Thus closes the address of Isaiah to Ahaz and his people on a very memorable and trying occasion. . . . Its meaning is, Take God at His word; place entire reliance upon Him, and not upon an arm of flesh. If ye will not do this as a country, the state cannot be safe; and if you will not do this as individuals, your minds cannot be composed and established. Now, let us pass from the house of David naturally to the house of David spiritually, and pursue the train of thought set in motion. Let us consider the stability of faith, and the peace it induces. In the Christian's life there are three kinds of stability. +I. There is a stability of judgment.+ This regards the _truths_ of religion. It is of great importance to have a judgment clear and fixed, as it respects the great concerns of the soul and eternity, and the great doctrines of the Gospel of Christ; for as we think we feel, as we feel we desire, and as we desire we act, and as we act our characters are formed and our conditions determined. Instability concerning these great truths is both perilous and painful; but whence is stability to come? Not through human authority; for what one patronises, another denies. Not through human reason (H. E. I. 537, 1087, 2022-2024; P. D. 2926, 2929, 2931, 2934). There must be a revelation received by faith; Divine declarations, believed because God has made them. This leads to an experience which tends still further to establish the Christian in the faith (H. E. I. 1087, 1142-1148). +II. There is a stability of practice.+ This regards the _duties_ of religion (1 Pet. i. 5). In order to see the strength and beauty of the sentiment contained in the text, let us place the believer in three positions. 1. In a place of _secrecy._ To many this is a place of temptation. Not so to the believer. Faith brings God and places Him before us (Gen. xvi. 13; xxxix. 9). 2. _In prosperity and indulgence_ (Prov. i. 32). But faith brings to the Christian the earnests of a better country, the first-fruits and foretastes of it, and thus gives him a victory which others can never achieve (1 John v. 4). 3. In a condition of _suffering and danger_ (Heb. xi. 24-27; Dan. vi. 10; H. E. I. 1911-1919). +III. There is a stability of hope.+ This regards the _comforts_ of religion (Rom. xv. 13; 1 Pet. i. 8; Ps. xxiii. 1, 4, 6). 1. _Beware of unbelief._ It is a grievous offence against God; it is hurtful and perilous to man. Every sin renders our salvation impossible by the law, but only one sin renders it impossible by the Gospel, and that is unbelief; not by any desire or threatening of God, but by its natural tendency and result. For there is only one remedy that can restore a perishing sinner, and if this be rejected, destruction is inevitable (H. E. I. 443). 2. _Labour and pray for an increase of faith_ (Mark ix. 23; 2 Chron. xx. 20).--_William Jay: Sunday Morning Sermons,_ pp. 101-109. MAN'S IMAGINED INDEPENDENCE OF GOD.