with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that I may be filled with all the fulness of God." LECTURE V. THE MORAL INFLUENCE OF FAITH. ACTS XV. 9. Purifying their hearts by Faith. FROM the reasonings and illustrations of a former discourse, it is, I trust, sufficiently apparent, that the belief of the gospel is directly adapted to relieve the conscience from a sense of guilt, and to infuse into the mind "the peace which passeth all understanding." This must surely be regarded, by every man who can think, and by every man who can feel, as a result most devoutly to be wished. But is there no reason to anticipate another effect, and one which cannot be contemplated without the utmost alarm? Is there not too much reason to dread the operation of tendencies unfavourable to the interests of holiness? If the pardoning mercy of God is to be obtained on the simple exercise of Faith in the Redeemer, will not a presumption on the facility of obtaining forgiveness, become an encouragement to the indulgence of sin? If Faith be dissevered from works, in the prescribed method of Justification before God, is there no danger lest Faith should be dissevered from works in the actual course and tenor of the believer's life? My attempt shall now be to prove, that, in the case of true and genuine Faith, the fear is perfectly unfounded:-that, on the contrary, the Faith of the gospel is directly and powerfully adapted to secure holiness of heart and of life. Its moral influence is divinely designed to be, and actually has been, in every age, precisely of the character ascribed to it by the Apostle Peter, in the words which have now been read. On the arrival of Paul and Barnabas, as deputies from the church at Antioch, the apostles and elders were convened, to deliberate and to decide on the question regarding the imposition of the yoke of the Mosaic ritual, on converts of Gentile extraction. "And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them; Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago, God made choice among us, that the Gentiles, by my mouth, should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, who knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith." Of the necessity and the difficulty of effecting the purification of the hearts of polluted idolaters, you may be. prepared to form some conception, by consulting the pages of ancient history, both sacred and profane, as well as by perusing the recent communications of christian missionaries among the heathen. Now, if the Faith of the gospel was found to be an effectual corrective and purifier of the heart at Antioch, and at Corinth, and at Ephesus, and at Rome; and if it be found to be invariably productive of the same effect at the present day, in every pagan region, and every degraded tribe, on which the grand experiment has been made; we may safely and legitimately conclude, that the gospel is not more calculated to impart peace to the conscience than to secure holiness of heart. The purifying process of the christian Faith may be traced in three distinct but connected operations: Faith calls into exercise the most powerful principles of our nature, and engages them in the promotion of holiness :- Faith brings the mind into immediate contact with the truths, which are directly calculated to promote sanctity of character:-and Faith excites earnestness of desire, and importunity of prayer, for the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit. FIRST, Faith calls into exercise the most powerful principles of our nature, and engages them in the promotion of holiness. It will be sufficient to exhibit the operation of two of these principles: - The first in order and in eminence is Love. The Faith which justifies is the Faith "which worketh by love." It works in the production of love to God, because it embraces the testimony concerning the love of God to us. "We have known and believed the love which God hath to us. God is love. We love him because he first loved us. God hath so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Now the love which Faith first induces is the love of gratitude. I learn, may the christian say, from the word of God, confirming the testimony and deepening the conviction of conscience, that I am a sinner, ready to perish under the burden of accumulated guilt. I read, in the book of truth, the sentence of the righteous Judge, condemning the sinner to death. I see before me an awful eternity, and the thought of an eternity of woe is more than my heart can endure. But I hear a voice of mercy from Him who, sitteth on the throne of heaven. Its language is Deliver from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom." The incarnate Son of God has given his life a ransom for many. The testimony of the blessed God is, "that he hath given to us eternal life; and that this life is in H |