city, while others are hard to be understood, even by Peter and many of the apostles. Every Christian is not required to have faith, with the mind and strength of Paul: but he must believe with his own understanding, and love God with his own heart.

In one who enjoys a preached gospel and written revelation, "the principal acts of saving faith are, accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace." Before, however, either of these operations of faith can exist, the heart must be renewed; and it often is renewed, so as to hate sin, be truly penitent, and become new in the spirit of Christ, a long time before the plan of salvation through the blood of Christ is doctrinally understood.

Indeed, commonly, the saving faith of heart is wrought, be fore the sinner asks, from deep conviction that he is lost," what shall I do to be saved?" It is saving faith, which disposes the sinner practically to admit the testimony of God concerning his Son, that he is the Saviour of all the ungodly who believe. Saving faith is the cause of our confidence in the blood of Jesus.* How then can any put this confidence first, and call the effect the cause; or the fruit the good tree? It is saving faith which induces the infected soul to seek the Divine Physician's aid; and he who asks in faith, or from a penitent heart, shall assuredly find. It is regeneration which prepares the heart to receive with confidence that saying which is worthy of universal reception, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save even the chief

* EXERCISES have now become gods. They create other creatures. Terrible creatures, indeed, are creating creatures. Faith is an exercise ; and confidence is an exercise; but faith CAUSES confidence. Here we have a new world, a world of wonders; a world of which exercise is the god, and exercises are the sole inhabitants. The scriptures say, that the Spirit is the cause of confidence. Christ exhibited in the gospel is the foundation of that confidence which is implied in faith. I lay my bur den on the Rock, confiding in its firmness. The fact of my laying my burden upon an immoveable foundation does not produce this confidence. Nay, had I not confidence already existing in my own mind, I should not cast my cares upon the Lord.

of sinners. Marvel not then, that we say, it is not enough to give credit to all that God testifies concerning his Son. “Ye must be born again."

Then will the new heart receive the word of God, as good seed into good ground, which will produce the renunciation of all confidence in works of righteousness which we have done, and entire reliance upon that blood which cleanseth believers from all sin.

The same degree of humility and confidence in Jesus may not exist in every renewed mind; because the operations of faith are different in different believers; and in the same person, at different times. All christian graces, however, in due season, worketh the same SPIRIT, through benevolence of disposition.

Next to confidence in Jesus, saving faith will, under religious culture, produce love to the Bible, delight in the society of the pious, religious affection for divine ordinances, and ardent exertions for the promotion of the Redeemer's kingdom. To ascertain, however, whether we possess saving faith, it will not be necessary to ask, "have we all the operations of faith?" but, "have we any act of faith, which proves the existence of a new heart?"

What has been said affords three

INFERENCES.

1. It does not appear, that a knowledge of the way of salvation is absolutely essential to the existence of saving faith. A renewed disposition is the only indispensable requisite to salvation. When God has produced such a change, that the rebel, when enlightened, will love God, the rebel's heaven purchased by the blood of Christ, is through the mediation of Jesus, secure. For Christ's sake he shall be saved, being one of the redeemed people; and in due time, he shall know it to be for Christ's sake, that he may give Christ the glory.

2. The scriptural doctrine of saving faith excludes, of neces sity, neither infants, nor those persons who are destitute of the written revelation, from future felicity.* The speaker will not affirm that infants and heathens are in any case saved; for it is more than he knows. But if any one affirms, that they are all lost, it is more than he can prove.

Infidels libel divine revelation, when they say, that the scriptures pronounce sentence of damnation against all children, who are incapable of rational assent to the gospel; and against all the poor pagans, who never had the opportunity of believing it.

The scriptures do not confine the operations of the Holy Ghost to one truth, or one motive. Holy exercises may be created by God, and at the same time exercised by man, in view of many motives. Nothing in the word of God forbids us to suppose, that HE, who hath the hearts of all men in his hands, may turn the heart, or the moral exercises of a child, as easily as the heart of a hoary-headed sinner. He who made the inhabitant of the wilderness, and taught him that the Great Spirit exists, may use this partial knowledge of God and of duty, as a motive in view of which to produce that love, or saving faith of heart, which im

* I never heard a Hopkinsian admit the possibility of saving infants before.

Exercises created! They are like the creatures of the poet; or like Diocesan Bishops; or like that wicked invention of man, the mule, which are none of them the creatures of God. If exercises are creatures, what are they? Are they matter or spirit? Are they creatures capable of acting or of being acted upon? Are they animals or vegetables, or minerals; or do they belong to the kingdom of the gases? No doubt they are of the gaseous kingdom! They are certainly more subtle than the common atmos, phere.

It seems that these creatures have eyes, and live in view of motives. Yet they are incapable of volition. Should I grasp my cat, and make him look upon a chesnut in the embers, and then forcibly put his paw into the fire, that would resemble this creation of exercises in view of a motiver Away with such nonsense from the church of God!

plies sorrow for known sin, desire of pardon, if God can consistently bestow it, and pious resolution of future obedience. Having renewed this person, for aught that appears, God may for Christ's sake, pardon and save him. It would then hold true, that there is no other name given under heaven, except that of Jesus, whereby guilty men can be saved. Let infidels, therefore, for ever be silent upon this subject and acknowledge that they know nothing more about the heathen and infants than we do; who acknowledge that they may be saved or lost, according to the decree of heaven.

3. Christians should be cautious in denouncing those who give any evidence of saving faith. We are not to expect all the fruits of holiness will immediately appear. Hitherto the operations of faith may have been few in one, who by regeneration has been made spiritually alive from the dead. How far a believer may be left in ignorance, we cannot easily determine. Neither dare the preacher say, 66 so far and no farther, a person may be erroneous in opinion, and criminal in practice, and still retain the spirit of faith."

If any should imagine this sentiment too liberal, I reply, that while I denounce error and sin I would hope many persons may be saved whose faith and love are feeble. "Him that is weak in the faith receive." It is a grateful persuasion, that in many cases, the heart is right, where the head is wrong.

Paul has taught us, in the fourteenth chapter of his epistle to the Romans, that two persons may have saving faith, who are directly opposed in opinion upon a subject of revealed religion. One may believe it lawful, and another, unlawful, to eat every sort of flesh. In consequence of this difference of opinion, their conduct is opposed; but, nevertheless, we are assured that God accepts the service of both, because they act from love to what they severally suppose to be the mind of the Spirit. I conclude with the apostle's conclusion upon this subject.

"Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.'

NOTE C.

THE CHRISTIAN GRACES DISTINGUISHED.

BY A CALVINIST.

THE FAITH of God's elect does not, in fact, ever exist in a state of separation from KEPENTANCE, HOPE, LOVE, and new obedience. Yet, these graces may be distinguished from one another, as truly as those stars which constitute a constellation may be individually seen Each of them is distinct from each. They are all exercises of a soul born of the Spirit, of a soul united to Christ, and influenced by the Holy Ghost.

We have no difficulty in admitting, that perception, attention, abstraction, recollection, desire, fear and hatred, are exercises of one and the same mind. It would, however, be ridiculous to confound them. The writer, who should seriously attempt to prove the identity of these exercises, would be considered insane: and he who should employ the words, as if they were synonymous, would find his composition altogether unintelligible.

The various gracious exercises of a renewed mind are equally distinct; and it is more criminal, because more injurious, to confound them.

It is absolutely necessary, however, to those who would reason on any subject, and to those who would understand argument, that they should have a little common sense. We do not say that they must have much, or that they must be sensible men; for such a requisition would exclude very many persons, yea, and very many public teachers, from examining any subject. They must, however, have sense enough to know, that the body of man is distinct from its own external actions; that the bone is not the blood; and that the hand is not the foot. They must have sense enough to know, that the mind is distinct from its own acts, and