FAITH AND OBEDIENCE.
ET a plain man read the Gospels with a serious and humble mind, and as in God's presenee, and I suppose he would be in no perplexity at all about the meaning of these words. They are elear as the day a.t first reading, and the rest of out Saviour's teaehing does but eorroborate their obvious neaning. I eoneeive that if sueh a man, after reading them and the other similar passages whieh oeeur in the Gospels, were told that he had hot mastered the sense of theln, and that in marrer of faet to attempt to enter into life by keeping the commandments, to attelnpt to keep the commandments in order to enter into lire, were suspicious and dangerous modes of expression, and that the use of them showed an ignorance of the real sph-it of Christ's doctrine, he wofld in despair say, "Then tnfly Scripture is hot a book for the mtfltitude, but for those only who bave educated and refined unde:standings, so as to see things in a sense different from their obvious meaning."
Or, again, supposing one, who disbelieved our Lord's divinity, fell in with persons who did thus consider that fo keep the commandments by way of entering into lire, was a sign of spiritual blindness in a man, not fo say of pride and reprobation; do you suppose there would be any possibility of their silencing him as regards his own particular heresy, with Scripture proofs of the sacred truth which he denied? For can lhe doctrine that Christ is God, be more clearly emmciated than the precept, that, to enter into lire, we must keep the commandments? and is if not the way to make men think that Scripture bas no definite meaning af all, and that each man nmy faifly put his own sense upon if, when they see out Lord's plain directions thus explained away? The occasion of this unreal interpretation of Scripture, which, in fact, does exist among us fo a oTeat extent, is, that St. Paul, in some passages of his Epistles, teaches us that we are accepted and saved by faith; and it is argued that, since he wrote under the guidance of the promised Spirit, his is the true Gospel mode of Speech, and that the language of Christ, the Eternal Word of God, must be drawn aside, however violently, into that certain meaning which is assumed as the only true sense of St. Paul. How out Divine Master's words are explained away, what ingenious refinements are used to deprive us of the plain and solemn sense which they bear on their very front, it profits not here to inquire; stil] no one, it xnay be presumed, can deny, that, whether rightly or 'rongty, they are turned aside in a very unexpected way, unless rather they are put out of sight altogether, and forgotten, as ff superseded by the Apostolic Epistles. I)oubtless those Epistles are inspired by the Holy Spirit: but He was sent from Christ to glorify and illuminate the words of Christ. The two heaveuly witnesses cannot speak diversely; faith will listen to them both. Surely our duty is, neither to resist the 0ne nor the 0ther; but humbly to consider whether there is hot solne one substantial doctrine which they teach in COmlnon; and that with God's blessing I wfll now attempt to do. How aré we sinners to be accepted by Ahnighty God? I)outless the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is the mcritorious cause of our justification, and His Church is the ordaiucd itstrtmctt of conveying it to us. But our present question relates to another subject, to our owu part in appropriating it; and here I say Scripture makes two answers, sayiug sonmtimes "Believe, and you shall be saved," and sometimes "Keep the commandments, and you shall be saved." Let us consider whether these two modes of speech are hot reconcilable with each other. What is naeant by faith? it is to feel in good earnest that we are creatures of God; it is a practical perception of the unseen world; it is to understand that this world is hot enough for out happiness, to look beyond it on towards God, to realize His presence, to wait upon Him, to endeavour to learn and to do His will, and to seek our good from Him. It is hot a mere temporary strong act or impetuous feeling of the mind, an impression or a view coming upon it, but it is a lmbit, a state of mind, lasting and consistent. To bave faith in God is to surrender one's-self to God, humbly to put one's interests, or to wish fo be allowed fo put them into His hands who is the Sovereign Giver of all good. Now, a.gain, ]et me ask, what is obedience? if is the obvious mode, suggested by nature, of a creature's conducting himself in (;od's sight, who fears Him as his Maker, and knows that, as a sinner, he has especial cause for fearing film. Under such circumstances he "will do what he can" to please Him, as the woman whom onr Lord commended. He will look "every way to sec how it is possible to al)prove himself fo Him, and will rejoice to find any service which nmy stand as a sort of prooï that He is in earnest. And he will find nothing better as an offering, or as an evidence, than obedience fo that Holy Law, which conscience tells him bas been given us by God Himself; that is, he will be diligent in doing all his duty as far as he knows it and can do it,—Thus, as is evident, the tvo states of mind a.re altogether one and the saine: it is quite indifferent whether we say a man seeks God in faith, or say he seeks Him by obedience; and whereas Almigllty tod bas graciously declared tte will receive and bless all tha.t seek Him, if is quite indifferent whether we say, He accepts those who bclieve, or those who obey. To be]_ieve is to look beyond this world to God, and to obey is fo look beyond this world to God; fo believe is of the heea% and fo obey is of the heart; fo believe is hot a solitary act, but a consistent habit of trust; and to obey is not a solitary act, but a consistent habit of doing out duty in all things. I do not say that faith and obedience do hot stand for separate ideas in out minds, but they stand for nothing more; they are hot divided one from the other in fact. They are but one.thing viewed differently. If if be said that a man may keep from sin and do good without thinking of God, and therefore without being religious or having fiith; this is true, but nothing to the purpose. If is, alas! too true that men often do what is in itself right, hot from the thouglt of God, but for some purpose of this wofld; and all of us have out best doings sullied by the intrusion of bad thoughts and motives, lut all this, I say, is nothing to our present. purpoe; for if. u lmm does rih, , hot for religion's sake but the world's sake, though he happens to be doing right, that is, to perform outwardly good actions, this is in no sense obcdicncc, which is of the he««rt. And if was obedience, hot mere outward good conduct, which I said belonged to the saine telnper of mind as fiith. And I rel)eat if, for by obedience is meant obedience, hot to the wofld, but to God—and habitually to obey Goal, is fo be constant in looking on to God—and to look on fo Ahnighty God, is fo bave faith; so that to "' lire by faith," or "walk by faith" (according to the Scripture phrases), that is, to hve a habit of faith, and to be obedient, are one and the saine general character of mind;viewed as sitting af Jesus' feet, if is called f«ith; viewed as running to do His will, if is called obedience. If, again, it be said that a man may be obedient and yet proud of being so, that is, obedient, without having [ii,] faith, I would maintain, on the other hand, that in nmter of fact a man is proud, or (what is sometimes called) self-righteous, not when obedient, but in proportion to his distbedience. To be proud is to rest on one's-self, which they are most chargeable with who do least; but a really obedient mind is neeessarily dissatisficd with itself, and looks out of itself for help, from understanding the greatness of its task; in other words, in proportion as u man obeys, is he driven to faith, in order fo learn the remedy of the imperfections of his obedienee. Ail this is elear and obvious to every thinking nmn; and this view of the subjeet was surely present to the rninds of the inspired m'iters of Seript.urefor this reason, beeause they use the two words, tMth and obedienee, indiseriminatcly, sometimes deelaring we shall be accepted, saved, by bcliccin9, sometimes by doi 9 out d«lg. And they so interehange these two conditions of God's favour, so qniekly pass to and fro from the one view to the other, as to show that in truth the two do hot differ, exeept in idea. If these apparently two conditions were merely eonneeted, hot substantially one, surely t.he inspired writers would compare them one with the ot.her—surely they would be consistent in approlwiating distinct offices to eaeh. But., in very truth, from the beginning to the end of Seripture, the one voiee of inspiration eonsistently naaintains, hot an uniform eontrast between faith and obedienee, but this one doctrine, that the only way of salvation open to us is the surrendcr of ourselves to our Maker in all things supreme devotion, resignation of out will, the turning with all our heart fo God; and this sta.te of mind is ascribed in Scripture sometimes to the believing, somethnes fo the obedient, according fo the particular passage; and it is no lnatter fo which it is ascribed. Now, I will cite some passages from Scripture in proof of what I bave said. The Psallnist says, '" Lord, who shall abide in Thy ta.benmcle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart." "He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath hot lifted up his soul unto vanity nor sworu deceitfully. '' Here obcdicnce is described as securing a mau's salvation. I-lut, in another l'sa.lin, we read, "How great is Thy goodness which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought hr them that tr'.st in T]ce.t"2 Here, trust or faith is the condition of God's favour. Again, in other Psalms, first, "What man is he that desireth lire? Kcep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. /)t2par fom eeil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.".... Next, it is said, "The Lord is nigh unto tllem that are of a bro]«cn hca't, and saveth such as be of a contrite s2irit." Lastly, "None of them that lrus in Him shall be desolate." Here, obedience, rel»entance, and faith, are successively mentioned as the meana of obtaining God's favour; and why all of them, but because they are all names for one and the saine substantial character, only viewed on different sides of it, that one character of lnind which is pleasing and acceptable fo Almighty God? Again, the prophet Isaiah says, "Thou Ps. xr. 1, 2; xxir. 4. Ps. xxxi. 19 xxxir. 12—14, 18, 22.
wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee. ''1 Yet, in the precediug verse he had proclaimed, "Open ye the gates (of the heavenly city) that the righteous nation, which keepeth the Truth, may enter in." In like manner Solomon says, "By 9tcrcy atd lmtlh iniquity is purged:" I)auiel, that "gncrcy fo the.oor" is a "breaking off of sin," and "an healing of error:" Nehemiah prays God fo "remember him," and "hOt wipe out his good d«eds for lhe I[ous¢ of h is Çod;" yet I[abakkuk says, the "just slmll live by hisfaith." What honour out Saviour put on faith I need hardly remind you. He blessed Peter's confession, and, in prospect., those who, though they sav Him hot on earth, as TholnaS, yet believe; and in His miracles of mercy, faith was t.he condition He exacted for the exertion of His powers of healing and restoration. On one occasion He says, ".,411 thisgs are possible to him tha belicvetK ''s Yet, afterwards, in His solemn account of the last Judgment, He tells us that it is obcdience to ttis vill which will then receive His blessing, "hmsmuch as ye have done if unto one of the least of these [y brethren, ye lmve done it unto [e. '' Again, the Angel said to Cornelius, "Thy prayers and thine altos are corne up for a memorial before God;" and Cornelius is described as "a devout man, and one that feared God with all lais house, which gave much altos fo the people and prayed fo God alway. '' Yet it is in the very saine
Book of Acts that we read St. Paul's words, "tclieve, and thou shalt be saved. ''1 His Epistles afford us still nore striking inst.ances of t.he intimtte association existing in the Apostle's thoughts between believing and obeyillg, as though exhibiiollS of one and the saine spiritual chamcter of nfind. For instance, he says that Abraham was accel)ted (hot by cerenonial observances, but) by faith, yet St. James says he was accepted by vorks of ob«dicnce. The mcanillg is clear, th,t Abraham round favour in (od's sight, bccasc he gave himsdf up to Ilim: this is fidth or obedience, whichever we please to call if. No marrer whether we say, _Abraham was favoured because his fitith embraced God's Tromiscs, or because his obedience cherished God's commands, for God's commands are pronfises, and His promises commands to a heart devoted o I-Iim; so that, as there is no substantial difference between command and promise, so there is likewise none between obedience and faith. Perhaps it is scarcely correct even to say that faith cornes first and obedience follows as an inseparable second step, and that fith, as being the first step, is accepted. For hot a single act of fait.h can be named but what bas in it the nature of obedience, that is, implies the nakiug an effort and a consequent victory. Wha is the fifith which earns Baptism—the very faith which approl)riat.es the free gift of grace—but an acquiescence of the reason in the Gospel Mysteries? Even the thief ul)on the Cross had (it would seen) to rule his reason, fo struggle against sight, and fo bring tmder pride and obstinacy, cs xvi. 1.
when he turned to Him as his Saviour, who seemed to mort.al eyes only his fellow-suffcrer. A mere confession or prayer, which might not be really an act of obedience in us, might be such in him. On the other hand, faith does hot cease with the first act, but continues. It works with obedience. In proportion as a man believes, so he obeys; thcy corne together, and ow together, and last through lit'e.:Neither are 1)ert'ect; both are on the saine lcvel of imperfection; they keep pace with each othcr; in proportivn fo the imperfection of one, sois the iml»erfection of the other; and, as the one advances, so does the other also. Ad now I have described the temper of mind which bas, in eve T age, been acceptable to Almighty God, in ifs two aspects of faith and obedience. In every age "the righteous shall live by faith." And if is renmrkable that these words of the prophet HabakkoE, which St. Paul quotes three several rimes, to show the identity of true religion under all dispensations, do also represent it under these very two characteristics, Iighteousness and Faith. Beïore closing the subject, however, if may be necessary, in a few words, to explain u,lty itis that, in some parts of St. Paul's:Epistles, a certain stress is laid upon faith over and above the other parts of a religious character, in out justification. The reason seems to be as follows: the Gospel being pre-eminently a covenant of grace, faith is so far of more excellence than other virtues, because if confesses this beyond all others. Works of obedience witness fo God's just claires upon us, hot to His mercy: but faith cornes empty-handed, hides even ifs own worth, and does but point af that precious scheme of redemption which God's love has devised for sinners. Hcnce, if is the frame of mind especially suitable fo us, and is said, in a special way, fo justify us, because if glorifies God, witnessing that He accepts those and those only, who confess they are hot worthy fo be accepted. On this account, faith bas a certain prerogative of dignity under the Goslel. Af the saine rime we must never forger that the more usual mode of doctrine both with Christ and His Alostles is to refer oto" acceltance to obedience to the connnandments, hot fo faith; and this, as if would appear, from a merciful anxiety in their teaching, lest, in contemlflating God's grace, we should forger our ow dtties. To conclude. If, after all, to believe and to obey be but different characteristics of one and the saine state of mind, in what a most serious error are whole masses of men involved af this day, who are commonly considered religious! If is undeniable that there are multitudes who would avow with confidence and exultation that they put obedience only in the second place in their religious scheme, as if it were rather a necessary conseluence of faith than requiring a direct attention for ifs ov sake; a something subordinate fo it, mther than connatural and contemporaneous 'ith if. If is certain, however startling itis to reflect upon it., that numbers do hot in any true sense believe that they shall be judged; they believe in a coming judgment as regards the wicked, but they do hot believe that ail men, that they themselves personally, will undergo if.
T wish from my heurt that the persons in question couh! be persuaded to read Scripture with their owr eyes, and take it in a plaiu and natural way, instead of perplexing themselves with their human systems, aud measuring and arranging its inspired declarations by an artificial rule. Are fley quite sure that iu the next world they will be alle to remember these strained interpretations in their greatest need? Theu SUl'cl)ç while we wait for the Judgment, the luminous sentences of ]ivine Truth will corne over us, first one and theu another, and we shall vonder hov we ever misunderstood them! Then will they confront us in their simplicity and entirêness, and we shall mlderstand that nothing can be added to them, nothing taken away. Then at lengoE,h, if hot bcfore, we shall comprehend our LoM's assurance, flat "He -ill reward every man according fo his works;" St. Paul's, that "we must all appear before the Judgment-seat of Christ, that every oue may receive the things doue in his body, according to that he h,.th doue, whether if be good or bad;" St. Peter's, that "He is ordained of God fo be the Judge of quick ald dead;" St. James's, that "a man is justified by works and hot by faith only;" and St. John's, that "they are blcssed that do His COmlnandments, that they might have right fo the tree of life, and may enter in through the gares into the city." Whatever else 1]lLy be tnle, these declarations, so solenmly, so repeatedly ruade, must hold good in their plain and obvious sense, and may hot be infringed or superseded.
So many testimonies combined are "an auchor of the soul, sure and steadih.st," and if they mean something else than what they alI say, what part of Scrilture caa we dare trust in fitture as a guide and consolation? "0 Lord, Thy Word endureth for ever in heaven!" but the expositions of men a.re written on the sea-shore, and are blotted out before the evening.
HE very best that can be said of t.be fallen and redeemed race of Adam is, that they confess their fall, and condemn themselves for if, and t W to recover themselves. And this state of mind, which is in fact the only possible religion left to sinners, is represented to us in the parable of the t'rodigal Son, who is described as receiving, then abusing, and then losing God's blessings, sufïering from their loss, and brought to himself by the experience of suffering. A poor service indeed to offer, but the best we can offer, fo make obedience our second choice when the world deserts us, when that is dead and lost to us wherein we were held! Let if not be supposed, because I say tlfis, fllat I think tllat in the life-time of each one of us there is some clearly marked date at which he began to seek God, and from which he has served him faithfully. This rnay be so in the case of this person or tllat, but it is far fron being the rule. We may not so limit the mysterious work of the Holy Ghost. He condescends to plead with us continually, and what He cannot gain from us atone rime, He gains at another. Ilepentance is a work carried on at diverse rimes, and but graduq]ly and with many reverses perfected. Or rather, and without any change in the meaning of the word repentance, itis a work never complete, never entire— unfinished both in its inherent imperfection, and on accourir of the fresh and fresh occasions which arise for exercising it. We are ever sinning, we must ever be renewing our sorrow and our purpose of obedience, repeating our confessions and our prayers for pardon. /No need to look back to the first beginnings of our repentance, should we be able to trace these, as something solita-/and peculiar in our religious course; we are over but beginning; the most perfect Christian is to hhnself but a beginner, a penitent prodigal, who bas squandered God's gifts, and cornes to Him tobe tried over again, hot as a son, but as a hired servant. In this parable, then, we need hot understand the description of the returning prodigal fo imply that there is a state of disobedience and subsequent state of conversion definitely marked iu the li{e of Christians generally. It describes the state of all Christians at all rimes, and is ftflfilled more or less, according to circumstances, in this case or that; fulfilled in one way and measure at the bcginning of out Christian course, and in another at the end. So I shall now consider it, viz., as describing the nattre of all true repentance. 1. First, observe, the prodigal son said, "I ara no more worthy tobe called Thy son, make me as one of Thy bired servants." "We know that God's service is perfcct freedom, hot a servitude; but this if is in the case of flose who have long served Him; af first if is a kind of servitude, if is a task till out likings and fastes corne tobe in unison with those which Go has sauctioned. If is the happiness of Saints and Angels in heaven fo take plcasure in their duty, and nothing but thcir duty; for thcir mind goes that one way, and pours it.self out in obedience fo God, spontaneous]y and without tht,ught or dclibcration, just as man sins natm:ally. This is the state to which we are tending if we give oursclves u 1) fo religion; but in ifs commencement, religiou is nccessarily ahnost a task and a ibrmal service. Vhen a man begins to see his wickedness, and resolves on leading a new lire, he asks, WTtat nst I do? he has a 'ide field belote him, and he does hot know how to enter it. He must be bid to do sonm particular plain acts of obedience, to fix him. He nmst be told to go to Church r%'ularly,-to say his prayers morning and evening, and statedly fo read the Scriptures. This -ill limit his efforts fo a certai end, and relieve him of the perplexity and indecision which the grêatness of his work af first causes. But who does hot see that this going fo Church, 1)rayig in private, and reading Scripture, nmst in lfis case be, in great measure, what is called a form and a task? Having been used to do as he would, and indulge hinself, and having very little nnderstanding or liking for religion, he cannot take lleasure in these religious duties; they 'ill necessarily be a weariness to him; nay, he will hot be able even to give his attention to them. Nor will he see the use of them; he will hot be able to find they lna];e him better though he repeat them again and again. Thus his obedience af first is altogether that of a hired servant, "The servant knoweth hOt what his lord doeth. 'u This is Christ's accourir of him. The servant is hot in his lord's confidence, does hot understand what he his aireing af, or why he commands this and forbids th,t. e×ecutes the commands given him, he goes hither ad thither, punctmtlly, but by the mere lctter of the coinmand. Such is the state of those who bcgS religious obedience. They do hot see anything corne of their devotional or penitential services, nor do they take pleasure in them; they are obliged to defer to God's word simply because if is His word; to do which iraplies faith indeed, but also shows they are in that condition of a servant which the prodig'al felt himself tobe in at best. Now, I insist upon this, because the conscience of repentant sinner is often uneasy af finding religion task to him. He thinks he ought to rejoice in the Lord at once, nd itis true he is often told to do so; he is often taught fo begin by cultivating high affections. Perhaps he is even warned against offering to God what is termed a formal serice. Now this is reversing the course of a Christian's life. The prodigal son judged better, when he begged fo be ruade one of his fiather's servants—he knew his place. We qtust bcgin religion with what looks lfle a form. Out fault will be, hOt in beginning if as a form, but in continuing it as a form. John xv. 15.
:For itis our duty fo be ever striving and praying fo cdcr into the real spirit of our services, and in proportiot as we mderstand them and love them, they-will cease tobe a form and a task, and will be the real expressions of out minds. Thus shall we gradually be changed in heart ri'oto servants into sons of Almighty God. And though from the ve W tïrst, we nmst be talUght to look fo 0hrist as the Saviour of sinners, still His very love will fl'ighten, xl,ile it encourages us, from the thought of out ingratitude. It will fill us with remorse and dread of judgment, for we are hot as the heathen, we have received privilcges, and have abused them. 2. So lnuch, then, on the condition of the repentant sinner; next., let us consider the motives wlfich actuate him in his endeavours fo serve God. 0ne of the most natlral, and among the first that arise in the mind, is that of 2»'ol»itiati'ng Him. When we are conscious fo ourselves of having offended another, and wish tobe forgiven, of course we look about for some eans of setting ourselves right with him. If it be a slight offence, our oveoEures are in themselves enough, the lnere expression that we wish otr fault forgotten. But if we have committed some serious injury, or behaved with any special ingratitude, we, for a rime, keep ata distance, from a doubt how we shall be received. If ve can get a common friend to medite in ottr behalf, our purpose is [,est answered. But even in that case we a.re hot satisfied with leving our interests to another; we try to do something for ourselves; nd on perceiving any signs of compassion or placbility in the person offended, we ttempt fo approach him with pro- pitiations of our own, either very humble confession, or some acceptable service. It was under fl6s feeling that Jacob attelnpted to conciliate the govenmr of Egypt (Vhom he knew hot to be his son Joseph), with a present of the best fruits of the land, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds." And this holds good when applied to the case of sinners desiring forgiveness from God. The marks of His mercy all around us are strong enough to inspi us with some general hope. The very fct that He still continues out life, and has hot at once cast us into hell, shows that He is waiting awhile before the wrath cornes upon us to the uttermost. Under these eircumstanees if is natural that the eonseienee-strieken sinner should look round him for some atonement with which to meet his God. And this in faet has been the usual eourse of religion in all ages. Whether "with burnt-offerings and ealves of a year old, with thousands of rares, and ten thousands of rivers of oil, with the offering of a man's first-born for his transgression, the fruit of his body for the sin of his soul;" or, in a higher way, "by doing justly, loving merey, and wal]dng humbly ith out God;" by some means or other, repentant sinners have attempted to win God's attention and engage His ïavour. And this mode has, before now, been graciously accepted by God, though He generally chose the gift which He would accept. Thus Jacob was instructed to sacrifice on the altar at Bethel, after his return from Padan-aram. I)avid, on the other hand, speaks of the more spiritual sacrifice in the fifty-first Psalm: "The lIicah vi. 6-8.
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite hem't, O God, Thou wilt hot despise." Sueh are the services of the penitent, as suggested by nature, and approved by God Himself in the Old Testamen0. ]lut now, turning fo the parable of the prodigal son, we find nothing of this kind in if. There is no mention nmde hcre of any offering on his part to his father, any prol,itiatory Wol'lc This should be well observed. The lruth is, that out Saviour has shown us in ai1 things a more perfcet way than was ever belote shown to man. As l[c promises us a more exalted holiness, an exaeter self-eommand, a more generous self-denial, and a fifller knowledge of truth, so He gives us a more truc and noble rcpentanee. The most noble repentanee (if a failen being ean be noble in his rail), the most deeorous eonduet in a eonseious sinner, is an «nconditio.al s«rrcndcr of himself fo Godnot a bargaining about terres, hot a seheming (so fo eall if) to be reeeived baek again, but an instant surï'cndcr of himself in the first instance. Without knowing what wiil become of him, whether God will spare or hot, merely with so mach hope in his heart as not utterly fo despair of pardon, stiil hOt looking merely fo _pardon as an end, but rather looking to the claires of the ]3enefactor whom he has offended, and smitten with shame, and the sense of his inatitude, he must strrcnder hinsclf to his lawful Sovereign. He is a naway offender; he must corne back, as a very first step, before anything can be determined about him, bad or good; he is a rebel, md must lay down his arms. Self-devised offerings might do in a less serious marrer; as an atonement for sin, they imply a defective view of the evil and exten of sin in his own case. Such is tha perfect vay vhich nature shrinks from, but vhich our Lord enjoys in the parable— surrender. The prodigal son vaited hot for his father to show signs of placability. He did hOt merely al»proach u sl)ace, and thea stand as a coward, curiously in«luiring, anti dreading how his fther felt towards him. He ruade up his lnind af once to degradation ut the best, perhal»S fo rejection. avse and vent straight on towards his father, with collected naind; and though his relenting fitther saw him from a distance, aud weut out to meet him, still his purpose was that of an instant frank submission. Such must be Christian repentance: First we must put aside the ideu of iïnding a remedy for our sia; then, though ve ieel the guilt of it, yet we must set out tirmly towards God, hot knowing for certain that we shall be forgiven, tIe, indeed, meets us on out vay vith the tokens oi His favour, and so He bears up human faith, vhich else vonld sink under the apprehension of meeting the ZIost ttigh God; still, for out repentance tobe Christian, there must be in if that generous retaper of self-surrender, the acknowledgment tht we are unworthy tobe called any more His sons, the abstinence irom all ambitious bol)es of sitting on His right hand or His left, and the villingness to bear the henry yoke of bond-servants, if tIe should put if upon us. This, I say, is Christian repentance. Will it be said, "If is too hard for u beginner." true: but I bave hot beea describfiag the case of beginner. The parable teaches us -hat the character of the true lenitent is, hot how mea actually atfirst corne to God. The longer [mi we lire, the more we may hope to attain this higher kin(l of repentance, riz., in proportion as we advance in the other graces of the perfect Christian character. The truest kind of repentance as little cornes af first, as perfect conforlnity fo any other part of God's Law. is gained by long practice—it will corne af length. The dying Christian will fulfil the part of the returning prodigal more exactly than he ever did in his former years. When first we turn to Goal in the actual history of our lires, our repentance is mixed with al1 kinds of imperfect views and feelings. Doubtless there somet.hing of the true temper of simple submission; but the wish of appeasing Goal on the one hand, or a hard-heart.ed insensibility about our sins on t.he other, mere selfish dread of lunishment, or the expectation of a sudden easy pardon, these, and such-like principles, influence us, whatever we may say or may think we feel. It is, indeed, easy enough to bave good words put into our mouths, and our feelings roused, and to profess the union of utter self-abandonment and enlightened sense of sin; but to claire is hot really fo possess these excellent tempers. eally to gain these is a work of rime. If is when the Christian bas long fought the good fight of faith, and by experience knows how few and how impe-rfect are Us best services; then if is that he is able fo acquiesce, and most glaçlly acquîesces in the statenent, that we are accepted by faith only in the raerits of out Lord and Savi«ur. When he surveys his lire at the close of i, what is there he can trust in what act of it wi11 stand the scrutiny of the Holy Goal? of course no 1»art of if, so nuch is plain without saying