earth, now "clothed in white robes, and with palms in their hands ;" and ye shall join in their everlasting song, "Salvation to our God who sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb?" Should you, after all, go hence with lawful sorrow in your hearts,—with becoming tears in your eyes,-" God himself shall wipe them all away." God permitteth, God appointeth us to weep, while distant from his glorious presence. Precious tears, that direct our eyes more ardently, and quicken our steps more diligently homeward! Thrice precious tears, which attract the compassionate regard of God, amid the glories of heaven, and which himself shall dry up with parental gentleness and love!

WEAKNESS in the faith is that defect of spiritual strength, by reason of which we evidently cannot, without hard and painful efforts, overcome the difficulties meeting us in the discharge of duty. Hence, the renewed often fail in duty; nay, sometimes they fall into gross offences; they occasionally yield to opposing difficulties, and are frequently overcome by the assaults of their spiritual enemies. They are new-born, sickly babes in Christ, of whom it is difficult to say whether they are dead or alive. They have made so little progress beyond the boundary line which separates the kingdom of God's dear Son from the kingdom of Satan, that it is sometimes scarcely possible to distinguish them from those who border on the other side of the line. I would fain help the weak in the faith to make progress in holiness and comfort; and I am no less anxious to undeceive those who have a name to live, and are dead.

To effect this, I purpose to give them some marks, which will enable them to distinguish themselves from those who bear some resemblance to them, but are not really in the faith,-to give them some consola

tions, together with some exhortations and some directions suited to their circumstances. I will request their serious attention in particular, and that of all of every character. I pray God to give you all the hearing ear and the understanding heart!

I. Take some marks of faith in the weak. 1st, They have a sense of spiritual necessities. Those resembling them have either no sense, or but a slight one, of sin dwelling in them, so long as they are kept back from gross offences; they flatter themselves, in general, that they are not so greatly awanting in respect of holiness. With regard to guilt, they are not aware of its criminality, and of the certainty and intolerable nature of punishment. The weak in faith are distinguished from them by a lively sense of their spiritual wants. They feel that sin dwelleth in them; they are afflicted with its loathsomeness; they grieve that it spreads over the whole man, as a disgusting and consuming leprosy ; and they are faint under a sense of the want of holiness, that spiritual health and wealth. Guilt, they are convinced, binds them over to suffer the wrath of the Almighty. Guilt is a millstone fastened to their necks, that threatens to sink them into the depths of everlasting wretchedness; and while it remains, they feel themselves poor indeed, amid the riches of the world.

Is spiritual poverty your grief? Do ye grieve at the want of a holy nature, under the loathsomeness

of a sinful heart and practice? Do ye tremble at the want of a justifying righteousness, under the apprehension of eternal wrath? This poverty of spirit marks the existence of faith in the weakest of the children of God. He who could scarcely call his faith aught but unbelief, shed tears over his spiritual poverty. Mark ix. 24.

2d, They esteem Christ to be "precious." Saith Peter unto the Christians of the dispersion, concerning Jesus Christ, "unto you who believe, he is precious." Professing Christians, who do not believe in him with the heart, cannot esteem him to be precious, because they do not think they need a Saviour of great value: hence their low thoughts of the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. To them who believe, he must be precious. They have contracted infinite guilt; they have done infinite dishonour to God; they labour under infinite evils. How precious, then, is Christ to them, who comes to them with suitable remedies, with a price to redeem their souls from death,-with a righteousness to secure the friendship of God,-with power to deliver from the power of sin! How inestimably valuable is Christ, whose price, and righteousness, and power, are infinite-adequate to the salvation of the chief of sinners, and to the vindication and illustration of the honour of an insulted Judge; because he is acting under the appointment of that Judge, and is "God manifest in the flesh!" Is Christ Jesus thus precious to you, because he is a necessary, because

he is a suitable, because he is an almighty Saviour? Is there any thing, in heaven or in earth, so precious in your esteem, because so excellent in himself, so honourable to God, so indispensable to your happiness, and that of other perishing sinners? The height of your esteem is, perhaps, to be measured by the depth of your grief for esteeming him so little.

3d, They sincerely desire the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit. "To him that is athirst," saith our Lord from heaven, "I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely." Rev. xxi. 6. The influences of the Spirit are no less necessary to the verdure, and blossoms, and fruits of holiness, -in other words, to the vigour, and progress, and beauty of the spiritual life, than water is to those of plants and trees; and they are frequently set forth and promised under this refreshing figure in the Scriptures. These beauties are overlooked, and these influences are considered with a strange indifference, by unbelievers, some of whom reject them altogether. Those in the faith, how weak soever, are so instructed in the requirements of God's law, and the perfections of his nature, and their own want of conformity to and transgression of the law, with all their best endeavours, that they resemble men perishing for thirst, in the midst of unavailing labours. Therefore they desire and apply for the influences of the Spirit, which alone can impart light to their dim eyes, courage to their fainting