the waves of the people, now she is being borne nearer nearer. If I can but touch the hem of his garment!" trembling, pale, agitated, she stretches out her hand, and tou and is made whole. Now, sinner, Christ is in the crowd; nigh thee; he is passing by thee; touch him, touch him live!

In America, some years ago, there was an old gentleman had constructed an electrifying machine. The students one of the colleges went to his house to see this wond machine. He began to wind round, and round, and roun the machine was charged with the electric fluid. "Now lads," said he, "take hold of each other's hands; now you stand before there, touch that brass ball.” He touched, sudden as lightning, the shock was felt through the w group. And if ever this promise was charged with electrif galvanizing, saving power, it is now. "What things soev desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye have them." See! see that vessel leaving the port of Liver (Now, don't laugh at my seafaring language.)

'Ship a

"New York! whe

"Good vessel, sir; Why, man, you have you 'll get, if you don't

whither bound?" New York, sir." you expect to get there, captain?" wind; I expect a short voyage." rag of sail up; I'll tell you where care; you'll get to the bottom." Now, here comes and vessel. 66 Ship ahoy! whither bound?" New York, "New York! when do you expect to arrive there, capta "Look aloft, sir; the compass stands direct to a point; fair and a fine breeze!"

How finely she 's rigged- mainsail, sail, top-gallant sail! See, how she bounds on before the bre The desires are the sails of the mind. Have you got your up? Yes, yes, bless God! I see many of you have, — man you in the gallery there, and many of you below there, your sails up. Come,

"Blow, breezes, blow a gale of grace."

Now, let all get down before the Lord; all of you in the lery there, and all of you below. Now, "what things so

ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." It is not a cold, lifeless trust, but a good, bold, hearty venture on Christ. I cannot doubt the truth of my Lord; I can as soon doubt his divinity as his truth; I can as soon doubt his Godhead as his veracity. "What preparation," says one, "is necessary?" "What things soever ye desire

when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." God cannot lie. I will die rather than doubt my God. God is not a man, that he should lie. The devil does not care a rush for a Christian believing that God is able, willing, waiting, and anxious to sanctify the soul. Nor does he care for him believing that God will do it some time. No; it is faith in the present tense that the devil dreads, - believing that God does just now do it. This simply and fully taking God at his word is the great spell. Come, my dear brother! come, my dear sister! don't be afraid to step into the sea to Jesus, as Peter did. Hark! he bids you meet him. Now step (so to speak) on the naked promise, and the Spirit and the blood will fully cleanse. If ever my God was here, he is here now. Touch the promise-touch the hem of his garment! I know some of you are touching. He is saving some of you; I know my God is saving some of Let your inmost soul cry out

you.

"Tis done: thou dost this moment save;

With full salvation bless!

Redemption through thy blood I have,

And spotless love and peace."

"What things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."

SERMON III.

PURIFICATION BY FAITH.

"And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith."ACTS 15: 9.

JESUS says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." And Peter says, "Put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith." The distinction between these two statements is this: Jesus tells you the blessedness of such a state, and Peter tells you how you may obtain it-"putting no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith." When I enter a place for a short time, I often meet with a great many inquiries about this doctrine of purity; indeed, the number of cases have been so numerous, I have been obliged to refuse attention to some; but, that I may atone for this seeming want of courtesy, I will on this occasion put my sermon in the shape of question and answer. I will endeavor to be conversational and simple, that all may understand.

Before I proceed, I want to ask a question or two. Now, if God shall set you at liberty, give you the direct witness of the Spirit, or purify your hearts, while I am preaching, or before I leaye this place, will you meet me at the close of this service in the vestry of this chapel, to let me know it? It does so comfort this poor heart of mine to know that my God is setting his seal to the work. My God is in this place; he is here; I feel him blessing this poor little heart; my soul is very happy. I believe we shall have many hearts purified before I leave this place hallelujah! God can save all sorts of sinners, in all sorts of places. The Gospel can triumph anywhere out of hell — “putting no difference between them and us, purifying their hearts by faith."

I.. WHY DOES GOD PURIFY THE HEART BY FAITH?

God has told us that he purifies the heart by faith; and could we assign no other reason, this should be enough. The fact that God has said that he purifies the heart by faith, ought to satisfy us that there are the very best of reasons for such a course; but is this the only reason we can assign? I answer, no; we give the two following reasons:

1. Man was ruined by believing the devil; and the great God has determined that he shall be saved by believing Him. He was lost by receiving the testimony of Satan, by believing the lie of the devil; he can only be saved by receiving Heaven's testimony, by believing the truth of God. O, accursed unbelief! what dost thou do for man? Thou dost sink him, corrupt him, damn him, link him to the devil, and plunge him in the deeps of hell. On the contrary, faith elevates him, purifies him, saves him, links him to God, places him on the everlasting throne, and makes eternal sunshine to settle on his head.

This doctrine distinguishes Protestantism from every spurious form of Christianity-from Romish Popery, German Rationalism, and English Puseyism. These three corrupt forms of Christianity aim a deadly blow at the great doctrine of justification by faith. These go to mix up man's merits with the merits of the blood of Christ; these place, as the ground of a sinner's hope, man's morality, instead of the Saviour's death. The doctrine of justification by faith alone is the glory of Christianity. This doctrine is as old as the fall of man. It is worthy of remark, that on the very same day that man fell, the blessed God introduced the new system of salvation. In the cool of the evening, God walked in the garden, and said, "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head;" the germ of it was there. The very first human spirit that entered heaven went there a martyr for the doctrine of justification by faith. See those two altars, side by side. One of them is piled up with the fruits of the earth; the other is laden with a poor little struggling lamb. By the one stands Cain, the father of the deist. He presents his offering to God, but no response is heard, no fire from heaven kindles the sacrifice, and his countenance falls.

By the side of the other stands Abel, pious, meek, and humble, looking through the gurgling blood of the Lamb, on to the summit of Calvary, on to God's Lamb bearing away the world's guilt, bearing away into eternal oblivion his own; and believing he is justified by faith. It was by this doctrine of heaven that the Wesleys and Whitfield aroused the slumbering church, and awakened a half-damned world. Justification by faith is the glory of Protestantism. O, ye British Christians! hold it fast. Let neither Romanism, Germanism, nor Puseyism rob you of it. Talk about it to your children, as you sit around the hearths of your homes; tell it to your neighbors, as you walk by the way, and mingle with them in your daily calling; preach it, live it, and, if necessary, die for it. It will be the salvation of your soul, of your family, of your country, of your world. See that old building there-it is a moonlight scene. How antique and majestic it looks!-how venerable with age! - what a solemn grandeur seems thrown around it! Draw a little nearer. Ah! now you see the soft moonbeams peeping through; light is gleaming through a crack here and an opening yonder. Owls and bats flutter about in the dim mist, and noisome things creep there. Ah! it looks grand in the moonlight; but the day dawn shows its old dilapidated walls—it's a temple in ruin. See, see a little lad cast an acorn into its centre! It grows silently makes its way it now pushes up its long gaunt arms, and spreads abroad its branches; and, as it grows, it pushes its way through the mouldering walls. Ah! there the entire building is tumbled down in ruins around its base, and the tree is standing in all its glory. The little acorn is justification by faith. It will push its way through the old antiquated forms of Popery, Rationalism, and modern-dressed Puseyism. These will all fall in ruins around the base of this tree. The crash may be loud, and earth and hell may roar as though its very foundations had given way, and even heaven may seem to tremble at the shock; but when not a vestige of the old temple is standing, the tree will bloom in all its glory.

2. Faith secures all the glory to God. Yonder is a mighty mountain. See, there's a man hastening on to it; he is now