free spirit, which is quite as preternatural; the effect either way being a privilege to feel and apprehend the invisible things of God, and so to have a hand in our own formation or reformation as it may be, by the privity and consent that we are allowed to have in this work with our Creator and Redeemer, "as seeing Him who is invisible" (Heb. xi. 27). It is an improvement in wisdom, the principle whereby every living creature, and man especially, is instructed to seek its own good; as Moses remarked to the people of God, "This is your wisdom" (Deut. iv. 6), the wisdom of the people of God. And though every living creature has the gift to seek its own good, or what it takes to be such, men only in this world, and of them only the emancipated or chosen people of God, have the gift to consider who should be the best judge of this good, and to pray accordingly for his inward grace and outward providence, resigning themselves implicitly to the guidance of the one and to the dispensations of the other-believing, that we are nothing of ourselves or independent of Him, and have no separate expectation or interest; but that to serve ourselves, we must employ our lives and abilities whatever they may be in serving Him-that we are His instruments, and as such our only merit will consist in our subservience to his gracious designs-that we are in relation to Him as labourers and assistants who support themselves by their master's business, make his business their own, and find their account in its prosperity.

Such is the principle of faith: and such is the way to our Master's, or to any master's favour. There are few who have any objection to being looked up to by their servants in this manner, whatever objection some may have to realizing their servants' expectations. But God is not one of that sort: as he thinks his servants cannot be too greedy of their proper wages, that they cannot be too covetous of the true riches, nor covetous as they should be without building on the reward of their fidelity in a future state; so he will take care that their faith shall not be then deceived, nor their hope frustrated in any respect.

And if the uniform goodness of the Lord be constantly manifested in the prosperous course of the righteous, as by other means of grace, so by this especially, there is likewise no medium by which the same goodness being still uniform shines forth occasionally with a brighter evidence. Faith to the sinner is one while like the friendly rope thrown out to a shipwrecked mariner; by which he may save himself if he will: but he is not obliged to avail himself of it; he may be saved by faith if he will, or drown if he had rather. Another while it shall rather be like some friendly hand seizing the hapless wretch, as it were at the last moment, and rescuing him from a watery grave, when his strength was spent, and his life all but gone-divine mercy not being tied either to means or

measures.

Therefore we owe it to ourselves to believe, and to believe rightly. We ought to believe rightly as well as to act rightly, the same being equally for our own interest. And were the operation or effect of faith even more indifferent to its subject, the believer, there is still One, be it also remembered, who would have the same right to expect it. As a species of godliness on constituents, faith is as much due to God who gives it as any other offering that we can make Him of his gifts in either department, that is, in either the incidental or constituent. Faith is the same valuable consideration with respect to God as credit, authority and other incidentals of the sort are with respect to mankind: so that faith, which in a human relation was lately proposed as a constituent, may be proposed as an incidental in the divine. In this last mentioned relation, or considered as an incidental, faith will be the credit and authority of the Creator among his intelligent creatures, but among the human more particularly. For of God's credit and authority with the heavenly host, there can be no doubt; witnessing as they must, with superior discernment, the excellence of his works and dispensations.

"Wisdom is justified of her children” (Matt. xi. 19): and also of her enemies it may be said, though with a

different feeling from faith properly so called; as their feeling will partake more of fear and hatred, than of the admiration and confidence by which a true faith is characterised. Any one may believe in that way, as the apostle observes, "Thou believest that there is one God; (says he) thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble” (Jam. ii. 19); but it is God's credit and authority in our own sphere, and with our own kind, that faith from man, as much his right as any human authority can be the right of any of those who claim it, that faith in which both the object or claimant and the subject or sentient, that is both God and man, are alike if not equally interested, that we are now particularly considering, and which seems most proper to be considered for an example of the characteristic. For if faith, or a sense of religion be creditable to God as its object, to man and other creatures, its subjects, it must be quite indispensable, since they all naturally run to ruin, and none can be saved without it.

Faith in the way of godliness is like a charitable construction in the way of morality sometimes; if it be not indeed a part of charity. For faith well founded and sincere will contemplate the fairest side of every thing; endeavouring to construe whatever happens to the honour of God on one hand, and with the help of charity, to that of his creatures on the other; loving God and one's brother also (John I. iv. 21); delighting in God generally for wisdom in the natural, equity in the moral, and goodness in every department, especially to us, as the God of our salvation; delighting in man, as the image of God, and a neighbour endeared to us by many tender associations.

And as faith resembles charity in her opinions or constructions, so likewise in her mode of expression, as being more potent than loud. It is a still small voice, but very penetrating, like that which God addressed to Elijah after the fire and the earthquake on Mount Horeb (Kings I. xix. 12), LITTLE AND PRECIOUS AS THE LAST DROP OF LIFE. Today, therefore, (as St. Paul says,) "while it is called to-day "

(Heb. iii. 18) if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts" (Ps. xcv. 8).

The voice of God is the Word gone forth, his edited, insubstantial word-as great a mystery to us as our own: but of its discovery or acceptance we may farm some idea from the hint of St. Paul. It is, that "God hath revealed the same unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things; yea the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God" (Cor. I. ii. 10, 11). The Spirit of God then being the true principle of our faith will enable us to receive its true form in the evidence that he gives of himself continually, or enables his intelligent creatures to collect for themselves from legitimate sources. And this evidence is not inconsiderable: it is more than some may imagine, though less than others who have never sought it by study or never studied for it. For study and evidence are to the soul what hands and eyes are to the body; though a man may make up his mind to want evidence for belief, as he may to want the properties of handling and seeing, or the ability to move, or to do any thing, when he only wants resolution or inclination; and that perhaps through his own fault.

So the man who wants faith will on the other hand be very likely to want resolution, and to want it also in cases where resolution is most required: as it happened to our Saviour's disciples once, when they thought themselves at the point of drowning, and came to their master in great agitation as he lay asleep in the ship, and awoke him, saying, "Lord, save us, we perish." And he saith unto them, "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" (Matt. viii. 25, 26.) Another might have reproached the disciples as cowards rather than as unbelievers; but Jesus knew well, that timidity in such extreme cases must proceed from the want of faith in Divine Providence as much as from any deficiency of natural courage, and lectured the disciples accordingly. Or a man may doubt once in his life,

and under some singular temptation, who is not generally deficient in the principle either of faith or resolution: and although a distrust of God's power and providence, though but for a moment, or a momentary suspension of the faith that we owe him every moment, be an offence like withholding any due incidental, as offerings or tithes for example, only more serious, it is still to be hoped, that after such a falling off our heavenly Father, who is all mercy and goodness, might take one by the hand again, as the object of his love took St. Peter, when the horrors of the deep had also triumphed over his habitual faith and resolution, and even common sense. One should think, that when a man found himself walking miraculously on the water, he would not be frightened for a bit of wind: and so one might think, that one who had experienced the kindness of Providence in the general course of his life would not be likely to mistrust it on a particularly trying occasion. Knowing, therefore, as Jesus did, the constitution of the human mind, (John ii. 24, 25,) with its natural and unavoidable infirmities, he would be neither surprised nor offended at a transient doubt in St. Peter, or in any other apostle or future witness of his heavenly mission.

For no man is always even in his right senses; how can he be expected then, to be always in his right belief? Add to which, the principle of faith, like other constituents of the subject may also remain inert, or acting without effect wherever it exists, as infants live before they begin to feed, and thrive, and run about: and therefore some may find no difficulty in our Saviour's expression of "these LITTLE ONES (meaning little children) who believe in me" (Matt. xviii. 6) as we have reason to find, if not some difficulty, at least an oversight in the conclusion of some who will not distinguish between the principle of faith, and its form, exercise, or development, which are two things, as before observed.

But faith never to be developed is like a miscarriage, or what St. James would call dead, as where he says, "Faith