Abraham's Patient Faith.

assurance would not have been given, had not a continuous act of steady faith preceded it. Had he, after laying his offering upon the altar, removed it again from that hallowed shrine; had he, forgetful that he had need of patience, yielded to weariness, from watching the consecrated offering, and then began to indulge in questioning why the Lord should so long delay the expected token of acceptance; and then, turning his mind off from the faithfulness of God, indulged in various conjectures, expressive of unsteady faith; would Abraham, amid these waverings, have received anything from the hand of the Lord? Surely the appellation of the "father of the faithful" had not been given him; for in reference to the wavering one, our God hath said, "Let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.”

O that my dear brother Pample to believers, in faith and in doctrine!

may be an expurity, as well as Yours truly.

P. S.-I perceive that I have not fully answered your letter. Your numerous inquiries demand much more time than I can command at present; but I will write from time to time, as circumstances may permit.

Promises Misapplied.

Not willing to be holy.

No. XXIII. TO MR. P.

Premature application of the promises-Not willing to be holyPaul's concise statement of the way to holiness-Distinction between consecration and sanctification-Obedience must precede appropriating faith-Wickedness of removing a sacrifice from the altar-Thomas-The will; its language-Of one who gave up his

will.

DEAR SIR,-I think many err by urging the promises upon those who have no right to them, It was only this morning that a friend observed to me, "I asked brother L- how his mind stood, in relation to the subject of holiness. He acknowledged his need of the blessing, and said that he desired it.

66 6 'Can you not receive it?'

conceive of any reason why you do

"I do not know, unless it is my unbelief.” This friend then began to urge the promises upon him; but she soon found that he rather needed the threatenings which are denounced against those who are unwilling to be holy, as he soon afterward frankly intimated (and as though it were a light matter) that he was not willing to consecrate all to God. This brother, then, according to his own concession, was not willing to be holy. How unsuccessful would have been the solicitude of his anxious friend, though she had continued hours longer in endeavoring to overcome his unbelief, by urging the promises upon him! It is my

Labor lost. Consecration.

Promise. Cleansing.

opinion, that a large amount of well-intended labor, in urging persons to lay hold upon the promises, is lost precisely in that way.

Paul, in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians, chap. vi, 17, 18, and chap. vii, 1, presents the way by which holiness may be attained, in the clearest and most concise manner. The question, "Is consecration entire sanctification?" is here also fully met. First in order stand the terms of the covenant, "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing." Next come the promises, "I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." Here, then, is entire consecration, and immediately follow the promises, which, the moment the conditions are met, are given to the seeker, (and not one moment prior to this compliance,) and yet the apostle addresses the thus consecrated one, as not yet cleansed from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit! But he admonishes the humble aspirant, as already in possession of the means by which he is to cleanse himself-not as though he were to accomplish this work unaided by the power of God. No. Having these promises, which the LORD JEHOVAH gave him the moment he made an entire consecration of himself, he is at once directed to the next step in order, which is to appropriate the promises; and from that point he goes on perfecting holiness in

Premature Attempts to believe.

the fear of God. It is thus that the words of the Saviour, "Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth," are illustrated in the experience of the disciple.

Thus we see how obedience to the primary injunctions of the word must precede the act of appropriating faith. As has been before premised, the difficulty which most persons find in endeavoring to exercise that faith which appropriates the blessing, comes through the effort to believe, before the steps which should precede it are taken. Suppose Abraham had tried to believe that his offering was "truly acceptable," before he had laid it upon the hallowed altar. How inconsistent! Imagine that he had even brought it within reach of the altar, and yet had not laid it upon that "most holy" place, would it have been sanctified? But, after it was once laid there, was it any more at the option of the offerer? No. It was no more at his disposal, than if it had been borne away by Gabriel, and laid upon the throne of the Eternal, the moment it touched that altar, by the virtue of which it was sanctified to God. If God saw fit, for the trial of his faith and patience, (and shall we say his honesty also?) that it should for a season remain, in order that these various graces might be tried, it was not for him to dictate. Had Abraham yielded to impatience, and again resumed the offering and appropriated it to his own use, it

Sacrilege.

"I will not believe." Great Mistake.

would have been a most sacrilegious act; for the offering was no more his own-no more in any possible way at his own disposal. Had he thought of it as otherwise than wholly sanctified, he would have greatly dishonored God by his want of faith in his word: "He that believeth not, maketh God a liar!"

But does an offerer at the Christian's altar really give up all, until he gives up his unbelief? There are many who imagine that they have given up all, who still retain their own will, especially on this point-except they see signs and wonders they will not believe. With unbelieving Thomas they say, "Except I shall see "-thus and thus, according to some preconceived plan-"I will not believe." And thus it is, though willing, perhaps, to surrender everything else, they hold on to this point, "I will not believe, except-." The real position of such persons seems to be expressible as follows: Unless the high and holy One shall come down to meet my will, and give me the witness of this salvation, in a way to meet my own views, as to the manner of its reception, "I will not believe." What an egregious mistake is here! If it had been said, "If any man will do his own will, he shall know of the doctrine," then there were some hope of the will of such being met. But since Jesus hath said, "If any man will do HIS will, he shall know of the doctrine," no hope remains for the