and there is this difference between it and the rock in the neighbourhood of Horeb: the one needed to be struck only once; whereas the other requires repeated strokes of divine influence, in order to extract the treasure which is infused into, not inherent in it. Even the renewed heart is apt to return to its original obduracy, or to contract a callousness as to sin by its daily contact with it, unless this is subdued by the grace of God. of God. It is true, our Saviour hath said, "He that believeth on me-out of his belly" (that is, out of his heart) "shall flow rivers of living water." But what says the Evangelist in explanation? "But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive."* Would we have the services of this day, would you have the word now spoken, to profit us, by leading us to mourn and be in bitterness for our sins, like David in the text, then let us look up, with faith and fervent desire, to him who promised to pour on the house of David, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications."

66

*John, vii. 39.

SERMON XX.*

THE BETTER COUNTRY.

HEB. xi. 16.

"BUT NOW THEY DESIRE a better COUNTRY, THAT IS, AN HEAVENLY."

It is not at all uncommon to meet with persons who desire a better country than that in which they were born and have long resided. Thousands have, within these few years, left our own shores, and traversed wide oceans to the west and the south, in quest of new abodes. In some cases, this has proceeded from the urgency of external circumstances, inducing them to seek support for their families in places less peopled, and where the means of subsistence are more easily procured. The stern law of necessity has obliged them to tear asunder the ties of country and kindred. More frequently, the emigrants have been actuated by a restless disposition, the love of novelty, a spirit of discontent with the institutions of their native land, or extravagant and visionary hopes of bettering their condition. But all, how different soever their motives, merely seek to exchange one spot of earth for another, and in this respect differ widely, or as we usually say, toto cœlo, from the persons described in our text, who " desire a better country, that is, an heavenly."

The inspired apostle is speaking immediately of the patriarchs. As an example of the power of faith, he adduces the conduct of Abraham, who left his native country, and went out, at the command of God, "not knowing whither he went," and his

* Delivered January, 1835.

subsequent manner of life in continuing to "dwell in tabernacles, as did Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise." By adhering, during the whole of their lives, to this mode of residence, the apostle tells us that these patriarchs "confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." Such was the express confession of Abraham to the inhabitants of Canaan, “I am a stranger and a sojourner with you ;" and of Jacob to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been." From these premises the general conclusion is obvious: "They that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country." But the question might be put, What country did they seek? and this the apostle proceeds to answer. If there was any country upon earth which these sojourners longed for, it must have been their native land, in which they had kinsmen and connexions; and its distance and the difficulties of the journey were not so great as to prevent their reaching it, provided they had cherished such a desire. "Truly if they had been mindful of that country from which they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned." But as they never testified any wish of this kind, the inference in the text natively follows: "But now" (from what has been said of their conduct, it appears plainly that) "they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly."

What is said of these holy men is true of all believers both under the Old and New Testament. "I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner as all my fathers were," said David, long after the children of Israel had entered on the quiet possession of Canaan. The apostle Peter addresses the saints to whom he wrote, "as strangers and pilgrims ;" and lest any should suppose that this description was applicable only to the strangers scattered abroad through the lesser Asia, we need only refer to another apostle who declares, in the name of Christians in general, "Our conversation is in heaven," and exhorts them to "set their affection on things above and not on things on the earth." If we are If we are" fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God," we are pilgrims on earth, and our heart, as

well as our home, is in heaven.

This is the doctrine of the

text; and in handling it we shall consider,

I. The desire which believers cherish with respect to the

better country.

II. The manner in which this desire is evinced and manifested by them.

I. The desire of the better country.

We possess little direct knowledge of heaven, or a future state of blessedness. Scripture holds it forth chiefly by images, borrowed from earthly things, and describes its glory and felicity by representing them as far surpassing every thing of the kind seen or enjoyed in this world. Is it represented as an inheritance ?—it is "incorruptible and undefiled." A crown? -it "fadeth not away." A kingdom ?-it" cannot be removed." Is it held forth as a city ?-it is "the New Jerusalem, whose walls are garnished with all manner of precious stones." Is it spoken of as a country?-then it is "a better country," better than Canaan, which, while the blessing of God rested on it, was a goodly land, the joy of all the earth -better than any country that ever existed, or could exist, in this world. There are various qualities which render one country preferable to another, such as healthfulness, abundance, tranquillity, knowledge and righteousness, liberty and order, and security for the permanent enjoyment of our property. And in respect of all these qualities, it might be easily shown that heaven is a better country than any upon earth. But, without dwelling upon this, let us endeavour to describe the desire which the Christian cherishes with respect to heaven.

1. The desire is of supernatural implantation. All the desires of the natural heart are confined to this world, and to what may be enjoyed on earth. "What shall we eat? what shall we drink? wherewithal shall we be clothed ?" are the expressions of natural desire. Or if, in some, the aspirations may be of a more refined and elevated description, still they are sublunary. They may be aerial, and even etherial, but they are not celestial. The pride of life, as well as the lust of the eye and of the flesh, is of this world. We have heard of an ambi

tious man who wept because there was not another world for him to conquer; but they were all earthly laurels he wished to win :—he had no desire to "take the kingdom of heaven by force." There is in man a natural longing for immortality, but his wish is to enjoy it on earth; or if he has feigned to himself a heaven as a future residence, it is constructed after the likeness of this world.

The saints themselves did not always breathe this desire. We might apply the words of the text in this view. "Now they desire a better country." Formerly their desires were like other men's. Abraham, at one time, looked not beyond the inheritance of his father Nahor, and what he might be able to add to it by his own skill and industry; but when, at the divine call, he left Ur of the Chaldees, "God gave him another heart," and thenceforth he became unmindful of the country from which he had come out, and was content to be a sojourner in that to which he had gone, for he desired a heavenly country. So is it with all those who are effectually called. Formerly they "walked according to the course of this world, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind." But now they are born again, and have new dispositions ;-born from above, and seek those things that are above. Their desire for heaven is an essential element of their new nature. It is a supernatural instinct, pointing to heaven as their mother-country -a sublime aspiration, indicative of their noble birth, and distinguishing them as men of " a rnore excellent spirit" than those who are content to grovel in the dust of this world.

2. This desire proceeds from a discovery of the glory and excellence of heaven. It is not a blind instinct, like that which teaches the swallow to migrate at a certain season of the year, or the new born child to seek the milk which nature intended for its sustenance; but an enlightened and reasonable feeling. The saints desire heaven because they perceive and judge it to be a better country than any on earth. Some perhaps may ask, How can they know heaven to be such a desirable land, when they never saw it? We might reply by asking,

* 1 Sam. x. 9