faith, that a man is held good before God, by what he is in himself, by his habitual spirit, temper, principles and character, seems to me a great and most important, and yet a very simple truth. The inward faith of the soul then is known in perfection only to the all-seeing eye. How shall it be judged by man? My answer is in the words of the Saviour, "by their fruits ye shall know them." Beyond this I hold that none has a right to go. We are to judge the tree by its fruit. If the outward life be marked with Christian rectitude and goodness, and there is shown forth the consistency and blamelessness of genuine and conscientious virtue, there is and must be faith. I have no authority to question or impeach it. Its possessor may hold to different opinions, worship in a different church, and bear a different name from myself; but I must forbear to make them tests. His inward faith is between himself and God. I can judge it only by the tenor of his life. I may as properly deny that a tree in my orchard is alive, when it is covered with foliage and bending with ripening fruit, as deny the genuine faith of him, who, while he owns the authority of Christ, does the things he has commanded.

Of the doctrine of good works what thinkest thou? I believe in the necessity of good works, of a good life, toward God and toward man, in secret and in public, in word and in deed. I hold that they are to be maintained, and affirmed, and honored, and set forth, as good in themselves and as acceptable to God. I believe they are never to be slighted nor disparaged, by ungenerous suspicion or uncharitable speech. The Christian is not only to "maintain" them, but to be "zealous" of them; to be "thoroughly furnished," to be "well reported of" for them; to be "rich," to be a "pattern" in them;

that the world by his "good works may glorify God." I hold that good works, a good life, are the proper and scriptural evidence of sincere and holy affections; that there is no true inward grace where they are wanting. As when a tree yields no fruit and shows no flower or leaf, we must believe the vital principle extinct, so without the fair fruits of righteousness, without consistent rectitude and virtue, there is no genuine piety, no saving faith.

Is there merit in good works? The word merit has two senses. In one sense it denotes excellence, value, worth. It denotes in another, desert, a claim and title to reward. Can we say then that good works have merit in the first sense? Are they excellent, valuable, worthy, and in this sense meritorious? I answer in the words of Paul, "these things are good and profitable unto men." Paul calls them good; why should not I? Have good works merit in the second sense; have they a claim and title to reward? I answer in the words of Jesus, "they that have done good shall come forth to the resurrection of life." If ye have fed the hungry and clothed the naked, "inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my disciples, ye have done it unto me. Enter ye into the joy of your Lord." I answer in the words of the beloved disciple, "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life." With such testimony before me, I cannot say that good works have no merit in the sense of desert. God has promised to reward them. He has made them the condition, he has given to them a title to inward peace and blessedness and joy. Can I say they have no worth, no merit in the sight of God?

VOL. XVII.

NO. 200.

3*

But while all this I hold to and believe, and am not ashamed to acknowledge, in respect to good works, I hold yet farther, that eternal life and blessedness is the gift of God; that no merit of man can ever claim it; that no good works can adequately deserve it. Whose works are only and always good! If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Though, therefore, it be as I judge, the Christian doctrine of good works, that they are good in themselves and acceptable to God, and that every man shall receive according to what he hath done, the deep sense of imperfection and unworthiness must ever forbid the thought of claiming heaven as a just reward, of being saved by good works. I believe that none can be saved without them; that God approves and loves and rewards them, and that they are a reward unto themselves. But the Christian's trust is not in his poor obedience, in his good works. It is in the mercy of God, through Jesus Christ.

But the Christian doctrine of reconciliation holds out powerful motives to repentance, faith and good works. It sets forth the great doctrine of retribution, of a moral and righteous retribution. What thinkest thou of this? I believe, then, in the doctrine of a just and particular retribution; that "every man shall receive according to that he hath done, whether it be good or whether it be evil." I believe that" God hath appointed a day when he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." I believe that "the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of

damnation." The precise and full meaning of all these declarations, I presume not to understand, I am incapable of explaining. They remind me that I am accountable that retribution is certain. They intimate to my mind, that the moral government I see around and within me, shall continue through my whole being, in this world and in all worlds, in time and in eternity; that I am to anticipate a more perfect unfolding and consummation of the moral purposes of the Creator hereafter, when "God will render to every man according to his deeds; to them who by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, honor and immortality, eternal life. But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil."

I believe, accordingly, in the doctrine of probationby which I understand the moral connection of this life with the future; the state of the former being a state of trial and preparation for the latter. This is distinctly set forth to me in the analogies of the sacred writings, in the comparison of human life with seed time and harvest; assuring us that as a man soweth, that shall he also reap; that the harvest is the end of the world; and in the declaration, that they that have done good, shall come forth, at a time future and subsequent, to the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, to the resurrection of damnation. Is it asked if that probation extends beyond this life? I reply, that if I consulted only the dictates of reason, I should have hope that it might. But that hope finds no full confirmation in the teachings of the New 'Testament; but rather much that so plainly contradicts or is inconsistent with it, that I dare not hold out

the language of hope to the finally impenitent and hardened. I am constrained to declare and to preach, that now is the accepted time, that now is the day of salvation.

But while I hold to this view of probation, I hold with equal strength of conviction to the belief, that the retribution of God's moral government is inflicted in mercy; that punishment is his strange work; that he seeks in it the restoration of the guilty; that it is intended to aid and further reformation. God corrects men in love and compassion. There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth.

Of the duration of future punishment, what thinkest thou? I answer that I nowhere find authority in scripture to limit it. It is expressed by epithets, conveying as fully as language can, the idea of endless duration. Others may discover intimations in the words eternal and everlasting, which are hidden from myself. By the punishment of sin, I understand the moral consequences connected by the immutable law of God with moral evil; and these consequences, as I judge, the scriptures represent as endless. Whether these consequences are consistent with the possible recovery of the sinner to holiness, I have not the light, nor the authority, to declare. I dare not presume to be wise above what is written.

Of the final salvation of all men, what thinkest thou? The same question, in substance, was once addressed to the Saviour. He replied to it in this wise : "Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in, but shall not be able." With a declaration before me, like this, uttered from lips filled with the wisdom of God; intimating an answer, if direct answer it be, in the negative, I cannot hold and teach that all will be finally saved. I read, moreover, of those "whose