of his works had contributed to his justification, or been made the ground of his acceptance with God. James introduces another example, and says, "Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?" (ver. 25.) This act shewed indeed the reality and strength of her faith, and she stands upon record as an exemplary believer; for she owned and honoured God, and God will own and honour her; and these things sufficiently prove that 66 as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also," but that is all. As sinners we are still accepted of God by faith in the Redeemer, and not by works of righteousness; but it is by works that faith is made manifest. In this way many examples are introduced in the eleventh of Hebrews, of Enoch, Moses, and others, to shew that faith wrought with their works as well as produced them, otherwise neither faith nor works would be approved of God.

III. Those who pretend to faith, and yet are desti tute of good works, are awfully deceived.

Such will one day be the scorn of men and angels, and even of God himself. "Shew me thy faith without thy works," if it be possible. The attempt is vain and delusive! You might as well pretend to remove mountains, or dry up the sea. Be not deceived therefore: let such vain words have an end. Can a sinful and unholy creature, who neither fears God nor trusts in the Redeemer, who neither cares about his own soul nor the souls of others, can he be a believer? Can he be possessed of faith who is a stranger and an enemy to holiness? He may indeed have a faith that will answer the purpose of stupifying his conscience, and lulling him into the deep sleep of carnal security; but it will not avail him in a dying hour, nor at the bar of God. It will neither save him from misery, nor bring

him to glory. If the heart be unhumbled and the life unholy, duties neglected and corruptions unsubdued, our faith is a mere pretence, and our hope is all a delusion. That faith, which leaves a man where it finds him as much attached to the world and under the power of sin and Satan as before, is no faith at all. Hence we may learn,

(1.) It is as impious to deny the utility and necessity of good works as it is to ascribe merit to them. They are the way to the kingdom, as one said, though not the cause of reigning. The life is the index of the heart. Leaves and blossoms will not evidence a christian, but fruit will. Hearers of the word, and not doers of it, only deceive themselves. Faith may be previous to good works, but cannot long exist without them. James i. 22.

(2.) All works performed before faith, or while in a state of unbelief, are no better than dead works, and cannot be acceptable with God. Works do not give value to faith, but it is faith that makes works acceptable: it is the tree that makes the fruit good, and not the fruit that makes the tree good. Enoch was uniform and constant in his obedience, and walked with God; but it was by faith that he obtained this testimony that he pleased God. Let our affections be ever so warm and lively, and our conduct ever so consistent, yet both the one and the other must be influenced by faith as the vital principle of all true religion. Faith in the promises, in the sacrifice and righteousness of our Saviour, is that only which brings us near to God, and renders our persons and services acceptable. Let it be our care to preserve that connexion between faith and holiness which the scriptures teach, and not put that asunder which they have joined together, knowing that as works without faith are dead, so faith without works is dead also.

SERMON XI.

ZECH. ix. 12.

Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope.

GOD's children have a place of refuge, and the reason why others have not is, they flee from it instead of fleeing to it. The words of our text are a call to souls in distress they speak the language of our Saviour: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matt, xi. 28.

I. Consider the relief provided—a “strong hold.”

However, not any strong hold which we may fancy or prepare for ourselves, though the imagination of man is very fruitful in inventions of this kind. When conscience is alarmed, any thing is sought to that will afford a little present ease, and lying vanities are as common now as lying wonders were in the dark days of popery. The Physician of souls is neglected, and physicians of no value are applied to. "When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound." Such has been and still is the conduct of sinful men. They make any thing their refuge rather than Him who is "as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, and as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." Some, overwhelmed

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with a sense of guilt, and terrified with apprehensions of future wrath, fly to the absolute and uncovenanted mercy of God. Some to their church privileges, and others to their good works and religious performances. Some hope to conciliate the divine favour by their prayers and tears, their amendments and reformations; and others hope to escape punishment for their negative goodness, not having been like this publican or that sinner. "The rich man's wealth is the strong city; the destruction of the poor is their poverty. The one trusts in his riches, considering them as an evidence of the divine favour; and the others make a plea of their poverty, hoping that their misery in this world will entitle them to happiness in the next. Some place their safety in what they have done, and others in what they intend to do; some in acts of charity, and others in acts of devotion. Thus they kindle a fire, and compass themselves about with the sparks which they have kindled: a little present ease they may find in this, but in the end they shall lie down in sorrow. Prov. x. 15. Isai. li. 11.

It must therefore not be any refuge that we resort to, but that which the Scriptures have provided, and which is intended in the text. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." The perfections of God, his wisdom, power and goodness, are all engaged for the protection of his people. The covenant of grace, with its glorious provisions and extensive promises, are as a strong hold: here the righteous find safety in a time of danger, and comfort in a time of trouble. Under the shadow of this covenant they may repose with satisfaction, and rest secure amidst a thousand threatening evils, saying with David, "This is all my salvation, and all my desire." The Lord Jesus Christ especially is the refuge of poor sinners, and to him the preceding verse evidently refers. "As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant, I have sent forth thy prisoners out of

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the pit wherein is no water." He is both the foundation on which the believer builds, and the fortress in which he hides. He stood the storm which would have overwhelmed us, and by being our surety he became our refuge. Christ is to his people what the ark was to Noah; and when the world shall be again destroyed, they shall be "found in him." The strong holds of Satan shall be demolished; but that which God hath provided for his people shall bid defiance to the rage of all their enemies. Its walls are so high that they can never be scaled, and its foundations so deep that they can never be undermined. Here we are safe, and only here. Prov. xviii. 10. Isai. xxxii. 2.

II. Consider what is implied in our seeking this relief" Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope."

1. It supposes that by nature we are turned another way, having not only an indifference, but a dislike to the true way of salvation. We are for drawing water from our own cistern, though it be a broken one, and for gathering fruit from our own fig-tree, though it can yield us nothing. We choose to lie under the sentence of condemnation and death, rather than come to Christ for justification and life. We will neither have him for our Redeemer, nor our sovereign; will neither be obedient to his laws, nor beholden to his grace. "Ye will not come unto me," saith Christ,

that ye might have life." Either we do not seek after salvation, or we seek it not in God's way. We form purposes when we should put up prayers, and work when we ought to believe. "We prefer our own earnings to the free gift of our Saviour, and our own dross to the pearl of great price. The stone which is made the head of the corner is to unbelievers a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence; and instead of building on the foundation that God hath laid in Zion, they build