wavering; what honour it puts upon God's word; what comfort it brings to them. And they would be waiting in the appointed means for grace to maintain, for grace to improve their faith, that they may be going on from faith to faith. While this was their end and aim, faith in act and exercise, maintained and improved, would bring in daily growing evidence of their being indeed partakers of the faith of God's elect. Living by faith, walking by faith, would demonstrate to them their spiritual life and walk, as plainly as natural life and walk can be demonstrated by any outward actions.

Here is great need, O my soul, to read the Scripture, and to pray for the spirit of wisdom. Read, pray much, lest thou shouldest err concerning the faith. Every error will be a stumbling block in the way of thy holy walk, and make thee tired of it, or seduce thee out of it. Let it be one of thy daily petitions-Lord, save me from all mistakes concerning the faith of the Gospel; and let the word of God, by which faith cometh and groweth, be thy daily study. This is thy present business. Now

set out, trusting to what God hath spoken, and relying on what he hath promised. On this principle proceed, as it is laid down by the apostle, Col. ii. 6. “As ye have, therefore, received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him." He is expressing his joy at his beholding their order, and the steadfastness of their faith in Christ, and he would teach them how to maintain their faith throughout their christian course. How did you receive Christ at first? Was it not by believing? Receiving Christ, and believing in him, are, in John i. 12. supposed to mean the same thing. And in John xvii. 20, 21. our Lord says" That they who believe in him through the word, are one with him. Christ, then, is received by faith; and by the same faith, by the belief of the same word of God, we walk in him, so as to be rooted, and grounded, and established in the faith. Our walk is in him, not any thing distant from him; but is the effect of union with him. By him we live, in him we walk -rooted in him, we grow, as a branch in the vine-built up in him, we are fixed as a building on a sure foundation; and, thereby,

we become established and strengthened in the faith. Every step we take is by faith; by the same faith wherewith Christ was received. He must be received always, as he was received once. There is no change of object, and there must be no change of faith, but the same continued trust on his word, and the same dependence on his promised strength. We never set out to walk with a reconciled God, till we are one with Christ by faith, and know our union with him, and our walk is in consequence of this. If we go on at all, it is by cominunion with him. We can receive only out of his fulness, grace for grace, to make us willing and able to go forward. Our fellowship with him is in every part, and in every moment of our walk; and this is as necessary as our fellowship with the air and elements of this world is to every thing that concerns our natural walk. Our wisdom to guide our steps, our progress in the way, our courage and strength, our warfare and victory, every grace and every blessing is received by faith, and is the effect of our communion with Jehovah Jesus.

We trust in his word, we re

ly on his arm, we wait on his faithfulness, and so go forward; for he makes good what he had promised to give us in our walk, which confirms the peace of God-establishes our hearts in the love of God-increases our faith-and thereby makes our daily walk more comfortable to us, and more glorious to him.

But if faith consist in believing and trusting the word of God, it may be inquired, how shall we know the difference between true and false-between dead and living faith. It may be known from the cause. The fruit of the Spirit is faith. He produces it. It is his gift, bestowed by his operation-continued by his power-increased by his blessing-and carried on to the end, by his never leaving nor forsaking his own work. And he makes it known to be his. He gives eyes to see it, and hearts to acknowledge it. Therefore, the apostle says of them who have received the Spirit of God, that they KNOW the things which are freely given to them of God; by faith they both know the reality, and also

taste the sweetness of those free gifts of free grace.

It may be known from the effects. Dead faith brings forth nothing. Living faith is fruitful. It produces a hearty trust in the truth of what God hath spoken, and a quiet reliance on the faithfulness of what God hath promised. It gives him credit for the finished salvation of his son, and puts honour upon his record concerning it; whereby peace is received into the conscience, and love into the heart. Upon which there follows a settled dependence upon this reconciled God and loving Father, for the fulfilling of every promise, and this is improved by daily experience. He that trusteth in the Lord, is never confounded. God is faithful. His promises cannot fail. Blessed is the man that trusteth in him. The Lord God will be a sun and shield unto him: the Lord will give him grace and glory.

As for the hypocrites, it is not so with them. The Holy Spirit was not the author of their faith. It was a fancy of their own,