fection. By suffering certain habits of conformity to the world to grow up in the heart, unobserved, we sometimes see a state of manners, gradually introduced, unfriendly to the cultivation of the divine life, and of that strictness of walk, and purity of conversation before God, which is most edifying to the church, and becoming the gravity of the christian profession. Too often a weak faith may be occasioned by peculiar temptations assailing a christian, against which he has not been sufficiently on his guard; or it may grow out of certain habitual situations in life wherein so many worldly engagements and avocations press upon his attention, as unhappily to occupy a great portion of that time which ought to be devoted to the studies, meditations, and duties of piety. The strength of his faith will, in this case, often be little superior to the influence of the world, and will be a feeble principle either of comfort to his own soul, or of advancement in the habits of holy living. On particular occasions, sin may have surprised the vigilance of the most sincere and humble christian, and so distressed his conscience, that he cannot discern in himself any satisfactory evidences of his peculiar relation to Christ. In other instances, a constitutional gloominess of mind inclines some christians habitually to contemplate the state of their own minds in an unfavorable light. They entertain no doubt, indeed, of the truths of the gospel. They may regard them with the highest veneration and affection. Firmly believing the general principle of the pow er and grace of God, they cannot, however, in the afflicting darkness of their minds, discern their own privilege to appropriate the gracious promise of the covenant to themselves. It is not of the mercy, or the promise of God, that they entertain any doubt; but of themselves. They lose the comforts of a composed and settled state of piety and devotion; and that time is often spent in gloomy retreat, and anxious conflicts with their own hearts, which would be better employed in active duty. Active duty is the best mean of removing the doubts of humble piety, by giving to the true believer the best evidences of a regenerate and sanctified principle of action. In retirement, the mind often broods over its own evils, and increases the gloom which induces it to court seclusion from the world. There are two acts, however, by which the sincerity of the weakest faith may be demonstrated. The one is humility, under a deep sense of the evil of sin, and of the imperfection of our own righteousness, producing unceasing desire of an interest in the redemption purchased by Christ Jesus. The other is an earnest endeavor to render that interest clear to the heart, by the faithful discharge of every duty, and a constant study to glorify God by holiness of living, and universal obedience to his will. Where these characters exist in sincerity, faith, although it may be feeble, is still genuine, and the believer may be truly an heir of eternal life; although, dubious and uncertain of his relation to Christ, his mind may be often covered with darkness and perplexity. OF A STRONG FAITH. This exercise of the soul implies such a clear, deep, and habitual persuasion of divine truth as easily overcomes the undue and seductive influence of worldly things. And the habitual warmth of its devotion, and its zeal in promoting, as far as its power extends, the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom, impart such internal evidence of sincerity, as leaves no doubt or hesitancy, in the most humble believer, in appropriating the free and gracious provisions of the gospel. Confiding in the amplitude and riches of divine grace, and the faithfulness of the divine promise, he enjoys such a serene and stedfast assurance of faith, as frequently enables him, in the language of the apostle, to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. This calm and settled confidence in the security of his spiritual state, and interest in the covenanted mercy of God, forms one of the distinguishing characters of a strong faith, and enables the believer to discharge his duty with the greater comfort, and to fulfil its labors, and endure its trials, with the greater constancy and fortitude. Job presents an interesting example of this faith, in his devout and fervent exclamation, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and though, after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet, in my flesh, I shall see God. This also is that degree of faith testified by the apostle Paul in the following language: I know in whom I have trusted, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day. It is the same which, in another place, he calls the full assurance of faith. To it, likewise, the prophet Isaiah seems to allude, in an expression that deserves to be explainedLet him take hold of my strength that he may make peace with me; alluding evidently to the privilege which certain criminals enjoyed of fleeing, and taking hold of the horns, which were the strength of the altar, in order to escape the stroke of vengeance or of justice. The obvious interpretation of which language is-let him, with confidence, trust my power to save, and therein enjoy the security of my protec tion. There is, indeed, a confidence of salvation, and a joy arising out of this assurance which the hypocrite may taste as well as the believer, and, sometimes, in a higher degree. But these affections may be discriminated from each other, by considering the necessary effects, and certain fruits, of a genuine faith. Believing the entire corruption of our nature, it produces the deepest humiliation before God. The joy of the hypocrite, on the other hand, begets an exultation of heart, in which little of the true humility of repentance is to be found. To the believer, the goodness and mercy of God, to a sinner so unworthy, occasions the profoundest self-abasement; in the hypocrite it creates an unreasonable estimation of himself, and a pharisaic self-complacency in the idea that he is better than others. The one, although his own happi ness contributes greatly to heighten his joy of faith, rejoices chiefly in the beauty of holiness; to the other, his own felicity is the principal consideration in those triumphs which at some times occupy and elevate his soul. The one loves God supremely for the holiness of his nature; the other is soothed by a flattering self-complacency, in being distinguished as a peculiar object of divine favor. BY WHAT VIRTUE IN FAITH IS IT THAT IT CONFERS Having before pointed faith out as the condition of the covenant of grace, I will now consider a question which arises in consequence, and is often asked, by what virtue in that grace is it that all the rich and unmerited blessings of the covenant are freely conferred on the unworthiness of the believing sinner?-Several figurative expressions found in the holy scriptures, or employed on this subject by various divines, have been resorted to as suggesting the proper an swer. But all this kind of imagery, serves rather to amuse the imagination, than to afford satisfaction to the judgment. Faith has been said, for example, to act as the hand which, by accepting the mercies freely proffered to the believing sinner, constitutes, according to the tenor of the covenant, his lawful title of possession. Other figures exhibit the believer as taking refuge in Jesus Christ, as a harrassed pilgrim, beneath a secure covert, from the tempest or a defence |