virtuously, but this excelleth them all.1 We apprehend by faith; (if indeed we are apprehended of Christ Jesus, in the sovereignty of divine mercy,) that we may enjoy by love. Love unites God with his saints in their ultimate felicity, but faith in the Redeemer first united them to Him, as members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. In short, faith hath been well described by one in other days, as the best gift to man; the soul of his soul; the spring and fountain of all holiness; the great feature of the sons of God; the key whereby the treasures, that are laid up in the fulness of the Saviour, are opened to his brethren, the joint heirs of his kingdom. It is the mother of sound joy; the watchful and tender nurse of a good conscience; the pledge of an eternal inheritance; the earnest of peace with God; the seal of election; the way of ascent from earth to heaven; the token of union with Christ, when directed to Him as its object: and the band is as indissoluble as beautiful, whereby the soul of its happy possessor is bound to all the promises, and to the glory of which they testify. Lord, enable us thus to appreciate

1 Prov. xxxi. 29.

2 Ball on Faith, p. 131.

this grace in its preciousness! Lord, increase our faith!

(4.) It is a laborious, self-denying grace. "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place, which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went." While it hath an eye to see Emmanuel, as the great Master whom the ransomed of the Lord are bound to serve; it hath a hand to labour in his cause, and a will to glory in that service, as the soul's perfect freedom. The same grace which delights to receive the promise, springs forth to obey the command. And there is no truth in the volume of God's unerring counsel more sure, nor yet more solemn to a professing Christian (may his Spirit impress it deeply upon our hearts,) than that which declares, that, "as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

(5.) Faith, when directed to the Son of God, is peculiarly a grace of redeemed man. It discovers the excellences of the appointed Saviour, as the Gospel testifies of them all; and his infinite fitness to fulfil the amazing office

1 James ii. 26.

which his unimaginable love charged upon Him. It discovers also his especial relation to the lost and guilty creatures, whose nature He undertook, for their salvation. The angels see his goodness, and adore Him for its exercise, with hallelujahs, louder and more sweet, than can be uttered by the hosts of the ransomed, upon earth. They desire to look into the rich provision made by Him, for bringing many sons and daughters unto glory; but they can never believe in Christ, for salvation, and therefore can never taste the sweetness of faith, as it fills a believer's heart with light and gladness. The unsinning angels have not fallen under the curse of God; and therefore cannot need an atonement, and a substitute to bear his infinite wrath against iniquity. The angels who kept not their first estate, are reserved unto judgment, and for ever excluded from all participation in his love. How dear then, in this view, should be the life of faith, connecting as it does the believer with the Lord of life and glory, as a brother and a portion, and placing elect and unsinning angels in their proper relation towards the household of God, "as ministering spirits sent forth to minister unto them who shall be heirs of salvation!"

1 Heb. i. 14.

(6.) Faith is a grace of unspeakable comfort to its happy possessor. It leads him to the Rock that is higher than himself. It is a refuge in every danger; a solace in every trial; a hope among all billows; a light in all darkness; a star in all gloom; a constellation indeed, whereby to sail upon the dismal and stormy sea of life. The joy of faith is that, with which a stranger cannot intermeddle; for it cometh down from above. It is the product of an atmosphere, into which nothing entereth that defileth. It brings the Physician of the Gospel and the balm of Gilead to the bruised and broken heart. It makes "the light affliction which is but for a moment work for the believer a far more exceed ing and eternal weight of glory; while he looks not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.' "1 And therefore did the Lord who knew the need of his brethren, and was Himself the exhaustless storehouse of their consolations, direct them, in every temptation, to exercise faith upon Him. "Let not your heart be troubled ye believe in God, believe also in

me." 2

:

(7.) Faith is a prudential grace. It weighs

12 Cor. iv. 17, 18.

2 John xiv. 1.

the objects which the god of this world and the God of heaven offer to its notice, in the balances of right reason, that is, of reason enlightened by the truth-giving influence of the Holy Spirit; and decides accordingly. It measures them by the cubit of the sanctuary. It assays the ore offered as a possession, according to the infallible test of Scripture; and casts away the dross, however glittering, to secure the gold, however dark and unpromising it may now appear. And here faith follows the pattern, not only of Abram, but of Abram's great exemplar, "who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame." It freely surrenders all the perishing vanities of time and sense; all the fashion of this world which passeth away; all the pleasures of sin that are but for a season; with whatever seductions the devil may invest them, to follow God, to have a portion with his family, and an instatement in his inheritance of salvation. Carnal and sensual men will stigmatize this choice as folly; but faith is taught of God, and hath made a better estimate. The Christian discovers a snare and defilement, under the gilded allurements of a world that lieth in wickedness; because he surveys them through the truth-giving