reason approves; whereas, on the supposition here considered, faith hath nothing in it that is generous or social, no tendency to enlarge our minds, and open them to a feeling of another's happiness, or to excite and animate us to the pursuit of it.

But this cannot be. It cannot be that He who laid down his life for the good of mankind, should have no regard for mankind's good in laying the foundation of his religion. It cannot be that he who died because we had departed from virtue, should establish his new dispensation on principles which have no tendency to bring us back to virtue.

"In Christ Jesus," saith the apostle, that is, in the religious dispensation finished and established by him, "neither circumcision availeth "any thing, nor uncircumcision, but faith work"ing by love."* It appears then, that faith worketh, or as the original texpression implies, is attended with an energy or inward force. And if it works within us it must work to some certain end; which can be only the production of its proper fruits, good works.

If faith hath no connection with goodness, then may man be at once a true and complete christian by virtue of his faith, whilst he continues an unconverted heathen in practice. Then is faith intended only to fill the head, and to amuse the imagination without influencing the will, or subduing the heart. It is contented

* Gal. v. 6.

† In the original, Faith working within us.

with reducing to its obedience and cultivating only the most barren parts of the soul, whilst it leaves all the fruitful regions in their wild and barbarous state. But it is undeniable, that faith brings along with it into the breast of the christian many new motives to virtue which the heathen is a stranger to. It is the resisting these motives, and acting in opposition to them, that constitutes the peculiar guilt of the wicked christian. Hence it is, that the life of a wicked christian is a perpetual contradiction to itself; and that wicked works and faith united form the most unnatural, let me say, the most monstrous of all characters.

The gospel instructs us clearly in every part of our duty; it shows us our true situation here, and our expectations in eternity. The Creator appointed two great lights in the firmament, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, not merely to please the eye, and to gild the creation, but that man might be enabled to act with freedom, and to perform all the business of life. And can we imagine that this great light of religion was set up without any regard to action? It surely was given us for some higher end than merely that we might contemplate and admire it; it was given to enlighten us in the performance of the most important work, and to guide us in the great employment of doing good.

But the word of God is not only *" a lamp "unto our feet, and a light unto our paths;"

*Ps. cxix. 105.

it not only shows us our duty, but impels us by the strongest motives to fulfil it. Whatever those motives are by which we are most readily influenced in the affairs of life, faith brings them all to act upon us in favor of virtue. If we can be touched by more generous motives; if the nobler affections of gratitude and love have any power over us, faith points to a Saviour expiring on the cross for our sakes. If we can feel for the good of others, and if a benevolent heart unites their happiness to ours, faith shows us a whole world redeemed, and attaches us to their interests by bonds which shall never be dissolved. If our own interests are dear to us, if hopes or fears can move us, faith leads the enraptured soul amongst angels and purest spirits to scenes of endless bliss; or unbars before the affrighted imagination the gates of hell.

And need we, after all this, inquire whether faith stirs up the mind to action, or if it remains there in a still and quiescent state? We must know as little of the nature of faith, as of the constitution of the mind, to think this ` possible. Faith comes armed in every power by which the mind is usually moved; and the mind is every way disposed to apprehend, to feel, to be governed by its force. It is impossible then to conceive that all this power should be absolutely lost, and that no effect should result from it: that whilst matter, inert and resisting matter, is alive to every impulse, and

obedient to every action, the free and active soul, in the mean time, should remain motionless and inanimate under the impression of the strongest powers that can be applied to it since in order to all this we must suppose, that in religion every thing is taken out of its natural state; that here all motives lose their force, and the mind its feeling.

We conclude therefore, that faith hath a tendency, and that a very strong one, to produce good works.

It may be proper, before we proceed, to point out in a few words the use and importance of this inquiry.

1. If faith hath no such tendency, then we must believe that the design of all religion terminates here, that we have already arrived at its utmost limits, and that faith saves us alone, and by its own inherent virtue. But if this tendency is manifest, and the clear result of its very nature and constitution, then it is evident, that religion hath much farther views, and looks beyond faith itself. The clearing of this. question therefore, is securing a very important station, without which we could not with any security have pursued our inquiries farther, or have attempted to establish any conclusions beyond it.

2. Unless we discern this tendency of faith to produce goodness, we can neither see the wisdom of the Author of our religion in the constitution of it, nor can we entertain a proper value for this first principle of our religion, nor

proper notions of its dignity. When we discern this tendency of faith, we see a reason why it was made the leading condition of our salvation we see a reason worthy the approbation of heaven, for the distinguished place it possesses in the christian dispensation. It was made the chief corner-stone in our religion, because it was fitted to support the whole fabric.

And thus do we prove the wisdom of the Giver of revelation, in the same way that we prove the wisdom of God from the works of the creation. It is from the wise disposition of every part of nature, the undeniable fitness of every thing to some useful end, that we conclude beyond a doubt the wisdom of the Creator. And in religion therefore, when we see every thing put together with the same wisdom of design, we must again acknowledge the hand of the same wise Master-builder. An illustrious proof this, amongst many others, that both systems come from the same author! We see the same shining characters of divine wisdom in both. In the volume of revelation we clearly distinguish the same HANDWRITING OF THE DEITY, that we had been before accustomed to in reading the volume of

nature.

II. We may now proceed to our second inquiry, viz. What is the nature of that connection which subsists between faith and good works?