condition, or instrument to obtain justification, yet other conditions are not excluded, from any thing that appears, or is stated, there may be other conditions also indispensable as well as faith; and the latter part of the verse very strongly shews such a conclusion may reasonably be drawn from the words used, and which will be hereinafter considered, and more fully explained in the case of Enoch.

Faith is often restricted to a belief in Christ, and is then called the faith of Christ, but in a more enlarged and general sense, it is a belief in the revealed word of God as set forth in Scripture there may be many other meanings given to this word, which will be observed upon as they occur, or are found necessary to be brought forward.

We see, according to the explanation of faith by St. Paul, it is "the substance of things hoped for," from these words we find there is a substantial faith; and in another place by the same Apostle we also learn, there may be a faith, which may be truly called unsubstantial, where he says, faith must work by love to have an available effect with Christ; and in another place, it must be accompanied with charity, otherwise the man who has all faith not so accompanied is nothing; we then learn from the same authority, there is a substantial, and an unsubstantial

faith, or, in other words, a living, or justifying, and a dead faith; the one as having an effect in justification and salvation, the other, as being ineffectual to every purpose with respect to God and Christ. It will be our present business to enquire, and learn from Scripture, what these two descriptions of faith are, how they are to be known and distinguished from each other, and their different uses, purposes, and effects. We will take the latter of these two sorts of faith first, which may be described an assent, or belief in the mind that there is a God, that Christ is his Son, and that the Gospel is the written word of God; and there this belief or faith stops, and extends no further, and the man possessing this faith deceives himself, and rests satisfied that this is all the faith necessary for his justification and salvation; but with this faith, he neither has the love, or fear of God in his heart, charity to his fellow man, or does he seek, or pray for the Spirit of grace to assist and enable him to bring forth fruits meet for his repentance; such is the faith alluded to by St. Paul, when he says, " and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing." And such must be the faith mentioned by St. James when he says, "even so faith, if it hath

a 1 Cor. iii. 2.

not works, is dead, being alone"." This is the faith significantly described by St. Paul as "all faith" that is in God, in Christ, and the Gospel ; but the man possessing this faith profiteth nothing, with respect to God and Christ, unless he has charity, and brings forth fruits meet for repentance; this is the dark part of the picture, we will now pass on to the light part, and endeavour to learn what is truly the substantial faith mentioned by St. Paul: this faith must consist of the same parts that have been stated as contained in the unsubstantial faith, that is, an assent, or belief in the mind, that there is a God, that Christ is his only son, and the Gospel is the written word of God; but the man to have real substantial faith, must not stop here, he must have the love and fear of God in his heart, he must love his neighbour as himself, he must seek and pray for the Spirit of God's grace to assist and enable him to bring forth such fruits of that spirit as are meet for repentance, and when this faith is united to, accompanied, and associated with those works, which St. Paul designates as the fruits of the spirit, then the man possessing, and holding them fast unto the end, may be assured of justification, salvation, and every celestial blessing: this is the substantial and evidential

b James ii. 17.

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faith mentioned by St. Paul, and called by St. James, perfect faith, and is the true, divine, living, and saving faith, and the only faith that can have an effect with God and Christ, in man's justification, and eternal salvation; and indispensably necessary for that man to possess, who seeks his justification under the Gospel of Christ.

We cannot here, without notice, pass by an error, which has prevailed with certain sects of Christians, who upon the ground that faith is an indispensable instrument, or condition, have carried their ideas, or notions, so far as to conclude that nothing more than faith is wanting to obtain justification, and have held, that faith only, or alone will justify, and from repeated and frequent use of these words, would endeavour to make us believe they are St. Paul's words, whereas, they must, or at least ought to have known, they are no where to be found so placed, either in the writings of St. Paul, or any other part of Scripture: when it is stated that justification is obtained by faith only, or alone, it must not, and cannot have any connection or relation to any other work or act of man; if faith is necessarily to have the aid, assistance, or co-operation of any other work or act whatever by man, it cannot then be said to effect the great work of justification itself, and consequently cannot be truly called alone, it would be making a most

deceptious use of words, we must, therefore, for the sake of correctness of language, conclude when this expression is used, it is intended to be understood to exclude all other works or acts whatever by man in obtaining his justification, whether considered as conditions or duties.

To say, justification is not to be obtained without faith; and to say, justification is obtained by faith only, and that no other work is combined with it in effecting justification, are totally different propositions, the former, according to the revealed words of Christ, is wholly true, the latter wholly erroneous: to place this matter in a right point of view to arrive at truth, we shall find it necessary to remove these two surreptitious beings, "only" and "alone," from the situation they have so wrongly usurped, and introduce faith into proper society, suited to her high and exalted station, and not let her wander any longer as a solitary being, and alone, but place her in company becoming her worth, and which St. Paul clearly intended she should have as a constant attendant, verily love, and that in all her doings, or operations, if this friend, her lawful and rightful companion and sister, is not in her train, she must always be considered as a forlorn and deserted being, and of little, very little, estimation. The faith here intended, and it is necessary to be particular; as there may be