with the man who acts on the principles of the world; to do or not to do, is the only question with the man who acts on the principle of Faith. Fearing God, he learns to fear none beside, but sets himself to the doing of what he believes to be the will of God with a resoluteness which nothing can daunt, a steadiness which nothing can divert,—a patience which nothing can weary. His language at every fresh onset of trial is, "Fear not; through God shall we do great acts, therefore shall we tread down our enemies." "We can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth us."

But now, what is the nature of that Faith by which such great things are effected. Is it that mere objective Faith which has respect only to architectural symbols, and creeds, and sacraments, and those other parts of religion, which are altogether external ?—or is it that subjective Faith which has its seat and action chiefly in the man's own consciousness and feelings? From the very nature of the case it is the latter. An objective Faith rests passively in the contemplation of its object. Hence, consistently enough with the Romish conception of it, on the ducal palace at Venice, Faith is represented as laying her hand on her breast as she beholds the cross; but living Christian Faith we should rather represent with wings to her feet, her eyes upon the crown, and the gifts of charity dropping from her hands among a multitude of famished folks. That which is termed an objective Faith" lives by being acted upon

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rather than by acting; but a subjective Faith (which is the now much abused faith of Protestants) lives by its own action, and from the inner man works itself out to the outer in all those deeds of selfsacrificing devotedness which evidence it to be a thing of life.

This Faith, too, has its object; but that object is a living object, one and undivided-it is Christ. Trust in a person, not belief of a fact, is true Christian Faith. It was this Faith which gave such world-conquering energy of power to the Old Testament saints : they looked for a Saviour who is Christ the Lord, and in him they trusted and this is the Faith which we must have, if we would do great things Faith in the blood of Christ as sufficient to atone ("they overcame him," "the accuser of the brethren," "through the blood of the Lamb"); Faith in the righteousness of Christ as sufficient to justify; Faith in the grace of Christ as sufficient to strengthen; Faith in the power of Christ as mighty to save.

Only let a man possess this kind of Faith, and he need not trouble himself with any nice disputes about the necessity of works to salvation, or in showing the consistency of the doctrine of justification by faith alone with the parallel, but apparently contradictory, doctrine, that "by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." Good works will as necessarily follow Faith as good fruit springs from a good tree. Works are not co-ordinate with Faith; neither are they co-temporary with Faith (except

as the tree may be said to be contained in the seed at the time it is planted), in the act of justification; but they are consequent upon Faith, naturally, and necessarily, where the Faith has life, or is real. The tree must be planted before the fruit can be produced. But when the tree is planted, the fruit, if the tree has any goodness in it, will follow of itself. As Luther himself acutely remarks, "We do not say that the sun ought to shine-a good tree ought to produce good fruit. The sun shines by its own proper nature without being bidden to do so; in the same manner the good tree yields its good fruit." In other words, good works are not co-efficients with Faith in the matter of our justification, but they are the resulting effects of Faith; so that, as our twelfth article expresses it, they do spring out necessarily of a true and lively faith." True Christian Faith gives life, and with it power for true Christian deeds. Energised with new life by this Faith, which has Christ alone for its author and Christ for its object, men are enabled to tear off those parasitical passions of sin which have hitherto cleaved to them-the fetters of their fears are snapped-those moral obligations which before held them in a distressing bondage become new springs of action: thus captivity is led captive; and they realise in their own blessed experience the truth of the prophet's statement, "in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength."

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THE FORCE OF CONTROVERSY.

"WHAT a dreadful evil is Controversy!"-Such is the common exclamation both of those who consciously hold errors which they wish not to have controverted, and of those who love peace better than they love truth.

Are there no evils, then, connected with Controversy ? it will be asked. We are far from asserting that. There are, it cannot be denied, many evils incident to Controversy. It usually stirs up fierce contentions, which draw out men's worst passions; it provokes anger; it embitters the feelings; it breaks the peace of families; it separates friend from friend, and brother from brother; it has a tendency to engender an intolerant spirit; it gives a sharp edge often to social intercourse; it not unfrequently throws whole kingdoms into confusion. But what then? These are evils that attach to Christianity itself. Did not the great Author of the Christian system caution his disciples against mistaking the resultant effect of his religion, by saying: "Think not that I am come to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against

her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." According to a recognised principle of Scripture phraseology, by which a person is often spoken of as directly doing that of which he is only the involuntary occasion, the meaning of this is, not that he came with the design of sending a sword among men, but that this would be the incidental, and, as men are constituted, the inevitable consequence of his coming. So far from his coming with the design of exciting strifes and animosities, and setting men at variance against each other, he came, as it was prophesied he should come, to be "the Prince of peace;" and, "peace on earth, good will towards men," were the angel-sung words that announced his advent. So far, too, from there being anything in the nature or tendency of his religion to stir up wars, and wranglings, and discussions, it is fitted rather, by its establishing certainty in theologic truth, to put an end to all doubts and differences, and to unite as one, through the plastic power of the charity which pervades it, all the families which make up this earth's varied and widely scattered population. As, then, it would be unjust (though there are some who would do this) to charge upon Christianity all the discords and differences, the contentions and clashing of parties, of which it has been, through human perverseness, the innocent and undesigning occasion; so is it unjust to charge upon Controversy all the evils of which, through mismanagement, or men's wrathful passions, it has been indirectly the cause.