If loveliness is beheld, and recognised as loveliness, you then believe in that loveliness; and love and admiration will necessarily ensue. If danger is appreciated, and understood as danger, it has then become at once the object of faith, and it will incontinently produce the corresponding affection of fear. In these several cases, it is not so much whether the mind has a speculative or practical, an historical or a realizing faith, as whether it has, with respect to some real object, and in application to itself, a full notion of the loveliness of what is lovely, or the terrors of what is terrible. If you have the love of life, and have been in imminent danger of losing it, fully apprehending the extent and nature of the danger; and if you have been rescued from that danger by a deliverer, at great cost and risk to himself, fully apprehending likewise the fact and the cost of his benefit to you; you have ipso facto faith in the danger, and faith in the deliverer; and the necessary consequence will have been, terror as respects the one, and gratitude as respects the other.

This view of faith, according to Mr. Erskine, necessarily supposes the capacity for such impressions within the mind as the object with out is naturally capable of producing. If you have no capacity for fear, of course you cannot believe in danger: if you have no capacity for gratitude, you cannot believe in the kindness of the deliverer: just as, without capacity for the impressions of sight and smell, you can neither believe in the beauty or the fragrance of the moss

rose.

But here, again, Mr.Erskine would warn us against supposing that faith is the affection itself, to which it only, as it were, conducts us. Faith is not fear; nor is faith gratitude: but when we have attained the faith that is, according to our author, the understanding of what is fearful or what is benevolent, then we begin to fear; then we begin to love and

to admire. Faith is the channel by which the object, either of terror or of admiration, passes into the heart to be feared or to be admired: so that, if we have no right understanding of the object; if we see it not at all, or view it but partially, and lose sight of those essential qualities which constitute its loveliness or its fearfulness; then we cannot feel either love or fear. In this case, faith, which Mr. Erskine considers always runs parallel with knowledge, conveys to the inward sense the truth, perhaps, of some uninteresting fact; but not of any thing that bends the affections, or commands the heart. It becomes an inlet only to the historical or the reasoning faculty of the mind, and, in consequence, we are touched only as by the events of history or the propositions of geometry. Faith, in short, is the cause and the guide of those affections in the mind which arise from outward objects: and whereever the affection has not been awakened, it has been in consequence of a failure in point of faith, which has not brought the proper object home to the mind. If we had believed, understood, or been impressed by the object, as it is in its own essential nature, we should have been awakened by it to the corresponding affections. Let us hear Mr. Erskine himself in application of these principles to Christian faith.

"The impression on our minds must correspond to the object" (presented to us in the Gospel, namely, the character of God); "that is to say, it must be a moral impression, otherwise we do not understand it, and therefore cannot believe it.

By impression, I never mean the effect which an object when understood produces on the mind; I mean simply the conception which the mind forms of the object, independent altogether of its influence on the character. These two things are distinct from each other, the one being the cause and the other the effect. In order then to a full belief of the Gospel, there must be an impression or conception on our mind, representing every moral quality, and every truth contained and embodied in the facts of the Gospel his

tory; for the Gospel consists not in the facts, but in the meaning of the facts. We are not left to interpret the facts ourselves, but, along with the history of them, we have received the interpretation of them in the word of God. It is there written, that God so loved the world, as to give his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' In order to understand and believe this, it is not enough to believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for sinners. We must receive impressions on our minds corresponding to those circumstances of our situation, which called for the interposition of Divine compassion. We are here described as perishing. We may have the general idea of perishing in our minds without fear or concern, and we may have the idea of others perishing without being much moved; but it is impossible that a man can be impressed with the fact of his being himself in a perishing state, under a just condemnation of eternal misery, without much fear and concern. If then the Gospel implies that we are in this condition; and if the value of the deliverance which it proclaims, rests on the truth of its statement in this respect;

we do not understand nor believe the

Gospel, unless we have on our minds an impression corresponding to the fact that this condition is our deserved fate.

"We must also receive on our minds impressions corresponding to a deliverance from this state. This impression must be joy; for deliverance from misery means that which produces joy. If the Gospel contains tidings of deliverance for persons in our circumstances, we do not understand it unless there be on our minds the corresponding impression of joy.

"If this interposition on our behalf proceeded from holy love, on the part of God; we cannot understand the nature of the Gospel, unless we know both what holiness and love mean; and this we cannot know by mere description. We must have on our minds impressions corresponding to holiness and love, before we can believe in holy love. Had we no affections, the Gospel would be in vain proclaimed to us, because it is addressed to the affections, and without them we could not understand it. And when they are unexercised upon it, it comes to the same thing as if we were without them.

"Is it then with my heart or affections that I believe the Gospel? No. No more than I believe colours with my eye. I cannot understand or believe in colours CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 260.

without the information which has been received through my eye. Neither can I understand or believe in happiness, or misery, or moral qualities, except by means of the information which has been received through my affections." pp. 43-46.

If faith is not the affection itself

which it nevertheless excites; if it conveys only those notices to the mind by which, when distinctly understood and appreciated, the affections are set in motion; so also it is not to be understood, according to Mr. Erskine, as imparting new affections by means of the notices it conveys from the Gospel of Christ, but as awakening those only which were there before. Two men apparently believe the same thing: yet one has the corresponding affections called forth into exercise; the other, not. Both persons had, in truth, the same affections, but one has not that impression or belief of the truths in question which the other has. They only apparently understand and view the thing difbelieve the same thing: they really ferently: it is not the same object to the one as to the other. For example: the favour, the benefit conferred in the Gospel, is not understood by a person to be a favour; he does not feel it a favour; he has not faith in it as a favour: and therefore he has neither joy in it as a blessing, nor gratitude for it as a grace conferred. If he felt, believed, appreciated it as a favour, he would possess already those affections which must cause him to rejoice and give thanks.

The strongest of all our affections is the desire of self-preservation. This we all possess; and those who have quenched every lofty and divine affection of soul, at least retain the instinct common to all living creatures, the desire of life and of life's good. To this, the most common of all affections, this universal passion, the Gospel Mr. Erskine considers as most directly addressed: and he considers it the greatest of mercies, the clearest indication of wisdom in the Divine economy of redemption, 3 X

that the sinner is first addressed through this affection. The notice conveyed by faith to his mind is that of the means provided for him of self-preservation; preservation, truly, from the greatest of all calamities, everlasting destruction; and exaltation to the highest of all benefits, eternal glory. It is impossible that faith should apprehend and apply the Gospel in this light, without awakening joy, as at preservation from the highest danger, as at escape from the deepest misery.

"The form in which the Gospel was announced by the angel to the shepherds of Bethlehem, marks its distinguishing characteristic to be joy, and points to these natural instincts as the feelings to which it is addressed. 'Behold,' said the heavenly messenger, 'I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people; for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.' This message was dictated by Him who made the heart of man, and knew what was fitted to give it joy. It

is therefore evident, that unless we see joy in the substance of the message, we do not understand it as God meant it, and therefore cannot believe it. We cannot believe that tidings are joyful to ourselves, unless we see that in them, which excites our joy. The matter of joy lay in the birth of the Deliverer. That person had appeared on earth who, according to Daniel's prediction, was to make an end of sin, and to bring in an everlasting righteousness.

If we are convinced that we are in a state of ruin and condemnation, we cannot but consider the news of deliverance as tidings of great joy. But deliverance sounds poor to a man who does not feel that he requires it. The words of the message, it will be observed, make no allusion whatever to the moral nature of the Gospel; it addresses merely the feelings of joy and sorrow." pp. 51, 52.

Mr. Erskine rises as he advances in this part of his subject. The following passage is as just as it is elevated and affecting.

"Behold these feelings, and then contemplate the glorious character of God; and let us join in praise to Him who hath condescended, through such obscure avenues, to introduce the light of that character into the soul of man. If the Gospel

addressed merely our generous feelings, our love of what is right and excellent, our sense of what is beautiful and lovely, what it is; it would be suited to another it would be a very different thing from order of beings, and with regard to us would scarcely be deserving the name of glad tidings. But, blessed be the name of our God-He hath addressed us in that character which cleaves closest to us -He hath spoken to us as base and polluted, but above all, as selfish beings. The very first principle which he addresses, is that of instinctive self-preservation. He meets the natural cry of misery, and the weary and undefined cravings of the unsatisfied spirit. His loudest and most general invitations, both in the Old and the moral, but to the natural feelings; to the sense of misery, and the desire of happiness. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters.' Isaiah lv. 1. 'Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' Mat. xi. 28. Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.' Rev. xxii. 17. At this despised door of nature the Saviour knocks, and through it he deigns to enter. He came to bind up the broken heart, and to comfort all that mourn. And many come, as it seems, led by the mere instinctive longing after enjoyment, and try the Gospel as a last and forlorn experiment, after the failure of every other attempt to obtain happiness. And, Oh what an unlooked-for discovery do they make! he who had found no resting-place in the world, and who had wandered through it in quest of some object, however insigni. ficant, that might interest him, and for a moment at least remove the sense of that hopeless langour which lay dead upon his heart, finds now an object which his widest desires cannot grasp, even filial communion with God here, and the full enjoyment of Him through a magnificent eternity, on the very threshold of which he already stands. He who has felt himself too weak to resist the storms and roughnesses of life, learns to lean with confidence on Omnipotence. He whose conscience of sin has made life a burden to him, and at the same time has taught him to look with a vague horror to futurity, applies to that fountain which was opened in the house of David for sin and for uncleanness, and he has peace with God, through faith in Jesus Christ. The joy of the Gospel, though it may be at first sought and embraced in gratification of natural instinct, contains in it the princi

New Testaments, are addressed, not to

are wrong who suppose, that the sanctification of a soul consists simply in the truth's abiding in it-and they also are wrong who suppose that a soul can be sanctified by any other means. An unholy soul has little susceptibility of impressions from holy objects; and although they have a natural suitableness to its affections, yet it is scarcely moved or stirred when in contact with them, and when absent from them, feels no desire after them. Whereas a holy soul, in their absence, longs after them, and in their presence is increasingly susceptible of impressions from them; and is at the same time increasingly unsusceptible of impressions from their opposites." pp. 84-86.

We must here bring our quota

tions and our abstract of Mr. Erskine's interesting Essay to a close. We trust we have, in a concise manner, put our readers in possession of the definitions of the Essay, though we are very far from having exhibited to them its beauties and its instructions*. We shall add a very few observations of our own upon the subject, as one of great interest, and it must be owned of some difficulty. And here we must say, that we do not think that Mr. Erskine has altogether cleared away

more.

A specimen of very strong original remark occurs in pp. 74, 75: "No one is justified in sitting still, until he knows Let present duty be influenced by the truth which is at present known. But then it must be a truth; for otherwise the principles opposed to the Gospel are exercised and strengthened by it. A man who performs the external duties of life strictly, who is a liberal contributor to the necessities of others, and who attends Divine ordinances regularly, with the expectation expressed or understood of thus creating to himself a claim on the favour of God, and a plea for the pardon of past sins, is hourly strengthening a principle in the most direct opposition to the cross of Christ, and is hourly' becoming more inaccessible to the glad tidings of salvation. It is quite absurd to recommend to such a man to go on in his course, with the hope that his faithful walking will be rewarded by farther light. The farther he advances on that road, so much the deeper is he involved in condemnation and darkness, and the more unlikely is it that he will ever return." pp. 74, 75.

the difficulties which must always attend the natural development of what is spiritual and divine. "The things of the Spirit of God," we have the highest authority for saying, "must be spiritually discerned;" and we are much inclined to think of the doctrine of Faith, what has been said of some other doctrines of Holy Scripture, that the best study of them is on our knees, in earnest prayer to the Great Father

of Lights. Metaphysically considered, they may be difficult; but, viewed practically and devotionally, they are easy to be understood; be kept in continual remembrance and would that they could as easily and reduced to daily practice!

Mr. Erskine sets out by regretting that so much time has been spent, and he considers lost, in attempting definitions of the act of believing, instead of examining and holding up to view the thing to be believed. Here we entirely join hands with him and we say further, that no one could have succeeded better than himself in delineating "the thing to be believed" in the Gospel and hope, of joy and thanksgiving, of Christ, the great object of faith to the true believer : whilst we may, perhaps, without offence, go on to say, that he has fallen into the commonly imputed defect of clearness, and, if of clearness, then of usefulness also, in so far as he has attempted the definition of faith itself *.

* We imagine that a curious apologue, occurring in pp. 23, 24, of four merchants each receiving a letter of advice from abroad, and each severally failing to use it, through a defect in their mode of receiving it, must be considered as rather defining the manner of faith than the object of faith. Indeed, the case of the third merchant, who "reads his letter as an essay, &c. and therefore is unmoved by it" (p. 24), is peculiarly the case of a man who receives theoretically the whole subject matter of revelation, but, for want of self-application, does not benefit by it. It must surely be said here, that the fault is not the thing believed, but the mode of believing: though even here Mr. Erskine