Spirit, the soul is enabled to perceive the excellency of the Saviour, and to experience an assurance of what is revealed concerning him: but although subjects of the Spirit's influence, previously to the exercise of faith, it is without any consciousness of subjective piety we become certain of the truth objectively revealed.* Faith, nevertheless, is more than either a perception or judgment; more than even a spiritual perception of Christ's excellency. It is a consent, as well as an assent of the soul: for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.

In believing the mind is not passive. Faith is a duty required, and an act of obedience performed. To believe, is an active verb. Action, however, is consequent upon volition; and of course, saving faith is a voluntary exercise of the soul of the regenerated mind.

Mere perception cannot properly be called a voluntary action: nor can mere affection of the heart, though it tends to influence volition, be called a voluntary action. We are constrained both to perceive and to feel, either pleasantly or painfully, as the case may be, by the impressions made upon the mind. If passiveness can at any time be predicated of the human mind, it is in regeneration. Effectual calling found me passive, and rendered me active. My soul is made to see and to feel, in a spiritual manner, by the Holy Ghost: I am thus quickened; and being at the same time affected by a spiritual sight of the Saviour, and a sense of his excellency, I become willing to act-I voluntarily act upon the object before me in the gospel offer. I embrace the Saviour offered unto me, for the express purpose for which he is offered. This, brethren, is appropriation. It is the very essence of faith. Mistake me not. By appropriation, I mean nothing more or less than

* There is an objective assurance in the nature of faith. I am sure Christ is offered to me a sinner. I may therefore say, without hesitation, in the act of faith, the Lord Jesus Christ is MINE, by the offer of Jehovah; and I take him to be MINE, in possession.

+ Faith, as the act whereby the soul becomes spiritually united to the Redeemer, produces, of course, a new relation to God. By it we have a saving interest in Christ. He that believeth shall be saved. Before faith, the sinner was under condemnation. By faith he is introduced into a state of justification: Faith, therefore, makes that to be, which otherwise would not have been. The affirmation, "I shall be saved," in unbelief, is false: in believing, it becomes true. Faith brings about that relation to God, according to the new covenant, which justifies the use of the assertion, "Christ is mine, and I shall be saved by his merits." It makes that assertion to be true, which otherwise would have been false. The believer may, but the unbeliever may not say, “salvation is actually mine."

a cordial acceptation of Christ to be my Saviour, as he is offered to me in the gospel. I entreat you not to misunderstand or misrepresent my meaning. If any of you should dislike the expression, I pray you not to blame any one for the thing. There is nothing blameworthy in accepting this gift of God. In receiving, for my personal salvation, that which is freely offered to all who hear the gospel, I do not see that I incur the just displeasure of any one. Christ takes me to himself by his holy Spirit; and he offers himself to me as my Saviour. I take him to myself for this purpose, and commit myself to him. I appropriate to myself Christ and his ⚫ salvation, being warranted by the free offer of the gospel, to embrace him for the saving of my soul. My beloved is mine, and I am his. I am my beloved's, and my beloved is

mine.*

I will now show the applicability of this doctrine of faith to you who "walk in darkness, and have no light." My text directs you to "trust in the name of the Lord, and stay yourselves upon your God." This, therefore, is your present duty, and your constant duty. You are urged by the invitation, and encouraged by the promise. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you. If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely and him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.†

My dear hearers, if you have already believed in the gospel of God, you will not be unwilling to exercise your faith at this moment. You live by the faith of the Son of God. If you have never yet embraced the offer of salvation, it is time to embrace it now. I beseech you, by the mercies of God, to draw near with a true heart, in the full assurance of faith. Wherefore do you hesitate? Your warrant is complete. Your need is manifest. Your duty is urgent. Your welcome is indubitable. The invitation is given with sincerity. Hear, and your souls shall live. Trust ye in the Lord Jehovah for ever; in him there is everlasting strength. Trust in him, directly, unhesitatingly, and with assured confidence. When wearied with the toils of the day, you lie down for repose, you trust in the strength of your couch to support its burden. When you walk on the streets, you trust in the solid earth that it will bear your weight from sinking down to the centre of the globe: And will you not commit your souls to the everlasting arms of him who supports the pillars of the universe, with equal confidence, that he will bear you up, and save you with a great salvation? Awake, ye sons of indolence: arise, ye children of sorrow: wipe away your tears, ye daughters of despondency, whatever may be the view you take of your own subjective religion, approach the throne of grace with boldness, that you may obtain mercy. Stretch out the withered arm, that you may lay hold of his strength. It is God that calls you to his Son for wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. The prize of the high calling is before you. Trust, then, in the name of the Lord, and stay upon your God.

CONCLUSION.

I have now finished what I intended to say upon the duty of those who have not the assurance of grace and salvation. Before I close my discourse, I feel it my duty to administer a caution respecting experimental religion. I am not apprehensive, indeed, that any one will ever, in fact, substitute his own actual godliness for the merits of Christ in the matter of pardon and acceptance with God: But alas! many are in the habit of substituting imaginary piety, for the righteousness of Messiah. I am not afraid that any disciple of Christ, will, in fact, urge his speculative orthodoxy, or his experience of the power of religion, as an excuse for negligence in the practical duties of the Christian life; but it is too evident that many zealots for particular doctrines, and for particular kinds of religious experience, are grossly negligent of their duty to God and to man. I warn you, solemnly, against this course of conduct. However great the importance of inward piety, it is not by any means the whole of religion. If you have tasted that the Lord is gracious, if you cherish a comfortable hope of happiness in heaven, is it possible that you can be negligent of the glory of God, and the good of mankind? Are you made for personal enjoyment alone, and not also for usefulness to others? Are you made new creatures merely to satiate your souls with personal joys, and not also to glorify the Lord that bought you? This would be ignoble, base, and sordid selfishness. No, Christians, if this be the taste and the disposition, the habitual disposition of any man, whatever may be his profession, he is destitute of true godliness. The disciple of Christ, is a man of disinterestedness and magnanimity. He loves God, he loves the saints; and while he works out his salvation with earnest desire to enjoy God in heaven, he peculiarly delights to serve his Redeemer; to support the honour of Jehovah's government; to defend the truth; to observe the positive statutes of the sanctuary. He is honest, sincere, benevolent, and beneficent; he is humble, candid, and faithful to his own professions, and to his God, so far as the power of religion extends its influence. Whether in sickness or in health, in adversity or prosperity, whether walking in darkness, or standing in triumph on his strong mountain, he is still engaged in doing good; in defending the true doctrine of the grace of God; in maintaining pure and entire every ordinance; and with a holy self-denial, making his temporal honour and interest bend to the interests of true religion. "Seek first the kingdom of heaven, and its righteousness. Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For ye are not your own, ye are bought with a price, whether therefore ye eat, or ye drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

Let the sensualist take pleasure in his wine; let the avaricious rejoice in his gods of gold; let the daughters of vanity walk after the sparks of their own kindling; let the bustle and the noise of ignorant fanaticism pass away with the wind; let the splendour and the pomp of superstition, engage the attention of the crowd; let Pharisaical sanctimony, practised in intrigue, deceive and rule the populace: but let us hear the word of the Lord our God. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks; walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow. Whosoever, therefore, is among you that feareth the Lord, and obeyeth the voice of his servant, let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.

AMEN.

THE CONSOLATIONS OF PERSONAL

RELIGION.

SERMON IX.

PSALM Ixiii. 3-7.-Because thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips; when I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night-watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

FEW men ever experienced so great a variety of trials, or were called to act in so many different conditions of life, as the writer of this Psalm, David, the son of Jesse, of Bethlehem-Judah. Happy and virtuous, in the bosom of his father's family, he spent his early years remote from scenes of turbulence and ambition. With a fine mind, well cultivated, and deeply imbued with sincere piety, he enjoyed a vigorous and healthy constitution of body, and led a life of innocence and peace the pastoral life, in more than Arcadian perfection. Sitting upon the side of his native hills, in the shade of the palm-tree, he often played upon his beloved harp, and knew nothing of the cares of empire. Thus, he might have lived happy, and have died without renown, had he not been destined to greater usefulness, though greater pains and toil, by the Governor of the world.

At the age of fifteen, this was announced to him by Samuel the prophet, who anointed him king of Israel; but David had reached his twenty-third year before he left the peaceful scenes of the shepherd's employment, when he was first introduced to public life, and admitted into the family of Saul, the reigning king. From this period, the history of his life becomes exceedingly interesting, and strangely diversified,