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Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evi dence of things not seen....Heb. xi. 1.

HAPPINESS, that inestimable jewel, every man is in search after. But to seek it from objects unseen and invisible to our natural senses, is a downright paradox, and will be ever condemned as the greatest absurdity in the judgment of depraved sense and carnal reason. In the knowledge, love, and enjoyment of God, true happiness alone consists. The only living and true God hath revealed himself in Christ Jesus. This is the christian's God. He knows no other. It is a blessed truth built upon and supported by the word of God. By faith this subsists in his mind, and is clear and evident to his new-born soul.

From this inward believing, "That God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself," O what an extensive prospect for hope ariseth! God in Christ; the promises all in Christ; he that believeth is in Christ. Christ dwelleth in his heart by faith: all the blessings of time; all the glories of eternity are sure. They are settled by the yea and amen of God, upon such believing souls. Shall any bold emissary from satan, demand of such a soul, "What right hast thou to the inheritance of this good land? Abraham's sons have Abraham's plea. It is mine by promise; by faith I sojourn in it. God's promise is faith's claim. What he has spoken is the ground or subsistence of hope. But may not other witnesses stand up and declare against the christian? Yea, doubtless, many; from the old man, the flesh, satan, and the law. But the first is under sentence of death, his witness is invalid. Satan is a known liar from the beginning, therefore no credit is to be given to him; the evidence of law is out of date; it is superceded by the promise; "for the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after the covenant, which was confirmed by God in Christ, cannot disannul it, that it should make the promise of none effect."....Gal. iii. 17. But blessed be our Lord, though he suffers his children to be attacked by many adver saries, he deth not leave himself without a witness and an evidence in their hearts. Though each one of them cannot say, I know I am a child of God; yet the weakest believer in Jesus hath the evidence of truth; the witness in himself, of the reality and certainty of invisible objects, "things not seen;" of things past in the eternal covenant of grace and peace; of things in time, the finished work of Jesus; of things to come, the glories of an eternal world; and amidst opposition from every quarter, here is a proof of the inward subsistence and evidence of spiritual and invisible objects, in their longing for stronger faith in them, and clearer knowledge and enjoy ment of them. "To every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance."....Matt. xxv. 29.

The word of God which effectually worketh also in you that believe....1 Thess. ii. 13.

A PROCLAMATION of grace from an earthly king has reduced the most desperate and hardened rebels to lay down their arms and promise true allegiance. But though the word of God is a proclamation of free grace, glad tidings of full pardon; though replete with the most tender expostulations and the most endearing invitations, yet so abominable is our perverseness, so daring our obstinacy, that we should remain deaf to every call, and continue hardened in our rebellion against the most high God, till we fall victims to his justly deserved wrath. For unbelief shuts up every avenue of the soul against the light, truth, peace, and love of the word of God. But, O amazing love! lie in the dust, O my soul! adore the power of our all-conquering Saviour! The gracious Spirit makes gracious words effectual. Hence faith esteems every portion of the gospel as the food, the life, the joy of the soul. By the agency of the Spirit the word becomes powerful to beget faith, and then works effectually in believing hearts.

Those speak unadvisedly who call the word of God a dead letter. Indeed St. Paul saith, "the letter killeth;" but this can never prove. God's word to be dead. That which is dead itself cannot kill. We should distinguish between the letter of the law that killeth all flesh, and the gospel of grace that worketh life and salvation in all who believe. When we read the word of God, we should never consider it distinct from the essential and personal word, JESUS, He is emphatically styled the word of God....Rev. xix. 13. He who executed all the purposes of the word of truth, works effectually in the hearts of the children of faith. Hence, the once despised and lightly esteemed Nazarene is known, believed in, and loved as most precious; "the chiefest among ten thousand, yea as altogether lovely." God's precious promises in Jesus, once wholly unregarded, are now sweetly prized: they are beheld as sweetly ranged and profusely scattered through every page of the lively oracles. The Spirit's holy gifts and sanctifying graces are pleaded as God's blessed charter of free-grace. All his sovereign edicts and absolute declarations of grace and salvation, instead of being proudly cavilled against, are bowed to with humility. In the word of our King there is power. Sin and satan are dethroned in the heart, and Jesus rules and reigns in the soul. Thus the word of God is quick and powerful; thus it works effectually to salvation.

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For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain....Phil. i. 21.

O HAPPY, happy soul! who can thus say with Paul, “in life, in death, Christ is my gain!" Verily, if thou believest on the Son of God, thou mayest. Thou also hast the same right and the same reason as he had. Paul was a poor sinner, even as thou art;' but Christ was all his gain: so he is to thee and every one who believes in him. Come christian, let us, like the wise trader, state our accounts of loss and gain and see the sum total this day. In selfrighteousness before God, peace with God, love to God, hope in God, power to please God, enjoyment of God, the life of our souls, yea, our souls themselves are ALL LOST. We are all a lump of sin, bankrupt sinners, insolvent debtors to law and justice, and are exposed to lie for ever in the prison of hell. Awful loss.

What is our GAIN? Inestimable riches! nothing less than precious Christ, and a precious salvation! O, is his dear name enrolled in the book of our hearts? Can we read Jesus there? Then IN Christ we have perfect righteousness before God, full acceptance with God, free access to God, love from God, peace with God, hope of enjoying, yea, present fellowship with God; we are his children in Christ Jesus; all that he has is ours; every attribute and perfection of Jehovah are engaged for us; his Spirit is ours, to make us holy and happy here, and to lead us to eternal felicity hereafter. But, saith the poor believing sinner, "I am put to a stand in my reckoning; though Christ is my gain, yet I have not entirely lost my burden, sin. Sin is still alive in me." Stop not, O soul, reckon on. Though we have sin, feel sin raging and rebelling, what then? In Christ we have gained a sacrifice for it, and redemption from it. His precious blood hath taken away all the guilt of sin from us, and all the wrath due to us from the justice of God. So it stands upon record in the court of heaven, and the Holy Ghost is witness of it on earth; therefore record this in the court of conscience. Faith can shew a discharge from the guilt of sin and the curse of the law, therefore reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin. Dead indeed, how emphatic! yes, as much dead to sin as a corpse buried under ground; and as much alive to God in Christ, as though you had never committed one sin, nor have any sin in you. "For, O precious words! the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, hath made us free from the law of sin and death."....Rom. viii. 2. Thus in Christ we gain a perfect victory over sin and the law. But say, will sin destroy our mortal bodies? let it; this is all it can do; it cannot hurt our immortal souls; for, thanks be to God, in Christ we have a complete victory over death; Christ is our gain in death. We shall lose nothing by death but sin and sorrow: we shall gain....what? Eternal glory. "We shall be with our Jesus."....John xvii. 24.

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Behold! he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him....Rev. i: 7.

WITH what ardor of heart may every believer cry out, blessed be God, every hour brings nearer the solemn advent, the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus! "O christians, now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed." Come, thou once despised Nazarene, thou once crucified Saviour: he shall come; he will come quickly, and be seen in human form. Shall we not see those wounds and scars in his body, the tokens of his inestimable love to and perfect victory of his cross for us poor sinners? How joyful in the exercise of faith, the fervor of love, the expectation of hope, is this contemplation! This quells the fears of nature, mortifies its lusts, subdues its corruptions. To this end are we born again of the Spirit, that we should enjoy the visions of faith, see Jesus, live by faith upon him, have fellowship with him in the sufferings of his cross, and long for his appearing in glory. Then shall we share with him in the glories of his kingdom. "He shall come to be glorified In his saints, and admired In all them that believe."

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Whence then our dejection of mind, our fear of death, our unwillingness" to be absent from the body, that we may be present with the Lord?" Truly, all this ariseth from the mystery of iniquity which worketh in us. But here is our wisdom, to oppose the mystery of faith to that. Never venture to think of your own dying, without considering the death of Jesus; look not at your own sins, without looking at the blood of Jesus; think not a moment of his appearing as a judge, without remembering him as our precious Saviour; dwell not on the glory and majesty of his eternal power and Godhead, without reflecting on his humble form, his manhood state; conceive not of him as a king and lawgiver, without considering him as a priest to atone for our sins, an advocate to plead our cause, and our forerunner entered into the heavens FOR US; for so shall we daily prove, that we are more than conquerors over every foe that opposeth the holiness and comfort of our souls, through Jesus who loved us. "Behold, he cometh!" O joyful day! most desirable sight! then our sorrows, our fears shall for ever cease. Then our eyes shall see our dearest friends; our foes, that we this day find and feel, we shall see no more for ever. "To them that look for him, shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." "O, lift up your heads with joy, for your redemption draweth nigh."

Christ is the man, th' exalted man,
Whom we unseen adore:
But when our eyes behold his face,
Our hearts shall love him more.

Those soft, those blessed feet of his,
That once rude iron tore,
High on a throne of light they stand,
And all the saints adore.

Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory....Psalm lxxiii. 24.

THAT is a precious caution of our loving Saviour, "Judge not according to the appearance."....John vii. 24. St. Paul reproves saints, "Do ye look on things after the outward appearance?".... 2 Cor. x. 7. Through this conduct, saints in all ages have puzzled their minds, distressed their souls, and have been tempted to hard thoughts of their God. They have not "judged, righteous judg ment," in respect to carnal men and the dispensations of God's providence to them. So we see Job greatly exercised, (Job xxi. 7.) and Asaph in the above Psalm. But after the cloud of carnal reasoning and unbelief passed over their minds, the sun of glory and truth shone again with splendor upon them; then faith puts forth its lively exercises and sweet approbations of God. "O My God and Saviour, I see thy ways to man are just! Righteous art thou, O Lord, thou art My God, I will love thee: Thou shalt guide ME by thy counsel," &c. As the Lord is often said to make a covenant with his people when it was only renewing his old covenant of grace and love in Christ Jesus, so faith frequently makes a fresh choice of, claim to, and glory in the Lord Jesus. "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure, saith the Lord.”......Isa. xlvi. 10. Amen, saith the believing heart. By thy word and Spirit guide me continually; I cannot guide myself. Jesus be thou my guide, my companion, and my familiar friend.

Blessed christian! though in Paul's case....Acts xxvii. 20....“ When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, when no small tempest is upon thee, and all hope of being saved seems taken away," yet Jesus is at the helm. Thy vessel shall ride out every storm; he will guide safe to the haven of glory and blessedness. Some persons seem so wholly taken up with prying into the secret purposes and inscrutable depths of God's decrees, that they take no heed to their steps, but, like the philosopher who was so intent in observing the starry heavens, that being careless of his walk he fell into a ditch. Not God's secret purposes, but his revealed truths are the objects of our faith: "his word is a light to our feet:" by that he counsels and directs us. The gracious Spirit leads and guides his children in the paths of peace and holiness. It is true, the path to glory is unpleasing to the flesh, and therefore is ever opposed by it; but as there is a disposition in regenerate souls to long for glory, so also a love in them to God's word and the way of holiness.: la this the children of God are manifest. All such, God will mest certainly receive to glory. "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."....Rom. viii. 14.

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