Inference.

have taken the course I have. My object was to hold forth this one idea, that God is attesting the truth of the gospel, in whatever classes of society, and among whatever nations it is preached, by the divine power that accompanies it, evidencing itself by the marked and striking transformations of character which it produces.

Upon every regenerated disciple of Christ you can read, inscribed in letters of sunbeam, that the gospel is divine, and the Bible the truth of God. May I not cherish the hope, that I shall be able to look to you, my hearers, as year after year passes away, for increasing proof of the truth of what I say? May I not address you as St. Paul did the Corinthian converts" Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men, inasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God?"

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Simon the magician.

LECTURE IX.

FAITH.

"Follow him whithersoever he goeth-take no denial; through the veil that is to say, his flesh torn from the crown of his head to the sole of his feet-through this mysterious veil, rent from the top to the bottom, rush into the blood-besprinkled sanctuary; embrace the horns of the golden altar; lay all thy guilt on the head of the sin-atoning victim; read thy name on the breast of thy merciful High-priest; claim the safety; demand the blessing; receive the consolations bestowed on all that fly to him for refuge; and begin a new, delightful life under the healing and peaceful shadow of his wings."-FLETCHER.

WHEN Philip proclaimed the unsearchable riches of Christ in Samaria, and by the divine power which accompanied his words, was enabled to cause them to give heed unto the things which he spoke-among the number whose attention was arrested, and who surrendered themselves as disciples of Christ, and received the symbolic rite of baptism, was Simon the magician. He, through sorcery, and all the mysterious arts of necromancy, had for a long time exerted a most potent sway in Samaria, and held the astonished inhabitants of that city in wonder, impressing them with the idea that he was "the great power of God."

But when the first missionary of the cross published the glad tidings of salvation in his hearing, and put forth a simple, miraculous exhibition of divine power in attestation of the truth of what had been delivered, the magician became as much astonished as ever were the people of Samaria by his pretended charms and spells. He saw that the preachers of Christ were gifted with a magic that he knew nothing of. He therefore at once became a convert to Christianity, believed, and was baptized. And yet it is evident from the whole account that he had no just conceptions of the gospel, and that he was a stranger to that evangelical faith that works by love and purifies the heart. His great object in becoming a Christian was, that he might thereby become a greater magician. He supposed that the Holy

Retrospect-Dead faith.

Spirit which the apostle communicated, was a part and parcel of that dark science of necromancy in which he had made some proficiency; and he therefore offered a large sum of money to the apostles, that they might let him into their secret.

It is worthy of notice and admiration, with what pity and scorn the heavenly-minded Peter dashed from him the filthy bribe, exclaiming "Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God." Simon had not apprehended the true nature or object of Christianity. He himself had undergone no moral change He was in an unregenerated state. And though in a certain sense he had believed, and had been signed with the sign of the cross, still was he "in the gall of bitterness, and in the bonds of iniquity." His heart was still turned away from God. And, alas! it is to be feared, that many who are baptized, and in connexion with the visible church at the present day, are in the same dangerous and unchanged state. They are destitute of that evangelical faith" without which it is impossible to please God." Though they declare that they believe all the articles of the Christian faith, as contained in the apostles' creed, their faith is like that of Simon's-dead and inoperative; and will, in the end, only sink them deeper into the bottomless pit.

It is my intention, in the present lecture, to call your attention to some considerations in reference to that saving faith, through which the sinner is justified in the sight of God.

In a preceding lecture, while considering what the candidate for confirmation professed to believe, we glanced at the evidence which goes to support the credibility of the Christian Scriptures. While discoursing on that topic, we observed that one might have a general and speculative belief in these, while at the same time his heart was wrapped up in spiritual indifference, apathy, and unbelief. And this is what St. James denominates dead faith—a faith that does not appropriate to the soul the benefit of Christ's atonement, that barely admits the truth of the gospel, and there leaves the matter.

Faith preceded by awakened sensibility.

In contradistinction to this, the Scriptures assure us that there is a living and operative faith, which brings the soul into a vital union with the Son of God, quickens all its powers, gathers up all its energies in one great effort after holiness. This is the kind of faith which the sinner must have in order to be justified and saved. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

1. In reference to this true and living faith, I would remark, in the first place, that it is preceded by a state of awakened sensibility, and supreme anxiousness about the soul's eternal welfare. A certain class of individuals that

assemble in the sanctuary on the Sabbath, and repeat the apostles' creed, and who undoubtedly assent in their minds to the truth of what they repeat, nevertheless live from day to day without evincing any proof that their belief exerts the slightest influence upon their views or feelings. They profess to believe that they are sinners; that they have violated the divine law times without number; that they are guilty and condemned in the sight of God, and standing on the very brink of endless ruin; that they may die to-morrow, and dying in their present state, they must sink to perdition; that there is a way in which they can be saved; that Christ has died for them, invites, entreats, and beseeches them not to perish. They profess to believe all this, and yet go to their business and their pleasures just as gay and light-hearted as if they believed not one word of it. But when the Holy Spirit has opened the eyes of the sinner, and shown him the awful perdition before him; when the truth is sent home to his heart in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, he begins to feel he is is alarmed, he is unhappy, he cannot rest; God's revealed wrath is continually before him; he trembles as on the very brink of a ruined eternity; he renounces all dependence upon himself, and stretches out his hand to the bloodstained cross: the supreme anxiety of his soul is, "What must I do to be saved?"

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2. I remark, that when the soul is thus awakened to a sense of its danger, if it does not relapse again into the apathy and insensibility of spiritual death, it can find no relief till it submits itself unto God, makes a complete

Justification by Christ alone.

surrender of itself into his hands, and looks to the Lord Jesus Christ for safety and protection. This is faith,-saving faith. An entire submission of the heart to God, and an exclusive trusting in Christ for salvation, is essential to that exercise of mind denominated faith. One may have all the fear, and concern, and deep anxiety which we have described, and yet have not the slightest degree of evangelical faith. The character of sin must be known and detested. It must be abhorred on account of its infinite offensiveness in the sight of God. The heart must turn from it, and be turned with submission and confidence unto the Lord. “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness." There must be a cordial and hearty acceptance of the salvation of the gospel. The heart must withdraw its confidence from all other modes of salvation, and rely exclusively upon the one revealed in the gospel, and it must do this cheerfully and joyfully. "This is believing with

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the heart."

That we cannot be saved by our own obedience, is abundantly evident from Scripture, "By the works of the law no flesh can be justified.". "If righteousness came by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. For if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law, but the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe."

Consonant with the doctrine here taught is the declaration contained in the tenth of the thirty-nine articles of our church. "We are accounted righteous before God only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by faith; and not for our own works and deservings, therefore, that we are justified by faith only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort."

I wish each one of my hearers would ask themselves, do I believe this? If you do, then, you have not one particle of dependence upon yourself; the conviction of your mind is, if God does not save me entirely and solely by grace, I must perish. When brought to this state, your mind is prepared for the reception of evangelical faith, that faith which leads you to repose exclusively in the atonement of Christ for your salvation. It was this kind of faith that Abraham exercised when he believed God, and it was