causes and symptoms of a decline of religion, and it is all-important to retard its fall, and forward its revival by every means in our power. It will have been observed, that all bodies of Christians have ultimately fallen from their primitive purity. What have been the causes? One grand cause manifestly is the corruption of the human heart. Another has been the taking religious opinions rather on the authority of great and good names, than on that which is divine~ God's holy word. (1 Cor. ii. 5.) Thus human faith is gendered, and not that divine faith which gains the victory over all our spiritual enemies.

This important subject calls for farther illustration. We see something of it in the decay of religion in the successive generations of a pious family. The effects which have arisen from pious parents thrusting their children into the ministry, show the same thing. It was said in the preceding century, Some of the greatest perverters of the gospel during the last century have descended from pious parents, who, fond of the idea of bringing up their children to the public service of God, overlooked the necessity of personal religion, presuming, as it would seem, that God would in due time supply that.'

But we see it on a large scale in the history of the Church of Christ generally. The concurring in human confessions and forms, which, where sincere, expresses the unity of the Church, may soon degenerate into a scrupulous, self-righteous, and superstitious veneration for an external truth, without any experience of its power. There is a great danger that the succes sors to those who have established a form of sound words, should hold the same words as a correct theory, with an excessive zeal, and just in inverse ratio to that

zeal, slight their saving influence and power on the heart. The effect of this is, that however the doctrine be held in theory, there is a gradual loss of the real truth, which more and more fails, till those who retain the sound words explain away their real meaning, and with all their strength oppose every just statement of the truth contained in those words. It is seldom that vital religion flourishes long in the same place. Religion passes from the affections into the intellect, and becomes a dry and barren speculation -the religion of sentiment, instead of the religion of the heart.

Similar is the tendency of an attachment to any human authorities, as the ground of our confidence. The first teachers may be entirely sound and scriptural, and be extensively blessed; but their successors adopting their views not wholly from experience, and from the word of God, but mainly from man, begin to believe very much on human teaching; and thus not having the simple faith in the divine record, which is alone the effective stay of the soul, giving us the victory over the world, they gradually bend and verge to worldly systems, while at first they retain all the outward theory of orthodox, or evangelical principles. But by degrees, with the substance, the form is either on the one hand slighted and lost, or on the other hand magnified as the one thing necessary and important.

Has not the Church of God seen these things painfully exemplified on a large scale among almost every class of Christians in every age of the church. Have not the Protestant churches on the continent and in the British islands witnessed the same distressing facts in their own history.

This state of things arises from, and is an indication of the tremendous power of that inward corruption which breaks through all barriers, and rises over all bounds. It is at the same time another evidence of the freedom, and riches, and fulness of that grace which is in Christ Jesus. He, against all this powerful tendency, still raises up afresh, by fresh effusions of the Holy Ghost, faithful witnesses from time to time, with a new experience of the truth in their own conversion to God, boldly to testify the gospel of his grace. The faithful witness too is then enabled, by those abused and neglected confessions, to take a firmer stand and be strengthened and bulwarked against all attacks, and thus a new life and power is given to the form, and the whole church is revived.

We have had painful occasion to see that many have admitted right sentiments, who do not, as far as man can judge, live under the personal experience and enjoyment of those sentiments. Without noticing unworthy motives, we may in many cases believe that their real learning, their candour of mind, and their sincerity of character, have led them to avow doctrines which they perceived to be scriptural; but it is greatly to be feared that their religion is the religion of intellect without corresponding feelings; the religion of an outward orthodoxy without the living principles having their due influence over the affections. The deity and the atonement of Christ, for instance, are admitted and are strenuously maintained against Socinians; but the glory of those doctrines, as discovering to us one able to save to the uttermost, and procuring for us a complete salvation, are not traced out in their practical application, as unspeakably

zeal, slight their saving influence and power on the heart. The effect of this is, that however the doctrine be held in theory, there is a gradual loss of the real truth, which more and more fails, till those who retain the sound words explain away their real meaning, and with all their strength oppose every just statement of the truth contained in those words.

It

is seldom that vital religion flourishes long in the same place. Religion passes from the affections into the intellect, and becomes a dry and barren speculation -the religion of sentiment, instead of the religion of the heart.

Similar is the tendency of an attachment to any human authorities, as the ground of our confidence. The first teachers may be entirely sound and scriptural, and be extensively blessed; but their successors adopting their views not wholly from experience, and from the word of God, but mainly from man, begin to believe very much on human teaching; and thus not having the simple faith in the divine record, which is alone the effective stay of the soul, giving us the victory over the world, they gradually bend and verge to worldly systems, while at first they retain all the outward theory of orthodox, or evangelical principles. But by degrees, with the substance, the form is either on the one hand slighted and lost, or on the other hand magnified as the one thing necessary and important.

Has not the Church of God seen these things painfully exemplified on a large scale among almost every class of Christians in every age of the church. Have not the Protestant churches on the continent and in the British islands witnessed the same distressing facts in their own history.

This state of things arises from, and is an indication of the tremendous power of that inward corruption which breaks through all barriers, and rises over all bounds. It is at the same time another evidence of the freedom, and riches, and fulness of that grace which is in Christ Jesus. He, against all this powerful tendency, still raises up afresh, by fresh effusions of the Holy Ghost, faithful witnesses from time to time, with a new experience of the truth in their own conversion to God, boldly to testify the gospel of his grace. The faithful witness too is then enabled, by those abused and neglected confessions, to take a firmer stand and be strengthened and bulwarked against all attacks, and thus a new life and power is given to the form, and the whole church is revived.

We have had painful occasion to see that many have admitted right sentiments, who do not, as far as man can judge, live under the personal experience and enjoyment of those sentiments. Without noticing unworthy motives, we may in many cases believe that their real learning, their candour of mind, and their sincerity of character, have led them to avow doctrines which they perceived to be scriptural; but it is greatly to be feared that their religion is the religion of intellect without corresponding feelings; the religion of an outward orthodoxy without the living principles having their due influence over the affections. The deity and the atonement of Christ, for instance, are admitted and are strenuously maintained against Socinians; but the glory of those doctrines, as discovering to us one able to save to the uttermost, and procuring for us a complete salvation, are not traced out in their practical application, as unspeakably