because his faith is feeble; for it is chiefly on his faith that his hope depends. The peculiar truths of the gospel which constitute the more immediate objects of saving faith, are so invigorating and gladdening, that they cannot be believed without hope and joy ; and the firmer our faith in them, the stronger will be our hope, and the more vivid our joy. But farther, our progress in holiness is appointed to be a proof to ourselves and others that our faith is sincere, and that we are in a state of pardon and acceptance. Hence, in the passage before us, it is said, "We desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end; that ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises." You perceive, then, that the strength of the christian's hope depends chiefly on his faith, but partly also on his holiness. If his faith in the cheering truths of the gospel be vigorous and lively, and if his conformity to the divine image be evident to himself and to others, his hope will naturally rise to full assurance; and, on the other hand, if his faith be feeble, and his holiness be extremely defective, his hope will be, and ought to be, but weak and slender. Instead, however, of insisting on these general causes of the want of the "full assurance of hope," it may be profitable to be somewhat more particular.

1st, First, then, I would mention confused and defective views of the vital truths of the gospel. The gospel is the disclosure of the mercy of God,—the glad tidings of a Saviour; and the substance of it is comprised in such propositions as the following:-" God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into

"This is the record that

the world to save sinners." God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." Such are the truths and the tidings which form the substance and essence of the gospel. Now, these truths and tidings are obviously of such a nature, that they cannot be clearly apprehended and cordially believed by any man, without awakening within him devout emotions of gratitude, and hope, and joy. Can the individual who feels himself a sinner, obnoxious to eternal perdition, be told that the Son of God has become incarnate, and died to open a way for his salvation; and that, for the sake of his Son, God is willing to grant him a full pardon to rescue him from hell and raise him to heaven; can an individual, who has any proper idea of his guilt and danger, be told these glad tidings, and believe them, and not feel emotions of hope and gladness? The thing is manifestly impossible.

Simple and intelligible as seems the gospel report, there are men who, it may be hoped, are genuine saints, whose views of it are exceedingly crude and confused, are exceedingly defective and inadequate; and hence their hope of pardon and eternal life is exceedingly feeble and fluctuating. There are individuals, for example, who are overwhelmed with a sense of personal unworthiness, who imagine that their sins are so enormous and so atrocious, that it would be presumptuous for them to apply for salvation; and who, perhaps, vex and harass themselves with difficult speculations about the secret purposes and eternal decrees of the Almighty. Such persons forget that the rule of their conduct is the revealed will, not the secret purposes of God; and they forget that, in virtue of the infinite value of the Saviour's sacrifice, and the universal offer of his gospel, they have as good a right to rely on that sacrifice as if it had been presented solely and exclusively for them

selves,—as valid a warrant to accept of the gospel offer as if it had mentioned them expressly, and by name. They forget that "the blood of Jesus, God's own Son, cleanseth us from all sin;" and that to doubt his power to save them, on account of the greatness of their guilt, is not to honour but to insult him. Again, there are persons who fix their thoughts chiefly on those religious doctrines which are of a terrific and appalling character: on the infinite purity and majesty of the divine nature, or the inflexibility of the divine law, or the immensity of the number who shall ultimately perish, or the severity and eternity of the torments of hell; but they rarely consider those doctrines which would give them relief and comfort,—the magnitude of the Saviour's love, the riches of his grace, the sufficiency of his sacrifice, and his ability to save to the uttermost them that come to God by him. No wonder that they are destitute of hope, since they think only on what is fitted to fill them with terror, or drive them to despair.

As another specimen of the want or the weakness of hope, originating in indistinct or inadequate views of the gospel, I may refer to the case of those persons who look chiefly within themselves for grounds of hope, and sources of joy. It is doubtless the duty of the christian to investigate frequently the interior state of his soul, that he may ascertain whether those dispositions and sentiments which are the fruits of the Spirit, and which constitute the features of the child of God, are growing more in him, or whether he possesses them at all. But to the man who has either never experienced christian hope, or whose hope is ready to expire, and requires to be resuscitated, a more important direction cannot be given than that given by some old divines,-Let him look out of himself. Instead of dwelling perpetually on his own frames and feelings, and on his own infirmi

ties and corruptions, let him direct his views at once to the divine Redeemer, to the dignity of his person, the perfection of his work, and the tenderness of his love. So long as he confines his thoughts to himself, he is like a man who wilfully imprisons himself in some dark and dismal cavern, but who has only to look through some of its chinks or openings that his eyes may be charmed by the sight of a glorious sun, of cerulean skies, and smiling landscapes. And if he admit the light from without, it will illumine and cheer the place of his confinement. Thus, too, let the man who is destitute of spiritual hope and comfort, look direct to the Sun of righteousness. The rays of that resplendent luminary will soon revive and gladden him. They will shed a delightful radiance on objects which before were unseen or unlovely; and if admitted, they will irradiate and beautify even the dark and dismal cavern of the human soul.

From these remarks, then, you may perceive how mischievous in their tendency are confused, or defective, or mistaken views of the gospel: and how necessary are distinct conceptions of it, both to our comfort and hope, to our holiness and our edification. "Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound. They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day; and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted."

2d, Intimately connected with the cause just illustrated, is that to which I would next solicit your consideration. It is the giving of a disproportionate attention to that which is only subordinate or circumstantial in religion. There are christians of whom it could not be said, as of those last described, that their conceptions of the grand truths of the gospel are particularly crude or defective for they are able to speak of those truths

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with great fluency, and with considerable accuracy. But there are other topics which as frequently, perhaps more frequently, occupy their attention. The things in which they feel most interested, and about which they delight most to discourse, are not the grand and cardinal doctrines on which christians generally are agreed, but the opinions and practices which distinguish their party from other denominations.

It usually happens that, in the hour of strong temptation, the faith of such persons proves itself but weak, and their hope and their enjoyment, which, even in prosperity, were of a mixed and ambiguous character, fail almost entirely in the season of adversity and affliction." If thou run with the footmen, and thou art wearied, how then shalt thou contend with horses? And if, in the land of peace, wherein thou trusted, thou art wearied, what wilt thou do in the swellings of Jordan?" This result is easily accounted for. All the truths of scripture are precious; but they are not all equally precious. Those which are best fitted to impart life and aliment to the soul of man, are those which are most closely connected with the way of salvationthose which relate to the love of God, to the divinity and the sacrifice of Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit. He who does not make those vital truths the subjects of his daily contemplation-who does not feed on them, if we may so express it, but who occupies himself as much, or more, with sectarian peculiarities, and subordinate questions, is feeding not perhaps on ashes, but on husks, or on bread, which, like that of the Gibeonites, is dry and mouldy. His faith, therefore, cannot be strong; his hope must be feeble; the comforts of God will be small with him; and he cannot grow up to "the measure of the stature of a perfect man in Christ Jesus." "Except ye eat the flesh,