though we should be ever learning. If these three christian graces faith, love and works, are preached in a confused and mixed manner, we cannot arrive at a true understanding of a gospel salvation, neither can we tell the difference between law and gospel. The law is of works, and the gospel is of faith. And no man can fulfil the spirit of the law, without faith in the gospel. When the sinner exercises faith in the love and goodness of God in freely giving him eternal life, which infinitely transcends all other blessingsthat moment faith works love in his heart, andcauses him to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. He then loves God because God first loved him. And when the sinner loves God, he is passed from death unto life, and that love is the fulfilment of the law.

We are now led to see the consistency of faith being the first step. It is the very cause that produces love to God; and love induces us to keep the commandments. "Faith works by love," and "if ye love me," says Jesus, "ye will keep my commandments."

We will now introduce an example, which will plainly show the distinction between the law and gospel. and in what manner they affect the sinner. Suppose a king sentence six of his subjects to imprisonment during life, and commands them to spend their days in hard labor. They are put in confinement, refuse to obey his commands-refuse to labor, and in the midst of their miseries curse his name. They are now in disobedience under the condemnation of the law.

The king says to his only Son, I love those subjects and I covenant with you to set them free in three years. The Son says, Father I delight to do thy will. Let me go and reveal

to them, the glad tidings of this covenant promise. The king answers-my Son, in the fulness of time I will send you. Let them remain, one year, under the law. But says the Son, they are now transgressing your law, and need instruction. The king replies, I will send my servant to enforce that law. Let him go and inform the prisoners, that I anı angry with them for their conduct; and if they will obey my commands, and labor faithfully, they shall have excellent food and good clothing as a reward. But if they will not comply, they shall be chained, and kept on bread and water as a punishment for their disobedience.

The servant goes and delivers to them this message. Three of those subjects, for fear of the punishment and in hope of the reward, obey the king, and outwardly respect his commands, but perhaps have little, or no love for him. [Here we see the righteousness of the law which is not accepteable to God.] They accordingly receive, day by day, the promised reward. But the other three prisoners dispise these conditions and refuse to obey. They are chained, fed on bread and water, and meet their deserts.

Here, then, are six prisoners laboring under the law, and groaning in bondage with no hopes of deliverance. The law knows of no deliverance-no redemption. It simply serves as a school master to teach them the difference between right and wrong-to teach them the will of the king, and thus prepare them to receive a better covenant, which is to be revealed to them by the king's Son. But under the covenant they now are, they have no motives to prompt them to obedience, but the fear of punishment and the hope of reward. In our next, this will be fully illustrated.

SERMON VI.

For what if some did nol believe, shalt their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid; yea let God be true, but every man a liar. Romans iii: 3, 4.

We resume the argument, in this discourse, concerning those prisoners brought forward in our last. We left them in bondage under the sentence of the law with no hopes of deliverance. The first year rolls away. The king says, my son, the time has come-go, and reveal my love to these prisoners by bringing the promise of their redemption to light. The son flies on wings of love, enters the prison and exclaims-I bring you good tidings of great joy. My father, the king, is your friend. He loves you; and that love has induced him to proclaim your liberation as a free gift. He has promised (and he cannot lie) that in two years from this day you shall be free. This covenant,so far as concerns its fulfilment, is unconditional. Believe, and you will be saved, by faith in the promise, from your present fears, and condemnation under the law.

Those stubborn prisoners see a sufficiency of evidence to believe the promise. They exercise unshaken faith in this second covenant between the father and son. This faith works by love in their hearts, and purifies them from disobedience. Their souls melt in view of the love and goodness of the king revealed to them by his son. In fine, they love him because he first loved them. They are now saved by faith in his promise from not only all their miseries and sorrows, but

from their disobedience, and look forward with joy to the day of redemption. Here we perceive the, "righteousness of faith," which far exceeds the "righteousness of the law." They now delight to obey the king because they are under the influence of love.

Here let the question be asked-are_these three men to be let out of prison at the appointed time because they believe the promise, or love and obey the king? They are not. Their redemption depended on the truth and faithfulness of the king's promise which he made to his son, and that promise would have been fulfiled, even if it had not been revealed to them till the day of their deliverance. They are not to be set free as a reward for their faith, love and obedience. They have great peace and joy in believing that promise. They are in the happy enjoyment of a salvation by faith, and that is all the reward they deserve, or have reason to expect. We here perceive that these three men are made to establish the law of their king by faith in the good news he sent them by his son, which is to them a gospel. We now see the propriety of the apostle's language "We conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea we establish the law." We also perceive that these three men are not to be liberated from prison because they believe the promise, or love and obey the king. But on the contrary it is the king's love and promise to them which sets them free.

ers.

Let us now notice the other three prisonOne says I do not believe that we shall ever be released from prison. It is too good news to be true. Well, shall his unbelief

make the king's promise of none effect? The king forbid; yea let the king be true, but that man a liar. But let it be remembered that he cannot be proved a liar unless he is liberated. Would you now go and tell that man -sir, because you will not believe, you shall never come forth from prison? But do you not perceive that by so doing you would give the king the lie? It would be saying that his promise was good for nothing unless the man would believe it. It would be contending that the unbelief of this prisoner will make the king's promise of none effect.

exclaim-we

The other two prisoners believe this second covenant, but it must bear some resemblance to the first which is conditional. We believe that we shall get out of this prison, if we continue to serve the king as we have heretofore, by keeping his commandments.-Here are two men trusting in the first covenant for deliverance. They are trusting in the law. They are depending on their own love and faithfulness to the king for redemption, and not on the king's love, promise and faithfulness to them. Here then we see the righteousness of the law in those two prisoners; in another we see the effect of unbelief; and in those three who remained disobedient under the first covenant, we see the righteousness which is of faith when they heard the glad tidings of redemption in the second covenant.

At length the day of their redemption dawns. They are all brought to the knowledge of the truth. Those three prisoners, who were saved by faith in the promise during those two years of suspense, now find their faith lost in certainty. Their salvation by faith has come to an end. And so has the unbelief, condemnation and doubtings