which is given to Christianity in some nations, it is of the same nature as that which is given to Mohammedanism and Paganism in others. It is no more than that of the Jewish nation, in the time of our Lord, towards the Mosaic Scriptures. They declared themselves to be Moses' disciples, and had no doubt but they believed him; yet our Lord did not allow that they believed his writings. Had ye believed Moses, says he, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. John v. 46. The same is, doubtless, true of all others who assent to his Gospel, merely from having been educated in it. Did they believe it, they would be consistent, and embrace those things which are connected with it. It is worthy of remark, that those professors of Christianity who received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved, are represented as not believing the truth, and as having pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thes. ii. 10, 12. To admit the existence of a few facts, without possessing any sense of their humiliating implication, their holy nature, their vast importance, or the practical consequences that attach to them, is to admit the body without the spirit. Paul, notwithstanding his knowledge. of the law, and great zeal on its behalf, while blind to its spirituality, reckoned himself to be without the law. Rom. vii. 9. And such are those professing Christians, with respect to the Gospel, who receive not the love of the truth, that they may be saved.

It is further objected, that men are said to have believed the Gospel, who, notwithstanding, were destitute of true religion. Thus, some

among the chief rulers are said to have believed Jesus, but did not confess him; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. It is said of Simon, that he believed also; yet he was in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. Agrippa is acknowledged, by Paul, to have believed the prophets; and faith is attributed even to the devils. The term belief, like almost every other term, is sometimes used in an improper sense. Judas is said to have repented, and hanged himself; though nothing more is meant by it than his being smitten with remorse, wishing he had not done as he did, on account of the consequences. Through the poverty of language, there is not a name for every thing that differs; and, therefore, where two things have the same visible appearance, and differ only in some circumstances which are invisible, it is common to call them by the same name. Thus men are termed honest who are punctual in their dealings, though such conduct, in many instances, may arise merely from a regard to their own credit, interest, or safety. Thus the remorse of Judas is called repentance; and thus the convictions of the Jewish rulers, of Simon, and Agrippa, and the fearful apprehension of apostate angels, from what they had already felt, is called faith. But as we do not infer, from the application of the term repentance to the feelings of Judas, that there is nothing spiritual in real repentance, so neither ought we to conclude, from the foregoing applications of the term believing, that there is nothing spiritual in a real belief of the Gospel. "The objects of faith," it has been said, are

not bare axioms or propositions. The act of the believer does not terminate at an axiom, but at the thing; for axioms are not formed, but that, by them, knowledge may be had of things." To believe a bare axiom or proposition, in distinction from the thing, must be barely to believe that such and such letters make certain words; and that such words, put together, have a certain meaning but who would call this believing the proposition? To believe the proposition, ist to believe the thing. Letters, syllables, words, and propositions, are only means of conveyance; and these, as such, are not the objects of faith, but the thing conveyed. Nevertheless, those things must have a conveyance, ere they can be believed in. The person, blood, and righteousness of Christ, for instance, are often said to be objects of faith; and this they doubtless are, as they are objects held forth to us by the language of Scripture: but they could not meet our faith, unless something were affirmed concerning them in letters and syllables, or vocal sounds, or by some means or other of conveyance. To say, therefore, that these are objects of faith, is to say the truth, but not the whole truth. The person, blood, and righteousness of Christ, revealed in the Scriptures as the way of a sinner's acceptance with God, are, properly speaking, the objects of our faith; for without such a revelation, it were impossible to believe in them.

Some writers have considered faith in Christ as a dependence on him, a receiving him, a coming to him, and trusting in him for salvation. There is no doubt but these terms are frequently

used, in the New Testament, to express believing. "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."-" He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst.". "That we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ.""I know whom I have trusted, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day." John i. 12: vi. 35. Eph. i. 12. 2 Tim. i. 12. Whether these terms, however, strictly speaking, convey the same idea as believing, may admit of a question. They seem, rather, to be the immediate effects of faith, than faith itself. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews describes the order of these things, in what he says of the faith of Enoch-He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Here are three different exercises of mind: First, believing that God is; second, believing that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him; third, coming to him and the last is represented as the effect of the former two. The same may be applied to Christ. He that cometh to Christ must believe the Gospel testimony, that he is the Son of God, and the Savior of sinners-the only name given under heaven, and among men, by which we must be saved. He must also believe the Gospel promise, that he will bestow eternal salvation on all them that obey him; and under the influence of this persuasion, he comes to him, commits himself to him, or trusts the salvation of his soul in his hands. This process may be

so quick as not to admit of the mind being conscious of it; and especially as, at such a time, it is otherwise employed than in speculating upon its own operations. So far as it is able to recollect, the whole may appear to be one complex exercise of the soul. In this large sense, also, as comprehending not only the credit of the Gospel testimony, but the soul's dependence on Christ alone for acceptance with God, it is allowed that believing is necessary, not only to salvation, but to justification. We must come to Jesus, that we may have life. Those who attain the blessing of justification, must seek it by faith, and not by the works of the law-submitting themselves to the righteousness of God. This blessing is constantly represented as following our union with Christ: and he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit. John v. 40. Rom. ix. 31, 32: x. 3. 1 Cor. vi. 17.

Let it but be granted that a real belief of the Gospel is not merely a matter presupposed in saving faith, but that it enters into the essence of it, and the writer of these pages will be far from contending for the exclusion of trust or dependence.

The term trust appears to be most appropriate, or best adapted of any, to express the confidence which the soul reposes in Christ for the fulfilment of his promises. We may credit a report of evil tidings as well as one of good; but we cannot be said to trust it. We may also credit a report, the truth or falsehood of which does not at all concern us; but that in which we place trust must be something in which our well-being is involved,