people; Faith replies, Thou art my God."* It believes that what God saith is true, and therefore confidently apprehends its interest in His favour. The faith of which I would speak, was the faith of St. Thomas, when He exclaimed, "My Lord, and my God:" a faith, which our Lord commended, and acknowledged to be true. When, therefore, we confess with our lips, and are persuaded in our hearts, that Jesus is our Lord, who bought us with His blood: that Jesus is our God, who will exert all His adorable perfections for our good, then we truly believe. We have that faith which our Lord allows to be genuine. The Holy Spirit, in the communication of this faith, and with it of Himself, becomes to the believer, "a seal, an earnest, and pledge of the favour of God, and of all the blessings connected with the favour of God, in time, and throughout eternity. He becomes, as I before had occasion to remark, a seal of distinction; separating those whom God knows to be His, from those who are not His: and a seal of security; assuring the believer, that not one thing shall fail of all which * Ebenezer Erskine.

the Lord hath spoken; but that "all things shall work together for good, to them that love Him, and are the called according to His purpose." May I ask, whether the faith of my dear brethren before me is of this appropriating, realizing, certifying character? It is, I believe, communicated, and acted in stronger or weaker degrees and in proportion to its strength, will be the peace and enjoyment of those who have it. Oh, brethren, to be quite satisfied in the mind, that things really are as they are represented in the word of God; that that word speaks to us: and to lay hold by faith, on all that it says in reference to the people of God, is, I apprehend, the happiest foretaste any one can have of the joys of that place, which Jesus is gone to prepare for those whom the Father has given Him. It is this that makes the Bible a treasure of such inestimable price. It is not only a perfect map of the spiritual world, but it furnishes the believer with an undeniable warrant, while he surveys it in all its riches, and in all its beauties and pleasures, to call them all his own; because Christ is His, and with Christ, God freely

gives him all things. The righteous in Christ Jesus shall want no good thing. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth:" the earth that now is, and the "new earth" also, for which we look, "wherein dwelleth righteousness."

To every one, therefore, who is deeply convinced of his great sinfulness before God, I would say, the gospel is a revelation for sinners believe the record, that God has given to sinners eternal life, and that this life is in His Son: believe, and be saved; believe, and be happy. And to every one whom the Holy "Spirit of promise" has "sealed," and to whom He has given Himself as an "earnest" of an eternal inheritance, I would say in conclusion: Be much in prayer, that He who has “ begun the good work in you," would perfect that which concerneth you; and grant you grace, that in the presence both of angels and of men, you may, by the holiness and heavenliness of your conversation, give unquestionable proof that you are His indeed.

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SERMON XVI.

CHRISTIANS FILLED WITH JOY, PEACE, AND HOPE.

ROM. XV. 13.

"Now, the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost."

A PRACTICAL belief in the doctrine of the Holy and ever Blessed Trinity, is the foundation of all Christian holiness, and the ground of all Christian comfort. I say, a practical belief: because there is a belief in the doctrine which is not practical; which is not saving; which is not influential. It is common, and it is easy, to give an assent to this essential and distinguishing feature in the gospel, as a matter of ecclesiastical conformity, or even as a subject of specula

tion: but this may be done, while the heart remains unchanged, and the character unaffected. A man may say he has faith in this or that article of the Christian creed; but there may be a body without a spirit: and as a body without a spirit is dead, so faith, without a vital, active, holy principle, is dead also, being alone. May my dear hearers before me closely examine themselves! May they make it a point of serious and impartial self-inquiry, what they know of the doctrine of the Trinity, as connected with the safety, the consolation, and the sanctification of their immortal souls. For it is awfully true, that people may call themselves Trinitarians, while they are dead in sin; and may say that they know God, when they neither know Him, nor "are known of Him." It may suffice at present merely to observe, that the covenant of redemption, in a knowledge of which no little pains are taken to instruct and confirm the members of this congregation, is a compact in favour of sinners, formed by the Three Divine Persons in the Godhead. It is a compact, which was entered into from all eternity; the blessings included in it ex