These are some of the genuine effects which flow from the exercise of a lively faith; and these effects do so invariably follow the act itself, that we may safely address the weakest believer, as our Lord was accustomed to address the patients that passed under his healing hand-Thy faith hath saved thee.

It is, then, through the medium of faith that we enter into that divine rest, which is set before us in the Gospel; laying down all our fears and anxieties, all our guilt and infirmity, all our cares and concerns, at the feet of Him who careth for us, and who hath taken upon himself the charge of all our affairs. And here, out of many precious promises, I will select one, by way of marking the effect it is calculated to produce, so far as it is steadily believed and acted upon. -My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. This promise is made up of very few words; but it imports every thing that can be asked or wished on the part of man. It relates to his comforts and his crosses, every condition he is to be in, and every event that is to befal him: all are to be regulated by unerring wisdom, all are to

be overruled by an omnipotent hand, and all are to issue in his own highest advantage. Now it is manifest, that whoever gives unlimited credit to this promise, is delivered at once from all his distresses, and feels himself freed from all painful solicitude about future occurrences. The feelings of such a believer are effectually tranquillized, and he dwells at ease; he is afraid of no evil tidings from any quarter; he is grateful for the past, he is satisfied with the present, and is daily looking forward in full assurance of faith.

Such has been the experience of all God's people in all their generations. Under the Jewish economy, we hear David expressing himself thus-He hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure this is all my salvation and all my desire. It was in this manner that David entered into rest, through the exercise of an implicit confidence in God. And under the gospel dispensation, we find an apostle expressing himself, on the same ground, in language still more triumphant—I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things pre

sent, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus.

The great apostle was thus enabled to walk by faith, and not by sight. And in such a state, he had the strongest possible reason for affirming, as he does in my text, We who have believed, do enter into rest.

And now, my brethren, let us fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. Do not suppose, that any painful sense of guilt, or any secret feeling of unworthiness ought to prevent your reliance upon the promise of God. Imagine not, that you must wait till you are in other circumstances, before you presume to believe. Nay, my brethren, but believe, in the first place, and every thing else that is desirable will follow of course. Only believe: for all things are possible to him that believeth. To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation: for some, when they had heard, did provoke. But with whom was the Lord grieved forty years? And to whom sware he that they should not enter,

into his rest, but to them that believed not? Their want of faith proved the cause of their exclusion; they could not enter in because of their unbelief. Take heed, therefore, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

We have the word of God in our hands, it is constantly preached in our churches, and enforced among us by all the among us by all the arguments that human ingenuity can devise: yet it profits us not. We are still far from righteousness, strangers to God, and aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. Thus, the means of grace are rendered unavailable, the divine purpose is defeated, and the righteous Judge of all the earth is provoked from day to day. The word of inspiration was given for many important and practical purposes, to enlighten the mind, and alarm the conscience; to rectify our errors, and quicken our obedience. But it is generally observed to fail in all these respects, among the rich and the poor, in public and in private life. Men are still lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, unthankful for mercies, unhumbled by judgments, despisers of them that are

good, having a form of godliness but denying the

power.

That these things are so, is too manifest to be denied; and the cause of all these evils is readily pointed out-the word is not mixed with faith in them that hear it. The word of God is rendered unproductive because men refuse to hear it. For though many, either wholly or in part, neglect the public means of grace; yet our churches are not absolutely deserted. Ancient custom; or a sense of decency, where higher motives are wanting, still lead men to mingle in our religious assemblies. They sit before God as his people, they become partially acquainted with the Holy Scriptures, and can by no means be considered as total strangers to the promises of the gospel. Neither is the word of revelation rendered unproductive, through the want of talents or zeal in those who are appointed to administer it. For though many of us are miserably defective, both in our attainments and our ministrations; yet the disobedience and profaneness, the negligence and lukewarmness of our congregations, are not