fervency of prayer, or zeal to God's word, or love to his Saints, or assurance of our salvation. Here we must comfort ourselves with the remembrance of that which we have found in ourselves in times past, and hope that we may find the like again and say as it is in the Psalm (77, v. 11, and 119, v. 52), I have remembered the times past, and have been comforted, For as the woman that is quickened with child, and feeleth it stir in her body, though she do not always feel it stir alike, and sometimes not at all, and sometimes more weakly than before; yet she assures herself that the child is living, because she hath felt it stir before, and so hopeth that she shall do again. So when Christ is formed in us first of all, as the Apostle speaketh (Gal. c. 4, v. 19), we have the feeling of him stirring and moving in our hearts by his holy Spirit dwelling in us; which lively motions though we feel not so strongly moving in us afterwards, or not at all; yet we doubt not, but that Christ dwelleth in our hearts by faith still (Eph. c. 3, v. 17), and hope to feel it as sensibly again in time, as we have done and so much the more, because Christ being formed in us, never dieth; and therefore the remembrance of our former feelings must comfort us over the want of them for the time present; for they are not always alike in any that have them it is sufficient that we have had them; therefore if we labour after them, they will return unto us again, when it shall please God. And thus much for this, that St. Thomas in this matter of faith addicts himself to his own feeling. THE fourth and last degree of his unbelief appeareth in this, Except I see in his hands the print of the nails, and in his side the print of the spear, I will not believe it. For why should he desire this? not only to see him, and to feel him, but to see in his hands the print of the nails, and to put his finger into them; and to see in his side the print of the spear, and to put his hand into it. Did he not know that these wounds and scars were proper unto his body only while it was subject unto infirmity and weakness; and that after his resurrection his body was glorified? And so he might have thought, that though it should be granted unto him to see him, yet he could not by any reason or ground from the Scripture, have hope to see him thus and yet he saith, Except I see the : print of the nails, &c. I will not believe it : he doth not say, Except I see him; but, except I see him with the print of the nails, and of the spear, I will not believe it. This is then the nature of unbelief, that when it will not profit by the ordinary means that God hath appointed for the confirming of faith; it desireth such things, whereof there is no warrant either from reason or from Scripture. As here St. Thomas neglecting what Christ had said unto him, that when he should be put to death, within three days he would rise again and that also which was told him by the Apostles, and divers others, namely, that he was risen again, and had appeared unto such and such; he saith, Except I see him myself, with the print of the nails in his feet, and of the spear in his side, I will not believe it. Concerning which point, though Christ did rise indeed out of the sepulchre with these marks in his glorified body, and did retain them while he tarried on the earth, that thereby it might more certainly be known, that the same body of his that was crucified, was raised up again; yet Thomas had no general rule to lead him to think that it should be so, but rather according to the common condi tion of the bodies of all the faithful in the day of resurrection, so to conceive of the body of Christ raised up. For that which is said of the resurrection of all the faithful, the members of Christ's mystical body, must needs be much more true of him the head; for it belongeth to them only by virtue of his resurrection. Now of them the Apostle writeth thus to the Corinthians: The body is sown in corruption, and raised in incorruption (1 Cor. c. 15, v. 42): that is, with nothing tending thereunto, as wounds do: it is sown in dishonour, having no glory nor beauty on it, as Christ's body was most of all, when besides that the life was gone out of it, and so it' looked pale and wan, it had also many deformities by the stripes of his whippings, and the crown of thorns, and the print of the nails in his hands and feet, and of the spear in his side: it is raised in glory; that is, with all perfection and excellency of beauty without any blemish at all it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; and therefore without marks and tokens of weakness and infirmity: for a body sore wounded, even unto death, as Christ was, hath less power in it than it had before. Therefore seeing he desired to see Christ's body raised up, he should not have desired to see it thus, and with these marks, And for the further confirmation of this, we may remember what the Apostle saith touching the glorious state of our bodies to be raised up: Our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, even the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be. fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working, whereby he is able. even to subdue all things unto himself (Phil. c. 3, v. 20); therefore as we shall be raised up without scars and marks of infirmity, which many have in these days of their pilgrimage; so he had no reason to think but that Christ's body should be. Therefore though he would not believe tillhe saw him, he could not look to see him after this manner that he prescribeth. And though he did at the last appear. with these marks in his body both to the eleven first, and afterwards unto Thomas; yet it was not because his body was properly and of its own nature then subject, unto them, no more than it was to hunger, when he did eat with them (Luke c, 24, v. 43); but it was by a special extraordinary dispensation; as when Angels that |