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FAITH
IN ITS LOWEST DEGREES.
[DISC.
WIr.
temple
asked an
alms: and
they
said,.look
on
us
:--
Upon
which he
gave
heed
to them,
expecting
to
receive
something
of
them
;"
Acts
iii. 4, 5. So
looking tintb
God-
signifies
dependance
on
him,
and
expectation
of
mercy
from
him.
"
We
know
not
what
to,
do,"
saith.Jehosha
phat;
2
Chron.
xx.
12.
"
but our
eyes
are
upon thee."
So
Ps.
xxxiv.
5.
"
They looked unto
him and were.
lightened." When there
was
universal distress
:round,
about, saith
the
prophet
;
Micah
vii.
7,
I
will
look
unto the Lord,
I
will wait
for
the
God
of
my'salvation.
It
is
evident
from the sacred,
as
well
as
the common
use
of
this word,
that
it
signifies
the
same
as
believing or
trusting
in.
Christ
in
the
New Testament,
which
is
the
.
appointed
means
ofour
obtaining a share
in
his
salva-
'tion.
Acts
xvi. 31.
'Believe
on
the
Lord Jesus
Christ,
and
thou
shalt
be
saved.
Sinners
of
the gentiles
áre re-
quired
in my
text
to look
to
him.
It
is
foretold
by
the
same prophet,
that "
to
him
shall
the
gentiles seek
;"
Is.
xi.
10.
Which
is
cited and
interpreted
by
St.
Paul
;
Rom.
xv.
12.
In
him
shall
the
gentiles
trust.
r
The
soul then,
that
is
so
far sensible
of
its
past iniqui-
ties, its
guilt and danger
of
hell, and
that
feels so
much
of
its inward sinful
nature, appetites, and
passions, as to
know
its
own
inability to
procure pardon of God
for
sins
past,
or
to
make
itself
holy
for time
to
come,
and
sees
also in
Christ
such
a
glorious
all
-
sufficiency
of help
and
relief,
and upon
this
account
commits
itself
by
prayer
and
humble trust, or dependance, into the hands
of
Jesús
Christ,
as
an
all sufficient Saviour, sincerely
and
earnestly desirous
ofhis
complete salvation
in
all
the
parts of
it,
the
holiness
and
the
happiness;
this
soul
is
a
believer
in Christ;
this soul has
looked
to
Christ,
in the
sense
of
mÿ
text,
and shall certainly
be
saved.
Because the duty
of
faith, trusting,. or
believing,
is so'
necessary
to
salvation, therefore it
has
pleased
God in
his
word
to
render
the
notion
of it
plain
and
easy,
by
many
metaphors and
figures
of
speech,
to
accommodate
the,
capacities and understandings
of the
meanest.
And
these
are
borrowed
also
from the most
useful
and
active
powers of
nature, and
the
most common actions
of
life.
When
the
metaphor
is
taken
from
the
feet, believing
is
called a coming
to
Christ;
Mat.
xi.
28.
Conze
unto
me,
all
ye
that
labour and
are
heavy laden,
and
I
will
give you
rest ;
Jghn
vi.
37.
Him
that
cometli to
me,
I