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perience. If means have no place in the Christian religion till after the production of something in the soul containing the whole new man, then the use of means is only to nourish and cherish this new principle, that is to say, they are to a Christian what air and earth and moisture are to an acorn. All Christians seem to act as if they thought the means appointed to produce the end, and the fitness of the means is the support of Christian action. On this principle we educate our children, because instruction seems to us a proper method of producing in them knowledge. On this principle we read and expound the Scriptures in public; not that the Scriptures want any expounding, to cool and attentive minds, but because the minds of most men are not in such a state, but blinded with prejudice, custom, and passion, and because we know such a mind is not prepared to attend to reason. On this principle we address the Gospel not only to the righteous and well-disposed, but also to men of a quite different character. One great argument in defence of our holy religion is, that it is fitted not only to saints, but also to sinners, even to such as are in the last and most deplorable stages of vice. If you say, God works in the means; this is what we plead for; if you affirm on the contrary that he works immediately, then there is no more fitness in instructing the ignorant, and reasoning with the wicked, and expecting knowledge and reformation to follow, than there would be in planting and watering flints and pebbles, and expecting them to grow into oaks. Go further, go back to the regeneration of any one Christian in this assembly, and divide yourselves into two parts. Some of you do not know the time of your conversion; that is as much as to say, the work of the Spirit was so connected with other events, that one thing brought on another, till all together issued in your conversion, for you are a sincere convert to the faith of Christ. Others of you resemble the man supposed some time ago, and you know what events fell out when you became Christians; but the connexion of an effect with a cause destroys the notion of immediate influence. One says, such a Providence set me a thinking; another

says, Such a discourse set me a repenting; a third says, Such a book gave me information that produced comfort. All of us believe, the means of religion are highly fitted to answer their end, and the certainty of obtaining the end in the use of means is the sun that rules the day, and the moon that rules the night, of life.

We cannot conclude this subject without two reflections. First, we perceive a wonderful inclination in Christians toward something in religion so sublime as not to be understood; whereas the true sublimity of religion lies in its plainness, as the true excellence and dignity of man consists in his becoming such a plain man as Jesus Christ was. This inclination is a remnant of the old education given this country by monks and priests, whose majesty stood in the credulousness of their followers. They made creeds, or articles to be believed, and gave them to our forefathers to say over. You do not understand them, said they, but we do; and, while they were doing that, the creed-makers ran away with their houses and lands. Let us renouuce this disposition, and let us believe nothing but what we understand.

Lastly, we observe with great pleasure that all Christians allow the Spirit of God is a Holy Spirit; and even they who think him hidden, think they have no right to conclude he is where they suppose, till the fruits of a holy life declare it. Should a man, who had lived wickedly all his days, be intoxicated with liquor over night, and regenerated at six next morning by an immediate work of the Spirit, no Christians would believe it that day, and should he, like Saul," assay to join himself to the disciples, they" would be "all afraid of him, and not believe that he was a disciple," till some Barnabas" should declare two things unto them; one, "how the Lord had spoken to him ;" and the other, "how he had boldly preached at Damascus ;" till he had given substantial proofs by his conduct that his pretensions were true and real. If an extraordinary conversion was not credible without proof, how much less are ordinary changes? The proof of propfs is laid by the Holy Spirit where it ought to be. "If ye be led

by the Spirit, ye are not under the law, for the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law." Let not "a man think himself to be something when he is nothing but let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another man." God grant us this grace! To him be honour and glory forever. Amen.

DISCOURSE XIV.

FAITH AND HOLINESS ARE INSEPARABLE.

[AT CHESTERFORD.]

GALATIANS v. 6.

Faith worketh by love.

LET not my first words alarm you. Do any of you know what an abstract word is? To speak more exactly, Had ever any one of you an abstract idea? Words are names of things; abstract words are names of abstract things; and abstract ideas are perceptions of the things so named. Have you any idea of whiteness, hardness, wisdom, love? You know what a white cloud, a white rose, a hard wood, a hard hand, a wise man, a loving child is; but you have no idea of any one of these things separate from the bodies, of which they are properties. Try now, whether you can conceive of whiteness or wisdom alone and apart from every thing except itself. Yet these are very convenient words, and express many real qualities; and there is no danger in the use of them, except when they are supposed to stand for something which is not to be found; and should that something be a part of religion, we should be perplexed and confused, 66 ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth," the folly of which is "manifest unto all men."

Observe the text: "In Christ neither circumcision

availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love." Circumcision, uncircumcision, faith, love, these are names of things not to be found alone and apart; but circumcision is put for the condition of the Jews, uncircumcision for that of the Gentiles, who had not submitted to that rite of the religion of Moses : faith signifies belief of the truths of the Christian religion, and love, the instrument of faith, that friendly disposition, which a belief of the truths taught in the Christian religion produceth toward all mankind. It is as if the apostle had said, If you Jews believe the Gospel, you will love the Gentiles; if you Gentiles believe the Gospel, you will love the Jews; and if both of you believe the Gospel you will love God, and all your fellow-creatures; for in the Gospel of Christ, what you were by birth, education, and worldly distinctions avail nothing; the great point is, Do you believe the truths of the Christian religion? You need not hesitate about this; a belief of these truths never fails to produce the kind offices of love.

I speak thus, because many Christians perplex themselves in that necessary duty prescribed by our apostle, "Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith." They turn their attention inward, and look for faith, and not being able to find any thing abstracted, apart and alone, that answers to their general notion of faith, they rashly conclude against themselves, that they are not Christians, and so go willingly down into a dungeon of doubts and fears, and lie there waiting for execution, as if faith wrought by despair. "Examine yourself whether you be in the faith," is equal to saying, Examine yourself whether you be in "temper;" and as in the latter case you would not inquire after calmness, or moderation, but whether you yourself were calm and moderate; so in the former case you should not search for faith as for something separate from yourself, but incorporating it with yourself, you should say, here on the table lies the Gospel, Do I believe it? or, if this be too much, say, Here in the Gospel, in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew, lies a description of the day of judgment; do I believe this to be true?

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