enemy, and consummate the glorious work of redemption, says: "Behold, I shew you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." (Isa. xxv. 8.) Then all the captives will be liberated.

In prospect of this final and glorious conquest, the apostle exclaims: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ." Hence Christ has redeemed the body as well as the soul; we should therefore "glorify him with our bodies and souls which are his." The believer lays down his mortal body, in sure and certain hope of a glorious resurrection to eternal life. This hope is beautifully described in the following lines by H. K. White :

Through sorrow's night, and danger's path,
Amid the deep'ning gloom,

We, soldiers of an injured King,

Are marching to the tomb.

There, when the turmoil is no more,

And all our powers decay,

Our cold remains in solitude

Shall sleep the years away.

Our labours done: securely laid,

In this our last retreat,

Unheeded o'er our silent dust

The storms of life shall beat.

Yet thus lifeless, thus inane,
The vital spark shall lie,

For o'er life's wrecks that spark shall rise,
To seek its kindred sky.

These ashes too, this little dust,

Our Father's care shall keep,

Till the last angel rise and break
The long and dreary sleep.

There love's soft dew o'er every eye

Shall shed its mildest rays,

And the long silent dust shall burst

With shouts of endless praise.

XXIII. THE CONDITIONS OF SALVATION.

Introductory remarks. Good works are not the ground and meritorious cause of salvation. Repentance: The fallacy and inconsistency of objecting to repentance. The nature of repentance. The radical meaning of the Latin, French, and Greek words which are translated repentance. The scriptural and theological meaning of repentance. Repentance proved to be necessary to salvation. Faith is necessary to salvation. What saving faith is. Dr. Pye Smith's definition of faith. Faith implies knowledge, or it is collaterally connected therewith. Wesley's definition of faith. True saving faith explained in scriptural language. Saving faith produces inward evidence and full assurance. Faith, in Scripture, is frequently associated with love. Is faith the gift of God, or the act of man? Various opinions on this subject. Faith, when properly considered, in all its relationships, is both the gift of God and the act of man. Does faith precede or follow repentance. The opinions of Professor Buck and Dr. Dwight on this subject appear incorrect. General remarks.

THE grand object and design of the Saviour in assuming our nature, and offering himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the human race, was, as we have already shewn, to provide salvation for the whole world; and in this salvation there is comprehended several blessings, which, when viewed theologically, may be distinctly considered, and which claim our particular attention; such as Pardon, Justification, Adoption, Regeneration, Santification, and Eternal Life; and these blessings are received on the conditions, that we repent of our sins and truly believe in Christ as our Saviour.

Dr. Hannah says: "Regeneration, or the new birth,

constitutes that spiritual change which is wrought in the penitent believer by the agency of the Holy Ghost, while he graciously attests our acceptance with God. It is therefore received through the same act of faith that leads to our acceptance; but, in what we may humbly term the order of divine operation, it immediately follows the witness of the Spirit, and comprehends that inward renewing which, by means of his witness or testimony, he accomplishes in us, as the commencement of our Christian holiness." And the same author, referring to "Watson's Institutes," part ii. chap. xxiv., at the beginning, says: "Though that excellent writer has certainly fallen into an inadvertency, when, in his general arrangement of topics, he places regeneration before adoption, and therefore before the witness of the Spirit, I can attribute this inadvertency only to very excusable haste, because it is inconsistent with the views which that eminent theologian habitually entertained, and which he has ably advocated in other portions of his writings." R. Watson, on the Concomitants of Justification, shews that the root of holiness is love; that there is no true love preceding a manifested pardon; that the manifestation of pardon succeeds the act of pardon in the Divine Mind; that the agent who manifests this secret and invisible act of the mind of God is the Holy Spirit; that there is no regeneration where there is no love and holiness," &c. According to this mode of reasoning, the logical inference is, that the order to be observed in reference to the arrangement of the above subjects should be: 1st, Repentance; 2nd, Faith; 3rd, Justification; 4th, The Witness of the Spirit; 5th, Adoption; and 6th, Regeneration. It may nevertheless be observed, that some eminent theologians

place regeneration before adoption. When soberly and impartially considered, it seems very difficult to conceive of one taking place before the other; for "although adoption may seem to precede regeneration in order of nature, yet not of time; they may be distinguished, but cannot be separated." There is no adoption, says Charnock, without regeneration: "Adoption is not a mere relation: the privilege and image of the sons of God go together. A state of adoption is never without a separation from defilement." 2 Corinthians vi. 17, 18. "The new name in adoption is never given till the new creature be formed." Having made these introductory remarks, which will be necessary for the reader to bear in mind, let us now consider on what conditions man receives pardon, justification, and all those blessings and privileges which are comprehended in salvation through Christ.

1. It is not on the ground of good or meritorious works. On this subject the Word of God is clear and emphatic. St. Paul's epistle to the Romans settles this question beyond all doubt or contradiction. In the first place, he proves man's apostacy, and the universal depravity of human nature, which consequently affects all men, of every rank, class, and nation. From which fact he argues the absolute impossibility of man's being saved by works of righteousness: "By the deeds of the law shall no flesh living be justified." It is "not by works of righteousness which we have done," or can do, "but by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." In a manner equally explicit and emphatic are similar declarations in every part of the New Testament, and especially in the apostolic writings. It would