60 FAITH THE WAY TO SALVATION. ing in Christ and grace for all that we enjoy and hope for. This is the business of faith; this is the verynature of that Christian virtue, to disclaim all self-sufficiency, and receive.all frommere mercy ; and therefore it is appointed to be the means of ourjus- tification under the gospel ; therefore it is said so often in scrip ture, that we arejustified byfaith, that divine grace may have all the glory ; Rom., iv. 16. Therefore it is of faith, thatit might be of grace. We are ignorant and foolish, and must derive wisdom from Christ: We are guilty, and must receive righteousness from him: We areunholy, he is the spring of our sanctification We are captives and slaves to sin and Satan, and we must have redemption from him: Ile is mude of God to us wisdom, righte- ousness, sanctification, and redemption, that no flesh might glen] in. his presence, but he that glories, must glory itc the .Lord; 1 Cor. i. 29, 30, Man innocent man, had power and righteousness, and life left into his own hands ; but the first Adam grewvain in his self- sufficiency, and lie foolishly sinned, and lost it all : Therefore, God, in order to our recovery, would put power, and righteous- ness, and life into the hands of another, evenhis own Son, the second Adam; that we might go out of ourselves, and -seek it all from another hand. Now faith, or trust, is the proper act of the soul, to express our own emptiness, and our dependenceon another for all. - This is the languageoffaith," Lord, I am asinful and guilty creature ; Ihave no righteousness, nomerit, to recommend me to thy favour ; I have no power to change my unholy nature, and rectify the criminal disorders of my soul; I am unable to subdue the sins that dwell in me, or practise the required duties of holi- ness; I deserve condemnation and death, and I am by nature walking in the way to hell ; helpless and hopeless for ever in my- self; but in thy rich grace is all my hope : I rejoice in the disco- veries of thy mercy ; I come at the call of thy gospel, upon the hendedknees of my soul I accept of the proposals of thy grace ; I give up myself to thy power and mercy, as it is revealed in Jesus Christ, thy Son, that I may be saved from sin and hell. To me belongs nothing but shame and confusion of face; I re- nounce for ever all self- sufficiency, and if ever I am saved, thy grace shall have all the glory." Now when a poor humbled sinner is-brought thus far, and receives the salvationof God in this lowly posture of soul, the great Gód has obtained a good part of his designs in the gospel upon him ; Self is humbled, grace is glorified, andthe sinner is saved by faith. V, Heaven is made up of believers. The whole number of the saved were once sinners, and obtained salvation by faith. The holy angels' indeed never shined, and yet whether their
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