affair; the choice of her words and decency of her addrefs? What a beautiful humility attended her in all her deportment and acknowledgment of her unworthinefs? Did not fweet meeknefs manifeft itfelf, without any perturbation of fpirit or ruffle of temper? What patience did the exercife in her fore, heavy and unlooked for trials? Not a hard thought of Jesus, notwithstanding the aufterity of his treatment, arofe in her heart; not a murmuring word paffed from her lips. How fteady was her perfeverance in prayer? Her words were few, but they were well ordered. Her petitions were admirably pathetic; they were enforced with the strongest arguments. Neither frowns, nor denials, nor repulfes, nor reproaches, could cause her to cease from her purpose. Her perfeverance under the most discouraging circumstances was of an extraordinary nature. How aftonishing was her fortitude? She fearNo difed not; her heart was fixed trusting in the Lord. ficulties but what she would encounter, and would brave every danger. She was in all respects an admirable perfon, a fuperior saint, and a distinguished believer. Every grace and eve- ́ ry virtue, seemed to poffefs her foul. She was truly full of God. Yet among all thefe excellencies, Chrift chiefly founds his praise and recommendation upon her grace of faith. Other virtues were the productions and effects of this. Therefore we conclude, of all the graces of the fpirit, faith gives the most honor to Chrift, and he confers the highest honors upon it.

O how happy fhould we be, my brethren, were we all in the ftate of this Canaanitish woman! To have faith, fuch eminent faith as to be well pleafing to, and receive the approbation of our Lord. Nothing affords greater pleasure to the Saviour of the world, than the faith of his people; it renders them precious to him, even as the apple of his eye. He rejoices over them, and is ready to fay, "Thou haft ravished "my heart, my fifter, my fpoufe; thou haft ravifhed my heart

"with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. How "fair is thy love, my fifter, my spouse."

Various are the reafons which induce Chrift to be charmed and pleafed with the faith of his people. Though they may confider themselves all blackness and deformity, and viler than the bafeft of animals, yet in the view of Jefus, they are comely, beautiful and lovely. They may fay with the spouse, they are black and not fit to be looked upon; with Job they may cry out, behold we are vile; with the Pfalmift, they are more brutish than men, are as beafts before God; with Paul, that they are the chief of finners; or with this Canaanitish woman, they are as dogs in his fight. Notwithstanding the low eftimation in which they hold themselves, yet in the eyes of Christ, they are all amiable, they are pleafantnefs to him? they coft him dear and he fets his heart upon them. He exclaims, "Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art "fair; thou haft doves eyes within thy locks; thou art beau. "tiful as Tirzah, and comely as Jerufalem. The king's "daughter is all glorious within; her cloathing is of wrought "gold, and he greatly defires her beauty."-Chrift is thus pleafed with the graces of believers, especially with the grace. of faith; because this is his high work, on which he feems to place a greater emphafis than any other. "This is

"the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath "fent." The perfons to whom this reply was made, had enquired what they fhould do to work the works of God; hence they are here informed by our Lord what the work of God is, it is believing on Jefus, whom God hath fent into the world to be the Saviour thereof. It is alfo exprefsly declared, "This is his command, that we fhould believe on the

name of his Son Jefus Chrift." There are many commandments, but this is comprehenfive of all, therefore St. Paul, when he would give a fummary of the whole gospel, files it "The law of faith." This is one reafon why Chit

-declares himself highly pleafed with the faith of his people, because it is the great precept of the gofpel, the fum of all that he requires.

Another reafon is, becaufe no other grace or virtue fo highly honors, magnifies and glorifies Chrift as this. Faith empties us of ourselves, and gives all the honor and glory of our falvation to him; it makes us vile and unworthy in our own eyes, and exalts him to be all in all. He is precious to the believer, and itself is called precious faith. Thus faith and Christ are reciprocally precious to each other. Jefus is ready to fay, O precious faith; and the believer to reply, O precious Saviour? Faith adheres to him through every obstruction, oppofition, difcouragement and difficulty, and Chrift praifes it faying, O man, or O woman, great is thy faith. Faith fays none but Chrift; and he replies, none but faith, "Only believe and thou shalt be faved; only believe and thou "haft eternal life." How fhould this engage all who have any regard to their immortal fouls, to believe with their whole hearts, to ftir up their faith, to abound in the lively exercifes of this grace; herein you will be pleafing to Chrift and acceptable in his fight. All believers muft, furely, fervently defire to please their Lord. The thought of pleafing Jefus af fords the fpoufe ineffable delight, "while the king fetteth at "his table, my fpikenard fendeth forth the fmell thereof." The prefence of Chrift, and the exercifes of faith gave her sweet contentment, inward triumph, and great delight. Would any wish to afford pleasure to the precious Redeemer, let them learn the art of believing, and live in the lively exercises of this grace. David danced before the ark with all his might, fo let your faith be vigorous and active. Thus you will give pleafure, and become acceptable to Jefus, who fo loved you that he shed his most precious blood for you. Herod was highly delighted with Herodias's daughter, "Infomuch that "he fware unto her, to give her what she should ask, even to

"the half of his kingdom." He makes a mean referve of the half of his pitiful kingdom. But whatsoever you fhall ask O believer, Chrift, in faithfulnefs to himfelf, in faithfalnefs to his word, his promife and his oath, will confer upon you, not the half, but the whole of his kingdom; and his kingdom is a glori ous and an everlasting kingdom. He is often fweetly addreffing the believer, as king Aha uerus did his queen, on the day that he waited upon her at the banquet of wine; "What is thy pe"tition queen Efther, and it fhall be granted thee; and what "is thy requeft and it fhall be performed, even to the half of my kingdom?" This encourages the trembling believer to table her address in the language of the queen; " If I have "found favour in thy fight, O king, and if it please the king, "let my life be given me at my petition, and the falvation of my foul at my request, for I am fold by fin, to be destroyed, "to be flain and to perish."

The feeble chriftian is here ready to cry ouf, O that I had that faith which is well pleafing to Chrift; and also asks, how fhall I act faith fo vigoroufly, that my Lord and my Saviour may be delighted, and that I may obtain his approbation? In order that your faith may become acceptable to Chrift, it muft poffefs the following properties; it must be exerted in a way of humiliation-acceptance-triumph-refignation-homage and appropriation.

First, let your faith exert itself in a way of humiliation, or felf emptinefs and felf abafement. This was the manner of the Centurion's faith. "Lord I am not worthy thou fhouldft "come under my roof." This filled Chrift with admiration and pleasure, and drew from him this high recommendation: "He marvelled and faid to them that followed, verily I fay "unto you, I have not found fo great faith, no, not in Ifrael.” This was the way in which the faith of this woman of Canaan became fo acceptable to the Saviour. Her faith reduced her

fo low, humiliated her in fuch a manner, that fhe owned fhe poffeffed all the unworthiness of a dog, one of the basest of animals. Thus faith, in proper exercife, will humble the foul and caufe it to appear nothing, and worse than nothing. We will not only ceafe from felf admiration, but abhor ourselves and repent in duft and afhes. Faith fhews Chrift in all his beauty, fplendor and glory, and the foul beholding the excellencies of the Saviour, fees nothing in itfelf but turpitude and unworthiness. While in unbelief we are full of ourselves, and fhine in our own efteem; but when by faith we behold the tranfcendant beautics and glories of Immanuel, then we fee ourselves in fome measure as we are, poor, and wretched, and naked, and language fails in the description of our unworthinels. Thus rotten wood fhines in the dark with admired colours, but when day returns it appears as it is, nothing but rottennefs and unufefulness. Thus when the fun of righteoufnefs arifes to the eye of faith, the foul is emptied of itself, of its pride, vanity and felfilhnefs. Thefe are the expreffions of faith: "Lord, I am undone, but in thee is my help found. I fink, I perith, I am loft, Lord fave me. My righteoufnefs. is filthy rags, my beauty deformity, my pedigree is basenefs, my riches poverty, my ftrength weakness, my power infirmity: Lord, there are riches, righteoufnefs, beauty, ftrength and power with thee, every thing adapted to my fituation; therefore I come unto thee poor and blind, and deformed, miferable, wretched and naked." The believing foul rejects itself, Lates and abhors its fins, and waits and hopes, loves and trufts in Chrift alone.

Secondly, it operates in a way of acceptance, and thus it ho nors God and is approved of Jefus. "To as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the fons of God, even "to them that believe in his name." Faith accepts of the Lord Jefus Chrift in all his mediatorial offices, as freely propofed in the gofpel; willing to deny himself, to fufer with him, and