dead, and buried; and rose the third day, and
ascended into heaven. Credible and reasonable, not indeed to the
natural man who looks only at nature, which he can see and hear and
handle; but credible and reasonable enough to the spiritual man,
whose mind has been enlightened by the Spirit of God, to see that
the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal; even justice and love, mercy and condescension,
the divine order, and the kingdom of the Living God.

And now one word on a matter which is tormenting the minds of many
just now. It is often said that all that I have been saying is
contrary to science. That this science and understanding of the
world around us, which has improved so marvellously in our days,
proves that the apparitions and miracles spoken of in the Bible
cannot be true; that God, or the angels of God, can never have
walked with man in visible shape.

Now, my friends, I do not believe this. I believe the very
contrary. I entreat you to set your minds at rest on this point;
and to believe (what is certainly true) there is nothing in this new
science to contradict the good old creed, that the Lord God of old
appeared to his human children. It would take too much time, of
course, to give you my reasons for saying this: and I must
therefore ask you to take on trust from me when I tell you solemnly
and earnestly that there is nothing in modern science which can, if
rightly understood, contradict the glorious words of St. Paul, that
God at sundry times and in divers manners spake to the fathers by
the prophets, and hath at last spoken unto us by a Son, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things: by whom also he made the worlds, who
is the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person,
and upholdeth all things by the word of his power: even Jesus
Christ, God blessed for ever. Amen.

What then shall we think of these things? Shall we say, 'How much
better off were our forefathers than we! Ah, that we were not left
to ourselves! Ah, that we lived in the good old times when God and
his angels walked with men!'

My friends, what says Solomon the Wise?--'Inquire not why the former
times were better than these, for thou dost not inquire wisely
concerning this.'

It is very natural for us to think that we could become more easily
good men, more certain of going to heaven, if we saw divine
apparitions and heard divine voices. A very natural tho