thou, therefore, All-seeing, Omnipotent Spirit, the Comforter and Guide of souls, manifest thy presence and power to thy servant or handmaid, whosoever they be, that read this book. Unseal and open their eyes. Unstop their ears. Unbar the closed door of their hearts. Illumine their understandings. Enliven their conscience. Quicken their dead hearts. Guide their doubting spirits. Bring Christ, in His all-sufficiency, fullness and freeness, as a living, loving, divine, ever-present and omnipotent Saviour, before. their minds. In Thy light may they see light. From Thy life may they derive life. And do Thou so help all their infirmities and overcome all their difficulties, that they may be enabled to come to Christ as sinful, guilty, and impotent; and relying on His grace, take up their cross, deny themselves, come out from the world and be separate, and follow Him by a diligent observance of all His statutes and commandments.

Come in, thou blessed of the Lord,
Stranger nor foe art thou;

We welcome thee with warm accord,
Our friend, our brother now.

The hand of fellowship, the heart
Of love, we offer thee;

Leaving the world, thou dost but part
From lies and vanity.

The cup of blessing which we bless,

The heavenly bread we break,

-Our Saviour's blood and righteousness,-
Freely with us partake.

In weal or woe, in joy or care,
Thy portion shall be ours;

Christians their mutual burthens share,

They lend their mutual powers.

Come with us, we will do thee good,

As GOD to us hath done;

Stand but in Him, as those have stood
Whose faith the victory won.

And when by turns we pass away,
As star by star grows dim,
May each, translated into day,

Be lost and found in Him.

SECTION II.

BELIEF IN CHRIST, AND CONFESSION OF CHRIST, BOTH NECESSARY AND OBLIGATORY.

IN the order of nature man must believe before he can confess the truth as it is in Jesus, and must have faith and confidence in the person, work, and glorious all-sufficiency of Christ, before he can commit his soul into His hands as a faithful Redeemer, and openly acknowledge and confess Him before men. And yet, in that striking declaration of the apostle(Rom. x. 9, 10)-"If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved: for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation," we find confession is placed before believing. The reason of this apparent anomaly is found in the fact, that the apostle had more immediate reference to the judgment of man than to that of God. God looketh upon the heart, and

can discern its thoughts and intents. He can see faith even when it has never yet been whispered to the ear of mortal. But it is far different with respect to man. He can only judge from the outward appearance, and discover the state of the heart by the conversation and the conduct. Our heartfelt belief can therefore be known to our fellow-men only by our open confession and our correspondent outward devotion. A man's character is known by the company he keeps; and a man's opinions are known, in every free country, by the party to which he is attached, and by his own free and constant publication of them. And, in the same way, do we judge whether a man really and at heart, believes and trusts in the Saviour, by his readiness to confess Him before men, and to hold fast the profession of his faith steadfast to the end. When speaking, therefore, in reference to the judgment of man, the apostle puts confession, which is the effect, before belief, which is the cause, because it is only by the effect we can know anything of the cause.

But there is another reason for this arrangement, and that is, that so far as it regards others, the open and steadfast confession of the

truth is of more importance to the church and the world, than its inward possession. For the same reason that we cannot see the faith of another, which is in the heart, that faith can have no influence over us while it remains there. It cannot afford a testimony for the truth of Christ, or the all-sufficiency and glory of Christ. It cannot demonstrate to us the nature, efficacy and power of the gospel, and its ability to mould and fashion the character, and to sustain the soul in every time of need. It cannot, therefore, prevail upon others to "acquaint themselves now with God, and be at peace with Him," by the evident manifestation of what He has done for our souls. Our faith, therefore, to have any value to others—to be promotive of the glory of God—to advance the cause and kingdom of Christ-to bear an efficient testimony for Christ and his cross-and to lead to the conviction and conversion of others, must be openly confessed and manifested before men. Nay: would we reap any fruits and benefits from faith in our own souls, would we experience its power to save, to sanctify, to transform the heart, to mould our principles, to fashion our lives, and to sustain and comfort us under