he is entrusted, by checks suited to the greatness of it, partly by the final responsibility which the supreme Governor of the human race has universally annexed and proportioned to the possession of authority of every kind, and partly by special precepts calculated to temper that of the husband, and to impress him with a full sense of the unvaried tenderness and love, due to the partner of his joys und sorrows.

And now, my brethren, as you know your respective duties, happy will you be, if you faithfully discharge them. How good and joyful a thing it is to dwell together in unity! In a perfect harmony both of heart and soul! Forbearing one another in love, and keeping the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, well knowing that you are tied down to an entire and perfect union by all the natural engagements, and by all the moral and Christian bonds that can be imagined. And as your temporal interests are one, so also are your eternal. As you are one body, so likewise you are of one spirit. As you are called in one hope of your vocation, you have one Lord, one God, and Father of all. To whom with the Son and Holy Ghost, be given all praise and adoration for evermore. Amen.

SERMON VIII.

THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY.

On the Necessity of Faith, in order to be saved.

. ed

I have not found so much faith in Israel. Mat. viii. 10.

THE Centurion whose faith is the subject of our Lord's encomium in this day's Gospel, was a Gentile, not of the number of those who were acquainted with the oracles that promised a Messiah; and while Israel knew not its Saviour, this foreigner reveres his power, implores his mercy, adores his supreme Majesty. The approbation expressed by our blessed Redeemer of the faith of this man, conveys the strongest censure on that of the Jews: "I have not found so much faith in Israel. And I say to you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of Heaven."* Here Jesus Christ takes an opportunity from the lively faith of this Gentile, to announce the triumph of faith over the whole Gentile world. He predicted what we behold with astonishment, the miraculous conversion of the

*Mat. viii, 11.

universe to his religion. To the calling of the Gentiles, he adds the reprobation of the Jews. "But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." *

This prophecy of our Redeemer has been, and will be fulfilled in regard to a great part of the Christian world. We have been introduced by baptism into the situation of the Jews; we are now in their place, the elect children of God; we have been substituted to receive the rewards promised formerly to them, had they remained faithful. We will also be partakers of their punishments, if, after so terrible an example of the vengeance exercised on them, we should have been so unhappy as to imitate their conduct. That this may not be your misfortune my dear hearers, I shall discourse to you this day, on the indispensable necessity of faith in order to be saved, and shall make such observations as may induce you to regulate your life according to your faith.

The first instructions in Christian knowledge, inform us of the importance and necessity of faith to our eternal happiness. We are assured, that "without faith, it is impossible to please God, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and is a rewarder to them that seek him."+ It seems absolutely essential to the nature, and necessary to the design and success of a divine revelation, that the messenger of it, upon producing sufficient evidence and attestations from Heaven, insist upon an acknowledgment of its truth, as proceeding from that being who cannot deceive his creatures, and whose authority cannot be disobeyed without punishment of eternal reprobation. On the other hand, there would be

Matt. viii. 12.

+ Heb. xi. 6.

a manifest impropriety and inconsistency in of fering such a revelation to the world, and at the same time declaring, that the reception of it was a matter of indifference; that it might with safety either be admitted or rejected; that the one would entitle to no favour, nor the other expose us to displeasure. A revelation introduced and proposed with those circumstances would invite hardly an examination, or enquiry into its creden tials; since by the confession of the person who offered it, it might with safety be rejected: and consequently, could not be of importance to the happiness of mankind, and therefore unlikely to be the subject of divine interposition.

But the principal reason why faith is so indispensably required, and declared to be the condition of salvation, is because it is the surest principle of holiness, the foundation, the beginning of a supernatural life. Faith, says St. Austin, in his 38th Sermon de Temp. is the beginning of human salvation; without this, no one can come to the society of the children of God: because without it no one obtains the grace of justification in this life, nor shall possess eternal life in that to come. The faith so strictly required, and so highly applauded in scripture, is not a mere acknowledgment or assent; it must be an active faith, a faith that worketh by charity. For, says St. Paul, "if I should have all faith, so that I should remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing."* The faith, therefore, required in scripture, must be such as includes obedience of heart, and life to the precepts of the gospel, as well as the assent of the mind or understanding to the truth it delivers. And certain it is, that if the doctrines delivered in the

1 Cor. xiii. 2.

Gospel be regarded and considered with due attention, they must be productive of obedience to its precepts, and make us in every respect what we ought to be.

If, for instance, we believe the existence of a God, supremely powerful, wise and good, possessed of every conceivable and possible perfection, we cannot but reverence and adore a nature so infinitely superior, and every sentiment of our hearts must pay homage to him. If we believe that he sent his Son into the world, by his doctrine to instruct, by his example to go before us in the paths of obedience, and by the merit of his death and sufferings, to purchase on certain conditions the pardon of our sins, and an eternity of happiness, we must consequently think ourselves obliged to obey the precepts of his doctrine, to imitate the examples of his life, to comply with the conditions required, and be grateful for so amazing an expression of mercy.

If we firmly believe that this life ended, we shall enter into another more important state of being, wherein endless punishments await the wicked, and where mansions of eternal bliss are prepared for the righteous: a regard to our future happiness will concur with a sense of duty, and co-operate in inviting and compelling us to the observance of religion; for nothing can more influence the mind than the hopes of immortal happiness, and the fear of never ceasing misery. If we were to suppose the veil drawn aside that intercepts the prospect of a future state; if with eyes of flesh we could look up to the throne of God, and see Heaven open, and all its glories revealed to view; it would doubtless be utterly impossible for any pleasures or interests of the world, or for all the concerns of time, to seduce us from the pursuit of such glory. Our whole attention