kinds of truth; nor even of all kinds of scripture truth. A true believer, so far as he understands it, does believe all scripture truth; and to discredit any one truth of the bible, knowing it to be such, is a damning sin: but yet it is not the credit of a chronological or historical fact, for instance, that denominates any one a true believer. The peculiar truth, by embracing of which, we become believers in Christ, is the gospel, or the good news of salvation through his name. The belief of this implies the belief of other truths; such as the goodness of God's government as the law-giver of the world, the evil of sin, our lost and ruined condition by it, our utter insufficiency to help ourselves, &c.; but it is the soul's. embracing, or falling in with the way of salvation by Jesus Christ, that peculiarly denominates us true believers.

3. True faith includes a spiritual understanding of the glory of the gospel, but it includes something more. It does not appear to me to have its seat barely in the understanding, but in the whole soul.. It is the whole soul's yielding up its own false notions and dependencies, and falling in with God's. way of salvation by Jesus Christ. By a spiritual discernment of the glory of the gospel, we see the Son, and by the whole soul's concurring with it, we believe in him. It is with the heart man believeth unto righteousness. If it is said the heart here is not opposed to the understanding, but to the mouth,, with which confession is made unto salvation-I anawer, this is true; but then neither is it used, I ap

prehend, for the understanding, to the exclusion of the affections; but for the whole soul in distinction from the mouth, by which our faith is openly professed.

4. Though true faith does not include an assurance. of our interest in Christ, as I attempted to prove in my former treatise, yet it is ever attended with an application of the truths of the gospel to our own particular cases. "When the scriptures teach, says the excellent Mr. Downame, we are to receive instruction, for the enlightening of our own minds; when they admonish, we are to take warning; when they reprove, we are to be checked; when they comfort, we are to be cheared and encouraged; when they command any grace, we are to desire and embrace it; when they command any duty, we are to hold ourselves enjoined to do it; when they promise, we are to hope; when they threaten, we are to be terrified, as if the judgment were denounced against us; and when they forbid any sin, we are to think that they forbid it unto us. By which application, we shall make all the rich treasures contained in the scriptures wholly our own, and in such a powerful and peculiar manner enjoy the fruit and benefit of them, as if they had been wholly written for us, and for none other else besides us," Guide to Godliness, p. 647.

These observations may be considered as an addition to what was written before; and I believe they will be found to be perfectly consistent with it,

SECTION THIRD.

CONTAINING A REPLY TO MR. B.'s V. AND VI. LET

TERS, WHEREIN HE REMARKS ON THOSE PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE WHERE FAITH IS SUPPOSED TO BE COMMANDED OF GOD.

To prove that faith in Christ is the duty of uncon

verted sinners, divers passages of scripture were produced which represent it as the command of God. In answer to these Mr. B. observes in general, that commands are sometimes used which do not imply duty, but denote some extraordinary exertion of divine power, as when God said to the Israelitish nation, "live, &c." (31.) But are the commands in question to be so understood? Mr. B. does not pretend to say any such thing. He adds,

"Commands sometimes denote encouragement; as in Isai. li. 17. Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, &c. Acts xvi.-Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved-and John xiv. 1. Te believe in God, believe also in me." (32.) Very true; but do they denote merely encouragement? Can the idea of duty be excluded? Was it not the duty of the Jews, for instance, when Babylon fell into the hands of Cyrus, and a proclamation was issued in their favour, to bestir themselves? Would it not have been their sin to have neglected the opportunity, and continued careless in Babylon? Was it not

the duty of the jailor to follow the apostle's counsel, and would it not have been sinful to have done otherwise? Was it not the duty of the disciples to place an equal confidence in the testimony of Christ as in that of the Father; and would it not have been sinful to have distrusted him? "These passages, says Mr. B. do not appear so much to carry in them the nature of injunctions, as of directions and encouragements." But do they carry in them the nature of injunctions at all? or can that idea be excluded from them? It seems he himself thinks it cannot, or he would not have so expressed himself.

: Mr. B. now proceeds to consider the particular passages produced. He remarks on the second psalm, that "kissing sometimes denotes no more than civil homage and subjection; as in 1 Sam. x. 1. where we are told, that Samuel anointed Saul, and kissed him; which was not I presume, says he, a spiritual act, but nothing more than a token of allegiance, loyalty, &c." (34.) I think with him, the case of Samuel's kissing Saul serves for a fine illustration of the passage;* and if Christ had been a civil governor, and nothing else, then it is allowed that civil homage, subjection and loyalty, would have been the whole of his due; but not otherwise. According to the nature of his government must be the kind of subjection required. If Christ's kingdom had been of this world, or somewhat like what the Jews expected it

See Dr. Jenning's, Antiquities, vol. I. p. 184.

to be, such an exposition as the above might be admitted; but if his government is spiritual, then subjection and loyalty to him must be the same.

The comment on Jer. vi. 16. (page 35.) I think needs but little reply. It may deserve to be considered, whether, if the people there addressed had been of Mr. B.'s sentiments, they might not have found some more plausible, and less mortifying answer than that which they were obliged to give. Surely they might have replied, "stand in the ways and see? we have not a capacity for spiritual discernment. Ask for the good old way, and walk therein? it was never discovered to us. All that we are obliged to is diligently to attend public ordinances, and this we have done from our youth up; what more would the prophet have?" But these were sentiments, it seems, of which they had never heard. They were obliged, therefore, to speak out the honest though awful truth, WE WILL NOT WALK THEREIN.

John xii. 36. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. "These, it is said, are evidently words of direction to enquiring people." (37.). That they were enquiring people, is true; but not such as enquired from any thing of a right spirit, which is what Mr. B. must mean to suggest. They are called the people (v. 34.) in distinction from the Greeks who wanted to see Jesus;* and it immediately follows what sort of people

See Dr. Gill on verse 34.