PRACTICAL SERMONS - New York, 1858 Author:Taylor Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: III. THE BETTER COUNTRY. Hebrews xi. 16. " But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly." It is one obvious design of the revelation of G... more »od to gild the scenes of this fading and transitory world with bright visions of everlasting glory beyond it. This life is represented as a pilgrimage—heaven as our home; and we are summoned to set our affections on things above and not on things on the earth. Nor is that world held out to the people of God as an uncertain possession, but as an inheritance secured by the promises of eternal truth; not as an inadequate reward for the service required to obtain it, but as a gift which will bespeak the bounty of the Giver. Such were the anticipations of those ancient worthies, spoken of by the apostle in the text. " These all died in faith"—i. e., Abraham and those who were heirs with him of the same promise; " not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." " For," as the apostle adds, " they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country—that is, an heavenly; wherefore God is not ashamed to be called Their God ; for He hath prepared for them a city." The text in its connection is designed to present to us the manner in which the Christian in the exercise of lively faithregards heaven. To this subject I would now call the attention of my audience in the following particulars: I. The Christian in the exercise of lively faith practically regards heaven as a reality. There is an assent to what the saints declare...« less