prophet, our sin-subduing king. The Psalmist speaks the language of this faith, when he says, The Lord is my high tower and my deliverer, my shield, and he in whom I trust; that is, as Mr. Hervey justly observes, "Of this I am persuaded; and therefore I trust in ❝him or thus I believe, and, in so doing, I trust in "him.'

Thus, when the writers, whom Mr. Bellamy opposes, spoke of our having a real persuasion "that Christ is "ours," they meant no more than a fiducial dependance on the Lord Jesus Christ for all our salvation. Indeed, such a persuasion cannot well be denied to be the native import of this dependance. When we trust in a person, or depend on him for doing us a favour, we are persuaded that he will do it. Nor have we any more dependance on him, than we have of this persuasion.

Mr. Marshal proves, that by saving faith we appropriate Christ to ourselves as our own saviour for such reasons as the following.

First, an argument for this truth arises from the evils to which true faith is opposed; among which are staggering, Rom. iv. 20. wavering, Heb. x. 23. doubting, Matth. xiv. 31. fear, Mark v. 36. These contraries serve greatly to illustrate the nature of faith, and to shew, that believing must have some confidence in it; otherwise it would have doubting and fear in its very nature. For what man, that understandeth the preciousness of his immortal soul, and his danger of losing it, can ever avoid fear, doubting and trouble of heart by any believing, whereby he doth not at all assure himself of salvation?

In the next place, the right manner of trusting and hoping in the Lord, after the examples recorded in

scripture, is by assuring ourselves against all fears and doubtings, that the Lord is our God, and that he is become our salvation, Psal. xxxi. 14. I trusted in thee, O Lord; I said, Thou art my God. Psal. xviii. 2. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my strength, in whom I will trust. Isai. xii. 2. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. Psal. xvi. 11. O my soul, hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance and my God.

Farther, that the direct act of faith, by which we are justified and saved, assures us of salvation, appears from the titles and attributes given to it in scripture. It is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen, Heb. xi. 1. It sets the great things of our salvation hoped for evidently before the eyes of our mind, as if they were already present in their substance, though not, as yet, visible to our bodily eyes. That faith, whereby we are partakers of Christ and become his house, must be worthy to be called confidence, and must be accompanied with the rejoicing of hope, Heb. iii. 6, 14. In Heb. x. 22. we are exhorted to draw near to God with a true heart in full assurance of faith. Many apply this text to that which they call the reflex act of faith; because they imagine, that all assurance must needs be by reflection. But the words of the text clearly teach us to understand it of that act of faith, whereby we draw near to God, that is, the direct act; and it is that very faith by which the just liveth. This assurance must be full in the true and proper nature of it in орроsition to mere doubtfulness; though we are yet farther to labour for that which is full in the highest degree of perfection. In James i. 6, 7, we are expressly required to ask good things of God in faith nothing doubting

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which manifestly includeth assurance; and he tells us plainly, that without it a man ought not to think, that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. Therefore we may firmly conclude, that without it we shall not receive the salvation of Christ. And that which the apostle James requireth us not to doubt of, is the obtaining of the things which we ask; as we may learn from an instruction to the same purpose given by Christ himself, Mark xi. 24. Whatsoever things ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and shall have them.

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Again, if we be altogether in a state of suspense and doubting, whether God will be pleased to give Christ to us or not, it is evident, that our souls are quite loose from Christ, and have no holdfast or enjoyment of him as our only salvation and happiness. We do not, in that case, so much as pretend to any actual receiving or laying hold of him; but are rather still to seek whether we have any good ground or right to lay hold of him. Can a woman honestly receive any one as her husband, while she is not assured, that he is fully willing to be her husband?

The same thing may be said concerning the several parts of Christ's salvation, which are to be received by faith. For example, we do not actually receive into our hearts our reconciliation with God and adoption of children, and the title to an everlasting inheritance, until we can assure ourselves, that God is graciously pleased to be our God and Father, and to take us to be his children and heirs. If we do not assuredly believe, that we are dead to sin and alive to God through 'Christ; that we 'are risen with Christ; that we are not under the law, 'but under grace; that we are members of Christ's body, temples of the Holy Ghost, and the dear children of

God; it would be hypocrisy to affect to serve God on account of such privileges, as if we reckoned ourselves partakers of them. And is it not a miserable, worthless kind of faith, which cannot fit a believer to practise in a gospel manner, upon the most pure and powerful principles of grace, but rather leaves him to work upon legal principles; such as, the justice and wrath of God against sinners, and his mercy towards those who perform the condition of sincere obedience? A faith, we may add, which faileth in the very matter of some great duties which are of such a nature, that they include assurance of God's love in the right performance of them; such as, the great duties of peace with God, rejoicing in the Lord always, hope that maketh not ashamed; owning the Lord as our God and Saviour; praying to him as our Father in heaven; offering up body and soul as an acceptable sacrifice to him; casting all our cares of body and soul upon him; contentment and hearty thanksgiving in every condition; making our boast in the Lord; triumphing in his praise; rejoicing in tribulation; putting on Christ in our baptism; receiving Christ's body as broken for us and his blood as shed for us in the Lord's supper; committing our souls willingly to God as our Redeemer, when he shall be pleased to call for us; loving Christ's second appearance and looking for as that blessed hope.

A reader who expects to find these and other arguments offered by Mr. Marshal on this subject, fairly stated and answered in Mr. Bellamy's work, will be utterly disappointed. He takes notice indeed of one or two of the texts from which Mr. Marshal reasons. On Heb. xi. 1. he observes that," If the "word of God gives a sinner out of Christ no absolute

unconditional right to the blessings of the gospel;

"faith cannot see what is not, nor believe without "evidence." Here he only denies Mr. Marshal's doctrine about the freeness of a sinner's right of access to Chrst, (which doctrine we propose to consider afterwards ;) but says nothing against Mr. Marshal's remark, that the apostle's expressions in this text, carry in them an appropriation of the good things not seen. It is plain that a person, who has the faith described in this text, views the things which that faith apprehends as things for which he hopes and the certainty of his expectation of them is expressed by emphatical words, substance or confidence, (as the same word is rendered in chap. iii. 6. of this book) and evidence which produces full conviction.

With regard to James i. 6. Mr. Bellamy says; "To ask in faith: In the faith of what? Of the truths "revealed in the gospel concerning the way of access ❝ to God in the name of Christ as our great High Priest, "and God's readiness to hear and answer all requests "agreeable to his will, put up to him in his name. "These truths ought to be-these truths must be firmly believed." But Mr. Bellamy could not deny, that when a person has the faith of these truths wrought in his heart by the Holy Spirit, and, in the exercise of that faith, asks such things as God hath promised to give to poor sinners for Christ's sake; such a person will believe, that he shall certainly receive these things of the Lord. This being the faith in which the apostle directs us to ask, it is plain, that the contrary, doubting against which he cautions us, must be, as Mr. Marshal observes, a doubting whether we shall obtain the things that we ask. This is all that Mr. Marshal's argument requires; and there is nothing against it in Mr. Bellamy's observation.