endeavour to hide their failings from others. I say, if our love to God's people be characterized by these marks, then we may rest assured that it is sincere and not counterfeit. we must have, also,

But

Love to our enemies. We should love our enemies, because God commands us to do so; "but I say unto you,' saith our Lord, "love your enemies." We should love our enemies following the example of Him, who, though we are aliens from, and enemies to him, yet he loved us not in words. merely, but in coming to die for us, that we through him might live. Although we should foster a love for our enemies, yet it is not a love of delight and complacency, but a love of benevolence. We are to love their souls, and desire their salvation. We are to pray for them, although they may despitefully use us. We may know if this love to our enemies be true, if we are influenced by Christ's example in dying for his enemies; if we feel disposed to forgive them; if we have a desire for their welfare and do not rejoice when they stumble or fall; if we do not study revenge upon them; but are ready to pray for them, to relieve them when in distress, to recompense them good for evil, and to forgive them when they trespass against us, even as we would wish to be forgiven of our Father who is in heaven. I say, if our love to our enemies be of this kind, then it is sincere, and is sanctioned by the Word of God.

Thus, then, we have love, a fruit of the Spirit, a sure mark of the believer; because every one that hath it is born of God, and if any man hath it not, he cannot be a believer, for he does not as much as know God. 1 John 4, 7, 8. Another fruit of the Spirit is,

Joy. This is not that joy of the world which at best is but momentary and leaves a sting behind it, which is easily excited and as easily supressed. It is not that joy which is excited at the downfal or misfortune of a friend or neighbour, nor that infamous delight which cruelty to the inferior animals bears to the minds of some. Neither is it that giddy joy which the debauchee feels, as he sits with his vice-loving companions over the wine-cup or the card-table, meditating, it may be, on the perpretration of some wicked deed. No: this is the joy of the world, and cometh from below; but heavenly joy cometh from above. It is wrought in the heart of a believer by the Spirit of God. It is a joy in the Holy Ghost,-it is "a rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God." It is a joy, then, that looks beyond the grave, and is stirred

up in the mind of the believer, when hope that maketh not ashamed, leads him to expect a participation in the glories of his Father's house. It is a joy arising also in the heart of the believer, when he compares the present with the past. He looks behind him and sees the awful precipice to the very brink of which he had approached, and he remembers how long he was polluted with the leprosy of sin, and cared not to have it removed. He compares this his past with his present condition, then does he glorify and rejoice in the Lord for delivering him from the body of sin and death, and for drying up the bloody issue of sin when he himself did not care to touch as much as the hem of the garment, that he might be healed. Another great source of joy to the believer, is, the inward testimony of the Spirit, bearing witness with his spirit that he is a child of God. This brings along with peace of conscience.

it

The joy of the world flees away in times of affliction, and yields no comfort; but the joy of the believer remains ever with him. It is a companion to him in all his afflictions and troubles, nor does it desert him as he walks through the dark valley and shadow of death. He rejoices even when he approaches the verybrink of the Jordan of death; for he knows that the true Ark of the Covenant has gone in before him to divide the waters, that he may safely enter into the joys of his Lord. A believer, then, may have inward joy, although at the same time he may have outward sorrow. The believer's joy is increased when he hears of the extension of his Redeemer's kingdom here below, by the conversion of some lost sheep to God, or when he hears of the welfare of the Church in general. All this, then, is that joy, which being a fruit of the Spirit, is a mark of the believer. It is a foretaste of that joy of which our Lord spake when he told his disciples, that when they should see him again, (in glory,) their hearts would rejoice, and no man should take their joy from them. John xvi. 22.

The next Christian grace mentioned, is Peace. This peace seems to me to be three-fold, consisting of peace with God,peace with man,—and peace of conscience or peace with ourselves. We should strive to be at peace with God, knowing that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Almighty. All men by nature are aliens from and enemies to God; but as soon as a man is washed in the peace-speaking blood of Jesus, so soon is he reconciled to God and at peace with him. Peace with God is that which we have by our Redeemer;

for the Apostle says, "being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

The believer is at peace also with his neighbour. It is the part of the man of the world, when he sees a trifling dispute among friends, to foment and increase it as much as possible, to cast in the firebrand of dissension, and widen the breach. Not so with the believer,—he is called the child of God, and as such he is a peace-maker; for our Lord says,- "Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God." The believer is a follower of Him, who was called the Prince of Peace, therefore he is a lover of peace. He, like our Lord while he was here below, is constantly carrying on a war against the sins, iniquities, and errors of the world; but at the same time that he is thus carrying on a spiritual warfare, he is at peace with all

men.

There is also a peace of conscience which attends the believer. This is one of the benefits which in this life accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification. While the Christian fights the good fight of faith, even then he has peace with God, and while he carries on a continual warfare against his own lusts, even then he has peace of conscience. A man cannot be at peace with himself as long as he runs on in a course of sin; but when he ceases to do evil and learns to do well, then he has a "conscience void of offence," and is at peace with himself. If a man have this three-fold peace, he must be a believer, for "there is no peace to the wicked, saith the Lord."

man.

Long-suffering is the next grace mentioned as being a fruit of the Spirit. This is a Christian grace rarely to be met with in the world. In fact, it has become a part of the etiquette of the world, to receive an injury at the hand of no And thus we find men, for the most trifling offence, standing, it may be only a few paces from each other, and from the iron tube of death letting fly the swift-winged bullet, which, piercing to the heart, gives to the avenger that hellish satisfaction which so much he sought. This is the character of the world, but not of the believer. He is possessed of that long-suffering, which if smitten on the right cheek turns the other also, which if the coat be taken at the law lets the cloak go also. The child of God desires no quarrelling, no contention, he suffers much even wrongfully, yet says little. He remembers how his Saviour before him bare much and suffered long-how for thirty-three years he bare the mock

ings, abuses, and scornings of an evil world ;-how he was reviled, yet reviled not again, although he might have had from his Father ten thousand legions of angels. These things are an example unto him, and fearing to approach a throne of grace to ask forgiveness of his Father unless he forgive others, the believer is remarkable for his long-suffering.

Gentleness. The believer is gentle in his family and also in the Church. He is gentle to the world in general, He is never found stirring up contentions in the market-places, or among his neighbours. He has no worldly pride, therefore he is gentle to the poor, in attending to their solicitations, and they may have an easy access to him; whereas there are many, who, from the austerity of their manners, cause the poor to tremble as they approach them. The believer is gentle under the rod of affliction, and while the man of the world says, that it is a hard thing to be afflicted, the believer says, "the will of the Lord be done." How gentle was our blessed Lord when he called his people by the name of sheep, and his disciples by the name of children.

Goodness, is the next Christian grace mentioned, and it may be said to comprehend the whole duty and character of a believer. He shews forth good works to the world, and thus his light shines before men. Like our Lord, he is constantly doing or meditating some good. He is particularly kind to the poor, and his enemies are often constrained to love him on account of his goodness. But as under this grace all the others may be comprehended, I pass to the next, which is,

Faith. This is the fountain from which all the other graces flow as streams. This is the stem from which they grow as branches; and Christ is the foundation on which it rests. The Christian graces are like so many pieces of well-tried machinery, neatly fitted together, but surely faith is the moving wheel. Without faith it is impossible to please God. It is by it we are saved, and for the want of it we are condemned. "I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," is as it were written on the tablet of every believer's heart.

True saving faith is not only an assent of the mind to the truths revealed in the Gospel concerning Christ, but it is also a receiving of, and resting upon him for salvation. It is the eye that beholds Christ, it is the hand that stretches forth to him, and it is the arms that clasp him to the bosom. It is faith that makes Christ precious to the soul. It is by means of it that the heart is weaned off sin, and it is it that puts to flight the love of sin. Faith works by love and it is

it that begets repentance and true humility,-that enables us to draw near to God in prayer, and that makes us willing to obey him, and aim at honouring him. It is by faith that we obtain the benefits of the Gospel,-by faith we receive the adoption of children, and by it we have the remission of sins. It is by faith we have acceptance with God, and by it we have the righteousness of God. It is through justification by faith that we have peace with God, and by it also that the believer hath access into the grace wherein he stands. Rom. v. 1, 2. It is by faith that the just live. Heb. x. 38. And it is by faith that the righteous are saved and have everlasting life.

Faith, according to the Scripture account of it, is a coming unto Christ, a flying to him for refuge,-a casting of our burdens upon him,-a leaning on him,-a staying of ourselves upon him, a looking unto him,-a taking hold of him,-a receiving of him, a cleaving to him,-a putting on of him,an hungering and thirsting after him,-an eating and drinking of him, a trusting in him,-a seeking of him,—a running to and after him, and an embracing of the promises.

Faith does many things for the poor sinner who has been converted unto God. It is by it that he feeds upon Christ,it is the bond of our union with Christ,-it brings us into his family and makes us his children,-it is the finger-post that constantly directs the heavy laden soul to the hill of Calvary,it shews us our lost condition, and makes us submit to Christ, -it causes us to cast our perishing souls into his arms, saying, "Lord what would thou have me to do,”—and, finally, it is the moving spring of all the other graces.

I cannot conceive how a believer could exist as such and yet not have faith; for the very name believer implies the possession of faith. It is the believer's support and his stay as he wanders through this valley of tears. It strengthens him in times of trouble, and is to him an house built upon a rock, which cannot be shaken by the waves of infidelity, nor thrown down by the storms of dissension. It is faith that often leads the imagination to the hill of Calvary, and causes godly sorrow as the dying agonies of the departing Redeemer are pictured to the view. Often may the unbeliever look upon the face of the dying Redeemer as it is historically presented in his Word. But until it is viewed through the telescope of faith, it can never be seen in a profitable way. So long as a man looks at Christ through his carnal, sin-beclouded eyes, so long will he not get one heart-rending view of him. But when a believer looks at him through the eye of faith, and sees