Faith

The fii’st glimmering of light that dawned upon the darkness of the fall, was ushered in by an obscure revelation of the covenant of grace. This covenant was faintly exhibited to Adam and Eve, in the denunciation of the curse upon the Tempter. It was made known more clearly to Noah, after the flood. It was renewed with Abraham, after God had called him from Urr of the Chaldees; with Isaac, in Gerar; w ith Jacob, at Bethel, and with the generation of Israel, in the wilderness. The light of truth rose gradually, and the covenant of grace gradually unfolded its blessings, till the Star of Bethlehem pointed to the Sun of Righteousness, and the promise of the covenant was sealed by the blood of its Surety.

There is an important distinction between the covenant of redemption and the covenant ofgrace* The period of their formation, the parties, the terms of these several covenants, are perfectly distinct.

It is unhappy, that there should be a difference in the mode of representing this subject among divines that are reputed orthodox. The view which is given of it by an eminent divine of the Presbyterian Church, may not be unimportant in this place and day.

“There seems to be mention made in Scripture of a cove- “nant or agreement between the Father and the Son. This, “the generality of Calvinist divines consider as a separate,” or preparatory contract, and call it the covenant of redemp- ♦’ tion. Some, however, esjiecially those who have been term- ed yNrjNOMJANs, consider this as properly the covenant “of grace, made with Christ the second Adam, as represent-” ing his spiritual seed; and the covenant said to be made with believers, to be only the execution or administration “of that covenant, and therefore called a testament, being” the fruits of Christ’s death, or ratified by the death of the *’ testator.’* lVithersfioon*s Introductory Lectures on Divinity.

This distinction cannot be considered as an invention of the J^eio School. It will be found expressly recognized by Van Mastricht, and I think, clearly implied by Turretin. Vid. Theoretico-Practica Thcologia, Auctorc, Petro Vaa Mastricht. lib. quint, cap. prim, de Fcedere Gratia, and In” stitutio ThologicEy Francisco Turretino, locus duodecimus. Questio secunda.

The covenant of redemption was formed from eternity; the covenant of grace, in time. The covenant of redemption was antecedently necessary to the existence of the covenant of grace. It was the perfect accomplishment of that arduous part which the Redeemer engaged to bear in the covenant of redemption, that laid the foundation for the covenant of grace. It was this, that justified God in entering into covenant with believers, and in engaging to save them through faith in the blood of Jesus.

The covenant of redemption subsists between the sacred persons in the ever-blessed Trinity, of which the atonement of Christ for the sins of the world is the stipulation, and the salvation of his chosen seed, the promise. The covenant of grace subsists between God and believers, of which, faith in Christ is the stipulation, and the salvation of believers the promise.

The covenant of grace, therefore, in distinction from the covenant of redemption, is nothing more nor less, than the yromise of God to save all those who believe in Jesus Christ, The law of God is not now the rule of justification, though it is the rule of duty. We no longer hear the righteous demand, of that broken covenant, This do, and thou shall line; but the milder language of gracious economy, be-T.TEVE, and thou shall be saved. Of this covenant, faith in Christ is that part which is fulfilled by the believer. He believes; and upon the principles of this covenant, the first act of faith gives him an humble claim to the promise.

Every Christian grace is the effect of the immediate agency, and the Almighty power of God upon the heart. Faith is expressly declared by the Apostle to be the gift of God, though it is at the same time the act of the creature. It is uniform-

* Every Christian grace is the ^ift qfGod,^nd at the same time, the act of the creature. The dependence and the activity of man, are perfectly reconcileable. God worketh in. man; but He luorketh hi him both to fviLL^ and to do. In the day of God’’s /loxver, his /leojile are made willing. The enmity of the heart is slain, and they are made ivillin to do “what they were able to do before.

From the note on the 35th page of this volume, the reader will perceive that the author is aware of some difTerencc in the mode of representing this subject, by divines that profess to be equally attached to the great doctrines of grace. But for protracting that note, he should then have exhibited the views of a number of men of deserved eminence, substantialing the remarks which were there made. Such an exhibition, it is hoped, will soften down some of the prejudices of plain Christians, if it does not blunt the edge of opposition on

ly represented as of the operation of God. It is one of the fruits of the Spirit. The fruit of the

the part of those who are persevering adherents to the doctrine of man*s natural inability.

If any one will take the trouble to turn to Scott* s Family Bible he will find the following sentiment in his remarks on Rom. viii. 7, 8. Because the carnal mind is enmity, Ijfc,

“This carnal mind is not subject to the divine law, and in- <’ deed cannot be so; it is morally unable to do any thing” but rebel against it, and refuse obedience to it.’*

The observations of the same author on John vi. 44. Ae man can come ilfc. are of the same import.

“The ground of this impossibility lies in the contrariety “which subsists between the proud, worldly, unholy, rebel-” lions, and ungodly nature of fallen man, and the humbling, “spiritual, holy nature of the gospel. The gospel finds none” willing to be saved,” Sec.”*

Let the reader also advert to President Wither sfioon’s Essay on Justification. In vol. i. and page 53 of his Works, he wil! find the following paragraph.

“Since mention has been made of perfect conformity to” the will of God, or perfect obedience to his law, as the duty of man, which is indeed the foundation of this whole doc- “trine,” (that is, the doctrine of Justification,)” I think it ne- cessary to observe, that some deny this to be properly re-” quired of man as his duty in the present fallen state, be- cause He is not able to perform it. But such do not seem *’ to attend either to the meaning of perfect obedience, or

* In regard to the controversy between ^larshall and Bellamy, concern, ing the nature of failli, Scott is most decidedly in favour of Bellamy’s view of the subject, Vid. Scott’s Theological Works, vol. 4th, p. 248, 249, 250.

Faith. Ill

Spirit is love, joy, long’SvjDerins, gentleness, goodness, FAITH. No man can say, that Jesus is the

“the nature or cause of this inabiilty. Perfect obedience is “obedience by any creature, to the utmost extent of his na- <’ tural powers. Even in a state of innocence, the holy dispo-” sitions of Adam would not have been equal in strength and activity to those of creatures of an higher ink; but “surely to love God, who is infinitely amiable, with all the” heart, and above all, to consecrate all his powers and ‘faculties without exception, and without intermission, “to God*s service, must be undeniably the duty of every” intelligent creature. And what sort of inability are ive “under to pay this? Our natural faculties are surely “as fit for the service of God as for any baser purpose. — The “INABILITY IS ONLY MORAL, and lies wholly IN THE” AVERSION OF OUR HEARTS from such employ ment. Does this then take away the guilt? Must God re- “lax his law because we are not luilllng to obey it r”

The same great man, in a sermon on the “absolute ne-” cessity of salvation by Christ,’* has also a sentence which is full of meaning. “For I hope NO CHRISTIAN will” assert, that any person in the luorld v)ho hath the exercise «’ of reason is under a natural, but only a moral impossibility “of coming to the knowledge, and doing the will of God.” If the first were the case, it would take away all sin; “but the last is such an obstinate disinclination, as is still con-” sistent with guilt and blame.’* Vid. Witherspoon’s Works, vol. ii. p. 357. Philadelphia edition.

The following representation of the subject, I take the liberty of giving to the public, principallv because it is from ;m unexpected quarter. It is extracted from a” Catechism ’ adopted by the Consistories of the Reformed Dutch

Lord, BUT BY THE HOLY GHOST. It IS cxpiessly said of those who believed on Christ in the days

“Churches in the town of Rhinebeck, for the use of their” people, and published by their order*.’*

“Q. Why do men thus break and transgress the law of God?”

A. “The reason is, the reigning aversion of their hearts “to it, so that they are unable to keep it.”

Q. “And does not this their inability release from obliga- tion?”

A- “No, for it is of such a nature, as tends not in the” least, to break or weaken our obligation.’*

Q. Of what kind is it then?’*

A.” It is not of a natural, but of a moral kind’*

Q. What is natural inability .?”

A. “Natural inability consists in a defect of rational facul-” ties, bodily powers, or rational advantages.**

Q. “What is moral inability?”

A.” Moral inability consists in a want of a {irofier disiiosi’ tio7i of heart to use our natural ability aright.’*

Q.” Can you illustrate the distinction by producing an instance?’*

A. “Yes, the case of Joseph’s brethren who hcted him so, “that they could not speak peaceably to him.”

Not viewing this sufficient, the Catechists then subjoin the following Note.

When this Catechism was adopted by these churches, the Rev. Dr. John B. Romeyn, now the Pastor of the Cedar-street Church, New-York, was the stated minister of the gospel in Rhinebeck, and was himself one of the committee appointed to revise and re-publish the original Catechism diJohn SulcUffe, ofOIncy, England. The above Note forms part of a work which the American publishers say, in their advertisement, “is among tke best Gate- *’ chisms eitant.’* of his humanity, that they were horn, not of bloody nor of ike will of the Jiesh, nor of the nill of many BUT OF GOD. It is also unequivocally declared, that whosoever believelh that Jesus is the Christy is BORN OF GOD. Faith then is the exercise of the i new heart.

It is difficult to give a definition of faith that comprehends all its properties. In its most general character, it is reliance upon the testimdny of God*s word. It is receiving the truth in the love of it. The apostle Paul uses the phrase, received not the love of the truth, as synonymous with the phrase,

“Thus we say of a man destitute of an honest principle, “that he cannot refrain from cheating you if he has an op-” portunity; that some are such profane wretches, that they cannot open their mouths without an oath; and others are “such liars, that they cannot speak the truth; that some are” so revengeful, that they cannot forgive an injury; and *’ others so easily provoked, that they ca?inot keep their “temper, if you contradict them. So a carnal mind cannot be subject to God’s law; for a man that hates God cannot “serve hiiriy cafuiot rejoice in seeing him glorified; cannot” love his image; can?iot see any comeliness in Christ, nor “fall in with the gospel plan of salvation. The difference <’ between moral inability, and that which is termed natural,” IS plain arid aelf- evident. It is said of the mariners, that “thty rowed hard to bring the ship to land, but they could” not, Jonah i. 13. Also of Joseph’s brethren, that they could not speak peaceably to him. In the former case believed not the truth. Faith, however, when viewed as that evangelical grace which is the condition of the New Covenant, possesses altogether a peculiar character. Though the elementary principles of every evangelical grace are involved in that love, which is the fulfilling of the law; yet every grace has a specific form. Faith, strictly speaking, is distinct from every other exercise of the renewed heart. It is not love, nor repentance, nor humility, nor submission, nor self-denial, nor hope. It is indeed the exercise of a heart that already loves God, and that is humbled on account of sin; but it is one which

“there was a natural, in the latter, a moral inability. Thus “the inability of Zacharias to speak, Luke ii. 22. was widely” different from that mentioned in 1 Sam. xxv. 17. “The importance of a proper attention to this distinction” appears, when we observe that the former releases from ob- *’ ligation but the latter does not. It was no crime in Isaac, being old, that he could not see, Gen. xxvii. 1.; but the case “seems very different with those who have eyes and see noty” Jcr. V. 21. or such as have eyes full of adultery, though it “is ex/ircssly said of them, that they cannot cease from sin- ning, 1 Pet. ii. 14.”

On this subject, the reader may also consult Watts* Ruin. end Rccoverij. Worksj vol. 6. p. 291-2. as also Watts’ Liberty aJid jYecessity.

He may turn to Charnock*s Works, vol. 2. p. 137; and Edwards on the Will, Part 1. Sect. 3d.

Fallh. IIT)

takes that view of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is taken by no other grace.

One of the best definitions of faith will be found in the Shoiler Catechism of the Assembly of Divines at Westminster. In answering the question, “What is faith in Jesus Christ V they say, “Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace,” whereby we receive and rest upon him alone

“FOR SALVATION, AS He IS OFFERED TO US IN THE

“GOSPEL.”

Faith in Jesus Christ is a complex act of the mind, and comprises several distinct things. One of its properties is a true knorvledge of Christ’s character. It is impossible to “receive and rest “upon” a Being whose character we do not know; and whose character we do not know to be worthy of confidence. / know whom I have believed, says the Apostle. Faith views the Lord Jesus as He is. It discerns the Divine excellence and majesty of His character. It recognizes the child that was born in Bethlehem, as the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. The proper divinity of the Saviour’s character is one of those plain principles of the Gospel that are essenlial to evangelical faith. To make an all-sufficient nlonement for sin; to soften the obdurate heart; to aid the believer in his trials and sufferings; to defend him from the power and subtlety of his enemies; and to bring him off conqueror at last — would baffle the designs of all but Eternal Wisdom, and mock the power of all but an Almighty Arm. Faith views the Saviour as truly divine. None other than the ETERNAL WORD MADE FLESH, can be the foundation hope, for none other can be mighty to save. It is of presumption to profess to know Christ, without acknowledging Him as the second of the three coequal persons in the Godhead.

As the believer discerns the Lord Jesus as He is, he also acknowledges Him as a real and proper man. He views Him as He is represented by the Apostle, to be the one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. It is expressly said, that Christ took not on Him the nature of angels, hut the seed of Abraham. The acknowledgment of Christ as man as w ell as God, cannot be separated from the true knowledge of Him as He is revealed in the Bible. There He is represented, and there He must be viewed, as encircled with all the majesty of the self-existent God, and all the “milder glories” of the man Clnist Jesus.

FaUh. J 17

The believer regards Christ in His whole mediatorial character. He sees the fulness, Ihe perfection of His work, no less than the divino excellence of His person. He has respect to all the offices of Christ. He views Him as thk PROPHET, who came to publish the will of God, and declare the way of salvation. He views Him as THE Priest, whom it became God to institute, and sinners to possess; as the One whom God hath set forth to be a Propitiation, through jaith in His bloody to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, that God might be fust, and the jnslijier of him that believeth in Jesus, He views Him as the King in Zion, the Head over all things to his Church, the Lord Jesus, the Lord that bought him. In Christ, the believer discovers all that can qualify Him to be a Saviour, and all that can encourage guilty, miserable man to trust in His grace. In Him, he beholds One that ib eminently all-sufficient; One who is able, willing, and faithful to save to the uttermost. He receives the record which God has given of His Son.

Sincere love to the character of Christ, is also essential to the nature of genuhie/a///f. It is as Impossible to “receive and rest upon” a being

118 Faitfu

whom we hate, as it is to” receive and rest upon’’ one that we do not know. Faith in Christ is not an exercise of the understanding merely; it is an affection of the heart. Wilk the heart man believeth. If thou believes t with all thy heart, said Philip to the Eunuch, thou may est be baptized. To those who believe, Christ is precious. The excellence which they see both in His person and in His work, they love. All that they know of Christ, they love. All the truth which is connected with the character and work of Christ, they love. They possess spiritual discernment of His divine excellence. They have the single eye that discovers His moral beauty. They see a loveliness in Christ and His gospel, that captivates their hearts. When the wandering Spouse was met by the watchmen that went about the city, and accosted with the unexpected inquiif, What is thy beloved more than another beloved? the reply was at hand: My beloved is the chief among ten thousands. He is altogether lovely. Abraham rejoiced to see ChrisVs day, and he saw it, and rvas glad. The pious Psalmist v*’as enraptured with a view of His loveliness. Thou art fairer, says he, than the children of men; grace is poured into thy lips, therefore God hath blessed Thee for ever.

The spirit of ibis lani>;uage is not peculiar to David or Abraham. In the dignity, purity, and aniiableness of Christ’s character, in the design of His mission, and in the way of salvation by His cross, every believer sees enough to engage his sweetest and most exalted ailections.

With this acquaintance with the character, and this attachment to the person of the Redeemer, the believer “receives and rests upon Him alone “for salvation, as He is offered in the gospel,” He mahes an implicit surrender of his immorlal soul into His hands, as to One who is both able and faithful to save. The yielding up of the soul to the disposal of Christ, is an act of the mind whicl) cannot be separated from living faith.

It is of some importance to bear in mind, that faith is the act of a lost sinner, seeking deliveiance from the power and punishment of sin, toward a Being who is exhibited in the character of a Deliverer, It cannot, therefore, imply less than an application of the soul to Him who is the delivering character; the actual adventuring of this vast concern with Him; together with the hope, that with Him it will be secure. rrcoives Christ; Wrests upon Christ /or.

salvation; it rests upon Him alone for salvation, as He is offered in the gospel. Sensible of his ill-desert and helplessness, persuaded of the all-sufficiency of the Redeemer, the believer therefore makes a voluntary surrender of himself into the hands of Christ, to be saved upon his own terms. He is convinced of the necessity of committing his cause to better hands than his own. He relinquishes his vain confidences, and places all his hopes on Christ. He casts himself into His arms. Lord, to whom shall I go, but to thee I

In the act of surrendering the soul into the hands of Christ, the believer takes a view of the Great Deliverer, which is as deep as his own wants, and as large as the provision that is made to supply them. He receives Christ as his Prophet, his Priest, and his King.

Is he ignorant? exposed to wander from the path? The Great Prophet is his Teacher and his Guide. The meek He will guide in judgment, the meek will He teach His way.

Is he polluted with sin? He looks to the blood of the spotless sacrifice to be cleansed from all

FailL 12i

sin, Jesus Christ he knows gave Himself Jor his Church, that He might wash and cleanse IL He rests on Him; and looks for the sanelijicalion of J he spirit unto obedience only through the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus.

Is he guilty and condemned? No longer does he trust to his own righteousness, but looks to Jesus as the end of the law for righteousness to every one that bclievetL He yields a condemned soul to Him, to be arrayed with a righteousness with which a just God has declared himself to be ever iv til pleased. He rests upon Him as the sole ground of acceptance. With all his natural attachment to his own goodness, he counts it loss for Christ. He counts it but dung, that he may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having hia own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. This is his refuge, his crown of rejoicing. He looks to Jesus, recognizing the high relation in which He stands to His people, and the endearing name by which He is called, JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUS-^ iXESS.

1€

122 Faiili.

Is lie weak and helpless? He engages the grace of the Redeemer as his consolation and strength. To Jesus does he surrender himself as the head of all divine influences. / live, yet not I, hut Christ that livclh in me. This is the language of faith. The act of the soul in surrendering itself into the hands of Christ, forms a connecting bond between him as the Vine, and the soul as the branches, which communicates life, strength, nourishment, and beauty. In a word, with a just view of the character, and a supreme attachment to the person of Christ, the believer yields himself into His hands, as a full and complete Saviour. Him he receives; upon Him he rests, and rests for time and eternity. With humble joy will he tell you, “Christ is my all. I want no more. To Him do I look to be sanctified by His Spirit; to be governed by His laws; to be protected by His power; to be saved by His death; to be disposed of at His pleasure, and to be the means of promoting His glory.”

This is “to receive and rest upon Christ alone “for salvation, as He is offered to us in the gospel.” This is confidence in Jesus Christ, a a Divhie Saviour. You cannot possess these feelings without possessing saving faith. This is the

^xihslancc of thinfi;s hoped for, and the evidence of ihin2;s not seen, This is llie grace which renders invl«i)>le things visible; future things present; and enstani])s the permanent idea of reedlty upon every thing that resis upon the testimony of God. This was the faith of Old Testament saints and New Testament saints. It is that Inist in the Lord, of which we read so often in the Old Testament, wdiich is nothing more nor less than the confidence of the new horn soul in God, cis reconcUeahJc through the Mediator,

Thus have we seen, that faith has properties peculiar to itself. Us character is perfectly distinct from every other grace. There is no exercise of the renewed heart that views the whole gospel plan as it is, except this. Faith, from ils essential nature, implies the fallen state of man, while it recognizes the principles of the covenant of grace. It is itself the condition of that covenant”^. It is a grace which is alike distinguisli-

* When the author styles fuilh a conditioji of the Ncw Covenant, he does not mean, that it is the meritorious gronn*! of acceptance with (iocl. The covenant of grace b»ars no rescmhlunce to a contract, in which tlic part to hu perform cd by the l)elievcr is a mere Quantum meruit. Every prim iplc of that covenant rests upon the fact, thut num is anwor-

124 Paith,

able from the love of angels, and the faith cf devils. It is peculiar to the returning sinner. None but a lost sinner needs, and none but a humbled sinner relishes, the grand sentiment of faith, that grace reigns through righteousness y unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Here then let the reader examine himself whether he he in the faith. He may possess the faUh oj devils. He may be fully persuaded, that there was such a person as Jesus Christ; that he was delivered for our offences, and rose again for our justification; he may possess the vain confidence of the hypocrite, which neither worketh by love nor is oj the operation of God; he may cherish the pernicious hope of the self-deceived — while he remains blind to the excellence of the Divine character, and while enmity to the cross of Chrjst is the governing principle of his heart and his life. Every carnal mind, whether sensible of it or not, maintains the most decided aversion to

thy, and that salvation is all of grace. When we say, therefore, that faith is the condition of the New Covenant, we mean, that faith is that act of the creature ivroui-ht in him by the agency of the Holy Ghost, without which, accordinr; to the tenor of the Keto Covenant, there is 710 salTation-’-li is a ^ine rfxianon.

the person of the Redeemer, the benefiis of* His purchase, and the terms upon which those benefits are proffered. The whole character and work of Christ bear so intimate a relation to the unbeliever; they so pointedly take the part of God against him; they so unequivocally condemn his character and conduct; they w ill have such a damning efficacy upon Jiim throughout eternal ages — that when clearly seen, they cannot fail io draw forth the latent enmity of his heart.

If it be true, as it unquestionably is, that you may have a just view of the character of Christ, while you have no love to that character as infinitely deserving your affection, and while you make no surrender of yourself into His hands, as to one who is supremely worthy of your confidence; it becomes you to inquire, whether you love the Lord Jesus in sincerity and truth, and whether you trust in him as your only foundation of hope.

Si?Tion, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Apply the question. Do you love Christ? And why do you love Him? Do you love Him merely because He died to save you, or because He died to honovr God in your salvation? Do you love Hun 126 FaiilL

because He descended from heaven to take the part of God against man; to show the world, that in the contest between the creatures and the God that made them, God is right, and man is wrong, and with His own blood to set His seal to the truth, ihal the soul that sinnetk ought to die? Or does He appear to you on this account, as a root out of a dry ground, as having no form, nor comeliness, no heauty that you should desire Him? The true be* liever loves the Lord Jesus, because he effects his eternal salvation in a way that harmonizes with the glory of the Divine character. To be saved in a way that is in the least reproachful to that glory, would rob Heaven of its sweetness. It is for this that Jesus Christ is so precious to those that believe; in this, that He is eminently/mV^ir than the sons of men. Do you love Jesus for the divine glories of His person, for the excellence of His life, for the benefits of His death, for the prevalence of His intercession, for His resurrection, His dominion over the world, and His office as the Supreme and Final Judge? Are the feelings of your heart drawn out toward Christ as your chief joy? Can you sit down under His shadow ivilh great delight, and find His fruit sweet to your taste? When affected with a view of your lost stale and guilty character, when bowed down under a sense of sin, does Christ npper pi’ecions? Is a view of Him refre^hing?

Do you receive the Lord Jesus, and rest upon Him alone for salvation? Can you take the place of a lost and hell-deserving sinner, and with a broken, contrite heart, make an implicit surrender of your immortal soul into His hands to be saved upon His own terms? Beloved reader, this is a plain question. Every humbled heart, in the exercise of faith, knows how to answer it. Can you relinquish every other hope? Can you adventure this vast concern with Him?

Can you receive and rest upon the Lord Jesus as He is offered in the Gospel? Are you at heart reconciled to the terms of the Gospel? Are you at heart reconciled to the humbling doctrine of being justilied by faith in the righteousness of Christ? It is a doctrine which, if correctly understood, will be seen to reduce the returning rebel to the lowest point of degradation. To a heart that is invincibly attached to rebellion, it is hard to bow. To one who is naturally attached to his own supposed goodness, it is hard to renounce it all, and desire and receive mercy only for the sake of Christ. To a man who loves himself supremely, and values himself supremely, who has cherished the most extravao-ant notions of his own importance from the womb, it is hard to lie down at the footstool of sovereign mercy. It is cutting indeed to the pride of the human heart, to be constrained to feel that we are guilty, and then forced to admit that there is no pardon for our crimes, but through the merit of another. Say, reader, is thy heart bowed to the humbling terms of the Gospel? Do you delight to take your place at the foot of the cross, and while reaching forth the hand to receive the robe of the Saviour’s righteousness, to shout, grace! grace! Not imfo me, O Lord, not unto me, hid unto thy name, he the glory, for thy mercy and truth’’ s sake? If so, you believe. If so, amidst all your doubts and fears, you have that faith, which is the gift of God, If so, you may humbly claim the promise. Here is your consolation. He that believeth — shall he saved. Yes, shall be saved 1 What more has God to bestow; what more can the creature enjoy? Here are blessings as great as the capacity of the immortal soul, as eternal as the God that engages to bestow thent. In the comprehensive promise of that covenant to which faith makes you a party, the mysteries of eternity lie concealed. Life and death, earth and heaven, things present and to come, joys hih, immeasurable, and immortal — what shall I say? All are yours; andyc are ChrisVs, and Christ’s is God’s,