powerful, but silent influence, by which He effectually works upon their souls, and enables them to "perfect holiness in the "fear" and the love of God.

The means then which Revelation has supplied for the attainment of moral integrity are ample, and in addition to the other points we have considered, may be allowed perhaps to prove, in the most satisfactory manner, that the direct tendency of that Revelation is to make mankind better, to encourage virtue, and to suppress vice, and that in fact all its provisions and all its institutions are plainly designed to advance and secure this great object. When we are told expressly, as in the text we are told, that our blessed Saviour " gave gifts "unto men," not to make them easy in their sins, or to puff them up with a vain conceit, or to amuse them with false hopes; but "for the edifying of the body of Christ," and that all the members of that body,

66

speaking the truth in love, might grow

up unto Him in all things" that are “ho"nest, just, and pure," it certainly can

not be consistent with that truth, or agreeable to the intentions of its Author, that it should ever be made a cloak to hide the deformity of sin, or to speak peace to those, of whom God himself has emphatically assured us, that, while they continue “wick"ed," they can have "no peace and no

hope.

d"

d Isaiah lvii. 21.

SERMON VII.

HEB. XI. 1.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ;

CLEARLY as we may seem to have proved, from a view of the leading features of Revelation, that its tendency is to improve the moral condition of mankind, there are however some doctrines of the Gospel, which, as they have been occasionally taught and represented, would appear to be not altogether consistent with the position we have been endeavouring to establish. I propose, in the two remaining Discourses, to consider the two most prominent of these, and to examine whether, as they are laid down in the Scripture itself, they do in any degree diminish the obligation or lessen the importance of mo

ral duty. The first is the doctrine of salvation by Faith alone; the second, that of Election to eternal life; points these of the last importance certainly, but which, I have persuaded myself, are so far from having an unfavourable aspect upon sound morals, that they are the surest principles upon which a firm superstructure of sound morals can be raised.

Let us consider then, in the first place, the important doctrine of salvation by Faith.

It ought undoubtedly to be confessed at once, and confessed with the utmost humility and gratitude, that the only hope, which the sons and daughters of Adam can have of salvation, is founded on the sole merits of Jesus Christ. And this being acknowledged as the basis of our reasoning on this subject will show us plainly, how faith becomes that qualification of the mind to which the business of salvation is mainly attributed. It might indeed be remarked, and the remark would appear to be of weight, if followed up to its due consequences, that to be "justified by faith,"

and to be ultimately "saved by faith," are not expressions of precisely the same meaning. In general "justification" in Scripture stands for that acceptance of a guilty person before God, by which on the remission of his sins he is accounted as righteous, as if in fact those sins had never been committed, and as if the person himself had invariably obeyed the Law of God. But this remission is constantly represented to have taken place at the first profession of the Christian faith by a convert, and on his first admission into the Christian Church by Baptism: and consequently the justification, which is equivalent to, or coincident with, this remission, must appear to have been granted at the same time. This is the light in which it is viewed in the Articles and Homilies of our Church, which speak of works following justification as being both acceptable to God and necessary to our final salvation"; and consequently justification itself is considered

a See Barrow on Justification.

b Art. XI. and XII. and Hom. on Salvation.

U