us gods to walk before us. There is not a man who does not, at the bottom of his heart, ask gods who may walk before him, nor a Christian who, at certain moments, would not ask them if he dared.

What is asked is not (God forbid) something like the golden calf; it is not even the ark of the living God, nor even the cloud. We are no longer in that position. What is it, then? I will tell you. It is any thing which will give a distinct form and tangible shape to the spiritual kingdom which Jesus Christ came to establish on the earth.

In the first rank are the institutions and customs which time has consecrated in the bosom of the Christian Church. These circumstances, which are wholly external and are not the Church itself, we so overvalue that we mistake them for the Church: if certain barriers, certain words, certain sounds, happen to fail, we think it is the Church herself that fails; it seems as if the strength of our communion, or Jesus Christ himself, is attached to these means or symbols, and that the event which has substituted for these other means, other symbols, has thereby deprived us both of that spiritual communion whose seat is in the heart, and of Jesus Christ himself, who is present in the midst of us only in so far as he dwells in our heart. We then feel, as it were, buried in darkness and lost in vacuity. We no longer know how to act; the earth seems to give way under our feet, our heart melts within us, and we can scarcely help exclaiming, with the woman at the sepulcher, "They have taken away my Lord; and I know not where they have laid him!"

Sometimes we consider Jesus Christ to be represented by men who are devoted to his service, and whom we believe to be penetrated with his Spirit. Every Christian, in a certain sense, represents Jesus Christ, and represents him the better the more implicitly he submits to him. The error lies in making a mere man the object of feelings which are due only to our Lord, and in regarding any instrument of whatever nature as necessary. This error is common, and alienates from Jesus Christ while it appears to pay him an homage of which he ought to be the sole object. How often in this manner is our adoration misplaced and led astray! How often do we make the altar of the living God the pedestal of an idol! And when the righteous hand of God throws down this idol and breaks it to pieces, when this man, supposed necessary, has disappeared, all has disappeared with him. He was the god who walked before us; his inspirations were all our wisdom, his voice, in spite of us, perhaps, had silenced the voice of the Spirit within us. Has he forsaken us? The silence is complete and the darkness profound. He had become to us unconsciously Jesus present, Jesus visible; and death, or absence, or some other dispensation, by removing away this man, has left us alone with ourselves, even after we had received the words of Christ, "I am with you to the end of the world."

The success, the internal prosperity of Christianity are also a kind of visible Christ to us. We are willing not to believe him absent so long as we see his religion honored, multitudes thronging his churches, society at least tacitly recognizing him as its head, infidelity blushing to avow itself, and hatred (for we cannot be ignorant that he has enemies,) blaspheming only in secret. Our faith takes courage at the sight; alas! this sight is all the faith possessed by the greater number. How readily our hope fails, and our faith is shaken, how soon we fall away, when, in consequence of any great change in the condition of society, enmity grows bold, and of a sudden "the hearts of many are revealed!" In all this, however, there is nothing new. Jesus Christ has no more enemies than he had; those who are hostile to-day were so yesterday; the only difference is that they are now known, and know themselves. But the very circumstance of its being believed that Jesus Christ has more enemies, diminishes the number of his friends. What do I say? It seems as if this host of enemies had carried Jesus Christ away. Like Enoch, he disappears and is not. It seems as if he had never appeared, as if he had never been, and as if, dreadful to say, his removal from the earth took away not a real being, but a name! After hearing and hearing again that the kingdom of God cometh not with observation, that the kingdom of Christ is not of this world, that the Church is not the world, that the doctrine of the cross is to the natural man foolishness, that the truth is always offensive, and that to the end true believers will be a small and select number, that humiliation and contempt are the inheritance of the Church upon earth, all this fades away from the memory, and it plainly appears that these expressions had hitherto been used without being understood or believed. All are not shaken in an equal degree, but the firmest feel their knees bending, and more than one of those who still believe, (because faith cannot die,) more than one cries to Jesus, as the disciples once did, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent!" Luke xxiv. 29.

But Jesus Christ, who cannot permit us either to serve him as an idol, or to put idols in his place, or to seek indubitable evidence of his presence any where but in ourselves; Jesus Christ, as on that day when the multitude erroneously wished to make him a king, "withdraws to a mountain." By this new retreat he extinguishes the bright light which he had kindled; he obliges us to seek him on the mountain, in other words, in our faith, and constrains us to look at him with other eyes than those of flesh. Those days, strongly resembling nights, are days of trial, but thereby days of blessing. True faith is astonished, we admit, but it recovers itself, or rather recovers the invisible Saviour from whom it had allowed itself to be drawn far away towards reflected objects and symbols. A similar day has been given to us. The darkness is gathering. The lights are being extinguished. The world is more completely than ever the world, and Christians are again in its eyes a peculiar people. It is not the substance but the aspect of things that has changed. The respective amounts of faith and unbelief have doubtless somewhat varied; but unbelief has with many changed its character; it is serious, it affirms, it believes, it removes mountains. These mountains will crush it to pieces, for it is strong only in denying, and when it rises to affirmation, it calls forth a unanimous and crushing denial from facts and from nature. Be this as it may, what grounds have we not for saying to the power of falsehood, "This is your hour and the power of darkness." Luke xxii. 53. This is one of those evenings, those gloomy evenings, in which the Church requires to be illumined by the light which she carries within her, but it is also one of those evenings whose darkness, so to speak, kindles a thousand fires in the sky of the Church. Do you not see them one after another start up and illumine the darkness? Do you not see life and motion springing up on every side, a reviving interest in the works of which the glory of Jesus Christ is the object, the spirit of enterprise and conquest again becoming the spirit of a Christian people so long a stranger to the divine impatience which sees the fields already white, though others think there are still three months till harvest? Who would dare to say that the Church, the true Church, ever dies? None, not even its proudest enemies. What although the flame burns flickering, and on a narrow hearth? What matters it if it is as pure, as vigorous, as devouring as ever?

Brethren, let us, with all the strength which God has given, resist the dangerous temptations of that "lust of the eye," which, from our carnal nature, we carry even into the purest of religions. Majestic power, ancient memorials, space and number, brilliant actions and fascinating talents, are all so many modes in which we would have Jesus Christ to become visible to our eyes. Notwithstanding his glorious ascension, we insist on clothing him in mortal flesh, in order that we may be able to know, according to the flesh, him who desires to be known and loved only according to the Spirit. We invest him with a mortal flesh, and thereby make him mortal. Yes, we render him subject to death a second time, and for ever; and when he does come to die in that flesh with which we have against his will invested him, alas! is there not ground to fear that he will also die in our hearts? Bible Christians, we look with pity on the believers in the real presence, and yet we differ from them only in form, since, like them, we call up a Jesus Christ in flesh, in order to secure his dying still more certainly on the altar of our hearts. A taste, a love, a reverence for the invisible, is still rare among the very men who are always repeating that they must set their affections on the invisible realities of eternity, and that their true life is hid with Christ in God. Brethren, we have all, in this respect, much progress to make. May we desire it! May we ask it! This were almost to have accomplished it. 

“Unseen Jesus" & Ralph Erskine

Many believers have doubts and fears about their own state, because their life is so hid that it doth not always appear to themselves. Their life is a life of faith, not of sense or sight; and it is the faith of things not seen. Herein God designs the glory of his invisible perfections, his faithfulness and truth particularly, when we trust in him for more than we see. Herein appears the excellency of faith. The apostle speaks of three precious things, the precious promises, the precious blood of Christ, and precious faith: why, it will be able to live comfortable, when all outward props are gone, even upon an unseen Jesus; "In whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice:" hence compared to an anchor, Heb. vi. 20. When the anchor is cast out, it keeps the ship in the midst of the sea stable, by taking hold of something not seen by the mariner; thus faith and hope enter within the vail.— The believer casts out his anchor, and it takes hold of things unseen, and as invisible as Christ in God, and God in Christ.

(Ralph Erskine, SERMON CXXXII. The BEST SECURITY for the BEST LIFE: Or, A LIFE HID WITH CHRIST IN GOD.)

"Unseen Jesus" & William Mason

We know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is....1 John iii. 2.

Why should the Lord, who giveth us all things richly to enjoy, lay an embargo on our fully gratifying ourselves in the use of them? Why are we called to daily mortification and self-denial, as to sensual objects? Verily, it is all in love to our souls, that Jesus and spiritual objects might be more enjoyed; for experience proves the life of sense to be opposite to the life of faith. The more pleasure, comfort, and happiness we enjoy in the things of this life, this tends to make us love the world, and loath to leave it? and so our affections to Jesus cool, our desires after his appearing abate in their fervor, and we loose our longings after the unclouded sight of him in glory. So St. Paul reproves christians of old: "Are ye not carnal, and walk as men?"....l Cor. iii. 3. How justly applicable is this interrogation to us also! Reflect on this soul-reviving truth, Yet a little while and Jesus shall appear. So sure as he was once upon earth in our nature, he will appear again in the same human body, exalted and glorified. And can we know and believe this as an undoubted truth, live upon it in expectation, without finding a deadness to this present world, and all its enjoyments? Here we feel sin in our flesh, pains in our bodies, afflictions our companions, wanderings and deadness in duties, trials and temptations of various sorts; and innumerable evils of every kind doth this short life abound with: but at the appearing of Jesus all will be at an end; for we shall be like him: our vile bodies shall be fashioned like to his glorious body. Our souls shall be perfectly conformed to his image. In soul and body we shall eternally enjoy him. And are we the subjects of such a hope? Let us live like ourselves; as members of Jesus our head. Let us ever be pressing after him, living upon his fulness, and longing for his appearing. Most blessed sight! most desirable fruition! we shall see our Jesus as he is. Once the despised Nazarene....once the devoted victim to curse and wrath; but now the Lord of life and glory, bestowing immortality and eternal life upon his dearly-purchased, blood-bought members. O, were our hearts more with Christ on the cross, and more with him on his throne by faith, how would sin be subdued, the world overcome, Satan conquered, and our happy hearts triumphing in love! for "we are more than conquerors over all, through Jesus that hath loved us."

O the delights, the heav'nly joys!

The glories of the place,

Where Jesus sheds the brightest beams

Of his o'erflowing grace!

This is the Man, th' exalted Man,

Whom we unseen adore:

But when our eyes behold his face,

Our hearts shall love him more.

And while our faith enjoys this fight,

We long to leave our clay:

And wish thy fiery chariots, Lord,

To fetch our souls away.

(William Mason, A spiritual treasury for the children of God, Vol. 1)

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: to him be glory both now and for ever. Amen....2 Pet. iii. 18.

Christian, know thy danger. Thou art ever liable to be led away by the error of the wicked one, to decline from the Truth, and to fall away from thy stedfastness in the faith of Jesus. Exhortations warn of this; they tend to quicken stronger exercises of faith and love, as a remedy against this; yea, through the influences of the Spirit they cause new-born souls to grow and increase with the increase of God, just as reviving showers of rain and warm influences of the sun, cause the fruits of the earth to grow. It behoves every follower of the Lamb to consider this; to wrestle with the God of all grace, lest he grow faint in his mind, his hands hang down, and his knees become feeble; but that he "grow strong in the grace which is in Christ Jesus." Behold the inseparable connection between grace and Jesus, knowledge and growth. No growth in grace but by the knowledge of Jesus. The more thou growest up in thy Head, Christ, the more thou wilt grow out of hope in thyself, out of conceit with thyself, out of the reach of the Self-righteously Wicked.

To know and experience the grace of God in Christ, is the special mercy of poor sinners. To grow in the faith of free-grace truths, and in the knowledge of the love of Jesus, is our richest consolation, our highest joy. Hast thou experienced a little of this special grace? Hast thou tasted that the Lord is gracious? In this consists thy present blessedness, peace, and joy. But, alas! what is thy knowledge and experience, but like a drop of water to the vast ocean. Art thou hungering after more grace, thirsting after greater knowledge of Jesus? Verily, thou shalt be filled...."filled with all the fulness of God." It is the nature of grace, the property of the knowledge of Jesus, to create an insatiable thirst in the soul after deeper experiences of it: hence means of grace will be diligently used, the scriptures, which testify of Jesus, constantly searched, the gospel of grace highly prized, the sincere milk of the word desired, and the influences of the Spirit implored. Why all this? That the soul may grow in the faith and love of Jesus; that the bud of grace may blossom and bear ripe fruit to the glory of God. The smallest knowledge of Jesus shall be increased till the believing babe in Christ comes "in the unity of the faith, and in the knowledge of the Son of God, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ," until faith is turned into sight, hope swallowed up in fruition, and the love of an unseen Jesus on earth shall ripen unto the fullest enjoyment of him in heaven; and all this to the glory of God the Father, who hath "made us accepted in his beloved Son."....Eph. i. 6.

(William Mason, A spiritual treasury for the children of God, Vol. 1)

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen, are temporal; but the things which are not seen, are eternal....2 Cor. iv, 18.

The faith of the gospel stamps vanity upon the righteousness, glory, and happiness of every object short of Jesus. When the soul beholds the King in his glory, it pours contempt upon all things beside; all the transient objects of time and sense die in esteem while the crucified Saviour is in view; this is our greatest gain, our chiefest glory. Far, infinitely beyond all the reasonings of vain philosophy, is the christian's sight by faith, to reconcile his mind to afflictions, endure with patience under, and give victory over them. Thus Moses "endured, seeing him who is invisible."....Heb. xi. 27. Though the eye of nature hath not seen, nor the uncircumcised ear hath heard, nor can the carnal heart conceive the spiritual things of God's covenant, Jesus's incarnation, and the Spirits revelation; yet the enlightened, heaven-born soul, sees these things in open vision by the eye of faith; to look at them is his chief delight and joy, to obtain clearer views of them his daily study, to converse and be more familiar with them is his chief happiness, his heaven begun, on earth; a strange mystery to his natural self and to the carnal world, is the believing soul; to love and converse with an unseen Saviour, to look to invisible objects, to derive all happiness from things that are not seen; no marvel that there should be so great fight of opposition from fallen nature and carnal reason against such a life.

Soul, ever remember with humility and thankfulness, our dear Saviour saith, "unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God."....Mark iv. 11. "These things are hid from the wise and prudent." O disciple, whilst thou dost adore the Father's love, dost rejoice in the Son's grace, remember thou art wholly indebted for all this rich discovery to the divine Spirit; give him equal glory; grieve not the Spirit, who is the glorifier of Jesus, by turning thine eyes to any other object for righteousness, peace, and happiness. Is Christ thine all? Are the unseen things of his kingdom thy portion? Be a chaste virgin to thy Lord. "Where thy treasure is, there let thy heart be also." Happy for thee to find with Paul, "I die daily." I am dying to the world while living in it; I find and feel many pains and disorders in my frail body as sure forebodings of hastening dissolution; I know perfectly that the day of the Lord is coming, that each breath I draw brings nearer this solemn advent. What then should I look to? Upon what should my affections be placed ? Blessed, be God for revealing these eternal things as our portion. "Be careful for nothing," &c....Phil. iv. 6.

(William Mason, A spiritual treasury for the children of God, Vol. 1)

The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer....1 Pet. iv. 7.

Yesterday we were born. To-day we live. To-morrow we die. The sum total of human life is justly calculated by the hoaryheaded patriarch, Jacob, "Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been."....Gen. xlvii. 9. A truth this that lies level with the common observation and judgment of all men; but is admitted into the regenerate heart and conscience only with that importance it demands, so as suitably to affect the mind and influence the conduct. Hence, the absolute necessity of divine faith ; the continual need of the believing soul exercising his meditations.upon the sure and certain approaching dissolution of all things. So he learns to die daily to the perishing objects of time and sense; and to live like himself, as an immortal inhabitant of a city that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. To live and lean upon our beloved Jesus as the stay of one's soul 'and the strength of one's hope this is true happiness. While all things below perish in the using; invisible realities ripen in prospect, and most powerfully engage our affections; because they are durable and eternal. Hence, the soul is excited to watchfulness, that he may stand....to prayer, that he may be kept....and to sobriety, that he may persevere. O, believer, thou canst not but count drunkenness and whoredom great sins; but know also, the cares, riches, pleasures, and honors of this world, as really intoxicate the mind and cause the heart to be guilty of spiritual adultery against thy loving, lawful bridegroom, Jesus, as outward, gross sins do the body. What need, what daily need hast thou to watch constantly, to be sober continually, and to pray always? Pride is contrary to sobriety of judgment of thyself. Lust and intemperance are inconsistent with the soundness of thy faith, the stability of thy hope, and the exercise of thy love. These are ever at hand to beset thee. Say, therefore, when canst thou dispense with a watchful frame of spirit? when intermit in prayer to, and dependence on thy God ? O, the sweet exercise of watching unto prayer, for divine power: in prayer, for sweet enlargements: after prayer, for a comfortable answer from our Lord! Ever may this just reflection be on thy mind, when tempted or inclined to cast in thy lot with the carnal, and to indulge thyself. in attending the bewitching scenes of sin, folly and vanity: am I now acting like one who knows the end of all things is at hand? do I behave as one in his right mind? am I watching unto prayer? can I desire, pray for, and expect the sense of Jesus's love and presence to be with me? Remember thy calling; it is to love and live upon an unseen Jesus, and to act as daily expecting to "receive the end of thy faith, the salvation of thy soul."....1 Pet. i. 9.

(William Mason, A spiritual treasury for the children of God, Vol. 1)

Moses endured, as seeing him who is invisible....Heb. xi. 27.

What a paradox! "Seeing him who is invisible." Is not this deemed the very height of enthusiasm? I dearly love that word: It signifies, being IN GOD: and I love it in the very sense carnal men use it too; for they mean, one who has got the zeal and fire of godliness in his soul. Give me that man for my companion who is cast off by the world as an enthusiast. Is it any marvel that scriptural, experimental truths are foolishness to the spiritually blind, and that they can neither endure the persons nor the language of the children of faith? Consider, 1st. What did Moses endure? What you, and I, and every enlightened soul is called to endure, "the reproach of Christ, and suffering affliction with the people of God." Now this is opposed, by "enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season." So that if you will but enjoy the pleasures of sin, with the men of this world, you may escape the reproach of Christ and avoid suffering affliction from them. Now, which is your choice? If Christ is in your eye, you cannot hesitate one moment: Moses' choice will be yours. Give me Christ....welcome reproach....afflictions I embrace for him. O let me have Christ within me, and his mark upon me. Faith makes all easy: love makes all pleasant: hope makes all joyful. Well, but how could Moses endure the reproach of Christ, before Christ was born in the flesh? Why, the promised Messiah was the object of his faith, his hope, his love and his joy: so he was of all these heroes of faith, recorded in this chapter. "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever," is the one only object of every sinner's faith, since the fall of Adam to this day: take away Christ and faith has no existence. But, 2d. How did Moses endure? Just as you and I must, SEEING: this implies a continued act of the mind, constantly fixed upon an object. We cannot be stedfast in faith, joyful in hope, abounding in love, and enduring reproach for Christ, unless we are continually "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."....Heb. xii. 2. Though he is invisible to the eye of sense, yet we see him by the eye of faith: see him as our fore-runner entered into the heavens for us....removed all things out of the way that hindered us....ever living to pray for us....ever ready to keep us....and waiting to receive us to himself, that where he is there we may be also. O, this constant looking makes hopeful, holy, joyful living, and comfortable dying.

Faith is a sight unto the soul,

To see an unseen Christ,

Which does our sinful pow'rs controul,

And makes us truly blest.

(William Mason, A spiritual treasury for the children of God, Vol. 2)

Robert Murray M'Cheyne on 1 Peter 1:8-9 "the unseen Saviour"

I edited the text below from from The Sword and the Trowel; ed. by C.H. Spurgeon. Enjoy!

THE

SWORD AND THE TROWEL.

MAY, 1867.

—

Love, Joy, Hope; or, The Fruits of Faith.

BY THE REV. RORERT MURRAY M'CHEYNE, LATE MINISTER OF ST. PETER's
CHURCH, DUNDEE.

Copied from the Author's own unpublished manuscript. Preached
January 28th, 1838.

"Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."—1 Peter, i. 8, 9.

I.—Believing In An Unseen Saviour Gives Love. "Whom having not seen, ye love."

1. Unawakened persons have got no love to an unseen Saviour. They see no form nor comeliness in him; no beauty that they should desire him. They have got affections lively and ardent, but none towards Christ. Unconverted mothers have a tender love for their children. Unconverted friends have a tender love for friends, but they love not Christ. They are lovers of pleasure, but not lovers of Christ.

Mark (1). They do not love to hear his name. When you are sincerely attached to any one, you love to hear their name. Their name is sweetest melody in your ears. I remember a dying man, whose favourite brother was in a foreign land, when any one approached his bed he always called him by the name of his absent brother. "Why do you call me so?" he was asked again and again. "It is very foolish," he said, smiling, "but I love the name." Just so it is with those who love Jesus, they love the name. The book in which they do not find it is a tiresome book to them. Now, the Christless love not the name of Jesus; they cannot call him Lord; their lips are not formed to speak his name. How plain that they do not love Jesus.

Mark (2). They do not think of him. If you are sincerely attached to any one, you love to think of them. The meditative eye of the mind doth always follow the affections of the heart. Where your treasure is your heart will be also, and where your heart is your thoughts will often be. A mother has her son upon the sea — the son round whom all her affections are twined. Now, tell me where her thoughts will oftenest be? Ah! they will be with her child: the ship, the masts, the raging sea, will be often, often in her mind. Often she sits unconscious of what is going on beside her. Why? She is thinking on the son of her love. So is it with the soul when Christ is precious; when he is felt to be the "chief among ten thousand," and "altogether lovely;" more to the soul than two sons. Such a soul loves to meditate on Christ. "I will meditate on thee in the night-watches." Not once or twice, but day by day the soul dwells with increasing admiration on all his works of love. "Whom having not seen, we love." But not so the unconverted. They do not think of Jesus, they do not love him. I put it to you, my friends, do you love to meditate on Christ? Are the thoughts of business, the thoughts of care, the thoughts of pleasure, the thoughts of sin, gladly pushed aside to make way for thoughts of Jesus? If not, then you have not a spark of love to Jesus. Ah! it is true the unconverted have no love to Jesus Christ.

Mark (3). They do not keep his commandments. "If ye love me, keep my commandments." If you are sincerely attached to any one, you love to do what they request of you, especially when they are away; you love to do what they would wish you to do. When a dying father leaves his parting commands to his affectionate children, how diligently do they follow out his desires. Shall we not do what our Father desired? So is it with those who love the Lord Jesus in sincerity. They love to eat bread and drink wine, because he said, "Do this in remembrance of me." They love to clothe the naked and feed the hungry, because Jesus said, "Be ye merciful, as your Father also is merciful." They love to yield their whole bodies, and souls, and spirits, to be dwelt in by his Spirit, that they may be enabled to do what Jesus loves them to do. But the unconverted do not keep his commandments. I put it to you—when they come to the Lord's Supper, they love it not. When they give to the poor it is grudgingly, or ostentatiously; they do not know the luxury of giving because they love Jesus: they do not love Jesus. They do not yield themselves to be reigned over by his Spirit.

2. Believing In An Unseen Saviour Gives Love. It is not a sight of Jesus with the bodily eyes that gives love. Many saw him when he was on earth, and loved him not. Judas went out and in with him during all the days of his ministry, and yet his cold breast had not one spark of love to Jesus. Many Jews saw him call Lazarus out of the grave, and yet went and became his accusers to the chief priests—they hated him. The devil saw him when he stood with him on the exceeding high mountain, yet the devil loves him not, but trembles. Many shall see him when he comes again who will not love him. "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him." The face of the Saviour shall shine with inexpressible beauty and brightness in that day. His people shall love him; but the world shall hate his appearing: they will call on rocks and mountains to cover and hide them. It is not a sight of Jesus then that gives love. What does? Answer: It is believing on him unseen. Believing that he is the Son of God; that he comes from God. It was this made Peter love him. "I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." It was this that made them all love him. "I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world." Believing that he is our surety. Ah! it is this that draws forth love. It is his being uplifted on the cross that draws souls to him, "And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." His deep wounds, made by the wrath that should have come upon sinners—these are the lines of beauty for a wounded soul. It is his blood gushing forth that causes our love to gush like a fountain. He loved me, and gave himself for me: that makes my soul love him, and give itself to him. Believing that he is "an advocate" unseen. The eye of faith follows Jesus within the veil, to the right hand of God. I believe that believers in our day have little faith in an unseen Saviour; I mean, they do not confidently go on in the world as if they saw what Jesus was doing. If you saw him praying for barren fig-trees, that they may not be cut down this year; bearing our name upon his heart; obtaining the Spirit for you; sending him into your heart; ah! surely you would be overcome with love to him. Now, faith is instead of sight. Only believe, and you cannot choose but love him. Question, "Lovest thou me?" Some may say, "Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee." To you I bring again the words of Jesus, "Feed my sheep," "Feed my lambs." Remember, you must not have a vain, frothy love, that vents itself in glowing speeches and nothing more. Those who are only lip-lovers are not worth the hearing. You must love, not in word only, but in deed. Feed Christ's sheep, and feed his lambs. Some may say, "I do not know, I love to love him, but I do not know."

Rules for growing in love. 1st Rule.—Look more to Jesus with the eye of faith. It is the eye that lets in love. When we look at an amiable object, the oftener we look the more we love. So is it with the eye of faith, by it you may receive sights of Christ. Look often and look long, and your heart will burn within you.

2nd Rule.—Look at his love. Love begets love. Looking at the sun makes the face glow with the refulgence. So, looking to Christ's love will make your heart glow with love back again.

3rd Rule.—Look at the whole of Christ. If you would see the glory of the sun, you must see him through his whole course, from his rising to his setting, and then to his rising again. So must you with Christ. Look to his rising, when he came from glory and shone first upon the world, in Bethlehem. Look to his course through the world—fulfilling the law—shining with all the grace and love of deity. Look at his setting on the cross, in the dark cloud of his Father's anger. Look at him now within the veil, still shining for us. Look at him about to rise again upon the world, coming in the clouds of heaven, his raiment white as the light, his face shining like the sun. Surely you cannot but love him who is all love to you!

II. Faith In An Unseen Saviour Sites "Joy Unspeakable And FULL OF GLORY."

1. Unconverted people have not this joy. There is a joy in having life, the buoyancy of health, the elastic footstep, the bracing air— all these reveal the joy of having life, a joy which cannot be expressed in words, and yet the unconverted have this joy. There is a joy in business. You cannot look upon the bustling countenance of your man of business—his active step, his quick look of intelligence, his regularity, like the index of a clock, in going his daily round, without seeing that there is a joy in business—and yet the unconverted have this joy. There is a joy in friends, in home, the fireside, the smiling faces there, the parting at night, the meeting in the morning. These things pour in drops of every-day joy into the cup of the, most gladless families which can scarcely be numbered. There is a joy in this to the unconverted. There is a joy too in sin—strangest joy of all—in that which is opposed to God, and kindred to hell. Yet here there is joy—from the magic charms of the theatre, and the whirl of the godless dance, down to the fascinating delights of the low tavern. There is a troubled joy in sin. Unconverted men have all this. "Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant." Question, "What is wrong in this joy?"

1. It will not last: "yet a little while and the wicked shall not be." "I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found." O my dear friends, your joy is not "unspeakable and full of glory." It can soon be told. A few days and it will be like a tale that is told. Do not think we are stern and sour, because we are sad to see you happy; but ah! how sad to see you placing your chief joy in flowers that are withering as you hold them. God knows that all my desire is to see you happy. O that you were wise.

2. They end in hell. "Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death." O my dear friends, your joys, as long as you are Christless, are not only passing away, hut they are leading you down to hell; they are preparing you for a bitter day. Oh! how you will curse those smiles that wooed your soul to its eternal ruin.

2nd. Awakened persons have not this joy. When God begins a work of grace in the soul, joy vanishes. When he reveals the past life in the light of God's countenance, or in the light of the cross, the sinner trembles like Belshazzar at the feast; his mouth is stopped, and he stands guilty before God. When he looks to the law of God he feels that Sinai is ready to tumble on his head, and the voice is, "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them." When he looks to God himself, his eyes of flame seem to pierce him through and through, and this word is graven on his heart, "In thy sight shall no flesh living be justified." When he looks to the cross of Christ, the tender look of the Saviour breaks his heart in pieces, for he has always despised Jesus, and this word comes to him from the cross as if it were spoken, "He that believeth not is condemned already." My dear friends, an awakened soul is a brokenhearted soul. Do you know anything of this? Then you will find no more pleasure in sin. True, it is sweet as ever, like Belshazzar's wine, but the handwriting of God is on the wall. Oh! with what a heavy, sinking heart, some people live in sin: joy in friends will be departed; home no more wears the smile it used to do; joy in business too is fled, for the business of the soul is not settled; joy in living is almost forgotten; the sun cheers not, for the Sun of Righteousness does not shine on the soul—neither moon nor stars appear for many days. If you are awakened you will know what that meaneth. "O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted," now wait on the Lord quietly; he only can bring you a new joy, joy that is "unspeakable and full of glory."

3rd. They that believe in an unseen Saviour have this joy. If you saw a man with an open letter in his hand, weeping tears of joy, his heart too full for utterance, you would say he has got good news from a far country. He believes something which he does not see. So is it with the Christian. God shines on the Bible, makes his word bright that tells of Jesus having died in the stead of sinners, even the chief; the soul believes the report, and cries out, "There is hope ! there is hope !" "Jesus died for me, I do not need to die." "I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord."

Learn 1st. That it is not a sight of Christ with the bodily eye that gives joy. Many saw Christ at Nazareth, and wondered at his gracious words, yet got no joy. Many saw him preaching from the boat on the sea of Galilee, yet were none the better for it. Many saw him in the temple, on the last day, that great day of the feast, yet you do not read of one that Was made glad by the sight. Many saw him on the cross, saw his pierced hands and feet, saw the darkness come over him, saw him bow his head in agony, and give up the ghost, and yet got no joy thereby. So many will see Jesus when he comes in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and yet get no joy thereby. Many shall wail because of him in that day. When John saw him in glory, he fell at his feet as dead: how much more when his enemies see him! they shall wish that they never had eyes to look on him—his appearance will be so terrible. Some say, "If I had lived in Christ's day, I would have seen and believed." Learn the folly of this. "Faith comes by hearing," "Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed."

Learn 2nd. It is not a Christ in the imagination that gives joy. Some weak foolish people have expected to be brought into peace by having a vivid representation of Christ made to their fancy; imagining they see him on the cross, bleeding, dying, or smiling on them with a sweet countenance; imagining that they shall hear some words spoken to them, borne in upon their imagination, telling them of their interest in Christ. Many weak foolish persons have hoped for these things; but even if granted, they would not give true joy. Do not look for any such fanciful things. If you believe not Moses and the prophets, neither would you be persuaded though one rose from the dead.

Learn 3rd. It it is a heart reception of God's word concerning Jesus that gives joy. God shines on the word and makes it appear true and excellent: God thereby persuades the soul that he has loved sinners, that Christ has died a ransom for them, that any sinner is welcome. Oh, for a spark of this faith, cry for it! It gives a joy "unspeakable and full of glory." Oh, the greatness of a Christian's joy! Two things in the heart of a Christian are said to be unspeakable. (1.) His feelings when the Holy Spirit dwells within him—"groanings that cannot be uttered." (2.) His joy in an unseen Saviour. It is "unspeakable and full of glory." It cannot be felt, it cannot be told.

III. Believing In An Unseen Saviour Gives Hope. "Receiving the end of your faith." This word especially refers to the appearing or second coming of the Saviour; it is then that the believer shall really receive the end of his faith, even the salvation of his soul; but he receives it now by believing. (1.) Unconverted persons have no hope of the appearing of Jesus. Their eye has not followed him into heaven, and therefore they do not look for him returning; they neither wait for, nor love his appearing. No doctrine evinces the natural enmity of the human heart more than that of the second coming of the Saviour. "Where is the promise of his coming?" the scoffer always cries. O my friends, if you be Christless, the coming of the Saviour is no joy to you. (2.) But to you who are "in Christ," it is the sweet time when you shall receive the end of your faith. Faith in the unseen Saviour fills the bosom with his glorious hope, "My Saviour stands behind the curtain of this frail world," the believer says, "I see his shadow, as if he were just ready to come. When the hour has arrived, he will come and not tarry, and then I shall have a crown put upon this head, and a harp of pure gold to sing his praise; then I shall be freed from sin, and freed from sorrow.'' Do you live by the faith of a coming Saviour? If not, then you are depriving yourself of a sweet comfort to the soul. Oh! how it cheers the soul in its darkest hour. The "Lord is at hand." He will reign. The kingdom will come. "Behold! I come quickly." "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.