between the eye of conscience and the state of the I. The subject of the examination. 1st, The subject of the examination. What is it that ye are here exhorted to try? It is your faith-“ Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith." Many in the world think they have faith, who have it not. Thousands sleep through time under this misconception, and are not awakened till they enter on eternity. It is, in fact, one of the most common, and most perilous devices which Satan employs to deceive professing Christians, to say to them: "You believe ;-sleep on, you are safe." Hence the necessity of discovering whether your faith is good or bad; whether, as a divine expresses himself, it is "Heart-faith or Head-faith only." Brethren, there is a species of faith which unconverted men may possess. It consists in a cold assent to religious truth. Of this truth they have heard in their early days. It has been taught them in the course of parental instruction, in the religious books they have perused, in the sermons they have heard in the house of God. From these various sources they have learned that Christ has died, that he died to save sinners, and that they need this salvation-they know that God is holy, that he will punish sin, that after death is judgment. All this they know; but then this know ledge is not confined to them. Could we pry into the scenes of eternal misery, we would find this knowledge there. They say they know of God—they are acquainted, it may be, with all his perfections. But angels who have fallen have this knowledge too. There was a time when these angels were holy, and when they dwelt in God's presence, and beheld his glory; and though now, alas! they hate and blaspheme against him, they have not forgotten that display of his power, when he gathered dust in Eden, breathed upon it, and changed it into man. Do unconverted men know about Christ and Christ's work? demons have this knowledge too-they know what prophets spake, and David sang of Jesus. They applied with ease the predictions which were given; so that when the fulness of time had come, and the virgin conceived and bare a Son, whose name they called Emmanuel, while angels were heard by the shepherds hailing his birth with joy in heaven, demons might have been heard deploring that event in hell. Do unconverted men know of the work of the Spirit ?— to resist this work is Satan's grand desire. Awful thought! that thousands and tens of thousands of professing Christians should rest satisfied with a faith which demons have. "I believe," cries the formalist, "in God, in Christ, in the Spirit, in heaven, and hell. All this I believe." Unhappy man! if t is is all thy faith, thou hast not faith, for these things demons believe, as well as thee; they believe and tremble. Brethren, it is no sure sign of saving faith, when a sinner's acquaintance with religious truth makes him sensible of danger. Conviction is often mistaken for conversion. The mistake is perilous. There cannot be conversion without conviction-there may be conviction without conversion. True, indeed, conscience, in the case of unconverted men, is generally in a state of deep repose. But the slumber is sometimes broken, and then, for a short time, the sleeper may open his eyes, and look forward. Disease, misfortune, bereavement, and the prospect of death, in such instances, cause the sinner's knowledge to make him tremble. Such was the case with Judas; his knowledge of religious truth struck terror to his soul. Such was the case with Felix, when he trembled at those warnings to which Drucilla listened with a careless and inattentive ear. Such was the case with Agrippa, when the Apostle's sermon made him half persuaded-and such was the case with the young ruler, who came to Christ to ask what he should do to gain eternal life. In cases such as these there was conviction produced by knowledge. Yet there was no saving faith. Assent to religious truth made sinners tremble then, and such an assent, this kind of faith, makes sinners tremble still. Do they know of God's omniscience? this knowledge may cause misery, even at that time, when their crime is hidden from the eye of man. Do they know of Christ's sacrifice? they may tremble when they remember that by them this sacrifice is despised. Do they believe in the doctrine of an approaching judgment? this faith may make them anxious, appearing as this prospect must do, like an unwelcome visitant, to bitter their cup of sinful enjoyment, and disturb their gay dreams of delight. They will tremble when they think of that solemn day when the last trumpet shall proclaim that time has passed away, and disturbing the slumbers of the grave, cause its unnumbered occupants to appear before Christ's white throne. In truths such as these, the unconverted man may believe, and believing, tremble; but then Satan believes and trembles too. If this, then, O sinner, is all thy faith, thou believest not. Brethren, it is no sure sign of faith, when a sinner entertains a clear idea of the value of salvation. Satan knows that value. Just are his ideas of the importance of eternity. He knows well that this world with all its joys, is not to be compared in value to that of an immortal soul; nor is this all: Satan would be glad to escape from misery. Were an angel of mercy to enter the abodes of the lost, and proclaim liberty to the captive, and the opening of the prison-door to those who are bound-Satan would be the first to listen to the call; and so the knowledge which is mistaken for saving faith, and which unconverted men may possess, may fill them with anxiety to escape from endless misery. They may see the value of spiritual things, and, convinced of the folly of the worldly and the thoughtless, they may wish to gain the blessedness of heaven, just as they wish to get to any great earthly enjoyment. Brethren, Satan does the same. In the course, then, of your examination, let this never be forgotten, that whilst saving faith cannot exist without a sense of the value, and a desire for the salvation of the soul, these may exist without saving faith. What, then, are the necessary signs or accompani ments of this saving principle? Brethren, have you sought for a personal interest in the work of Christ? Have you come and partaken of the benefits which the Gospel offers ? Behold here the grand point of distinction between that faith which can, and that which cannot save the soul. False faith acknow- ledges that Christ died to save. sinner come for the salvation: the mere fact that Christ has purchased a precious gift, will do no good to sinners, unless they seek and get a share of it. False faith is merely acknowledging that Christ has made the purchase. True faith is claiming part of the thing for which the price was paid. The one causes the sinner to acknowledge that the balm is provided, the other makes him receive the balm that so he may be healed. He who has the one, is like the beggar who knows that his neighbour is kind, yet makes no request, stretches forth no hand. He who has the other, is like the beggar, who not only knows his neighbour's kindness, but acts upon it, puts forth his hand and goes enriched away. Apply the test: do you know merely that Christ died to save? As yet you have not faith. Have you come to him that you may get salvation? then ye believe in the Son of God. Is Christ precious to you? This is another test, for "Christ is precious to them that believe." And why He is he precious to the believer? For two reasons. is precious from the loveliness of his character, and he is precious from the value of his work. In him the believer sees one who bore his Father's image, and conformed to his Father's will. He sees in him a man |