Spirit beareth witness with our Spirit, that we are the children of God." Nor are these feelings the only evidence of our Sonship; for the Holy Spirit Himself, by his dwelling in us, also bears witness thereto. The apostle no doubt alludes to the sanctifying operations of the Spirit upon the heart and life, rather than to his extraordinary gifts; since the former constitute the only infallible evidence of our being in a state of acceptance with God; in other words, the only true ground of

assurance.

Besides, the acts of faith are such that we cannot perform them without being conscious of it. If we look to Christ, hearken to Him, and flee to Him; if we build on Him, live, and walk in Him, we cannot possibly be ignorant of it.

If we believe on Christ, we shall highly esteem and value Christ. "To them that believe, he is precious;" yes, "He is the fairest among ten thousand, and altogether lovely." His name will be as ointment poured forth; the soul will admire, the heart will love, and the lips magnify and exalt his name: He will be the soul's bread, the soul's riches, the soul's light, the soul's life, and the soul's all in all.

If we believe on Him, we shall enjoy peace and comfort of mind. He is the Prince of Peace, the Author of Peace; and His gospel is the Message of Peace; and his gift to all believers is the enjoyment of peace. He is our peace; and all who believe on Him are justified: and, being justified, we have peace with God through Him. Anxiety, restlessness, dread, and torment are banished, and all within is comfortable, joyous, peaceful, serene, and calm.

If we believe on the Son of God, our souls will burn with love both to God and man.

Faith works by love. We shall love God our Redeemer with all our hearts; and we shall love our fellow-men, and especially our fellow-saints, with pure hearts fervently.

And, lastly, if we believe on the Son of God, we shall be subject to his authority. We shall receive Him, not only as our Prophet, to instruct us, and as our Priest, to save us, but as our King, to rule over and in us. We shall deny ourselves, (yet how little do we do so) we shall come out of the world, (yet how loath are we to do it), we shall overcome it by faith (yet how often does the world overcome our faith), we shall take up the cross daily (yet we complain that it is heavy and grievous to be borne), we shall follow Christ, (yet how reluctant are we to do so, when the effort must cross our inclination), we must, like Jesus, "go without the camp, bearing his reproach"-keep his holy words, and do his commandments. "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you."

How, my brethren, do these characteristics of Christian faith apply to you? Do each and all of you believe on the Son of God ? I wish you to apply them to yourselves, but to do it honestly, as in the sight of God: and according to his blessed word. "Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith." And I conjure you to do it this very day. I will suggest a few hints which may be useful to you in this necessary and important enquiry.

The text may be applied to various characters. To those who dwell in a Christian country; for without faith in the Son of God, this will not avail-to general professors, (a numerous class), for without this, profession is of no use—to those zealous of gospel doctrines; for without personal faith our

zeal cannot benefit. The important question is, "Dost thou believe on the Son of God?"-and let me say a word to the true and faithful servants of Christ. Let them diligently cultivate the evidences of their faith. Let them keep the signs of faith visible and bright before their eyes.

Let all grow in faith. We know not what trials, temptations, or dangers our faith may be destined to encounter, or how soon: Our credence should therefore be more firm; our reliance should be more entire; our persuasion more confident. The grain of mustard-seed must grow up to a great tree: the small cloud must spread over the whole heavens; the little leaven must leaven the whole lump. Let each soul say, "Lord, increase my faith.”—But there are others, to whom I must offer a word of advice. "He that believeth not must perish," aye, must perish everlastingly. If there be one such now present, let me beseech him, as he dreads such a tremendous result, to ask God this very moment, to grant him the grace of faith. For if he does, he may rest assured, he will not ask in vain.

Lastly, in the gospel, Christ, in all his benefits, is offered to all.

I would, therefore, most affectionately invite and exhort all to come unto him, by a true and living faith, and to come without delay, that they may have eternal life: for "him that cometh unto me," said Christ, "I will in no wise cast out."

SERMON XIV.

LOVE AND OBEDIENCE.

1 JOHN, v. 3.

"THIS IS THE LOVE OF GOD, THAT WE KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS, AND HIS COMMANDMENTS ARE NOT GREVIOUS."

ON Sunday last, I endeavoured to give you the Scriptural view of saving faith; and, from the mournful conviction that genuine faith is sadly on the decrease, I took occasion to exhort you to "examine yourselves whether ye were in the faith;" and if, upon examination, any of you found that such was not the case, I strongly urged them to cry mightily unto God, by devout and earnest prayer, and ask Him to grant them that precious gift; for this grace and every other grace, "is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights."

On the present occasion I would advance a step further, and observe, that faith, to be acceptable in the sight of God,

must not be a mere speculative belief, but a true, living and working faith; a faith manifesting itself by works of charity and benevolence towards man, and of devotion towards God; and that this faith is kept alive and nourished by the Holy Spirit. Justifying faith is necessarily accompanied by evangelical obedience. "By this we know that we love the children of God," says St. John, in the verse preceding the text, "when we love God and keep his commandments:" in other words, as I have before said, we may know if our love of God be genuine, by its being accompanied by the love of our brethren, and now I would say that we may judge of the reality of the latter, by the existence of the former, together with that of its sure accompaniment, the faithful keeping of His commandments. "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous." For the sure token and evidence of loving God, is the keeping of his commandments: and his commandments, however irksome they may be to mere flesh and blood, and however hateful they may be to a wicked world, are far from being grievous to his children. This I hope to make more plain to you in the following observations. And may the Lord-the Spirit be with you and with myself, whilst considering this important subject, and make it profitable to our souls!

True religion consists of three things; knowledge in the mind, love in the heart, and obedience in the life. The first is the theoretical or speculative, the second the experimental, and the third the practical part of Christianity. The first leads to the second, and the second produces the third: separate, they are only imperfect parts: but together, they form the sum and substance of religion. The text refers to the two