nearer his grave, regrets for the past are vain; and it is wisest to believe that in the future the Immortal will crown His years with His eternal goodness, as in the past His multitudinous blessings have accompanied His chastenings, and over all His banner of love shall wave-a love which is not merely a "dead fact stranded on the shore of the oblivious years," but yet remains

"For ever full,

For ever flowing free,

For ever shared, for ever whole,
A never-ebbing sea!"

J. W. STEEL.

"THE LIKE PRECIOUS FAITH."

FOUR times are repeated in the Bible these words, "The just shall live by Faith ;" and they who abidingly believe with the heart on the Lord Jesus Christ may, though in the nothingness of self, and through failures oft, confess that they live by the Faith of the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself for us: to Him be all the glory! The reason of our being able to live by this Faith is because it springs from the power of the life of God, and it reacts on the soul to the development of more power.

The Apostle Peter, in his Epistle to the Christian strangers scattered abroad, addresses them "that have obtained like precious Faith with us.' Now, it is of this "precious Faith" that this little paper is to testify; because it is to be experienced as a living Power of God, a real covenant with Him, and a distinct life: it has also been revealed as for all, indeed the sole condition on our part by which we can partake of the blessings of the Gospel. It does not require power of mind, or much striving to reach it, but rather deep humility to come down to its simplicity ; for when we are born of God He gives it to us to live by; to receive His grace, that we may bend our wills in constant surrender to His will, to cease struggling in our own effort, and trust Christ entirely to work in us; to believe in the love that He has shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost; in short, to be our Life. And this is the question on which the following thoughts are based; do we fully believe and realise that living by Faith is a real and practical Life?

The Faith which is given to us of God, is a Power

by which we may live on things unseen as surely as in this outward life we live on things seen; and it is as necessary to our spiritual life as the outward senses are to our temporal life. It is the channel appointed by God through which we receive everything that promotes the sustenance, growth, and well-being of our eternal life. When we are born again from above this Faith is implanted within us as certainly as are the senses or organs of reception given to the infant. just commencing its natural life, feeble at first, but developing in proportion to use. The same Power that forms also sustains; the spiritual child is "kept by the power of God through Faith unto salvation.'

Our Father in Heaven, who knows all our needs, nourishes, exercises, and educates us through this Faith which He has given us. He wishes us to receive Christ, to seek His love, to serve Him and to follow on to know Him. He would not expect this of us if He had not given us the power-this power is Faith.

When we are born again, we are born of God; our life then is of the nature of God. Our Lord said, Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God." How does he then see it? By the eye of Faith. He sees the love and goodness and truth of the Eternal King and the glory of the kingdom by the eye of Faith, he hears of it through the ear of Faith. Christ said, "He that is of God heareth God's words." Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!"-how can we do so? By Faith.

Seeing there is this contact with heavenly things to be wrought for us, let us earnestly beseech the Lord to quicken all the senses of our Faith, that we may have sight, hearing, taste and touch of our glorious inheritance in Christ.

Now this living power of Faith is realised in two stages of experience-we receive it for our justification

by Christ, and for our sanctification by Christ. Paul speaks of being justified by Faith, as bringing peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; he also speaks of an "inheritance among them which are sanctified by Faith." The first is a sure belief that Jesus died to redeem us from sin, For if we believe in our hearts that God has raised Christ from the dead, we shall be saved. (Rom. x. 9.) The second is the Faith that receives Him into the heart-"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by Faith" (Eph. iii. 17) was the prayer of St. Paul. Our Lord can find no entrance into a heart of unbelief.

Looking at the first of these it is "precious Faith" indeed, given by God to bring to the sin-laden soul the reality of a Saviour, the certainty of a Fountain open for all uncleanness, of body, soul, and spirit. There are no depths of suffering or of sin from which the cry of Faith will not be heard. To the afflicted woman who touched the garment of Christ; to the blind man who cried out, "Jesus have mercy upon me"; and to the poor Samaritan leper; to each of these the Lord said, "Thy Faith hath made thee whole." And the poor woman oppressed by sin, who lovingly anointed the feet of Jesus, heard from His lips the gracious assurance, "Thy Faith hath saved thee, go in peace." Even the Greek woman was heard, for her Faith would not be put aside-"Yea, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from the Master's table,' was the utterance of Faith, because of which the Devil left her daughter.

All these, and multitudes more, were saved by Faith; and this is the end or purpose of our Faith, even the salvation of our souls, and by it we are continually drawing water out of the wells of salvation. Now we see in the Scriptures, how God has chosen the poor of this world rich in Faith, into His life of trust and power. He called the fishermen of Gallilee,

because He knew they would not reason and question, but would in simple Faith follow Him; and when they, a little fearing, said, "Lord, increase our Faith," He told them that if they had Faith even but as a grain of mustard seed, they could say to the mountains, "Be ye removed," and nothing would be impossible to them; because Faith is from God, full of power and inspiring with power. And here we come to the "Faith of the operation of God," the Faith which sanctifies and makes Christ-like. What a mighty Spirit of power works this life in us! the very same power that raises all life, temporal and eternal. What wonderful men these Apostles became, as the righteousness of God was revealed to them from Faith to Faith Two heavenly gifts the soul of man requires, the Holy Ghost and Faith! The Apostles chose Stephen because "he was a man full of Faith and of the Holy Ghost." Barnabas was sent forth because "he was full of the Holy Ghost and of Faith.” Those who sent them knew that their work must prosper because they had infinite powers within them. The Faith in Paul said, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me (Phil. iv. 13); he could do nothing through his own power, but everything through Christ's power in him.

We have seen now how Faith is both justifying and sanctifying, producing pardon and cleansing. But let us keep in mind that it is nothing of man, but entirely of God; it is not our faith, but the faith of God: His quickening power gives the Faith in Jesus Christ and in His redeeming blood shed for us; and through this Faith the spiritual Blood pardons and the Water cleanses (1 John v. 6). This life of Faith or Eternal Life, is in the Son of God.

This life is so unutterably beautiful, and glorious, and real, that although we may have no more conception of it than a little child has of the wonders and