they remain the children of wrath. How pernicious, then, is the sentiment that saving faith consists in beiieving Christ is ours.

From the opinion, that all who experience a saving change of heart, must assuredly know it,' the like evil effects arise; though not perhaps so directly, or to the same extent. Such as hold to this opinion are very liable to be the dupes of delusion.Supposing that they must have some marvellous and supernatural manifestation of this change, they will be liable to imagine that what they have expected has arrived. What is looked after and longed for, the interested imagination is very apt to present. And Satan, that arch deceiver, will eagerly seize ou the opportunity thus afforded, to present to them the fatal delusion. And thus the supposed appearance of Christ, or of an angelthe recollection of a comforting passage of Scripture--the circumstance that such a passage was the first that met their eye on opening the Bible-the supposition that they have heard a voice pronouncing their sins forgiven-nay, even a pleasant dream, affords them all the grounds they wish, for a full knowledge of their saving change. Or, suppose they look for their evidences in the exercises of the heart. They expect, nevertheless, that these exercises will be so clear, that they cannot mistake in them. This keeps them from suspecting self-deception, and will thereby expose them the more to it. It will keep them from the fear of counterfeit graces, aud thus expose them the more to delusion by them. All those professors of religion, who

believe a man cannot be a Christian without know

ing it, must, to be consistent, say, that from the time of their regeneration they have absolutely known that they were Christians. But if it is not true that all Christians must necessarily know they are Christians,' we have reason to fear, that many of those who profess to know themselves Christians are deceived. Their deception, then, has most probably grown out of this erroneous opinion.How pernicious, therefore, must this opinion be.

This error leads, on the other hand, to needless and distressing despondency. While native corruption fosters self-ignorance, self-conceit, pride, and arrogance; grace produces self-acquaintance aud humility, and thence self-distrust. And when, by regenerating grace, men are brought to "know every one the plague of his own heart," and to know that this heart is "deceitful above all things;" and when deeply humbled at the sight of it, they are very distrustful of themselves. Nay, many newborn souls are jealous, and suspicious of themselves even to excess. Now, with such a temper of mind, how difficult will it be for them to believe at once and without doubt, that they are the objects of God's approving love and saving grace. And if such are made to believe, that saving faith consists in their believing that God loves them, and designs to save them-Christ is theirs, and that therefore they shall assuredly be saved, how will they be distressed, because they cannot have this full and undoubting confidence in the favour of God? With their deep sense of guilt and unworthiness, how difficult will it be for them to exercise this 'appropriating faith; yet in proportion to their sense of

guilt and unworthiness, will be their desire of salvation. How painful, then, will be their persuasion that they cannot exercise the faith by which alone they can be saved?

Equal distress will it give them, to believe that they cannot be Christians without knowing it.— They will say within themselves, "I cannot be a Christian, for I do not know that what I have experienced is a saving change of heart. I must look for something more wonderful and striking than any thing that I have experienced." This is not

uncommon language; especially with those whose conversion is not so clear and striking as that of others. The writer has often heard it; and probably many of his readers have heard it also; and heard it too, from those who manifest, both by couversation and conduct, that they are the regenera ted followers of Christ. There are many "who despise the day of small things." They are looking for something great, something that will be so plain an evidence that they can no longer doubt their regeneration: and they do so, because they suppose that they can have no evidence, but certain, irresistible evidence. And thus they go on in painful despondency for months, perhaps for years.

How much painful despondency is then occasioned by a belief of this erroneous opinion: despondency not only of this but needless. Needless, because, if they did not believe that saving faith consisted in a vague, indescribable, yet bold and unhesitating confidence, that they should be saved; nor yet that a change of heart was of such

a nature, that none could have it without knowing it; but believed on the contrary, that the question whether they are Christians or not, 'rests on the nature of the exercises of their own hearts;' and that these exercises needed to be examined, and carefully examined, before they can know whether they are Christians :-Were such their belief, instead of sitting down heartless and hopeless, they would proceed to self-examination; and self-examination, if thorough, would soon lead to a joyful and assured hope that they had passed from death unto life.

I must hope that the reader is now convinced, that the opinion that saints must of necessity know they are saints, is FALSE, is HURTFUL, and DANGEROUS; and that he is therefore guarded against its pernicious effects. I would hope too, that he is prepared for the inquiries, whether the full Assurance of Hope is Attainable? and, How it is to be obtained? To these inquiries let us then proceed.

CHAPTER II.

FULL ASSURANCE OF HOPE SHOWN TO BE ATTAINABLE.

THE question whether it be possible for saints to gain a Full Assurance that they are in a state of salvation, has long been a matter of dispute. It was one point of controversy in the great Reformation. The possibility of attaining to this Assurance, the Papists denied; and the Reformers asserted and supported it. [See Calvin's Institutes, Book iii. Chap. 2.]

In later times too, and even down to the present day, it has been a subject of dispute. The grounds of the controversy, however, are considerably different from that occupied in the Reformation. The Papists resting their expectations of salvation on their own works, denied that Assurance was possible, because it was not possible for a man to know that he should do good works enough to secure salvation. The Reformers, resting their expectations of salvation on the grace of God received by faith in Christ, affirmed that this assurance was possible, because God was unchanging in his designs and promises of grace. But the point now in question is, whether we can know that we have secured this unchanging grace of God? Whether we have that faith on condition, of which God promises salvation? Whether we are those saints whom, in his unchanging purpose, God designs to save?

The possibility of gaining the Full Assurance of Hope, is asserted in the Ecclesiastic Standards of