Year: 1872

Sermon by Mr.. Beecher on tho UnbeIief


of the Disciple Thomas-Thc Answer 10


the Popular Desire that God Should BE


Revealed to the Senses.


The subject of Mr.. Beechers sermon was, "The
Unbelief OF Thomas" and the text selected was
from the twentieth chapter of the Gospel OF st.
John hn:-"Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou
hast believed; blessed are they who have not seen
and yet have beevedn This subject OF believing in
things do not see is one of the greatest trials
with which humanity has to deal. Men say, "Is it
possible that there can be God, who could show
Himself to our senses once in q lifetime?''
Unbellef sometimes makes this very piaus-
ible, and sorrow often makes 1t more
powerful. 1t Is probable, Judge, that the Divine
nature cannot be subject to matter and therefore
cannot be subject to the laws OF evidence that mat
ter requires. Now, then, it may be said, Was God
revealed in Christi You did not see God in Christ
The glory was laid aside. Christ is manifestation
Of the uness Of the divinity God. Christ met this
popular desire that God should be revealed to the
senses in the


EARLY DAYS OF HIS MINISTRY,


when His own people refused to acknowledge His
divinity, he told them that they had not the spir-
itual affinity by which the Divine could be per-
ceived. He then turned and went down a lower
plane OF evidence, and said, "Believe me for my
works sake" for the miracles and the wonders.
There Is necessity of adapting. evidence to
our nature. For example, you can impart certain
evidence to lower creation OF beings. Take
dog, ior instance. You can introduce certain mat
ters that will come within the range OF the dogs
understanding, but try to introduce to the dog
Lord Bacon or Shakespeare and you cannot do 1t.
the man. Ter Is lust u as e wide anu pru wsn b
tween the man trying to find out God by searching
or by reasoning: Christ condemned people Tor
not having the kind OF belief that came from
emotive capability. for not having heart belief and
not intellectual belief: What do we know about
mother ''TS Then a. You say " what is AsS the use Of
preaching Snn Goa to gs Well don't you
two years old, when ne found himself, as he
thought, alone, in his iathers great house. and the
his mother came and took him up in her arms. He
did not understand the feeling then; but he felt
e ns G you nns Hd ys aysssh
an eye that opens out upon God whenever you like
1t out. Can man see soundf Apply to the
God Is not amenable.to the evidence of the eye and
the ear. l doubt not that every day there are


unto God over our heads, and who hears
thems believe that there arc near to us
that which would be equal to the Mount OF Trans
nguration, but who sees them God is present
any one Of us wherever the thought Of
him is that to see him by the neshy eye you cannot
live, whatever that may mean. Is IL true that we
are able to see him theh II is the higher nature
that responds TO the touch Of God, and with evi-
dence, too that Is overwhelming II is quite within
the power or man to know OF the personality OF
God. We transfer our knowledge and feeling about
God unto Himself. We know what the attributes
Of God are called, but we don't know what the
quality OF those attributes Is. In purity, sweet
ness, magnitude and volume we can form a con-
ception OF God no more than we can Judge Of light
from the light OF the candle. l don't desire TO
make q fanclfu use OF that phrase, Christ
In you the hope OF glory" But this is true ;
You know just as much OF God as God
Ia In The fault OF heathenism is that their con-
ceptions OF God are from without. II you would