rs of Christianity, to whom at the
last day our blessed Saviour will address those words, "I never knew
you; depart from me, all ye that work iniquity." But the danger of error
on this side ought not to render us insensible to the opposite error; an
error against which in these days it seems particularly necessary to
guard. It is far from the intention of the writer of this work to enter
into the niceties of controversy. But surely without danger of being
thought to violate this design, he may be permitted to contend, that
they who in the main believe the doctrines of the church of England, are
bound to allow that our dependence on our blessed Saviour, as alone the
meritorious cause of our acceptance with God, and as the means of all
its blessed fruits and glorious consequences, must be not merely formal
and nominal, but real and substantial: not vague, qualified, and
partial, but direct, cordial, and entire. "Repentance towards God, and
faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ," was the sum of the apostolical
instructions. It is not an occasional invocation of the name, or a
transient recognition of the authority of Christ, that fills up the
measure of the terms, _believing in Jesus_. This we shall find no such
easy task; and if we trust that we do believe, we should all perhaps do
well to cry out in the words of an imploring suppliant (he supplicated
not in vain) "Lord help thou our unbelief." We must be deeply conscious
of our guilt and misery, heartily repenting of our sins, and firmly
resolving to forsake them: and thus penitently "fleeing for refuge to
the hope set before us," we must found altogether on the merit of the
crucified Redeemer our hopes of escape from their deserved punishment,
and of deliverance from their enslaving power. This must be our first,
our last, our only plea. We are to surrender ourselves up to him to "be
washed in his blood[60]," to be sanctified by his Spirit, resolving to
receive him for our Lord and Master, to learn in his school, to obey all
his commandments.

It may perhaps be not unnecessary, after having treated so largely on
this important topic, to add a few words in order to obviate a charge
which may be urged against us, that we are insisting on nice and
abstruse distinctions in what is a matter of general concern; and this
too in a system, which on its original promulgation was declared to be
peculiarly intended for the simple and poor. It will be abundantly
evident however on a l