Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

It is well known that when nurserymen receive a fine flower from a foreign country, they extol and shew it to all their visitors. O ye ministers of the most high God, go ye and do likewise: "lift up your voice like a trumpet," and proclaim the unsearchable beauties and riches of Christ.

"Extol the plant of high renown,

And set his matchless glories forth;

A paradise in him is found,

For all the saints in heaven and earth.”

May it be our blessedness to enjoy his rich perfumes, by the reviving gales of the Holy Spirit, while in the garden of his grace below, till we come to the full enjoyment of him at the banquet of eternal love. Amen.

Orpington, Kent.

(For the Spiritual Magazine.)

T. W.*

THE PRINCIPLE AND ACTINGS OF FAITH.

THE subject before us is of the utmost importance, as the vitality thereof manifests it is no less than the possession of real religion in the heart, the lip, and the life of the subject. The work of redemption as wrought by the blessed Redeemer is distinct from this, though connected with it, and displays the love of God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and also the affectionate, tender, compassionate regard, of the blessed Jesus in our nature. But this work in the hearts of the chosen of God shews the love, the power, the wisdom, the immutability of the eternal Spirit. So that the salvation of God's elect is not complete, without the accomplishment of this work in the hearts of his chosen people, who are by his almighty power translated from the kingdom of Satan, into the kingdom of God's Son, and made the temples of the Lord the Spirit, who takes possession of their hearts, sets up his throne there, and works in them according to the good pleasure of his will.

The scriptures appear to be very decisive respecting the principle of that faith which is denominated "the faith of God's elect," and proves it to be of a divine and holy nature, and is communicated to the soul at the period of regeneration. It is an implantation of the incorruptible seed, or, as the Saviour says, " as a grain of mustard seed;" it is of a heavenly nature; the gift of God; bearing the appellation of the new creature, the new man; it is the vital power of godliness in the heart; it is the grace of God that teacheth, by the efficiency of the Lord the Spirit, to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts; and, as the apostle saith, it is "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." So that in its nature it is the substance of eternal life and holiness, eternal perfection, and eternal glory and hence it is, that the subjects of this principle are hoping

for eternal life and holiness, and are ultimately brought unto eternal glory. But while continued in this time state, and engaged in the spiritual warfare, being the subjects of sin as well as of this holy principle, they have many doubts and fears, but yet breathing after heavenly objects. It is also the evidence of things not seen;" it is an evident token in its nature, its operations, and its effects, of unseen realities; its divine Author draws it forth into exercise, and according to his own nature worketh it by love, to the triune God and his truth, to Jesus and his salvation, and to the eternal Spirit and his sanctifying operations. It is the kingdom of God set up in the heart, over which king Jesus reigns, subduing all the evils of the nature of those who are his subjects.

We are not to consider faith, in its nature, distinct from the other fruits of the Spirit, except in its actings as under the efficacy of its great author, who draws the same principle into the exercise of " joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance," &c. according to his own sovereign will. Thus we have attempted to shew what we may understand by the nature of the principle of faith: respecting its actings, as drawn forth by the Lord the Spirit, it is various in the hearts of different subjects. In some, its operations are in a feeble or small degree; hence the sentence," O ye of little faith," and also the language of different christians who are doubting and fearing all their days. Yet such persons manifest the fruits of faith in their spirits, walk, and conversation, such as brokenness of heart, contrition of spirit, humility, love to the image of the lowly Jesus, and a loathing of sin and self. The Saviour says, "blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted ;" and the scriptures are replete with consolatory sentences addressed to such characters. Indeed, it appears that the family of God abounds with persons of such exercise of faith; yea, perhaps we shall not be wrong if we say, the greatest number of believers belong to this class.

Yet there are those who are increasingly favoured with the actings of faith; which depends on the power, the wisdom, and will of the eternal Spirit, who worketh according to his own sovereign good pleasure, so that some of the people of God are babes, some young men, and some fathers. As it respects the actings of faith, there is a spiritual gradation up to the full assurance of faith; and if we take into the number those, who it may be, have lived all their spiritual lives doubting and fearing, but towards the last of their days favoured with the operations of faith in lively exercise, these amount to a large number of the people of God; yet it seems that but few are indulged with the full assurance of faith, through the whole of their experience.

But we come now to the consideration of the object, or objects of faith. Faith may be considered as the eye or eyes of the new man, and its object is the eternal Jehovah as revealed in the scriptures, the Father, the Word, and the Spirit; that as the Father is eternal, immutable, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, so the Son, and the Spirit, do in their nature possess the same attributes. For surely the VOL. IV.-No. 48.

2 X

subjects of the faith of God's elect are brought humbly to bow to the scripture testimony concerning these divine truths, and are enabled by the actings of faith to look to the Father as the God of justice, yes, as a just God, who has received full satisfaction at the hands of his Son, for all the transgressions of all the chosen people, according to the demands of his inflexible law. This, faith hath an eye to, according to its spirituality; but it is enabled also to believe the preceptive part has been fulfilled, and the penalties been borne, by their surety the Lord Jesus Christ: so that the subject of this faith, as influenced by the Spirit, is enabled to repose a confidence in the justice of God, as well as in his mercy, his holiness, his goodness, his truth, his love. So also in the Son of God, as possessing the same nature and attributes as the Father: for a sense of their sinful and lost condition, as connected with the teachings of the Spirit, constrains them to believe in the dear Redeemer as God and man in one person: they believe, they know, that no other person beside the GodMan Mediator, can save from the depths of misery in which they are involved, and they in the actings of faith are enabled to look to and lay hold of the blessed Redeemer, who they are satisfied is able to save from such misery to the uttermost. They also, by the actings of faith, look to and believe in the divinity of the eternal Spirit, who, by the same power that raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, has raised them from the death of sin to a life of righteousness, and on whose almighty power they are dependant, for carrying on and finishing the work of sanctification in their hearts.

Faith is also drawn forth by the Spirit to receive and revere divine inspiration, and bless God for his revealed will: this is, if the expression may be allowed, the hall of the banqueting-house of faith. Also, a preached gospel is a theme which faith loves, and often is faith mixed with the word preached, when the soul has not a sensible enjoyment thereof; for faith looks to, and is resting on the promise, and apprehending and depending on the Lord Jesus Christ is strong in the grace that is in him. Moreover, faith hath to combat with sin and satan, yea, with an host of enemies; but still by the almighty power of the eternal Spirit the subjects of faith, though loaded with sins and infirmities, are enabled to fight the good fight of faith, and are brought off more than conquerors by the almighty arm of the Captain of their salvation; and amidst all these operations of faith the glory of God is aimed at. The language of God to his children is," thou shalt glorify me:" and that is what faith desires and is looking for, in this time state, and in that which is to come.

The prayer of faith is properly considered the breath of the new man, which is a manifestation of life proceeding from the life-giving power of the eternal Spirit, and which breath, or breathing, or desires, or prayer, is from the period of regeneration to the end of the natural life of the subject who is enabled to send forth his petitions to God. It is the language of the heart, which at times proceeds from the lips in fervent prayer or ejaculations; and faith says, "thou has

heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry." Lam. iii. 56.

This divine principle, denominated faith, is scriptually considered the hand or hands of the new man, and has to do with the precious blood of Jesus Christ for the pardon of sin, and with the righteousness of the God-Man Mediator for the justification of their persons. We may also say, that faith is the feet of the new man, and this has to do with the possessor's walk and conversation in all his ways, which according to his own holy nature loves the paths of holiness. But faith in its actings is led to look to the government of God in his providence, and gets many a sweet morsel here.

Thus, in a very brief way, we have considered the nature of faith, its objects, and its actings, by the efficiency of the eternal Spirit, and this is what we consider the "faith of God's elect:" if so, how much mistaken those are who suppose they can exercise faith when they please, or that it is a mere assent to, or belief of divine revelation respecting Jesus Christ as a Saviour. May we not say, without breaking over the bounds of christian charity, that if a man has no more than such a faith, of mere assent, he is awfully deceiving himself, and living and dying so, he will be numbered among hypocrites and nominal professors ? Yet those who are weak in the exercise of faith have no real ground for discouragement; for such have the fruits of faith in their spirits, or in their acquaintance with divine things. The subject of a mere historical faith may be very high in his notions concerning the scriptures, and confident respecting his interest in the promises therein contained, but the weak in the faith of God's elect are the subjects of humility; they are taught by the Spirit their sinfulness, their ill and hell deservings, and hence amidst all their discouragements they are enabled to look by the eye of faith to Jesus for life and salvation, although attended with many doubts and fears, and much perplexity: and the operations of faith, are manifestations of the subject being separated from the men of the world that remain in darkness and hardness of heart. It is by faith illuminating his understanding, by the agency of the Lord the Spirit, he sees the deformity of his nature. It is by faith being drawn into exercise, that his proud and towering will being subdued, he with humility falls before God, and in the language of adoration says, "O Lord our God! other lords beside thee have had dominion over us, but by thee only will we make mention of thy name."

It is such who are broken in heart and contrite in spirit the Lord hath said he will look to; for he was in the days of his sufferings a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and so he will have all his followers, more or less, the subjects of sorrow: and, as that spiritually taught man of God, Mr. Hart, says in the preface to his hymns, a whole hearted disciple can have but little communion with a broken-hearted Lord.' But this brokenness of heart and contrition of spirit is by the efficiency of the Lord the Spirit, who teacheth his children according to the good pleasure of his will; which hath been

[ocr errors]

beautifully delineated by the before cited author, in his 91st hymn

thus:

Christ is the friend of sinners,

Be that forgotten never:
A wounded soul,

And not the whole,
Becomes a true believer.
To see sin smarts but slightly,
To own with lip confession',
Is easier still,

But Oh! to feel,

Cuts deep beyond expression.

The contrite heart and broken,
God will not give to ruin;
This sacrifice,

He'll not despise,

For 'tis his Spirit's doing.

Then hail ye happy mourners,

Who pass through tribulation,
Sin's filth and guilt,

Perceived and felt,

Make known God's great salvation.

Therefore, avaunt! ye bold, stout, and whole-hearted professors; for the man who is destitute of this divine, humiliating principle, let his pretensions be what they may, is destitute of the vital power of godliness. This is the religion of the heart, the eyes, the hands, the feet, into which the mere speculative religion of the head enters not. W. N.

(For the Spiritual Magazine.)

ON BEING MADE PARTAKERS OF A DIVINE NATURE. A LETTER TO A FRIEND.

Madam;

I Have considered the very important subject that you introduced last Lord's day afternoon, and if the following thoughts upon it are calculated to impart any information to you, I beg your condescending acceptance of them.

Truth had its origin in the mind of God, and every part of it is designed to make known his perfection to the heirs of grace. It is very certain that God was under no obligation to raise any of the creatures, that he had purposed to form, above their natural estate, but what had its origin in his eternal will. The decree of election is the reason why any of the creatures are chosen to live for ever in the presence of God; and since it hath pleased him to appoint his family to live in the heavenly world, it appears to me to be becoming of his perfection, and consistent with his absolute dominion, that they should be made partakers of a nature suited to the inheritance they are to possess.

On the Unity of the Godhead, and the Trinity of Persons in it, being a natural and essential mode of existence in the perfection of the

« AnteriorContinuar »