the real saint.

How exceedingly important is it, then, that you should not only exercise
a general belief of the great doctrines of the gospel, but that you
should have a right apprehension of them. The _truth_ is so necessary in
the Christian warfare, that it is called the _sword of the Spirit_. But
of what benefit is the sword to the soldier who knows not how to use it?
The sword is used as much to ward off the blows of the enemy, as to
attack him. But the novice, who should engage an enemy, without knowing
the use of his weapon, would be thrust through in the first onset.
Hence, the peculiar force of the prayer of our Lord, "Sanctify them
through thy truth." It is by the use of the truth, as the "sword of the
Spirit," in the Christian warfare, that the work of satisfaction is
carried on.

But, as the frame-work of a building, though complete in all its parts,
would be no house without a covering; so we may have a perfect knowledge
of the abstract doctrines of the Christian religion, and be no
Christians. It is the practical and experimental application of these
doctrines to our own hearts and lives, that makes the building complete.
Regard yourself as a subject of God's moral government, and the
doctrines of the Bible as the laws of his kingdom; and you will feel
such a personal interest in them, that you cannot rest in abstract
speculation. Study these doctrines, that you may know how to live to the
glory of God.

I will now give you a few simple directions for obtaining a correct
knowledge of the doctrines of the Bible.

1. _Approach the subject with the spirit of a little child._ "As