proclaim, "Blessed are they that have done his commandments, for they have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in, through the gates, into the city." Since these shall be some of the grand transactions of that illustrious period, the saints cannot forbear exclaiming, "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly."

But whilst the high expectations of the redeemed are directed towards the Saviour's second advent, it is worthy of remark, that he is not an uninteresting character to them now. Although they glory in the thought, (which is so beautifully expressed in the verse preceding our text,) of "the trial of their faith being found unto praise, and honor, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ," still there are present enjoyments in religion, and the believer has all good things in possession, as well as all glorious things in reversion. They have earnests given them of the happiness of that day and do not Christians feel an anticipation of that rapture which will then begin, when they are enabled to say, in the words of our text, which immediately follow an allusion to the day of judgment, "whom having not seen, we love; in whom, though now we see him not, yet believing, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory?"

From the passage then, thus introduced, we shall endeavor to show you two things: That Jesus Christ is yet invisible; that, notwithstanding this, he excites the Christian's best sensations.

I. Jesus Christ is yet invisible.

"Whom," says the apostle," having not seen," and "in whom, though now ye see him not."

No doubt Peter here refers to a sight of Christ in the flesh since the greater part of those to whom he wrote, had not "beheld his glory, the

glory of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" it was his design to comfort their minds, and to inform them that, although Christ lived no longer on earth, there is a possibility of enjoying the blessings of his undertaking in our own souls, and that this shall be the case till time shall end.

But the idea of Jesus being unseen, must not only be viewed in reference to those to whom the apostle wrote, but in its bearings upon us; for the words of our text are as applicable to us, upon whom the ends of the world are come, as they were to those who lived a short time after the ascension of the Saviour. And we may contemplate our Lord Jesus Christ as invisible in two respects; namely, in the glories of his person; and in the mysteries of his providence. We would consider our Lord Jesus Christ as an invisible Saviour, as it respects,

1. The glories of his person.

He, my brethren, is "that blessed and only Potentate, who alone hath immortality; dwelling in light, to which no man can approach; whom no man hath seen nor can see."

Formerly, indeed, he was beheld arrayed in human nature; and we might have addressed those who were familiar with him: "Blessed are your eyes, for they see what many prophets and righteous men desired to see, but saw not.” But you remember that, before his resurrection, he said, "A little while, and ye shall see me; and again a little while, and ye shall not see me, because I go to my Father." Now the heavens have received him out of our sight, "till the time of the restitution of all things:" the eye of sense cannot trace his glory now; we cannot soar to the third heav

ens, and say to the angels of God, "Sirs, we would see Jesus;" it is impossible that his beauties should ever be viewed by mortal eyes; the sight would dazzle, would confound us. He is enclosed in a veil of glory which we cannot penetrate, appearing in the presence of God for us. A miracle must be wrought before we can discover him on earth : this was done in the case of Stephen; for when standing before the council, he, looking stedfastly into heaven, said, "Behold, I see heaven opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God;" and the animating sight caused him to leave the world with a holy calmness, yea, to die like Jesus, imploring forgiveness for his enemies. Instances like these are, however, very rare; for, as to the state of the church in general, and as to the discharge of his mediatorial office, he is not seen of any. The high priest, you recollect, was not to be seen after his entrance into the holy place, until he returned again; so you, Christian, must live by faith, and not by sight: faith is the evidence of things not seen. And should not this consideration, namely, that ye have not seen the glory of the person of Christ, urge you, stimulate you, as a powerful motive, to run with renewed alacrity towards the mark in the road to heaven, the chief pleasure of which place will be to see him as he is? Is it not worth dying for, to contemplate his excellences? to see that glory which has been hid from ages and from generations, but which will catch the gazing eyes, and employ the eternal adoration of the saints of God forever? But till that day, when "this same Jesus, who is now taken up from us into heaven, shall so come in like manner as he went into heaven;" I say,

till then we must speak of him as one whom we have not yet seen.

But in another sense Christ is invisible, and that is,

2. In the mysteries of his providence.

We know not his designs in his dealings with us, and could we know them, yet we cannot see how his methods of acting tend to accomplish them our blindness as creatures is one thing which prevents us from searching and finding out God, or tracing the Almighty to perfection. "His ways are in the deep, and his judgments past finding out:" he is unsearchable in all his deeds; nor man nor angel can give any account of some of his ways. His reasons are known only to himself; and it is enough for us that the Judge of all the earth will do right. What is the reason that, under afflictive dispensations of providence, when perhaps God is taking from us those comforts of which we are but stewards, we murmur, and complain, and grieve? It is because we cannot see how these things are uniting with other occurrences to promote our holiness and happiness. Here, then, Jesus is unseen, even in the designs of his mind, when he tries us in this way. We cannot sound his judgments with mortal lines, we cannot view them by feeble sense.

A believer cannot walk by sight: Jehovah has seen fit to render it impossible; yet, amidst all the storms of life, however driven upon seas of distress, it should always afford us consolation that our Father is at the helm; and that ship is well conducted, of which He is the Pilot.

Is our life a journey? It is an unseen hand that guides us, that prevents our foes from overcoming us, that shields us by night and by day

from innumerable dangers; and it is the part of faith to rejoice that, however obscure the dealings of God are now, they will all be made clear hereafter it shall be shown that the great chain of events most wonderfully illustrates the character and perfections of God. That wisdom which led us through every danger, that kind hand that even robbed us of our comforts for the most beneficial purposes, shall be viewed with unutterable pleasure when we are blessed with strong immortal eyes." God will be his own interpreter, and every mystery will be made plain; so that we shall no longer worship an invisible Saviour, but be filled with gratitude for a view of the deep things of God. Jesus is invisible, then, as to the glories of his person, and is not now beheld by us; and " as for his judgments, we have not known them" but, though he is unseen by the saints, we observe,

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II. That, notwithstanding this, he excites their best sensations.

This he must do, because he is their all and in all: from him all their mercies flow, in him all their happiness centres, and to him all their exertions are directed. Hence his religion engages in its service the best passions of the human soul : the finest feelings of the mind are called into exercise by Him who is yet unseen; and particularly is the Saviour the object of strong affection, lively faith, and unutterable joy. Jesus Christ has attracted, though he is invisible,

1. Strong affection.

"Whom having not seen ye love." You have, no doubt, often heard that Jesus possesses the greatest possible excellences, that he is perfectly amiable, and altogether lovely. As God he possesses every perfection, being equal with the Fa