quently fifteen millions more under those of the Papacy? We dwell not upon the horrors and anti-human cruelties connected with those fearful massacres of God's people, designed to frighten and deter others from becoming Christians, and thus to limit their multiplication and spread. Had these thirty millions been allowed to live and exert their influence, who can tell what the state of the world would have been at this day? Certain, however, we are that it could have been no worse; and had as many infidels been restrained from oppressing the faithful, and those valiant Christians spared, who by submitting unto martyrdom gave at least no mean proof of their sincerity, there is rational probability that the condition of Christendom I would have been much better. But waving all speculations as to what the world might have been, it is certain, whatever may be the state of God's work in the earth at the present time, it will be universally diffused in the latter day. Looking at the mighty antagonistic forces it has to contend with in the form of atheism, Popery, Paganism, and infidelity; at the fact that, independent of all the exertions made by the whole church for eighteen centuries, the greater proportion of our race are yet ignorant of it; at the still increasing hostility of one nation to another; at China, though now partially open to the Gospel, with its three hundred millions of inhabitants yet unevangelized; at the coldness and indifference of the church itself generally, and at the comparatively little pecuniary liberality in unison with the magnitude of the object to convert the world; looking at all these things, a weak and a timorous faith may stagger at the idea of a millennium, and the conversion of the earth to the faith of Christ. Not so, however, with the man who has great faith. He staggers not. He knows the promise, the power, and the fidelity of God; and therefore, taking the telescope of revelation,-for it may not unaptly be styled so, as well as a microscope; the latter, as is well known, is for making great discoveries near at hand, a telescope for descrying objects at a greater distance, taking this divine instrument, and with the eye of faith, from the elevated mount of prophecy, looking through the long vista of future ages, he sees truth universally diffused, "the earth full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea;" (Isai. xi. 9;) he beholds Christian schools and churches everywhere originating and established, the whole terrestrial ball studded therewith; as numerous on the earth below as stars in the firmament above, thus constituting two firmaments, one in the aërial empire, another in the empire of mind; the moral world as universally and well illumined as the material; he discovers the glorious lamp of truth placed in every land, and casting forth its beams in every clime, and millions pressing in crowds to catch its cheering rays, exulting in the knowledge and under the smile of an incarnate God; he descries regions heretofore enveloped in the thickest folds of sullen obscurity, gloriously emancipated by the light of heaven, while whole continents and islands of darkness are seen to flee before it, as the heavens and the earth are said to perish and flee away at the last day before the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne; he observes war unknown, peace triumphant, and Popery extinct; "men beating their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruninghooks; he perceives the "mountain of the Lord's house established above the tops of the mountains, and all nations flowing unto it," its heralds preaching in every valley, and its banners floating on every hill; he distinguishes the lands of rapine, of horror, and of blood, becoming fields which the Lord has blessed; "the wilderness and the solitary place" everywhere "glad," and the desert beginning to bloom and "blossom as the rose;" in a word, paradise regained. IV. Its superiority. The pre-eminence of any great principle can only and generally be properly and with clearness demonstrated by contrast. Comparing great faith, therefore, with that which is weak, timorous, and feeble, its superiority is at once apparent. It is undoubtedly superior, in all senses, to a faith of less degree and power; and has great advantage in a variety of instances. This may be exemplified, 1. In escaping from danger, and laying hold of mercy. In proportion to the faith entertained in the greatness of any impending peril, whether immediate or remote, will be the efforts which are made to escape its influence, and the eagerness manifested to find a refuge from it. Was it not strong confidence in the verity of God's faithful warning concerning the deluge, that led Noah, timely and with diligence, to prepare an ark for his safety? The coming of that terrible flood was as certain to him, as its ravages were overwhelming and destructive. He delayed not, but began at once, persevered, and made ready, till the long-threatened and fearful catastrophe was permitted to engulph the world in ruin; and with one mighty sweep to carry off the whole human race, except himself and family. Had his faith been less, he might have halted in his preparations, or laid them aside altogether, and perished with the multitude. But being strong, he persevered, laid hold of the mercy that was proffered, and thus "saved himself and all his house." can 6 In fleeing from "the wrath to come," and in attempting to escape its fury, and to find a shelter in the Saviour, the advantage of strong faith is equally great. Little faith, at such a moment, might cause despondency, if it did not drive us to despair, imagining that our sins were too many and too great to be forgiven. Under such circumstances, the language of great faith, speaking in the heart of a penitent, would be: "True, I am a great sinner; but I have a Redeemer who is mighty to save:' I am deeply sunk in depravity, and very far gone from original righteousness: but I have an Advocate who save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him;' to the uttermost depth of depravity, and therefore the foulest can be made clean; to the uttermost verge of this fallen globe, and therefore none need despair; to the uttermost extent of time, and therefore, as long as life lasts, the oldest sinner may be saved. Such being the case, I shall not despair either of grace or mercy; I will persevere; I am, by the help of God, determined to be saved, and I trust I shall be saved. The promise of the Most High cannot fail. I rely upon his compassion; I venture on his blood; I trust in his name; and ere long I shall shout the victor's song, 'O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me.'" (Isai. xii. 1.) Thus, when a weak and timorous faith would falter, or tremble, or reason,-strong faith advances with eagerness, and bears away the blessing. 2. Under delayed consolation. The benefits arising from great faith are important, whether the consolation we are looking for respects ourselves personally, or any to whom VOL. I.-FOURTH SERIES. 3 G we are related, be the blessing spiritual or temporal. We have a striking exemplification of this in the case of the Syro-Phoenician woman, who approached the Saviour on behalf of her afflicted daughter. She was possessed with an unclean spirit. Her mother went to our Lord, and entreated that he would cast the demon out. The consolation was delayed: she did not realize the benefit which she sought. Her faith had to be tested, and her patience tried. This may account for the peculiarly cold and indifferent manner in which our Lord seemed to treat her application. When she first presented her case, and urged her plea, he appeared to take no notice of it; he vouchsafed no reply: "He answered her not a word." This was discouraging. She was not dismayed : she followed after, and continued to cry. This is evident from the saying of the disciples: "Send her away, for she crieth after us; " meaning, at the same time, not as some have wrongfully interpreted the passage, that his disciples were angry at her importunity, and wished her driven away without the blessing; but rather that he would speedily grant her the object of her application. That this was their meaning, is evident from the nature of our Lord's reply, which, upon any other principle, would be without point and propriety: "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel;" as much as if he had said, "You wish me to grant this woman her request; but she is not of Israel; she is a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by nation; ''I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel."" One would conceive that when the applicant heard this, she would make no further suit; but not so. It appears to have made her the more earnest and determined. "Then she came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me," probably running before him, and then falling imploringly at his feet, as if to obstruct his path, as though she were resolved that he should go no farther till she had obtained her request. The disciples would, doubtless, imagine the Saviour must yield. Here is a moving and affecting sight: a sorrowing mother in agony and distress, on account of her daughter; that daughter suffering under a fearfully tormenting calamity, grievously vexed with an unclean spirit; she is at the feet of one celebrated for his sympathy and compassion, who has not been known to turn a deaf ear to the cry of misery, and who has the power to grant her all she asks; surely she cannot but succeed ! A greater trial, however, yet awaited her faith; and we are almost led to judge that the secret musings of her soul would, at such a time, be anticipating an unfavourable reply: "Art thou not touch'd with human woe, It would appear from his reply in this case, as though it were really so; but it was only in appearance, and designed, no doubt, in connexion with the further trial of her faith, to be an example to others in after-days. The reply itself was astounding, and enough almost to have swept away the strongest confidence: "It is not meet to take the children's bread and to cast it to dogs." But what cannot great faith accomplish? From this very crushing and galling rejoinder, she extracts, by a pleasing ingenuity, a powerful argument in favour of her request. "And she said, Truth, Lord," (apparently not the least offended at this degradation,) "yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table:" as if she had said, or at least wished our Lord to understand, "Though I am regarded as a dog, (a Gentile,) and must not expect bread from the children's table; (that is, the Jews;) yet, as a dog under the table, I shall be thankful for the crumbs. If thou canst not grant me all I wish, grant me a part." Was it possible the Saviour could withstand this appeal? With a faith as keen and penetrating as an eagle's eye, she seems to have searched every feature of his face; and having discovered, in some manner, that there was compassion, she determined, if possible, to elicit its exercise. No longer able to resist her importunity, and restrain the overflowings of his gracious intentions and benevolence, the Redeemer at length said unto her, "O woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour." Thus she who had faith to persevere for the attainment of her object, notwithstanding apparent neglect and cold repulse; and humility sufficient to be accounted as a dog, and be thankful for a crumb from the table, if she could obtain nothing else; received in the end all she wanted. The consolation was long delayed; but it came at last, as the result of her perseverance, and the triumph of her faith. Let no one, therefore, be discouraged in applying to the Saviour, whatever may be the blessing sought. Remember the woman of Canaan: be equally in earnest, humble, importunate, and sincere soon will the Almighty say to each petitioner, "Great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt." 3. In contending with temptation. The advantage of strong faith, in this respect, is great, whatever the temptation may be, and the manner in which it may be presented; whether sudden or more gradual; whether secret and imperceptible, or in a mode more undisguised and open. When assailed by powerful temptation, little faith has but small power to contend with it. Any effort it might make can only be regarded, frequently, more in the light of an apology for yielding, than as a stout resistance and defence. Are we tempted, for instance, to commit any peculiarly favourite sin, one to which the heart has been accustomed? Little faith may suggest that we have yielded before to this; that we have been occasionally addicted to it; that God has been merciful,—he did not cut us off; that he may be merciful still; and that it may be committed in secret, and be unknown. Now, when great faith is called to combat with any peculiarly insinuating and pleasurable incitement of this description, it spurns the idea; it is indignant at the thought; it shudders at the imagination: its language is not that of apology and susceptibility, but of firm remonstrance and resistance. "How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (Gen. xxxix. 9.) "Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression." (Psalm xix. 13.) Are we tempted to neglect the means of grace, whether public or private? It may be insinuated, at the dawn of the Sabbath, when the early hour of prayer should be observed in the temple, that the weather is unfriendly; or on the week-day evening, that there will be few there; or at the period of public worship with the great congregation, that only such a Minister is expected to preach,—an old man, may be, or a young one, or a lay-Preacher, and that any hearer it could almost preach as well, were he to make the attempt; that if we remain at home and read the Scriptures, we shall be as good Christians, if not better than some who attend! Great faith questions this, in the case of health, strength, and opportunity. How is the church of God to be like "a city set on a hill which cannot be hid," if its members are allowed to creep into secret places professedly to read the Bible, to the neglect of public ordinances commanded by God himself, keeping the slight and contempt thus cast upon the sanctuary, and upon many of his devoted and faithful servants, out of the question? The man who has great faith could not act thus. Such an one cannot be hid if he would, and he has no wish to be hid if he could. He loves the means of grace, and he shows it by his regular, devout, and prayerful attendance. He cares not how few may be there, or what may be the comparative capabilities or talents of the Minister: he knows that the great Head of the church himself will be present, and that if those who complain were to pray more for their Ministers, instead of finding fault, many would be better Preachers, and better hearers. Are we tempted to withdraw our support from the cause of God? Some may observe that, in the time of great commercial depression or affliction, we are unable to support the cause of Christ as we were wont to do; that we have had considerable losses, and that it cannot possibly be expected we should contribute as formerly. Great faith disputes not our losses; but regards the reasoning as unscriptural and inconclusive, that because we cannot contribute to the work of God as in days gone by, we should therefore not contribute at all. The poor widow, mentioned by our Lord in the New Testament, had but two mites; yet she cast them into the treasury, for doing which she obtained his special commendation; and if we can give but one mite, it will not be unnoticed by the Saviour. The poverty-stricken widow of Zarephath, in Elijah's day, had but one morsel of meal in her barrel, and in a time of great scarcity; yet she gave half of it to God's weary and starving Prophet; and did she fare the worse on account of so doing? Because she did so, she never wanted while the famine continued. "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth." (Prov. xi. 24.) "For what to thee, O Lord, we give, A hundred-fold we here obtain; Are we tempted to leave the church of God? Is it a time of dissension, or persecution, or strife? Some may say, that this has happened, that such an event has transpired, and that such a character ought not to be in the church; it would therefore be better that we have nothing more at all to do with it. He must, indeed, be a sorry member, who has not faith sufficient to remain, nor courage to withstand a little reproach. If such individuals are so good, and others so bad, this is the reason why they should continue, and strive to make the residue better. By leaving the hallowed community of God's people, we weaken the church, and strengthen the hands of the enemy. The man who has great faith despises such conduct. The language of his heart is, "Though all men should deny thee, yet will not I: or, as faithful Ruth said to Naomi, "Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I |