"mon Peter answered and faid, Thou art the Chrift, the "fon of the living God." Acts viii. 37. "And Philip "faid, If thou believeft with all thine heart, thou mayeft. "And he answered and faid, I believe that Jefus Chrift is "the Son of God." Unless this is attended to, we shall neither be fufficiently fenfible of the evil of fin, which required fuch an atonement, nor of the love of God which provided it, nor of the power of the Saviour to execute it; nor can we have fuch encouragement to put our truft

in it.

From these two circumftances you may be directed to contemplate the leading and principal object of faith, viz. the only begotten Son of God dying in our room, and purchasing our pardon. Jefus, the mediator of the new covenant, having finished his work, invites weary and heavy-laden finners to come unto him; and affures them that the highest demands of the law are answered, that their debt is fully paid, and nothing is now to be laid to their charge: Rom. viii. 33, 34. "Who fhall lay any "thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that juf "tifieth: Who is he that condemneth? It is Chrift that "died, yea rather, that is rifen again, who is even at the แ right hand of God, who also maketh interceffion for us." Rev. xxii. 17. "And the Spirit and the bride fay, Come. "And let him that heareth, fay, Come. And let him "that is athirst, come: and whofoever will, let him take "the water of life freely."

4. In the last place, The object of faith is the power of Chrift to renew our natures, to deliver us from the bondage of corruption, and bring us into the glorious liberty of God's children. We muft never feparate the Redeemer's merit and his power. Conviction is imperfect unless we see our flavery, as well as mifery, and unfeignedly defire deliverance from both. Neither do we properly apprehend the extent of Chrift's undertaking, unlets we view him exalted as a prince and a Saviour to give repentance to Ifrael, and remiffion of fins. There are two things equally effential to the gospel upon this particular. (1.) The neceffity of being fanctified. Salvation in fin is not promifed; falvation or happiness in fin is not poffible;

and therefore all who hope for falvation through Chrift, must be renewed in the spirit of their minds. Thenceforth they must not ferve fin: 2 Cor. v. 17. "If any man "be in Chrift, he is a new creature: old things are paffed away, behold, all things are become new." If the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodlinefs of men, it must ftill abide on the children of difobedience.

(2.) The other thing to be obferved is, that the fanctification of the believer is the purchase of Chrift's blood, and the work of his Spirit. This is plain through the whole of the fcriptures both of the Old Teftament and the New. Ezek. xxxvi. 25, 26, 27. "Then will I

fprinkle clean water upon you, and ye fhall be clean; "from all your filthiness, and from all your idols will I "cleanfe you. A new heart alfo will I give you, and a "new Spirit will I put within you, and I will take away "the ftony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an "heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, "and caufe you to walk in my ftatutes, and ye fhall keep my judgments, and do them." John xv. 4, 5. "A"bide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear "fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can

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ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the "branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the "fame bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can "do nothing." Nothing can be fironger than the language used on this subject : "His grace is fufficient for us; his ftrength is made perfect in weakness. "By "the grace of God," fays the Apoftle, "I am what I am." And again, "Not I, but the grace of God which was with "me." Nay, he is faid " to work in us both to will and "to do of his good pleasure." All this fhows, that there is no room left for the finner to glory; but that the whole of his lofs by the fall, both his integrity and his happiness, may be recovered, and can only be recovered through Chrift. This is the fum of evangelical truth, this is the fource of evangelical holinefs: Gal. ii. 16.-20. “ Knowing that a man is not juftified by the works of the law, "but by the faith of Jefus Chrift, even we have believe in Jefus Chrift; that we might be justified by the fait

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"Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the "works of the law fhall no flesh be juftified. But if while "we seek to be justified by Chrift, we ourselves also are "found finners, is therefore Chrift the minister of fin? "God forbid. For if I build again the things which I "deftroyed, I make myself a tranfgreffor. For I through "the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. "I am crucified with Chrift: nevertheless I live; yet not "I, but Chrift liveth in me: and the life which I now live "in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who "loved me, and gave himself for me."

I proceed now, in the second place, to confider the actings of faith, or what is implied in believing these truths to the faving of the foul. And I cannot help observing to you, that it is but in compliance with common cuftom, or at least with the prefent ftate of things, that I fay much upon this part of the fubject. I am perfuaded it is of much more confequence, and much more proper, to direct you to the object of faith in God's revealed will, to explain it in all its extent, and to prefs it with all the evidence that attends it, than to examine curioufly into, and distinguish nicely upon the nature of faith, as it is an act of the human mind. I do not find, that the fcripture fays much upon the act of believing; but it is in a manner wholly employed in telling us what we ought to believe, both with regard to our apoftafy and recovery. We do indeed read in fcripture of believing with all the heart. We read alfo of a temporary faith in the ftony-ground hearers; and of the strength and weakness of faith. But all this feems, at least chiefly, to relate to the firmness or uncertainty of our perfuafion of, or affent to the truths which are addreffed to us in the name of God. The fimpleft view of faith feems to be receiving "the record "which God hath given us of his Son." Agreeably to this, the reverse of faith in fcripture is doubting: Matth. xiv. 31. "O thou of little faith, wherefore didft thou "doubt ?" Matth. xxi. 21. "Jefus answered and faid "unto them, verily I fay unto you, If ye have faith and "doubt not, ye fhall not only do this which is done to "the fig-tree, but alfo, if ye fhall fay unto this mountain,

"Be thou removed; and be thou caft into the fea; it fhall "be done."

But, my brethren, fince there have been questions upon this fubject, and fince it is certain from experience that there is a deceitfulness in the human heart, and a fuppofed faith, which yet is vain and fruitless, I fhall obferve, that the actings of faith may be refolved into the three following particulars, or that the faith of God's elect will difcover itself by the three following effects.

1. A firm affent of the understanding to what is revealed of Chrift in fcripture; particularly as fummed up in the preceding part of this difcourfe: That you believe the loft and helpless state of man by nature and practice : That Chrift is able to fave to the uttermoft; and that he hath made effectual provifion, both for expiating your guilt and purifying your hearts. Perhaps you will think this is eafy, and be ready to fay, that you have from your youth given, and that you do at this moment give, entire credit to the whole. But, my brethren, there is more here than you are aware of: there is a great difference between a common and traditionary belief, which was never tried, and that inward and perfonal conviction which dwells in the heart, and therefore will govern the life. If any man believe, that all the pofterity of Adam are in a state of guilt and mifery, one would think it unavoidable that he muft perceive his own danger as a part of the whole; and yet I am perfuaded, it is ufually a perfonal conviction of guilt and danger by the law upon the confcience that first opens the finners eyes upon the general truth; and then his own intereft makes it bulk in his apprehenfion, and raises in him an earneft folicitude, both to examine into the caufe of the disease, and to ask after the method of cure.

There is another way of confidering the affent of the understanding to divine truth. The teftimony of faith is opposed to the teftimony of fenfe. Faith tells us, that our only happiness is in the favor of God, and that this can only be obtained through Chrift; that eternity is coming on; and that there is no time to be loft. Senfe, on the other hand, tells us, that the world is good, that its de

lights are pleasant, and that our comfort is here; not for. getting to reprefent the fervice of God as a burden and drudgery. In the mean time, the corrupt principle within, aflents to the delufion, and affifts in blinding the mind; adding, that whatever may be in religion, the danger may be warded off by a late repentance. It is not enough then to give a cold and general affent to the truths of religion when they are not contradicted, but to believe the testimony of faith, in oppofition to the fuggeftions of fenfe; or, in other words, to walk by faith, and not by sight. That this may be brought to the teft, I obferve,

2. That faith implies the confent and approbation of the heart to every truth with regard to Chrift's perfon and character, and falvation through his blood. To every believer, the plan of redemption by the Mediator of the new covenant, appears not only true, but wife, reasonable, gracious, and neceffary. This, my brethren, particularly diftinguishes true faith, not only from unbelief and fe. curity, but from an empty and barren profeffion. The careless despise the truth, the believer adores it; the half Christian is afhamed of it, the believer glories in it: "God "forbid," fays the apoftle, Gal. vi. 14. " that I should glory, fave in the crofs of our Lord Jefus Chrift." 1 Pet. ii. 7. "Unto you therefore which believe, he his preci"ous: but unto them which be difobedient, the stone "which the builders difallowed, the fame is made the head "of the corner."

I believe indeed it is ufually a deep and heart-felt conviction of danger, which first perfuades the finner of the truth, and makes the trembling penitent a willing believer. But becaufe there may be fometimes a belief of that truth, which we do not efteem, nay, even a jealoufy and fufpicion of the truth of what we inwardly hate, I have added, that faith implies the confent and approbation of the heart. The whole doctrine of redemption appears to the believer moft admirably calculated to promote the glory of God, and fecure the falvation of finners. Even what bears hardest upon man, taking away the foundation of felf-righteoufnefs and felf-dependance, appears to him perfectly reasonable: he not only fubmits to it, but