faith he brings Divine power to his help; for by this key, he can unlock the treasury of heavenly grace, and appropriate its riches. By faith he realises the Saviour as very present, and near to all who call upon Him in truth; and it makes the Christian strong in His strength, and victorious by the power of His Spirit.*

What then is the chief lesson which young men should learn from all this? Should it not be their first concern to get that precious faith, which is the very life of the soul, and without which it is impossible either to please God or to live to God? Faith in Christ is the turning-point of a man's salvation, and the crisis of his spiritual history. It is the window by which the light of heavenly truth enters into the dark soul, and it is the living bond which binds the soul for ever to Him who is mighty to save. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." Faith is the gift of God, and the fruit of the operation of the Holy Spirit, who not only convinces of sin, but who also. enables the sinner to embrace the offered Saviour, as his own and his only Refuge. "Believe on the Lord

* For various suggestions in the four preceding pages, the author thankfully acknowledges his indebtedness to an admirable discourse, which he had the privilege of hearing some years ago from his esteemed friend, the Rev. Alexander Cusin of Lady Glenorchy's Free Church.

Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." And continue to believe and trust in Him, and "according to your faith so shall it be done unto you, for all things are possible to him that believeth."

"True Piety is cheerful as the day,

Will weep, indeed, and heave a pitying groan
For others' woes, but smiles upon his own.
The free-born Christian has no chains,
Or if a chain, the golden one of Love.
No fear attends to quench his glowing fires;
What fear he feels his gratitude inspires.
Thought, word, and deed his liberty evince,
His freedom is the freedom of a prince."

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."-1 COR. xv. 58.

N every part of the Bible, and more especially in the writings of Paul, doctrine is inseparably connected with practice, or life with action. In his various epistles, the vital doctrines of the Gospel are first of all clearly stated and powerfully enforced; and then the practical effects of the belief of these doctrines upon the temper of our minds and the tenor of our daily lives, are faithfully and minutely delineated. While inculcating the absolute necessity of a living faith in Christ, as the turning-point of our salvation, the apostle insists no less upon the necessity of proving our faith to be genuine by the practice of good works; and he shows that true faith "works by love" and "purifies the

heart,” and is productive of all the peaceable fruits of

righteousness.

Thus, for example, after expounding the doctrine of the resurrection in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, chap. xv., he concludes with the following practical exhortation, verse 58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

To this exhortation and the motive presented for complying with it, we may now direct our attention in the concluding chapter, in order to see what the Life of Faith is in its practical results.

I. The exhortation: "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.”

The word therefore shows that this exhortation is not only connected with the preceding context, but that it is a logical conclusion drawn from the apostle's previous argument. The scope or design of that argument was, to show the reality of Christ's resurrection from the dead, and the consequent certainty of the resurrection of the just to eternal life. And, having conclusively demonstrated this, he virtually says, "Seeing that Christ not only died to atone for our sins, but also rose again from the dead to make us partakers of His own endless life, therefore, be ye steadfast in the faith of these great facts, and immovable in the hope which

they inspire; and let this steadfast faith, and this immovable hope, stimulate you to abound always in the work of the Lord."

But to whom is the exhortation addressed? Not to all indiscriminately, but only to the people of God, or to those whom the apostle calls his "beloved brethren." For none but true Christians can feel the force of the arguments and motives, which are here urged, to a holy activity in the work of the Lord. Evidently, a man must live before he can be moved to action. There must be spiritual life in the soul, before that soul can be moved or drawn toward God, or impelled to energetic action in doing God's work and will. And yet mere life is not enough, but the life must be healthy and vigorous life. Even the true Christian, though quickened by the Holy Spirit, may become languid and listless in doing the Lord's work. And, therefore, he needs at one time, to be warned, by the terrors of the Lord, against besetting sins, and secret backsliding, and worldly conformity, lest after all he should be a castaway. And he needs, at another time, to be encouraged and stimulated, by the mercies of the Lord, to persevere in faith, and hope, and holiness, in order to reach the mark, and win the immortal prize. And this is what the apostle does in

our text.

Now, the exhortation is obviously a very comprehensive one, and much more so than we might suppose