"Be

this. 66 Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." lieve in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."

2. This difficulty is increased by our use of language. We give the designation unbelievers to those who consciously believe every article of the creed-all the Bible. They will even plead guilty to the charge with no clear idea of the sense in which it may be true. Such language is not strictly accurate. It distinguishes heathen and Christians in the Bible, but not the unconverted and converted in our day. These commonly believe the same doctrines, and with equal assurance. What would become of the Christian should he reject all that he holds in common with the impenitent; the Bible-Christ—the atonement-heavenhell? The impenitent are often the more orthodox and established, and may be perfectly sound in their theological creed. We meet them on this ground. We address them as believing all truth. God has taken care that they shall believe the truth. In most cases they can not help it. They can only become unbelievers by much painstaking-by foul play with their understanding and conscience. Educationattendance on worship-the Bible-current reading-unavoidable sympathy with prevailing religious opinions—the inworking Spirit, all tend to secure this.

We say to the sinner, "I know that thou believest." We do not ask him if he believes, but demand piety of him upon the ground that he does. No matter if he denies it-if he professes skepticism-Deism-Atheism. We have no other provision -no other message for him. We have only to leave him to sin and to hell, if our mission does not embrace him. We learn this from our commission-"Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; he that believeth not, shall be damned." Thus we are to preach "to Jews, and also to Greeks"-to all men.

3. This is our strong and only tenable ground. We must

believe it ourselves, and rest upon it in preaching.

We may stop to deal with an infidel objection, or we may not; perhaps we had better not. We know from God's wordfrom Christ's commission, what is in the sinner's heart. We must proceed upon this-must honor it-must abide immovable by our foundation-truth-must believe God rather than man. After the sinner has proclaimed his unbeliefhis infidel creed, we can only go on in the supposition that he is a deceiver, or is deceived, and must preach just as if he had made no objection-must cry out, at the end of his argument or his demonstration, as at the beginning, “Repent, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ." Do we do indignity to man? to mind? to human nature? Do we lack respect? We must respect Christ. We have no other message. We can only preach on this supposition. We know only one Gospel. If that be hid-inapplicable—“it is hid to them that are lost."

I have described a case fearfully common, that of all, or nearly all, the unconverted who believe all of God's truth, and yet reject all of God's claims; who have arrived at the fullest conviction that the Gospel is the only way of salvation, and then coolly and contemptuously turn their back upon its rich provisions and urgent demands, as if it were a mere fable, or they had demonstrated that it was but a hoax or a cheat. I want words to express my sense of such daring impiety. It is, to my apprehension, the most startling and flagrant development of human depravity-contemptuous and provoking in its aspect toward God-reckless and ruinous in its aspects to the soul. God's Spirit brings and leaves the sinner precisely in this position. It can carry him no farther onward, for moral agency interposes, which Heaven will respect at all events. So far as truth, and faith, and Gospel agencies are concerned, the sinner is " near the kingdom of heaven"—within a step of conversion. So far as full purpose and depravity are concerned, he is far,

very far from Christ-on the verge of hell. He must decide

the question of weal or woe.

4. Some may ask, "What lack I yet?" "How can I escape?" how make my Christian creed effective to Christian ends? Let us try to put the subject in its clearest lightto point out the one step to be taken the solitary barrier to be scaled, in order that this man, so near the kingdom of heaven, may enter into it—that his ample, orthodox belief may become a lively, effective faith.

The distinction in question is well marked by St. James. "Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."* It is defined yet more exactly by his illustration, "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace; be ye warmed and filled, notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit ?" One sees the distress, and, it may be, feels for, but gives no relief—says, "Go in peace; be ye fed, and be ye clothed," &c. The other sees, and feels, and gives. What is the difference?

The celebrated instance of Abraham offering up Isaac is used by James, as it had been by Paul, as an illustration. Paul asserts that Abraham was in this act justified by faith. James says, that "faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect." The statements harmonize. Faith was the principle-works the medium of manifestation. Abraham might have offered his son to Moloch, or to jealousy, like Constantine, or a Russian czar. The work without the faith-the motive would have been sin. His faith included the act-the purpose was the motive.

The subject may be illustrated by two inebriates: one feels all the evil, and drinks on; the other feels the evil, and reforms. What is the difference?

So the impenitent believer believes all, acknowledges all, and goes his way. The true believer, on the other hand,

# James, ii., 17.

casts himself on Christ. His faith ceases to be abstract, but attaches itself to acts, whereby it evinces obedience, until he walks by faith-lives by faith-eats, drinks, and does all things to the glory of God. Christ is all and in all.

XXXII.

CHRISTIAN ZEAL.

It is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.-GAL., iv., 18.

THE proposition contained in this text is so obviously and universally true as to have passed into a current maxim among men. Zeal is an indispensable condition of success in all human enterprises. To enter with coldness and irresolution upon any work of moment and difficulty, is to insure, at the outset, a tardy and joyless progress, and ultimate discomfiture. Nothing greatly useful to ourselves or the world -nothing truly and permanently honorable, can be achieved without that concurrence of single, unwavering purpose, and animated, urgent pursuit, which is here denominated zeal. Without this, the best natural talents and the most favorable circumstances will be insufficient to produce any valuable results, and this is no less true of humble and laborious employments than in the highest intellectual and moral undertakings. Whoever engages in a study, or business, or profession for which he neither feels, nor tries to feel, any strong predilection-upon which he will not or can not concentrate his attention and energies, labors in vain. He is destitute of the one qualification which alone can give unity and efficiency to the exertion of his powers of body and mind.

It is in accordance with the analogy of God's dispensations, that an attribute so essential to our success in the active pursuits of life should be recognized by the Gospel, and called

into lively and frequent exercise in the performance of Christian duties. This would be inferrible from the origin, objects, and agencies of the Gospel. And we find that religious zeal is repeatedly and earnestly enjoined in the Holy Scriptures, as indispensable to the perfection and success of our religious efforts. It is not so much a duty or Christian grace by itself, as it is an important element and needful accompaniment of all other Christian duties and graces. It may be said of zeal as of faith, that whatsoever is not imbued and sustained by its life-giving spirit is sin-that without it "it is impossible to please God." It is a part of "the first and great commandment, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."* Zeal belongs to every act of true worship; for "God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."+ "Fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." Prayer without zeal is worthless. Hence we are commanded to be "instant (pressing) in prayer." Prayer is earnest. It is the fervent prayer of the righteous that "availeth much."§ "Above all things, have fervent charity among yourselves."|| Zeal is inculcated in a more general way throughout the Bible; as, "the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence," &c. T "Strive to enter in at the strait gate."** I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou wert cold or hot. Be zealous, therefore, and repent."††

Truly pious men have ever been distinguished by great religious zeal. David exclaims, "The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up."‡‡ My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth John the Baptist, from the fer

for the courts of the Lord."§§

vor of his appeals, was called "the voice of one crying in the wilderness." Christ said it was his "meat and drink to do

* Matt., xxii., 37, 38. James, v., 16.

** Luke, xiii., 24.

§§ Ps. lxxxiv., 2.

+ John, iv., 24.

|| 1 Pet., iv., 8.

tt Rev., iii., 15-19.

Rom., xii., 11. T Matt., xvi., 12. ‡‡ Ps. lxix., 9.