because they had witnessed them so very often; they wished for some new evidence, and at length openly demanded a sign from heaven, as though the signs and wonders which daily encompassed them upon earth, were insufficient to guide them to the truth. And so it was, that they went on professing to expect the Messiah, and doubting and wondering, even while He was living among them, and each succeeding day made them only less conscious of His presence. The Kingdom of Heaven had, as it were, come upon them, and startled them at first, and then had enveloped them in an atmosphere of its own; and in a little while, they had become used to that atmosphere, and thought that there had been no change, and knew not that it was already passing away.

This was the general feeling; some few undoubtedly there were, whose thoughts were very different: such were St. Peter, and St. James, and St. John, and St. Matthew, and the guileless Nathanael, and

the rest of the little flock, who were converted by our Lord's preaching upon earth. But their conduct had been very different also; they had obeyed without hesitation His first command; they had believed without doubtfulness His first sign. They had not waited in the expectation of hearing or seeing greater things, but had acted at once on what they heard and saw. While their feelings were yet fresh, they had given them a life and reality, by suffering them to influence their practice. They had forsaken all, and followed Christ the very moment that He called them, and then had walked quietly onward in the same path which they once for all had chosen for their own. Still, however, in one respect, their feelings would seem to have resembled those of the thoughtless multitude, they too had become so habituated to our Lord's presence, that they could not realize the thought of His being a little while taken away. And it was to them, therefore, no less than to the rest, that the

warning at the supper at Bethany was given. And yet here again they differed from the others; for while they were looking forward in hope to their Lord's continuance with them on the morrow, they did not, on this account, neglect the blessings and privileges of the day.

Such was the state of feeling at Jerusalem, at the close of our Lord's earthly ministry. But we must now pass on from it, and consider, in the second place, how far our own opportunities and the neglect of them may resemble those of the Jews. There are, indeed, more points of contrast than of resemblance between us and them. We differ from them in that Christ has been preaching to us, not for three years only, but all our life long. We differ also in that the choice of His service has not been left in our Own hands; it was made for us at our baptism; while we were yet infants others came forward, and promised and vowed in our name that we would forsake all and follow

Him. At that hour the kingdom of God came upon us; and it may be said, with a far deeper meaning of ourselves than of the Jews, that it enveloped us in an atmosphere of its own. We were regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God; we became members of a Christian Church; and have from thenceforth grown up in the midst of its privileges and its blessings.

If, then, these exercise no practical influence on our hearts, we may cease to wonder at the unbelief of the children of Israel. We may, indeed, imagine that a visible miracle, wrought before our eyes, could not fail to affect our lives. Yet there is no evidence, that it could afford, which we do not already enjoy. I am speaking of professing Christians—the record of past miracles is ours; nay, there is a miracle in each Article of the Creed that we hold, and one that must come more closely home to us than any mere external sign. We do not doubt the truth of Christianity; we do not doubt

that there is a heaven and a hell; we do not doubt that the only safe path is that pointed out to us by the Gospel; and that the path of sin must bring us in the end to everlasting death. Why, then, should we expect any outward manifestation of God's power to do more for us than His inward working upon our own minds? If this be our excuse for delay, surely it resembles that of the Jews, who in the midst of daily miracles withheld their belief because they waited for a sign. Or rather our folly is far greater than theirs, for they sought a sign from heaven, because the wonders which they witnessed were wrought visibly upon earth; while we require a miracle upon earth, because we are dissatisfied with the signs given us from Heaven.

It may be, that if our own life were written by the pen of inspiration, and every season at which our Saviour had called us, and every sign He had given us of His presence, were brought in a moment before.