that when he would do good, evil is present with him.” Besides, as many of those with whom he is called to associate, cannot enter into his views or sympathise with his feelings, it is necessary that, in addition to his other difficulties, he be prepared to encounter ridicule, reproach, and perhaps persecution, from the men of the world.

Such, then, are the enemies with whom the christian has to contend; and how, it is natural to ask, how, when engaged against adversaries so formidable, is he not overpowered in the conflict? To that question the text furnishes a satisfactory answer. "This is the victory," says the apostle, "that overcometh the world, even our faith." It is this principle, in the mind of a good man, which subjugates under its sway every opposing passion, which supports him under defeat and disaster, which renders his virtue victorious over the assaults of temptation, and which conducts him through a land of hostility to a region of eternal peace.

In prosecuting this subject, it is proposed,

I. To consider, briefly, the nature of faith, that principle by which the christian conquers the world.

II. To inquire what is implied in overcoming the world, and show how faith enables us to effect this.

I. Let us consider, briefly, the nature of faith, that principle by which the christian conquers the world. And, we may remark, that there is implied in faith, 1st, The knowledge and belief of the fundamental principles of religion.

The simple and original meaning of the term which we translate faith, is belief or persuasion, and on every application of it in scripture, that idea enters as an

essential and important part. Of those truths, the belief of which is necessary to salvation, the scripture has not furnished us with any catalogue, and it would therefore be presumptuous for us to attempt to enumerate or define them. It is evident, however, that there are certain truths, such as the existence of the Deity, his moral government over the world, and a future state of retribution, the belief of which lies necessarily at the foundation of all religious worship. "He that cometh unto God must believe that he is, and that he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him."* It seems farther evident that, as in different ages, God has been pleased to communicate to mankind different measures of religious information in different circumstances, different degrees of knowledge and belief will be required. We find, for example, that in the first ages of the world good men had no full or distinct knowledge of the means by which the redemption of man was to be effected. They knew, in general, that a person would afterwards appear, who would redeem them from the evils introduced by sin, and restore them to the divine favour. The promises made respecting that person, they believed and embraced; and by that faith they were justified and saved. By that faith they were comforted amid the vicissitudes and afflictions of their pilgrimage on earth; and by that faith they obtained admission at death into the "city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Under the New Testament we find the first teachers of christianity requiring their converts to believe, sometimes simply in Christ, sometimes that Jesus Christ was the Messiah promised to the fathers, sometimes that he was the Son of God, and

* Heb xi 6.

VOL. II.

Heb. xi. 10.

B

sometimes that he was come in the flesh, and was the Saviour of the world. Our Lord himself, during his personal ministry, often required the belief of the same truths, and often required it on pain of final condemnation. The belief, however, which was thus required, was much more extensive than might, at first view, be supposed. Believing in Christ, in these expressions, is generally equivalent in meaning to embracing christianity; and an assent to some one of its most distinguished doctrines,-some doctrine peculiarly opposed to the misconceptions of the Jews, or the superstitions of the Gentiles,-was required from the first converts, as a proof, not only of their belief in that particular doctrine, but as a proof that renouncing all their previous errors, they were willing to embrace the whole system of the gospel, and to acquiesce in that plan of salvation which it revealed. Their willingness to acquiesce in that salvation, implied in it, their conviction of their own weakness and sinfulness, their belief in the mission and mediation of Jesus Christ, and their expectation through him of the blessed and glorious immortality beyond the grave. These important truths, and many others intimately connected with them, were clearly taught by the apostles, and have been admitted by almost every sect of christians since their times. To some modification or other of these truths, there is given, in true faith, a sincere and unqualified assent. This assent rests chiefly on the evidence of divine testimony; but in other respects it does not seem to be specifically different from our belief in all past and distant events. It is scarcely necessary to add, that from what has now been said, it appears that christian faith is not a blind and mechanical principle of action. It is founded on knowledge, and implies clear and distinct apprehensions

respecting the doctrines believed. And hence, we find our Lord charging the Jews with disbelief of Moses, because, although they admitted the divine authority of his writings, they could not understand the predictions which he had delivered respecting the Messiah. "Had ye believed Moses," said our Lord to them, "ye would have believed me, for he wrote of me."*

Is there then, it may be said, nothing more in saving faith than mere belief,—than the involuntary assent of the understanding to the truths of religion? According to the ordinary signification of the terms, there is undoubtedly much more in it; but the answer to that question will depend chiefly on the meaning affixed to the terms, and on the connexion which is supposed to subsist between the conviction of the understanding and the persuasion of the will. Instead, however, of attempting to define terms which are used by the sacred writers themselves with considerable latitude, and instead of entering into any philosophical discussion, in order to ascertain how far the assent of the understanding may be said to affect necessarily the will and the heart, it is much more useful to remark,

2d, That in genuine faith, according to scripture, the assent of the judgment to the doctrines of religion is invariably represented as producing a corresponding effect on the feelings and the conduct.

The sincere christian not only believes the truths of christianity, he feels also their intrinsic excellence and their incalculable importance. Conscious of his own imbecility and sinfulness, he is disposed to throw himself for forgiveness on the mercy of heaven. Perceiving the suitableness of that plan of salvation which is unfolded in the gospel, he rejoices in the dignity of

* John vi. 46.

its author, and in the sufficiency of that atonement which he made for sin by the sacrifice of himself; and thus he expects eternal happiness, not through his own good works, but through the merit of Jesus Christ. This perception of the excellence of the truths of religion, and the consequent feelings it inspires, are necessary accompaniments of true faith; and these are, perhaps, the most remarkable features by which the faith of ordinary christians is distinguished. So important did these accompaniments appear to the authors of our symbolical books, that they viewed them as constituting "the principal acts of saving faith ;" and hence they describe faith in Jesus Christ as "a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest on him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel."*

We may remark farther, that our belief in order to be saving, must be firm and undoubting, it should be vivid and powerful; and hence we find the author of the epistle to the Hebrews making the very essence of faith to depend on its vivacity and strength. "Faith," he says, "is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."† According to that definition, the objects of faith are either things hoped for and future, or they are things which, if they already exist, are remote and invisible. Of the former, faith is the substance, that is, the confident and certain anticipation; of the latter, it is the evidence, that is, the proof or demonstration, or rather, perhaps, the undoubting conviction. These future and unseen objects, faith presents to the view of the mind, realised, as it were, and embodied; and so lively is the representation which it gives, so powerful is the impression which it produces,

* Westminster Confession, Chap. xiv. § 2. Shorter Catechism, 86. + Heb. xi. 1.