the inconsistent lives of professed christians. For that trans. lation, if it be wrong, contradicts the whole tenor of the gospel, which teaches us to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present evil world." Christians are witnesses to testify in their lives, as to the truth of the doctrines of the gospel. I beg you, my brethren, not to contradict, by your lives, the doctrine which I have preached to-day. That was a high compliment bestowed upon the Corinthian christians by the Apostle when he said, "ye are our epistle, known and read of all men for as much as ye are manifestly the epistles of Christ; and a higher still, by our Lord himself, upon his people, when he declared, "ye are my witnesses." I call upon you to bear witness in your lives, to the truth and purity of the doctrine which you profess. "So let our lips and lives express, The holy gospel we profess, So let our works and virtues shine, To prove the doctrine all divine." My heart's desire and prayer to God for you all is, that you may be sanctified through the truth. "And now, unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory, with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. "Lord, hast thou made me know thy ways! Conduct me in thy fear: And grant me such supplies of grace, That I may persevere. Let but thine own almighty arm Sustain a feeble worm, I shall escape, secure from harm, Be thou my all-sufficient friend, Till all my toils shall cease; A sermon, by Rev. SHALAR G. HILLYER, Principal of the Penfield Female Academy, preached in the Chapel of Mercer University, in Penfield, Ga., March 2, 1845. "We walk by faith and not by sight."-2 COR. v: 7. The doctrine of faith is often made the ground of objec tion against the religion of Jesus Christ. We are asked, what is the propriety of suspending so important an interest as the salvation of the soul upon mere faith? Have we not a right to demand absolute knowledge in relation to religious truth? With a view to meet the difficulties suggested by these questions, I propose to offer some remarks upon the subject as set forth in the text. I. My first remark is, that the sentiment is not peculiar to the subject of religion. It has been often shown that man's absolute knowledge is very limited. And of that which he does possess, very little is available in the details of those operations in which he is engaged. The consequence is, and it is a matter of fact, that in the most important affairs of life, man walks by faith and not by sight. We offer a single illustration. Trade engages the industry of many thousands of the human family; and in its results affects every rank of society: yet this immense business is sustained by faith. The history of one transaction will show this. A merchant in New-York orders from London a quantity of goods. To pay for them, he remits a draft upon his correspondent in Liverpool. To provide for this draft, he has already ordered from New Orleans a shipment of cotton to Liverpool, with instructions to his correspondent to honor his draft in favor of the London house. There is the whole operation, just such as do occur repeatedly in the commercial world. Examine it. At each successive step the intervention of faith is necessary. The post office must be trusted. Letters must be sent to all the aforesaid points; and perhaps a hundred different persons must share the responsibility of their safe transmission. All these must be true to their trust, or the whole plan fails. The London house, the Liverpool correspondent, and the New Orleans factor, together with their respective subordinates, must be trusted. Each in his appropriate place, has his part to perform, essential to the success of the enterprise. Should there be unfaithfulness, or negligence, or fraud, at any of these points great inconvenience, ruin may result. What a demand for faith? and in whom? In men, who are always fallible, and sometimes corrupt. But the necessity of faith does not stop even here. The dangers of the sea, and the accidents of the land, must be hazarded. The explosion of an engine, or an untimely storm, may overwhelm the whole speculation, and involve in bankruptcy the bold adventurer. Yet in the face of such contingencies, does he confidently embark his capital, and with it all his earthly hopes. Verily the merchant walks by faith and not by sight. It were easy to show that the same is true of every man of business. But for this we will not detain you. To the reflecting mind, our position is doubtless clear. The use we make of it is this: no one can consistently withhold his assent from the truths of religion, because they are not objects of absolute knowledge, until he is willing to forsake the avocations of life because he cannot predict the results of his operations. If the well known uncertainties of every branch of human industry, presents no objection to its pursuit, neither should the mysteries of religion deter the soul from the pursuit of spiritual blessedness. Such is the conclusion to which this brief comparison has brought us, in favor of that feature in christianity which our text portrays. But while the sentiment of the text is not peculiar to religion, we admit that in this it most especially applies. Divine truth furnishes its best, its noblest illustration. There is something painful in the thought, that a human heart should refuse to adore the Almighty, because that Great Being does not unvail himself and become an object of sense, that flesh and blood may comprehend him. On the other hand, there is sublimity in the act, when the soul, taught by the silent indications of a teeming universe, and by the still more instructive lessons of inspiration, believes in the existence, and so acknowledges the authority of a superintending and eternal cause. No man bath seen the Father at any time. The eye whose far-searching vision surveys the earth, and sweeps the vaulted sky, hath not found Him; the ear that drinks in the thousand melodies which float along the air, hath not heard Him; and yet there is an inward power, whose holy revealings, when enlightened by sacred truth, pour in upon the soul the idea of Divinity. That power is faith. It lays no claim to demonstration; but relying upon the deductions of moral reasoning, is capable of perceiving those truths which make the bosom of the seraph burn; and which, when applied to a human heart, are sufficient to cleanse and sanctify it, and make it a fit habitation of God, through the Spirit. II. Let us consider, in the second place, how exactly this arrangement, to walk by faith and not by sight, is adapted to our condition as sinners. We shall find that our being shut out from absolute knowledge of those truths which respect God, and our relation to him, is an arrangement of mercy. Remember, more knowledge enriches the intellectual powers only. It is not its property to purify the heart. If then God had bestowed upon our race the highest degree of intelligence, so that we could comprehend all mysteries, it does not follow that we should have been any the less Yet continuing transgressions under such circumstances, must have aggravated, beyond measure, our iniqui A sinner's knowledge unsanctified, has no other moral power, but to magnify indefinitely the enormity of his guilt; and thus to make him tenfold more the child of wrath. sinners. ties. In proof of what is here stated, let us look at the condition of the fallen angels. We cannot suppose that they were deficient in knowledge. They walked not by faith, but by sight; yet their exalted privileges neither shielded them from transgression, nor inclined them afterwards to repentance. To this hour, with certain knowledge of those great truths, which are to us objects of faith only, they continue the same lost spirits. Nor have we the slightest evidence that a token of mercy was ever tendered to them from on high. They seem to have sunk unpitied to their eternal doom. Now, who can say that our condition would not have been equally hopeless, if we had enjoyed equal knowledge? There are in scripture, impressive intimations that such would have been our unhappy destiny. What mean the woes denounced upon the devoted cities of Capernaum, Bethsaida and Chorazin? The judgment shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for them. Why? We do not pretend that their knowledge was perfect; yet they did enjoy, in the person and conduct of Christ, a light far greater than that which the little household of Lot was able to shed upon the benighted regions of the plain. Therefore they were more guilty. We cannot fail to notice that while the greater privileges of the Galilean cities do not seem to have inclined them to the service of God, or to have excited any wholesome moral effect upon them, yet in proportion to the superiority of these advantages, the judgment of heaven becomes more fearful and unforgiving. We infer, that when knowledge of divine truth becomes so far complete as to remove all occasion for the exercise of faith, God finds no place for the exercise of forbearance towards the sinner. This is corroborated by the fact, that there is no hope for the wicked beyond the grave. When such an one enters upon the scenes of the invisible world, he is no longer required to walk by faith-perfect revelation of the whole truth bursts upon his mind. But then, God will show no mercy. He that is guilty must be guilty still. Our Saviour gives us another intimation to the same effect, which is yet stronger. In his dying prayer he said, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. Satan, who instigated this deed, did know. The misguided people who were his instruments, did not. The latter were, therefore, the objects of his compassion, while satan was the serpent under his heel, fit only to be trampled. Thus it appears, that a want of knowledge, when not voluntary, is made a ground of clemency. Hence, says Paul, I found mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. From all which we conclude, that that very state of things, which shuts out from the perception of our senses the propositions of religion, and makes them the objects of enlightened faith, is the only state of things in which the Almighty would ever have devised in our behalf, any scheme of redemption. If so, |