down all such vain plea in a moment. And far happier persons shall we be even now, far more at peace with ourselves, far more satisfied that our future portion rests upon secure foundations, if we cherish no other hope of our soul's salvation than that which a Saviour's Cross and Passion yield; for we cannot pretend that we have fulfilled the condition of the covenant of works, which requires that he who would live by that must have done it to the letterand having fallen short of the condition, we can have no title to the reward. But then, for all this, in the next place, whilst contemplating this subject we must feel the necessity of striving our best to walk according to God's commandments, instead of sinning because grace happens to abound; seeing that so to walk is required of us by God as an evidence of our faith; and unless such evidence we can produce, we may rely upon it that our faith is not saving. Why, St. Paul himself tells us, in so many words, that we may have faith, so that we could remove mountains (surely a very high degree of faith this), and yet if it does not show itself in charity, in good deeds, good dispositions, the active discharge of our duties to God and man, -it will profit us nothing. And this doctrine which we have in his writings, we see exemplified in his life; for where do we read of a man so unwearied in well doing as St. Paul? Assuredly he rested all hope of his own salvation upon the ransom his Saviour had paid for him upon the Cross; but that did not prevent his being "in labours most abundant; in stripes above measure; in perils frequent; in deaths oft." That did not prevent his going about teaching and preaching Christ crucified, in season and out of season; making every personal sacrifice; mortifying his members; laying himself out, in one word, to do good unto all men, body and soul; C -- -all which he would account fruits of that faith which he taught, but nothing more. Brethren, if we will but walk so as we have him for an example, we shall be safe. Let us not have any controversy about faith and works, as though they were opposed one to another; but, with this great Apostle, let us stake the salvation of our souls upon the Atonement Christ made for us upon the tree, and upon nothing besides; only showing how earnest we are in our dependence upon Christ and love for Him, by keeping His commandments. Then shall we fulfil both the words and the spirit of the text from which I have been addressing "Be you- ye followers of God, as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God, for a sweet smelling savour." 27 SERMON IV. A TRUE FAITH MANIFESTED IN KEEPING GOD'S ST. JOHN, viii. 51. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death." i SUCH was the language of our blessed Lord in a conversation He held with the Jews. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death." There is another expression, used by Jesus on another occasion, very nearly akin to this. When Martha gently reproaches Jesus with not having hastened to Bethany in time to prevent her brother Lazarus' death, a part of our Lord's reply to her is (John, xi. 25-26), "he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die." Since, therefore, in the one case He says, "If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death," and in the other case, "he that believeth in Me shall never die," it should seem to follow that Jesus considered "the keeping His saying," and "believing in Him," to be terms that might be put one for the other; thereby teaching us, what He teaches us in so many other places, that he who truly believes in Him will take care to keep His saying; that a lively faith in Jesus necessarily shows itself in a life led according to the commands of Jesus. Let none of you then cheat yourselves into a notion, that you can confess Christ with your lips, and deny Him in your lives. Faith must work by love-must prove itself by that; and what love is, St. Paul tells us in very full and feeling words, which I will repeat to you, that you may gauge yourselves and the condition of your souls by that measure, and thereby learn whether your faith is of the right kind, whether it works in you the disposition St. Paul looks for from it. "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, endureth all things." That is the frame of mind to which we must try to bring ourselves; and, having so done, we may be sure that we have faith in Christ these are fruits which can spring out of nothing less or lower. Having made this remark as a preface, I shall now proceed to the substance of the text itself. "He that keepeth My saying," says our Lord, "shall never see death;" "he that believeth in Me, shall never die." Now, in so speaking, Jesus may be understood to have had in consideration death in both senses; both bodily and spiritual death. A true and faithful disciple of Mine, says He, shall know no death at all-nothing deserving the name, either with regard to flesh or spirit. For what is it that makes the death of the body so bitter? It is not the mere pain that attends it; it is not that which makes it so dreadful to many; for we constantly see children, and the weakest persons pass through the pangs of death with great firmness and presence of mind. Nor do I think it will be found that people in general do betray any great anguish when the pains of death are overtaking them. That which makes death so fearful, is the thought of having to part with so much that is dear to us here, and the prospect of entering another world, beyond the grave, wherein we may conceive our portion to be doubtful. What we are to leave, and where we are to go, those are the considerations that embitter a death-bed-and well they may, when a man has been fixing his heart on the good things of this life which are now to be wrenched from his hands, and taking no pains to make his calling and election sure before he enters another. He who could say, "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, eat, drink, and be merry," was not a man to hear a summons to quit them all, without alarm; and he who had only taken. care to clothe his body in purple and fine linen every day was not the man to think of a coffin and a shroud, without natural dread of what they were to lead to. But a true and faithful servant of Christ Jesus would be free from all fears arising from thoughts like these. He would feel that he was about to leave behind him that which had been lent him for a season, which he had always used only like a wayfaring man. He had always known and borne in mind that his substance he must lay down at the grave's mouth; that naked he came into this world, and naked he must go out of it; that the tinsel on the coffin-lid was all the gold he could carry away, let him have as much as he would; and he had used it accordingly, and not abused it. He had always remembered that his family and children he must one day part from and leave behind him in the world; and he had accordingly been careful so to |