after all it is but an act of the understanding in which the heart has no interest. Such a faith as this is possessed by the devils mentioned by St. James in this chapter, who "believe and tremble," going probably a step further than many who give their consent to the sentiments which we have briefly summed up. But

2. There is a saving faith which is an operation of the heart consequent upon the above act of the understanding. It is to this faith both St. Paul and St. James refer as being the condition of man's justification. This faith consists in a full implicit confidence in the promises and faithfulness of God, and a self-denying reliance upon the sacrifice and intercession of Christ. Such a faith takes in the whole motive of God as tending to elevate the character of man, and regards all His declarations as intended for the benefit of His intelligent creatures. In respect to God's providential dispensations there is a perfect resignation to the Divine will, knowing that all things shall work together for good to them that love Him. Afflictions are regarded as the medicine of heaven to the soul, trials as the loving corrections of an unerring Father, bereavements as the means of disentangling the mind from the connections of earth, and every disappointment as the drawing of the affections to the things of eternity. The righteousness of the Saviour alone is regarded as the medium of acceptance with God. There is no mixing up of one's own merits with the merits of Christ, no pleading of present virtue for the pardon of past vice, no giving of the fruit of the body for the sin of the soul, no good resolutions for the future to atone for the delinquencies of the past. It is an entire divestment of self, and an entire investment of Christ. Such was the faith of St. Paul when he said, " And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is of the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." And such must be our faith to render us acceptable in the sight of God. We come--

II. To the evidences of faith.

"For as the body without

the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." It is the soul that makes the living man, it is the works that make the living faith. The mere digging of a pit in the earth will not form a fountain; it may be in the shape of a well, but unless there be a spring issuing forth to produce streams, it will be nothing but a useless excavation. If there be a principle of saving faith in the soul there will be good works issuing as streams from a fountain in proof of a spring.

As the principles, so the evidences of faith consist of two branches, the one bending towards God, and the other bending towards man; in both cases they may be summed up in one sentence, "but faith which worketh by love."

1. The evidences of faith bending and operating towards God may be seen in acts of obedience to His commands. Not merely those commands which may be most congenial to our feelings, and convenient to our circumstances, but the whole catalogue of His moral requirements in respect both to this world and the world to come. Many people make a selection of the commandments which they observe, regardless of the violation of others. The constitution of their minds is such that some sins are no temptation to them, consequently to abstain from them is easy, whilst they may indulge in others equally bad without compunction. The same may be said of the performance of some commanded duties. They feel a natural pleasure in the act, there is therefore no difficulty felt in obeying the command. This is done, not from a principle of faith, but from a bias of the natural disposition. When the whole scope of forbidden sin and required duties is taken into consideration there is a disinclination to obedience. The torrents are not stemmed, temptations are not resisted, sacrifices are not made, self-denial is not exercised. But when the vitality of faith is felt there is a vigorous effort to abstain from sin-from all sin; to observe duty-every duty. There is no reserve exercised, no obstacles raised, no excuse made. Life and energy are perceptible in every action. Every command in the decalogue, every duty inculcated in the Word of God, will be attentively observed. The lust of the flesh will be

mortified, every holy feeling will be called into action. Love to God actuating the mind, the whole soul and body will be consecrated to His service. His name will be revered, His Son will be adored, His Spirit will be sought, His Word will be valued, His Sabbath will be called a delight, His ordinances will be embraced, His providence will be admired, and the sentiment of the Psalmist will be fully adopted-"Thy statutes have been my delight in the house of my pilgrimage."

Our

2. The evidences of faith operate also towards men. light shines not only before men, but on men, that they may not only see but feel our good works, and glorify our Father who is in heaven. There are acts of justice towards men which true faith never fails to practise. The consistent Christian would shun a deed of injustice as he would a plague. To wrong another is a principle of Satan, having derived its existence from him, and receiving its nutrition from him. Justice is an offspring of God, and they who are born of God aim at imitating their Father, who is just, holy, and true. There are again acts of forgiveness to be exercised towards men. We have much to forgive as well as to be forgiven, and our forgiving others is a constituted condition on which we are to expect forgiveness. Our Saviour insists upon this as the leading feature in the character of His followers, and the conditional ground of acceptance. In His memorable sermon on the mount He says, "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." There are also works of charity towards men. In imitation of the example of Christ, faith creates a feeling of compassion in the bosom of the Christian. He who went about doing good taught us to regard every man a neighbour, and to call every man a brother; when a neighbour is in distress, when a brother is in need, it is the work of faith to pity, to sympathize, and to relieve. Charitable institutions, asylums for the relief of the afflicted, schools for the instruction of the young, societies for the propagation of the Gospel will never need a friend whilst faith exercises its natural energies, and is not dead, like a body without the spirit.

These are some of the works of faith by which a man is justified before men, and are the evidences of his justification before God. Let us ask, in conclusion, what is the character of our faith? If it be an inoperative faith, wanting the action of a living body, then it is hateful to God, and useless to man. No believing without obedience will avail us; for though there can be no merit in our obedience that we should be saved by it, yet there is such a necessity of obedience that we shall never be saved without it. If, then, we profess to have faith, let it be proved by our good works.

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The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity.

MORNING SERVICE.-Second Lesson: Acts xvii.

Verse 11.-"These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things

were so."

PERSECUTIONS were great means for the spread of the Gospel in early times. They were not so by the intent of the promoters of the means, but by the overruling wisdom of Providence, in causing good to proceed out of evil. The devil and his votaries, with all their cunning and ingenuity, often commit great mistakes; for the very means which they employ to further their own ends are so reversed as to damage and destroy their own cause. It was so especially at the introduction of Christianity into the world. They hurled their projectiles against the citadel of Christ, but the ramparts were so strong that they rebounded and made breaches in their own fortifications. When the apostles were scattered by persecution they had the opportunity of preaching the Gospel to different nations, when they were brought before tribunals facilities were offered to testify the truth in the presence of those occupying high stations of power, and when they were removed from prison to prison they had access to all classes of individuals.

Paul and Silas by being imprisoned at Philippi became the instruments of the jailer's conversion; by fleeing from the persecution they entered the great city of Thessalonica, when some Jews, and "a great multitude" of devout Greeks, and chief women believed. The persecution at Thessalonica drove them forward until they arrived at Berea, a large city in the northern portion of Macedonia, where they met with a more