has a power to rob men of the highest blessings. The other shows that it is so suicidal and unreasonable a sin, that even the Son of God regards it with surprise.

We can never be too much on our guard against unbelief. It is the oldest sin in the world. It began in the garden of Eden, when Eve listened to the devil's promises, instead of believing God's words, "ye shall die."It is the most ruinous of all sins in its consequences. It brought death into the world. It kept Israel for forty years out of Canaan. It is the sin that specially fills hell. "He that believeth not shall be damned."-It is the most foolish and inconsistent of all sins. It makes a man refuse the plainest evidence, shut his eyes against the clearest testimony, and yet believe lies.-Worst of all, it is the commonest sin in the world. Thousands are guilty of it on every side. In profession they are Christians. They know nothing of Paine and Voltaire. But in practice they are really unbelievers. They do not implicitly believe the Bible, and receive Christ as their Saviour.

Let us watch our own hearts carefully in the matter of unbelief. The heart, and not the head, is the seat of its mysterious power. It is neither the want of evidence, nor the difficulties of Christian doctrine, that make men unbelievers. It is want of will to believe. They love sin. They are wedded to the world. In this state of mind they never lack specious reasons to confirm their will. The humble, child-like heart is the heart that believes.

Let us go on watching our hearts, even after we have believed. The root of unbelief is never entirely destroyed. We have only to leave off watching and

praying, and a rank crop of unbelief will soon spring up. No prayer is so important as that of the disciples, "Lord, increase our faith."*

MARK VI. 7-13.

7 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;

8 And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:

9 But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.

10 And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.

11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony_against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.

13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.

THESE verses describe the first sending forth of the apostles to preach. The great Head of the church made proof of His ministers, before He left them alone in the world. He taught them to try their own powers of teaching, and to find out their own weaknesses, while He was yet with them. Thus, on the one hand, He was enabled

*There is a peculiar expression in this passage, which deserves notice. I refer to the words which say, that our Lord "could do no mighty work there, because of their unbelief."

This expression of course cannot mean, that it was "impossible" for our Lord to do a mighty work there, and that although He had the will to do mighty works, He was stopped and prevented by a power greater than His own. Such a view would be dishonouring to our Lord, and in fact would be a practical denial of His divinity. With Jesus nothing is impossible. If He had willed to do works, He had the power.

The meaning evidently must be, that our Lord "would" not do any mighty work there, because of the unbelief that He saw. He was prevented by what He perceived was the state of the people's hearts. He would not waste signs and wonders on an unbelieving and hardened generation. He "could not" do a mighty work,

to correct their mistakes. Thus, on the other, they were trained for the work they were one day to do, and were not novices, when finally left to themselves.-Well would it be for the church, if all ministers of the Gospel were prepared for their duty in like manner, and did not so often take up their office untried, unproved, and inexperienced.

Let us observe in these verses, how our Lord Jesus

without departing from His rule, "according to your faith be it unto you." He had the power in His hands, but He did not will to use it.

The distinction I have attempted to draw is doubly useful, because of the light it throws on another Scriptural expression, which is often grievously misunderstood. I refer to the expression, “no man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.” (John vi. 44.) The words, "no man can come," are often much misapprehended.

The text is a plain declaration of man's natural corruption and helpless impotence. Men is dead in sin. He cannot come to Christ, except the Father draws him. In a word, he is unable to come. But what is the precise nature of his inability? This is the very point on which misapprehension exists.

Once for all, let us clearly understand that man's inability to come to Christ is not physical. It is utterly untrue to say that a man can have a strong decided will to come to Christ, and yet be stopped by some mysterious physical obstacle,-that he can really and honestly have a will to come, and yet have no power. Such a doctrine entirely overthrows man's responsibility, and leads, in many cases, to wicked continuance in sin. Thousands of ignorant people will tell you that "they wish to believe, and wish to come to Christ, and wish to be saved,"-and yet say that "though they have the will, they have not the power." It is a fatal delusion, and ruinous to many souls.

The truth is that man's inability to come to Christ, and impotence to that which is good, is moral, and not physical. It is not true that he has the will to come to Christ, but is unable. He is unable, doubtless, and has no power; but it is simply because he has no will. His will is the principal cause of his unconverted state, and until his will is changed by the Holy Ghost, he will never alter. He may not like this. But it is true. The fault of his condition is his own will. Say what he pleases, the blame lies there. He may pretend to have many good wishes, but in reality he has no honest, sincere WILL to be better. He "will not come to Christ that he may have life."

Christ sent forth His apostles "two and two."-St. Mark is the only evangelist who mentions this fact. It is one that deserves special notice.

There can be no doubt that this fact is meant to teach us the advantages of Christian company to all who work for Christ. The wise man had good reason for saying, "Two are better than one." (Eccles. iv. 9.) Two men together will do more work than two men singly. They will help one another in judgment, and commit fewer mistakes. They will aid one another in difficulties, and less often fail of success. They will stir one another up when tempted to idleness, and less often relapse into indolence and indifference. They will comfort one another in times of trial, and be less often cast down. to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up." (Eccles. iv. 11.)

"Woe

It is probable that this principle is not sufficiently remembered in the church of Christ in these latter days. The harvest is undoubtedly great all over the world, both at home and abroad. The labourers are unquestionably few, and the supply of faithful men far less than the demand. The arguments for sending out men "one by one," under existing circumstances, are undeniably strong and weighty. But still the conduct of our Lord in this place is a striking fact. The fact that there is hardly a single case in the Acts, where we find Paul or any other apostle working entirely alone, is another remarkable circumstance. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion, that if the rule of going forth "two and two" had been more strictly observed, the missionary field would have yielded larger results than it has.

One thing at all events is clear, and that is the duty of all workers for Christ to work together and help one another whenever they can. "As iron sharpeneth iron,

so doth the countenance of a man his friend." Ministers and missionaries, and district visitors, and Sunday school teachers, should make opportunities for meeting, and taking sweet counsel together. The words of St. Paul contain a truth which is too much forgotten: "consider one another, to provoke unto love and good works; not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together." (Heb. x. 24, 25.)

Let us observe, in the second place, what solemn words our Lord uses about those who will not receive nor hear His ministers. He says, "it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment than for that city."

This is a truth which we find very frequently laid down in the Gospels. It is painful to think how entirely it is overlooked by many. Thousands appear to suppose, that so long as they go to church, and do not murder, or steal, or cheat, or openly break any of God's commandments, they are in no great danger. They forget that it needs something more than mere abstinence from outward irregularities to save a man's soul. They do not see that one of the greatest sins a man can commit in the sight of God, is to hear the Gospel of Christ and not believe it,-to be invited to repent and believe, and yet remain careless and unbelieving. In short, to reject the Gospel will sink a man to the lowest place in hell,

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Let us never turn away from a passage like this with