of the Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and stay or lean upon his God and Isa 26.3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is staid on thee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because hee trusteth in thee which word in the matter of Justification designeth that Act whereby finding and feeling our own weakness as unable to support our selves wee do lean and rest on Christ as David Psal 28.7 The Lord is my strength and my shield my heart 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 trusted in him and I am helped c. And to these words in the Old Testament wee may adde those forms of words in the New and so wee shall finde that what in the Old is expressed by some one of these words is in the New expressed by beleeving in and upon To instance in a few We trust in the name of his Holiness saith the Old Testament Psal 33.21 and He that believeth in his name saith the New John 1.12 13. Trust in the Lord with thy whole heart saith the Old Prov. 3.5 If thou believest with thy whole heart saith the New Acts 8.34 37. In thee O Lord have I trusted let me not be confounded saith the Old Psal 31.1 25.2 and He that believeth on him shall not be ashamed saith the New Rom. 10.11 So that you see that to Trust and to Believe are Synonima import the same things though they differ in name yet not in nature He that Trusteth Believeth and he that Believeth Trusteth In which sense we have the phrases of believing in or upon 1 Pet. 2.6 Behold I lay in Sion a chief corner stone and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded Where by believing on him cannot be meant any thing but a laying and building our selves upon Christ as the foundation that we may be made a spiritual house as you have it in Verse 4 5. the like we have Rom. 10.10.11 He that believeth on him and so 2 Tim. 1.12 For I know in whom I have believed c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whence it is apparent that to believe in God is as much as to commit our selves to his trust for so it there followeth I am perswaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him or deposited with him or delivered up unto his keeping to that day that is his soul to everlasting life So that we see that to believe in Christ is with confidence and trust to rely upon him And thus much for the formal act of faith 2. For the formal object of faith and that not of faith at large for so the word of God is the objectum adaequatum of it but as it is particularly justifying faith quatenus justificat as it properly justifieth which is not the believing of every truth of God but that onely which by way of eminency is called The Truth that is Christ himself with all his merits John 14.6 and so here in the Text He that believeth in him Hence justifying faith is often called the Faith of Christ because he is the proper object of it Rom. 3 22 26. Gal. 2.16.20 And faith in Christ Acts 20.21 and Faith in the blood of Christ Whence I thus argue That Object to the Belief of which justification and salvation is promised that is the Object of justifying faith But to believe in Christ is Justification and Salvation promised Therefore Christ is the object of justifying faith Thus as briefly as I could having shewed what is the formal both act and object of justifying faith I shall now lay down this one Conclusion Doct. That the great thing which is required at our hands for Justification and Salvation is beleeving in Christ Hee that beleeves shall bee saved In the prosecution of this wee will shew 1 What Faith is 2 That Faith is the great requisite 3 Why God hath made choice of this to bee the instrument of Justification 4 How Faith doth justifie whether formally or instrumentally 5 What bee the Royalties of Faith 1 What Faith is For the first What Faith is Wee will not define the habit of Faith but the Act of Faith nor every Act but that only which justifieth Now according to the diversity of opinions herein such is the diversity of Definitions They who hold the Assent to bee the Act of Justifying Faith define it to bee a firm and willing Assent to the truth of God in generall and to this truth in particular that Christ is the Messiah and Saviour of the World They who hold it to bee a receiving of Christ define it to bee such an Act as whereby wee receive Christ in all his offices But not to trouble you with these That which I will give you is this Definition Faith is an Act of a regenerate person whereby knowing and assenting unto the Promises of God and to this Truth in particular that Christ is the Messiah or Saviour of the World doth rest upon him for Justification Sanctification and consequently for Salvation Now to explain this Definition 1 I say that Faith is an Act for wee speak not of Faith in actu primo as an habit infused and implanted in us but in actu secundo as an Act whereby wee are justified for wee are not justified by Faith as an habit or as a grace inherent in us but as I said by Faith as an Act as it goeth over to Christ as wee see here the Promise is not made to the Habit but to the Act of Faith Hee that beleeveth c. That is the first I call it an Act 2 The subject person so it is said to bee an Act of a regenerate person a man universally sanctified regenerated and born again for take Faith which way you please for the Act or for the Habit neither of them are before Regeneration 1 The Act of Faith that is not before the Habit of Faith a thing must bee in esse before it can bee in operari there must bee a Habit of Faith within before there can bee the exercise of Faith without 2 And this Habit of Faith is not infused before other graces it being part of our inherent Sanctification as infidelity is a part of our corruption nor is it again infused alone but together with the rest of the graces of Gods Spirit by which wee are regenerated So that Faith is an Act of a regenerated soul A man cannot beleeve till his understanding bee enlightened and his will changed and this is not before Grace Again to beleeve is an Act of a living man not of a soul dead in sin and therefore the soul must first bee indued with the life of Grace before it can perform this living action Indeed we are said to be sanctified by Faith and so it might seem that our Sanctification were a fruit of Faith an effect of Faith but wee are not to understand this as meant of the first work of Sanctification which is not acquired or put forth
therefore hee hath chosen Faith to bee the Grace whereby wee should bee Justified And if ever you would bee justified if ever you would have Glory give him Glory 4. The fourth thing at first propounded to bee cleared was How Faith justifieth For the clearer answer whereto wee will lay down these two Distinctions 1 Faith may be considered 1. Either formally as an inherent Grace of God in us 2 Or instrumentally as that whereby wee receive Christ In the first sense it hath nothing to do with Justification The Papist because wee deny Faith to justifie in respect of its own worthiness say that we make it titulum sine re as it were a matter of nothing whereas in respect of Justification wee acknowledge it the only instrument and that is much to bee said of it 2 Faith is considered 1. Either absolutely as a Habit or Act of ours 2. Or Relatively as it hath relation to Christ and makes us one with him In the former sense again it hath nothing to do with Justification but in the second sense as it is related to Christ and brings us over to Christ so it is said to justifie us because it brings us to him by whom wee are justified Act. 13.39 By him speaking of Christ all that beleeve are justified by him but not by Faith absolutely but only as relating to him Indeed wee are said to live by Faith as well as by Christ Gal. 2.20 to have remission of sins by Faith Act. 10.43 as well as by Christ Ephes 1.7 to bee justified by Faith Rom. 3.28 as well as by Christ Isa 53.11 to have peace with God by Faith Rom. 5.1 as well as by Christ Col. 1.20 to bee sanctified by Faith Act. 15.9 as well as by Christ 1 Cor. 1.30 to overcome the World by Faith 1 John 5.4 5. as well as by Christ John 16.33 To bee the Sons of God by Faith Gal. 3.26 as well as by Christ Ephes 1.5 to have eternal life and to bee saved by Faith John 5.24 Ephes 2.8 as well as by Christ Math. 1.21 John 3.17 1 John 5.11 But now you must consider that none of these are spoken of Faith absolutely considered as either an Habit or Act of ours but only relatively as Faith brings us to Christ and makes us one with him by whom alone wee are justified adopted sanctified c. for between Christ and Faith there is such a Relation that as Justifying Faith is called the Faith of Christ or Faith in Christ or Faith in his blood so again the Righteousness of Christ by which wee are justified is called the Righteousness of Faith And so wee conclude this point that Faith doth not justifie as absolutely considered in it self but relatively as it hath relation to Christ the object and as it brings the soul over to him makes us one with him by whom wee are justified have remission of sins salvation c. 5 What are the Royalties and Priviledges of Faith First Royalty 1. Royalty of Faith It s an heart-clearing Grace 1. Faith is an heart-clearing Grace When wee are under the guilt of sin Faith doth justifie us And it is one of the Royalties of Faith one of the Peculiars of Faith that Faith alone doth justifie As the Apostle Rom. 3.28 Therefore wee conclude that a man is justified by Faith without the deeds of the Law And this Faith clears the heart of the guilt of sin 1. By procuring a sufficient Pay-master Christ who hath satisfied Gods Justice to the full answered all Bills Bonds paid our debt to the utmost farthing Hence John 16.10 I will send the Spirit and hee shall convince the World of Righteousness because I go to my Father and you shall see mee no more That is hee shall convince the World That Perfect Righteousness is wrought for them That Gods Justice is compleatly satisfied But how shall wee know that Because I go to my Father and you shall see mee no more That is you shall see mee no more in this kind you shall see mee no more to come to suffer or satisfy for sin for I have done that already I have compleatly satisfied Gods Justice for sin And therefore you shall see mee no more in this kind Indeed If Justice had not been compleatly satisfied If there had been but one sin upon the file unsatisfied for wee should have seen him again Heaven could not have held him But now seeing hee is gone and wee see him no more an humbled a suffering-Saviour this shews all is done To this I might adde Col. 2.14 Hee hath blotted out the hand writing of Ordinances that was against us which was contrary to us and hath taken it out of the way and nailed it to his Cross where by hand-writing of Ordinances is not meant the Ceremonial-Law only but whatever did binde us over to the Curse whatever did binde us over to death All which Christ hath removed by his death And the Apostles Gradation is observable here In the 13th verse hee had set down that our sins were forgiven Yea but that is not enough may some say Though the debt bee discharged yet the writing is to shew No saith the Apostle The Hand-writing of Ordinances is blotted out But may some say again it is not so blotted out so defaced but it may bee read and put in suit again a new quarrel may arise No saith the Apostle It is taken away Oh! But you will say it is not so taken away but as it is laid aside for a time it may be produced hereafter No saith the Apostle there is no fear of that it is nailed to the Cross it is torn in peeces it shall never be seen again never shall a new quarrel arise for the same Christ hath not only paid the debt but canceld and torn in peeces whatever might witness or testifie against us If a Debtor did know his Debt were answered yet if hee have his Bonds and Bills uncall'd in hee is still in fear But when hee hath all things which acknowledged his debt crossed torn in peeces made utterly void then hee is safe hee knows there is a discharge Why Christ did not only discharge our debt but defaced and abolished all such things as made acknowledgement of our debt hee left nothing that might witness against us untaken away And this is the first way whereby Faith doth clear us viz. by producing and bringing forth Christ who hath cleared all who is called a Suerty Heb. 7.22 Not only in passing his word for us but paying the Debt for us answering all and cancelling all that was against us But Faith doth not clear us only by producing of a sufficient Pay-master but 2. By making us one with Christ by which this payment is ours is all for us So that wee may say with Ambrose Pro me natus pro me vixit pro me mortuus Faith will say hee was born for mee hee lived for mee hee dyed for mee for mee hee fulfilled all
Secondly By Purchase p. 54 Thirdly By Donation p. 55 Fourthly By Covenant p. 55 46. Second Reason Because they are adorned with his Beauties 1. Of his Righteousness p. 56 2. Of his Graces p. 57 2 They are persons singled out to advance the great design of glorifying the riches and freenesses of his grace p. 58 59 Uses 1 To strengthen our faith in expectation that Christ should do more for his Church p. 60 The Church Christs 1 Fould 2 Field 3 House 4. Flore p. 60 Note to Explication joyn Supplication p. 61 Second Consectary Then hee will never take his heart off from them Object God doth sometimes forsake his Church and People p. 63 In answer to the Objections several conclusions laid down 1 God doth sometimes seemingly when hee doth not really forsake them p. 63 2 God may partially forsake his People but hee doth never totally forsake them p. 64 3 God may forsake them for a time not for ever p. 65 Third Consectary Then all the passages of Gods Providence 1 Towards the Church in general 2 To any particular member are all for good p. 66 67 4 Consectary VVhat a fearful sin it is that causes God to deal hardly with that which his soul loves so dearly p. 68 69 70 5 Consectary It discovers into what you may resolve all the passages of God to his Church even into his own love p. 70 71 Two streams in which the Love of God doth run 1 Higher in four Particulers 2 Lower in four Particulars more p. 72 6 Consectary VVith what confidence wee may pray for the good of the Church p. 73 7 Consectary What will become of those who are enemies to his Church and People p. 74 8 Consectary See here the ground of acceptation of the services of his People p. 75 Use of Examination whether wee have interest in this love Four Rules to bee observed in our Examination p. 76 Inquiry it self hee whose heart is taken with Christ Christs heart is taken with him Signes Nine signes of a heart taken with Christ p. 77 to 88 Use of Exhortation To them of his Church 1 Walk sutable to this Love in five Particulars p. 88 2 Beware of abusing his Love Four particulars wherein Christs Love may bee abused p. 88 89 3 Bee much in contemplation of his Love p. 90 The thoughts of Christs Love will work seven Effects p. 90 to 93 4 Labour for a reciprocal affection towards Christ p. 94 95 The Contents of The Nature and Royalties of Faith JOHN 3.15 Whosoever beleeveth in him shall not perish but have eternal life 1 THe occasion of this discourse p. 41 2 The discourse it self p. 42 Parts of the Text. Ibid. Inquiries First What Act of Faith that is whereby a sinner stands justified before God p. 42 43 44 2 Upon what Object this Act is to bee terminated p. 45 Doct. The great thing which is required at our hands for Justification and Salvation is beleeving in Christ p. 46 1 What Faith is the Definition with the Explanation of it which answers to six Objections that are made against the Definition p. 46. to 61 2 Faith the only requisite whereby wee should bee justified and saved 1 No way of union with Christ but by Faith p. 61 62 2 Faith necessary for our communion with Christ p. 62 to 64 3 Why God should make choice of this Grace for our Justification 1 That it might bee by Grace Ibid. 2 That the promise might bee sure in two respects p. 64 65 3 That the promise might bee to all the seed Ibid. 4 That no man might have cause to beast or glory in himself p. 65 66. 4 How Faith justifieth p. 67 68 What are the Royalties of Faith Faith is a heart-chearing Grace 1 By procuring a sufficient paymaster Christ p. 68 65 2 By making us one with Christ by which his payment is ours p. 66 2 Faith is a heart-cleansing grace and that two wayes 1 Argumentatively from God four Arguments p. 69 2 From our selves two Arguments p. 70 2 Operatively Faith makes thee First Of the Merit of Christ Secondly Prayer Thirdly Promise of Christ p. 71 3 Royalty Faith is a heart-commanding grace and it inables the soul to do what it commands p. 71 72 4 Faith is a heart-quieting grace 72. 71. Again false figured Two manner of wayes Faith calms the heart 1 Imperiously and that 1 By commanding or 2 By checking the soul p. 72 73 2 In a perswasive mild way presenting three grounds for patience p. 73 74 5 Royalty Faith is a soul-securing grace nothing else will secure but beleeving p. 75 1 It sets the soul upon a soul-securing bottome p. 75 76 2 Instates the soul into soul-securing promises p. 77 3 Into soul-securing priviledges 1 Sons of God 2 Spouse of Christ 3 The inheritance of Christ. p. 77 6 Royalty Faith is a heart-humbling Grace it makes real all humbling considerations from God the justice of God threatnings of God against sin p. 78 79 7 Royalty Faith is a heart-softening grace and that p. 80 1 By looking upon heart-melting Promises Ibid. 2 Taking up heart-softening Considerations Ibid. 3 Looks upon soul-melting Objects a wounded and broken Christ the considerations of his sufferings p. 81 1 Either in themselves 2 Or in their cause 3 Or as the effect of sin p. 81 82 8 Royalty Faith is a heart-transforming grace heart head will transformed p. 82 to 84 9 Royalty Faith is a heart-pacifying grace an unbeleeving-heart a stormy heart above us within us below us all against us whilst unbeleevers p. 84 2 Faith makes us servants to the God of Peace p. 65 2 Subjects to the King of Peace p. 66 3 Christ our Peace interests us in the Covenant of Peace 4 Instates us into the conditions of Peace p. 66 Quest Many have peace and yet are not beleevers and many are Beleevers and yet want Peace Answered p. 87 to 90 10 Royalty Faith is a heart-inabling grace First To do Secondly To suffer p. 90 91 1 Faith begets inabling-promises p. 92 2 Supplies with soul-inabling strength Ibid. 3 Furnisheth a Christian with soul-inabling considerations in three Particulars p. 93. 2 Faith inables the soul to suffer p. 93 1 Puts the soul into a suffering frame 1 By putting the Judgement into a right frame Ibid. 2 Prevails with the will p. 94 3 Works upon the affections Ibid. 2 Faith furnisheth the soul with suffering resolutions Ibid. 3 Begets suffering graces p. 95 4 Layes in suffering strength Ibid. 5 Propounds to the soul suffering rewards Ibid. 11 Royalty Faith is a heart-innobling grace Ibid. 1 It sets our persons above others Ibid. 2 Our performances above others p. 96 1 It begets in us soul-innobling Principles Ibid. 2 Implants us into soul-innobling relations It first makes us servants of the great God 2 Friends of God 3 Sons and Daughters of God 4 Spouse of Christ 5 Makes us members of Christ who is such a head as doth
3. The Fruit and Benefit that comes in thereby 1. Negatively Should not perish 2. Positively But have Eternal life Now about the Act and the Object we shall make these two enquiries before we come to lay down the Conclusion 1. What act of faith that is whereby a sinner stands justified before God 2. Upon what Object this Act is to be terminated 1. For the first What Act that is You must know that faith in the general consideration hath divers acts and objects and that the acts are diversified according to the diversity of the objects so many particulars as are recorded in Scripture so many particular objects and accordingly so many particular acts there are of faith in general But our enquiry is what is the formal Act and Object of justifying faith Now for the first viz. What is the formal Act of Faith You must know that there is much difference amongst Divines about it 1. Some would have it to be a bare and naked assent to every truth revealed by God Thus the Papists 2. Some say it is a firm and radical assent to this great Proposition That Christ is Messiah and Saviour of the world 3. Others place it in a receiving of Christ in all his Offices as a King Priest and Prophet 4. Some in Assurance and Particular Knowledge or Perswasion that we are in the state of Grace and have an interest in Christ c. 5. Others do place it in rowling our selves upon Christ and resting in him when the soul assenting to that great Proposition that Christ is the Saviour the Mediator doth rowl and rest it self upon him and trusteth in him In most of which different opinions we finde this agreement 1 That it is an Act of Faith whereby wee are justified not Faith as an Habit of Grace inherent in us but Faith as an Act not Faith in actu primo as an Habit infused but in actu secundo 2 That it is such an Act as is not wrought out of our selves or our own Principles but such as is wrought by the Spirit of Christ and the mighty Power of God 3 That it is such an Act as bringeth over the soul to the true object to Christ by whom wee are justified 4 Such an one as all the benefits of Christ do belong unto accompany Christ in blood Christ in water Christ for Justification Christ for Sanctification Christ for Salvation in all these there is an exact agreement among them And therefore although there bee some difference in respect of that formall Act which justifieth yet seeing they preach and cry down themselves and advance and set up free grace and mercy both in the work and fruit of it The Papists have no cause to cry us down for dis-agreement which for their parts they are like the four winds blowing in the faces of one another in many points as might easily bee shewed if here it were pertinent Wee know that while wee are here differences there will bee for wee know in part and prophesy but in part It were an happy â—hing if wee could bee all of one heart and all of one mind but seeing it will not bee I could wish that although wee bee not all of one mind yet wee might bee all of one heart and that difference in judgement might not breed alienation in affection especially seeing wee all aime at one thing one mark one end All agree in hoc uno in this one to set up Christ the mercy of God free grace and by crying down our selves and why then should wee not agree amongst our selves And therefore in all these diversities of Judgements concerning the formal Act of Faith whereby wee stand justified before God I shall not deal so much in the throwing down of other mens opinions as in the establishing of mine own 1 Because I conceive there is little wisdome in it to uncover the nakedness of our Brethren by bringing them in contending with one another 2 Because I think there is little profit in it especially in promiscuous Congregations Such debates being fitter for the Schools than for the Pulpit Polemical and Controversal points may beget Notion little Motion fill our heads with Notions but not our hearts with sanctifyed affections And therefore I will break my self in as plain and modest a manner as I can amongst all these differences to declare what I adhear to and to establish it by some Scriptures and so passe it Now then I conceive that that formal act of Faith whereby wee are justifyed and instated into Christ is an Act of Affiance and recumbency rowling resting trusting or Christ for Justification and consequently for salvation For the proof whereof wee are to observe that the words both in the Old and New Testament by which the Act of Faith is expressed do import such an act as this In the Old Testament wee meet with three words especially which import this act of Faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which being referred to Christ do express that Act whereby wee are justified 1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the first of them as Rabbi Kimchi observeth doth primitively and properly signifie to retire into some safe place for harbour or shelter So Judg. 9.15 come 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the Bramble shelter or cover you under my shadow and the Prophet useth the same word Psal 57.1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 my soul trusteth in thee I will retire my self under the shadow of thy wings and so it being referred to Christ betokeneth that Act whereby wee do betake our selves to him as to our Sanctuary where wee may bee preserved in safety from the tempest of Gods displeasure and so Psal 2.12 when his wrath is kindled yea but a little 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Blessed are all they that put their trust in him or that retire themselves to him upon which place Junius noteth that that retyring unto God which is affirmed to bee the cause of our blessedness is no other than sincere Faith and what act of it but this of affiance 2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The second word in the Old Testament signifieth to rowle and being joyned with the Praeposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth to devolve and rowle something on another as Psal 37.5 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rowle thy way upon the Lord and trust in him c. and Prov. 16.3 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rowle thy works upon the Lord and thy thoughts shall bee established agreeable to which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cast thy burden upon the Lord c. And this word applyed to Christ imports that Act whereby being laden with sin and seeking ease wee at last discharge our load and cast it upon Christ 3 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The third word signifieth to put confidence trust and affiance in any thing or person so as securely to lean and rest upon it So Isa 50.10 hee that walks in darkness and seeth no light 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let him trust in the name
by us but infused by God together with Faith as being a part of it But it is meant of the second or further work of Sanctification and so Faith sanctifieth us as it lends a hand to help forward and to perfect our Sanctification for so Faith doth strengthen and increase Grace in us by drawing down strength and life from Christ daily and in this sense as to their bene or melius esse all our graces have a kind of dependance upon Faith as a Mediatory grace as I may say as our Mediatour to our Mediatour in fetching down influence and strength for the strengthening and increasing of grace in us And therefore by the way it may bee a good Admonition to you when you finde any weakness in your love patience or in any other grace still to strengthen and increase Faith whereby you may draw down from Christ strength to all the rest 3 The third thing in the definition expresseth what this formall act is and here wee have 1 The essentiale Antecedens 2 The essentiale constituens 1 The essentiale Antecedens essentially pre-requisite to the justifying Act and this is knowing and assenting which two I might separate for the better discovery of our adversaries error in their implicit Faith who hold that it is sufficient for some only to beleeve as the Church beleeveth although they know not themselves any thing that they beleeve to maintain which blind Faith they say that Justifying Faith may bee without knowledge nay that it were better to bee defined by ignorance than by knowledge But wee must not stand to answer every thing that commeth in the way for so wee should stay long enough at the threshold I will therefore joyn these two both together as essentially pre-requisite whereby wee know and assent to our own miserable estate the freeness of God promise and grace which hee hath tendred to the soul in Christ both essentiall Antecedents to justification of which some expound that John 6.40 every one that seeth the Son and beleeveth on him shal have everlasting life Where by seeing they say is meant Christum praedicatum videre agnoscere pro filio Dei to see and acknowledge Christ the Son of God and Saviour of the World and indeed this must go before It is gradus ad rem though not gradus in re it is a pre-requisite or preparatory to justifying Faith but it is not justifying Faith as in the Generation of a man the sensitive soul goeth before and prepareth a fit organ for the infusion of the reasonable soul and yet not the sensitive but the reasonable soul doth inform so in the reparation of man hystorical faith doth precede and make way for the inducement of justifyâ—ng Faith and yet not the former but this doth justifie as Calvin saith a Vulgar knowledge and assent to truth doth joyn a man no more to God than the sight of the Sun doth lift a man to Heaven Otherwise did this hystoricall assent justyfie then it as well as Justification should be proper only to the Elect so Justification is Rom. 8.30 but so is not an hystorical assent for that Simon Magus had and other Reprobates may have 2 Essentiale constituens or that formal Act whereby wee are justified and that is rowling or resting our selves upon Christ or trusting on him for they are Synonimaes expressing the same thing in diverse words And that this is the formal Act of justifying Faith I refer my self and you to what in this kinde was said before I here only say that that which is imputed for Righteousness and by which wee are justified that is the true and formall Act of justifying Faith But such a kind of beleeving is imputed for Righteousness and is that by which wee are justified so saith the Apostle Rom. 4.5 to him who beleeveth on him that justifieth the ungodly his Faith is imputed to him for Righteousness and Rom. 10.10 11. with the heart man beleeveth unto Righteousness and in the next verse hee Interpreteth that beleeving by beleeving on him for the Scripture saith whosoever beleeveth on him c. And therefore wee conclude so to beleeve is the justifying Act of Faith 4 The fourth thing in the Definition is the fruit which cometh in or the end of this Act and that is 1 Next and immediate Justification and pardon of sin 2 Mediate Sanctification and growth in grace 3 Ultimate The Perfection of all in Glorification But here some may object Object 1. First there are many who do trust and yet are not justified many who profess that they do this act but yet live in their sins as Balaam c. Therefore this is not the justifying Act. Ans I answer That although every one say hee trusteth yet every one doth not truly trust for there is a double affiance or trust The one is a slight and superficial affiance grounded upon no other foundation than a great apprehension that it is good to bee saved by Christ but yet so as neither to leave their old course or imbrace a new The other is a setled and grounded affiance and so qualified as that it is not to bee found in any not truly justified if it bee I shall yield the cause 1. It is a holy Trust Jude v. 20. Build up one another in your holy faith not as though holiness were required as an ingredient into faith in the act of Justification or giving us our first interest in Christ but this I mean by a holy trust that it is such a trust as is accompanied with holiness in the root and brings forth works of holiness in the fruit such a faith as is accompanied with holiness in the heart and declared in the holiness of our lives For although it be fides sola faith alone which justifieth and gives us the first interest in Christ yet it is not fides quae sola solitaria it is not a faith which is alone but such a faith as is accompanied with holiness in the root the graces of Gods Spirit and holiness in the life The faith which doth justifie us is not in formis but formata not a dead faith but animated and quickned with grace and holiness the whole man being sanctified 2. It must be an unfeigned Trust 1 Tim. 1.5 2 Tim. 1.5 There is a counterfeit and hypocritical Trust such as never comes to God from love but for shelter in a storm Psal 78.34 35 36. When he slew them then they sought him and yet did but flatter c. Or such a faith it is that closeth not fully with Christ in all his Offices They are content to have him as a Saviour but not for a Lord the priviledges and dignities that come in by Christ they are willing to own but not the duties and services which he requires They will commit themselves to Christ to save when in trouble then Lord help but to the Devil to serve Who is Lord over us Whereas now a true faith
is as careful to do its services as to partake of its priviledges if it throw it self into the arms of Christ to save it it will throw it self at the feet of Christ to serve him as Paul Lord what wilt thou have me to do 3. It must be such a Trust as ariseth from a believing disposition within There must be a seed and habit of faith before there can be an act of faith Although the acts be discerned before the habits yet there must be a habit a believing disposition within before we can act I know there are many who in case of danger lying upon their death bed or some present wrack and disquiet will make shew of doing this act of faith but yet wanting this believing disposition within like Jonahs Gourd or the untimely fruit of a woman or the stony ground-seed having no root soon withers decays and cometh to nothing God respecteth not the act of faith if it arise not from a believing disposition within but God hath sometimes accepted of the believing disposition and desires of faith when there hath not been strength enough to erect any vigorous act of believing I believe help my unbelief 4. It must be a perfect Trust 1 Pet. 1.13 Trust perfectly in the grace revealed Perfect I say not in respect of the measures and degrees of Trust there is none such here But yet perfect in respect of the nature of it i. e. there must be a full carrying of the soul over to Christ and a full rowling and resting on him It cannot be meant of the perfection of degrees for there can be no such absolute perfection to which another degree may not be added there is none so perfect in faith but that he may be more perfect none so strong but that he may be stronger although we cannot be more justified to day than we were yesterday in the sight of God For we say that Gratia remittens or justificans the justifying grace of God admits of no degrees is not capable of magis minus Yet the assurance of our Justification is a man may be more assured of his Justification to day than he was yesterday As justifying faith doth imply imperfection in the subject so the faith it self whereby we are justified is imperfect whilst we are here in respect of degrees But in the nature of it it must be so perfect that it carrieth the soul over wholly to Christ alone resting and rowling on him for an imperfect trust in this kinde is as good as nothing He that doth not rest the full weight and stress of his soul on Christ doth nothing for the matter of trust It is not every faint stirring and moving of the heart not every incompleat resting but such a full rest of the soul upon Christ that if he fails us we are sunk and undone for ever As you know a man is said to lean upon a thing not when he bears up himself onely by his own feet but when he rests a great part if not the whole weight of his body upon some thing or person else so that if it fail he falleth so thus it is to lean to rest upon Christ to commit the whole weight and stress of our souls to him that if he fail me I am undone I am lost for ever I see I am in a miserable condition I see he is an all-sufficient Saviour I see that there is nothing but death in me I see there is life enough in him and he invites me to come over to him he intreats beseecheth promiseth and therefore I will go over to him I will cast my self wholly on him I will look no other way therewill I trust and if I perish I perish I will dye in his arms I will dye believing This indeed is that great act of faith which entituleth us to Christ and gives us an interest in him even in the dusk of the morning the soul hath an interest And therefore on the contrary there is no readier way to be mistaken and so to miscarry than to trust equally to two stays to trust to Christ and to trust to our selves too As there is no way whereby a man is likelier to fall than to trust equally to two boughs whereof the one is sound and the other rotten whereof if one break it is as bad as if both did the man is sure to come to the ground whereas had he pitched his whole weight on the sound one onely he had been born up So here in leaning both on Christ and our selves whereas if we commit our souls and all their burdens to Christ onely if we fail he sinks with us We are sure to be upheld the Promise Covenant the Oath of Christ even Christ himself and all would sink if we fail If thy trust be thus qualified I pronounce thee a justified person no soul ever miscarried in a trusting way it is such an act as doth ingage all the Attributes of God his Justice Truth Mercy Power and all to do us good Object 2. But I have put forth this act of faith and yet alas I am not justified Answ Thou sayest thou puts forth this act of faith and thus qualified and yet thou sayest thou art not justified How knowest thou that Thou sayest thou art not because thou dost not know thou art I know that will be the next For thus poor hearts reason to their own discouragement I want assurance of Justification therefore I am not justified I want that inward peace and therefore fear my peace is not made with God Though there be nothing more clear than this that a man may have peace with God and yet want the peace of this in himself it is possible for a man to be justified and yet want assurance of it within Affiance doth justifie in the Court of God Assurance justifieth in the Court of Conscience to be justified is one thing to be assured is another In the object all is sure in the subject there may be much uncertainty It is possible for a man to put forth the act of faith yea and to continue in so doing and yet walk without peace and apprehensions of his own safety thy condition may be safe in the promise to the eye of faith though not to thy self in the evidence of sense Thy condition may be safe and secure although thou for the present dost not apprehend thy own safety or the security of it It is secure in the promise in respect of God though stormy and troubled to sense in respect of our selves Thou must not therefore look for a clear day and that the shower be over as soon as thou hast taken shelter nor for a calm so soon as thou hast cast anchor but thou must abide under the shelter and ride at anchor till the shower and storm be over and wait till times of refreshment shall come from the presence of the Lord. Godly security and apprehensions of safety do not ever presently attend
the act of faith at the heels Thou must stay the Lords leisure and wait till all clouds and storms be blown over till all doubts and fears shall vanish Psal 57.1 Light is sowen for the righteous and joy for the upright in heart but with the Husbandman we must wait in patience till the corn come up and the crop come in The storm doth not cease as soon as the ship-man hath cast anchor the winds then may yet blow and the tempest may be as strong nay it may be stronger than before but the rock to which thou art fastned is sure or if thy anchor hold all is sure Nothing shall hinder safety though something may interrupt thy security to thine own apprehension To trust is the act of faith but apprehended security is the fruit of believing and therefore cometh not till afterward it may be some moneths may be some years after long experience Nay it is not an inseparable fruit of believing I mean thy apprehended security is not thou maist possibly never in this life reach the apprehensions of thy security and yet thy condition may be secure It is secure as I said in the promise though not to sense if thou dyest whilst thou ridest at Anchor having thrown it out and fastned it on Christ yet thou dyest in the ship and not in the sea thou dyest in the Covenant of Peace and there is safety though the storm in this world may never cease That which I would commend to thee is to be much in self-purging self-humbling self-examination trust much and stedfastly to the end Do as they did in that great storm when neither Sun nor Stars were seen for many days cast out anchor and wish for day nay cast out two anchors that is safest in a tempestuous night trust and pray that God would break into thy soul with a calm morning light and mean while wait and say When will the day break and these shadows this darkness this tempest fly away My soul wait thou onely upon God for my expectation is from him Psal 62.5 Object 3. But say some To believe is an act of the understanding and is nothing else but an Assent to the truth of Divine Revelations which is expressed in Scripture By receiving of Christ John 1.12 To as many as received him to them he gave power to become the sons of God even to as many as believe in his name Where receiving of Christ which say they is An act of the understanding assenting to this truth That Christ is the Messias and Saviour of the world is made all one with Believing And so Isa 53.11 By his knowledge Notitiâ sui not suâ By the knowledge of him shall my righteous servant justifie many which knowing is an act of the understanding also The like John 17.3 This is life Eternal To know thee c. All which places do report thus much That Faith is an act of the understanding not of the will And to this they alledge the testimony of the Greek Fathers which make Faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 An undoubted Assent to the Doctrine of Salvation and to this Proposition in particular That Christ is the Messiah So that by all this it is clear to them that Faith is an act of the understanding not of the will But now Trust is an act of the will and therefore cannot be the formal act of justifying Faith Answ Now for Answer of this we must know that 1. To Believe In the general is no more than to assent to the truth of a Proposition for the Authority of the Speaker It is no more than An act of the understanding whereby we Assent to the truth of Divine Revelations But we speak not of Faith in general but of justifying Faith of that formal act of Faith whereby we stand justified before God And here we say that Faith is not an act of the understanding onely but of the will also The first It is Too Low Non pertingit ad justificationem as one saith It reacheth not so high as Justification The second Brings the Soul over to Christ by an act of Trust whereby a man is justified By the first we do but Discover the Justifying-Cause the Founain of Life Christ himself By the latter we Throw our selves into this Fountain In ipsum quasi totos nos immergimus and draw water of life from him Hence one None can be justified but by union with Christ Nullus potest justificari nisi per unionem ad Christum Durand and the first union is by Faith By what Faith The Speculative act of Faith No sure This doth no more unite the soul to Christ than the sight of the Sun doth draw a man up to heaven By what Faith then But by this act of Trusting Resting Leaning c. Hence Augustine To believe in Christ Credere in Deum est credendo in Deum ire is by believing to go into Christ and to be incorporate into his body which the Papists themselves will not say is done By a bare act of the understanding And therefore to pass this and come to the places alledged Where the first is 1 John 1.12 As many as received him to them he gave power c. where say they by Receiving is meant no more but An act of the understanding whereby they assented to this That he was the Messias For answer to this place we say That this word Receiving doth not onely denote the understanding but implies the will also Which will appear by this one Reason among many That Receiving is to be understood which is opposed to the Jews not receiving of him For having said in Verse 11 He came to his own and his own received him not Immediately is added But as many as did receive him to them he gave power to become the sons of God So that the matter of Inquiry will be How the Jews did not receive him Was it then onely in this Their not assenting that he was the Messias or Rejecting him and Refusing him for a Saviour It could not be the former Their non-assenting to the truth of this That he was the Messias Though it was the ground why Sundry did not receive him yet it was not the ground why all did not receive him For we read There were divers of the Scribes and Pharisees and Priests who knew right well that he was The Christ For so much do the Husbandmen themselves confess in the Parable as Christ brings them in Mat. 21.38 saying This is the Heir come let us kill him and seize upon his inheritance And how could our Saviour justly charge them with the Sin against the Holy Ghost unless they had known him to be the Messias Mat. 12.32 and wilfully rejected him against knowledge and conscience And how can any be said To make shipwrack of Faith which yet the Scripture saith some have done 1 Tim. 1.19 unless you will say A man made shipwrack of that he never
Faculties yet I say Making of Faith an Act of the whole Soul of the Understanding VVill and Affections There 's no Necessity will follow thereupon of planting it in diverse and distinct Faculties Why may it not bee Planted and Subjected in the Heart which is the proper seat of Faith as well as of other Graces As others who have made The Formall Act of Faith a willing Assent which is both An Act of the VVill and Understanding to avoid the seating of the Habit in diverse Faculties have placed it in the Mind which say they comprehends the Understanding and the VVill So wee here To avoid the like do seat it more properly in the Heart And therefore that absurdity of seating Faith in diverse Faculties will not follow on us Though wee say That this Act of Faith whereby wee are justified Bee such an Act wherin many other Acts are folded up The Understanding assenting The VVill trusting c. Object 4 But to believe is to bee assured And therefore it is not to trust Ans I say That to beleeve is not to bee assured And to bee assured is not to beleeve Faith is not Assurance Nor is Assurance Faith as many have held I will not trouble you with the Controversie only I will infer these things 1 If Assurance were the Act of Faith whereby wee are justified Then where there 's no Assurance there 's no Faith This were an hard Consequent Nay then VVhoever lives and dyes without Assurance cannot bee saved They who live and dye without Faith cannot bee saved And if Faith were Assurance Then Whoever lived and dyed without Assurance could not bee saved Which far bee it from mee to hold 2 That which is a Consequent of justifying Faith is not Justifying Faith This is plain But Assurance is a Consequent of Justifying Faith It is that which follows it 1 Sometimes in order of Time 2 Alwayes in order of Nature 1 Sometimes in order of Time 1 John 5.13 These things have I written unto you that beleeve on the Name of the Son of God that you might know that you have Eternal life where you see Beleeving goes before and Knowing or Assurance follows after It is not contemporary with Faith but follows it 2 Alwayes in order of Nature As wee say The Truth of a Proposition is ever in order of Nature before the Knowledge of the Truth of it Things must bee in Esse before they can bee in Cognosci Things must Bee before they can bee known to Bee So there must bee pardon of sins before there can bee Assurance of pardon A man must bee Justified before hee can bee assured hee is Justified Justification must needs go before the Apprehension of Justification Now that which apprehends Justification is not Justifying Faith but follows it For Apprehension follows Justification No man can truly apprehend himself to bee Justified till hee bee Justified But Justifying Faith is in nature before Justification And therefore unless wee should say that That which follows is That which goes before wee cannot say that that which apprehends Justification is Justification And by Consequence Assurance is not that Faith which Justifies 3 Again If to beleeve were to bee assured that wee are Justified and our sins pardoned Then it will follow God commands us to beleeve an untruth Why How will that follow Thus Because God commands every one to beleeve 1 Joh. 3.23 This is his Commandement that wee beleeve on the name of his Son JESUS CHRIST Now If to beleeve were to bee assured wee are Justified and our sins pardoned Then God commands to beleeve an untruth That our sins are pardoned before they are pardoned That wee are Justified before wee are Justified Nay Such as are Reprobates and shall never bee pardoned If to beleeve were to bee assured of pardon Then I say God commands them to bee assured of pardon And so commands to beleeve a lye an untruth There is 1 The Act of Faith and 2 The Fruit of Faith The Act of Faith is To cast our selves on CHRIST to rest to trust on him The Fruit of Faith is Justification pardon of sin Reconciliation Now God commands no man to beleeve the Fruit of Faith untill hee hath done the Act of Faith Hee commands no man to beleeve hee hath an interest in the Promise till hee hath performed the condition of the Promise The Promise runs upon this condition Hee that beleeves shall receive remission of sins Act. 10.43 Act. 16.31 To the first Act of Faith All men indeed are tyed under pain of damnation Mar. 16.16 Joh. 3.18 The World shall bee condemned for unbelief And there 's no condemnation but upon breach of some Commandement And therefore all men are tyed to do the first Act. But now to the latter none are tyed but such as have done the former The first is the condition of the Promise or The Duty The second is the Benefit or Fruit of the Promise So that wee conclude this That Assurance is not the Act of Faith whereby wee are justified before God But yet That whereby wee are justified in our selves in the Court of Conscience Wee are said to bee Justified in three Courts 1 In foro Dei In Gods Court. 2 In foro Conscientiae in Court of Conscience 3 In foro Communi In the Court of men 1 In the Court of God It is not Assurance But Faith Affiance trust that doth Justifie 2 In the Court of Conscience It is not Faith but Assurance which Justifies Where the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or first Proposition is the undoubted Word of God hee that beeleves shall bee saved The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Assumption is the Testimony of our own spirit with that word The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the verdict and Testimony of the SPIRIT of God testifying with our spirit according to the word whereby wee have Assurance In the Court of men It is nor Faith nor Assurance that Justifies but works Object 5 But you will say If Assurance bee not the Act whereby wee are justified Because it is a Fruit of Justifying Faith Much less can Trust bee the Act of it because it is the Fruit of Assurance That which is the Fruit of Assurance cannot bee the Act of Justifying Faith But this Trust and Affiance is a fruit of Assurance Assurance is the cause and works Affiance as the Effect Therefore Trust or Affiance cannot bee the Act of Justifying Faith Answ Assurance is twofold 1 Principiorum of Principles 2 Conclusionum of Conclusions The first The Assurance of Principles is no more but such a grounded undoubted Assurance as Beleeves the main Proposition of the Gospel as Hee that beleeves shall bee saved The second The Assurance of Conclusions is such an Assurance as is necessarily deduced from the word by Application in a practical Syllogism after this manner Hee that beleeveth shall bee saved But I beleeve Therefore I shall bee saved The first is The Assurance of the Object
The second is The Assurance of the Subject The first Of the thing beleeved The second Of the Beleever The first is The Assurance of the general Proposition whoever beleeves shall bee saved which is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Col. 2. The full Assurance of Understanding or Knowledge which is the Plerophory of Assent to the Truth of the Gospel touching CHRIST a Saviour The second is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Assurance of Faith Heb. 10.22 And that is when wee are assured CHRIST is OUR SAVIOUR The first goes before the Act of Trust The second follows the Act of Trust And this Act of trusting and resting upon CHRIST is the ground of such Assurance Object But you will say How shall wee rest upon CHRIST for Salvation unless wee bee first assured of Salvation by him Answ Indeed unless wee know CHRIST to bee the only Saviour wee cannot rest upon him for Salvation But to say A man cannot rest upon him for Justification and Salvation except hee know hee is already Justified and shall bee saved I see little sense for that May not a man trust upon his friend who hath ingaged himself and promised to do such a thing for him untill hee knows it were already done for him So here May not the Soul rest upon CHRIST who hath promised pardon and forgiveness to them that trust on him except it first knew that CHRIST had already pardoned and forgiven him The ground of this mistake I conceive to arise from one of these two grounds 1 That they take TRUST for ASSURANCE or 2 That they take TRUST for a FRUIT of ASSURANCE And so all one with HOPE Now for the clearing of the first you must know that TRUST doth signifie these two things 1 Ipsum Actum Innitendi the very act of leaning c. 2 Consequens effectum Fidei the consequent Effect of Faith 1 It signifies that very act of Leaning Resting Rowling on CHRIST which is properly the act that Justifies 2 Sometimes it signifies the consequent Effect of Faith as full assurance and perswasion the lively sense of pardon and remission of sins But when wee speak of that act of Trust which Justifies wee mean not Trust in this second Acception For this is not Justifying Faith but Fidei Justificantis Filia the Daughter of Justifying Faith which comes after much sweat and pains in the work of God trial and experience of our selves and truth of our Graces But wee speak of Trust in the first Acception the resting and rowling of the soul upon CHRIST The former wee say is the act of justifying Faith and propriissimus actus Fidei justificantis the most proper act of justifying Faith The latter wee grant is the fruit of the former Trust and Assurance both set down by the Apostle 1 Tim. 1.12 I Know saith the Apostle whom I have beleeved 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whom I have trusted or committed my soul unto There is the first act of Faith And I am perswaded that hee is able to keep that which I have committed to his trust to eternal life There 's the second act of Trust Hee will bee all this to mee which I have Trusted to him for 1. I know There was Hystorical Faith Assent 2. Whom I have trusted or committed my soul to There was justifying Faith 3. I am perswaded There was the fruit of it To the first Act there concurs 1. A discovery of our own emptiness 2. A Discovery of CHRISTS fulness for Justification 3. A casting of the Soul upon him for Justification and Salvation Going out of our selves and casting our souls upon Christ To the second Act there is required 1. Not only a Knowledge that hee is a Saviour 2. But also a Knowledge that hee is My Saviour upon whom I trust or I am perswaded of Salvation by The second mistake is That they take Trust for a fruit of Assurance And so no ore but Hope Propter Spem Roboratam for strengthened Hope Answ That this act of Trust which wee make justifying Faith is not an act of Hope but doth differ from Hope or that affiance which they make Hope strengthened In this 1. That Hope looks to the end which is Salvation But this act of Trust looks to the Means which brings to the end and that is Christ 2. The act of Hope is to expect But the act of Trust is to lean and rest 3. The Object of Hope is Bonum Futurum a Future Good But the object of Trust is Bonum Presens a Present Good This act of Trust doth rest upon Christ Non per modum expectantis sed per modum possidentis not by way of Expectation but by way of Possession As Hee that beleeves in the Son hath life It is not said Hee shall have life but Hee hath life not in Spe but in Re not in Hope only but in Hand The life of Righteousness and Justification in Hand The life of Glory and Salvation in Hope And thus much shall serve for the first thing what Faith is In which I hope most of the controversie is over 2. Wee now come to the second That Faith is the only requisite whereby wee should bee justified and saved I shall not need to stand long on it 1. Union and Communion with Christ is requisite to Justification and Salvation There was no way whereby wee should bee Justified whereby wee should bee saved But only by vertue of our Union and Communion with Christ 1. No other way but by vertue of our Union with Christ In our selves wee were dead Branches and grew upon a dead stock and there was no help nor hope for us till wee were cut off from our own stocks the stock of Nature And were ingrafted into Christ who is the Stock of Life Hence the Apostle Hee that hath the Son hath Life and hee that hath not the Son hath not Life Hee that is united and ingrafted into Christ hath Life the Life of Justification here and shall have the Life of Glorification hereafter But hee that hath not the Son Hee who is not united to Christ hath not Life Nor the Life of Justification here Nor the Life of Glorification hereafter So that you see there is no Hope of Life or Justification except wee bee united to Christ who hath all Life in him There 's nothing but death in the World out of him And there 's no way to have Union with Christ but by Faith which is one bond of our Union with Christ It is Faith that unites us to Christ as Members to the Head And being Members of Christ God pardons us If a Malefactor had committed treason against a King and were adjudged to lose his hand or his eye If hee could now make his Hand or his eye which hee were to lose to become the Hand or the eye of the Kings Son Hee should bee spared hee should not lose them They were the hands and the eyes of the Kings Son And the King would spare
hovv should this make us advance Christ admire Christ prize Christ What should indear our hearts more to Christ than this That he hath born our sins and so born them as we shall never hear them if vve have an interest in him 8. Consectary 8. If sin be the Greatest Evil Then it calls out 8. Consectary 1. For the Greatest Sorrow 2. For the Greatest Hatred 3. For the Greatest Care to avoid it 4. For the Greatest Care to be rid of it If sin be the Greatest Evil Then it must have The Greatest Sorrow 1. Sin calls for greatest sorrow No affliction no trouble no evil should be so bitter to us as sin because sin is the Greatest Evil. It is a sad thing to see our hearts tender and sensibly affected with Lesser evils and troubles and yet to be hard and insensible for sin which is the Greatest of evils It would therefore be our wisdom when any other evils be upon us To turn all our sighs tears and sorrows upon sin It is an Aphorism in Physick Erumpens sanguis vená sectâ sistitur If a man bleed vehemently in one place they let him blood in another and so turn the stream of blood another way It should be our wisdom when our souls bleed and our hearts mourn for other evils to turn all those mourning affections upon sin Let them run in the right chanel Those tears must be wept over again which are not shed for sin Sorrow is like Mercuries Influence Good if it be joyned with a Good Bad if it be joyned with a Bad Planet It is not so much the Sorrow as the Ground and Spring of the Sorrow The object of it is to be taken notice of Sorrow was naught iâ— Judas good in Peter it was naught in Saul good in David In the one it was a Sorrow to death in the other a Sorrow to cure the wound of Death In the one worldly in the other â—â—dly Worldly sorrow causeth death And such is all sorrow thâ— hath not sin for the ground grace for the principle God â—â—t the end Where â—â—n is apprehended the Greatest evil it will have the Greatest sorrow Sorrow to exceed all other sorrows 1. Though not ever in quantity and bulk yet in quality and worth A little Gold is worth a great deal of Earth and Rubbish 2. Though not in strength yet in length and continuance Other sorrows are but like a Land-flood for a time occasioned by a Story which when that is over the flood is down This Godly sorrow doth arise from a spring and having a fountain to continue it it is Permanent when the other is gone This is the difference between the Godly and the other Gods people their sorrows which are Spiritual do arise from a spring their worldly from a storm a tempest The wicked their spiritual sorrows arise from a storm some present vvringing of Conscience fear of vvrath and their vvorldly sorrovvs arise from a spring Where sin is apprehended the Greatest Evil there it shall have the Greatest sorrow 1. A sorrow Proportionable to the Measures and Greatness of Sin 2. A sorrow Proportionable to the Merit and Desert of Sin As the merit of sin is infinite so the sorrovv for it must be an infinite sorrovv Infinite I say Non Actu sed Affectu not in the act and expression but in the Desire and Affection of the soul He vvhose Heart and Eyes dry up together vvhose Expression in Tears and Affection of Sorrow do end together though he had wept a sea of Tears he had not yet truly wept for sin Where sorrovv is Godly it hath Affections of mourning vvhen the expression of mourning ceaseth because every drop of tears doth arise from a spring of tears vvithin As every Act of Faith doth arise from a believing disposition an habit of faith vvithin every act of Love from a Principle of love vvithin So every expression of sorrow from an affection of sorrovv in the spirit Hence vve read 1 Sam. 7.6 their sorrovv is exprest by this Metaphor They drew water as out of a vvell and poured it out before the Lord. Their eyes did not empty so fast as their hearts filled Their eyes could not pour it forth so fast as their hearts did yield it up All their Expressions of Mourning did fall short of those Affections of Sorrow vvhich vvere in the heart This is sorrow for sin A sorrow proportioned to the measure to the demerit of sin A sorrow that doth exceed alâ— other sorrovvs though not in quantity yet in quality th ugh not in strength yet in length and continuance 2. Is sin the Greatest Evil 2. Sin calls for the greatest Hatred Then it calls out for the Greatest Hatred Nothing is properly the Object of Hatred but Evil And that not All kind of Evil but sinful Evil Penal Evils are rather the Objects of Fear than of Hatred because these are Improperly Evil. Nothing indeed is evil but vvhat makes us evil anâ— these may be a means to make us good and therefore are not properly evil and so an Object of hatred Sinful evil is properly the object of hatred because this is properly evil and being the Greatest of Evils should therefore have the greatest of our hatred Psal 92.10 You that love the Lord see that you Hate evil It is not enough for you to be angry vvith sin and displeased vvith sin for so a man may be vvith his Friend one vvhom he loves upon some discourtesie Nor is it enough that you should strike sin for so many do to day and imbrace it to morrovv But you must endeavor to kill sin Hatred labors after the Un-being of that it hates Nothing but the destruction and blood of it vvill satisfie the soul that truly hates sin There is a great deal of mistake in men concerning this point I might shevv you the secret deceits of the spirit concerning it in brief and hovv far those come short of hatred of sin 1. A man may fall out with a sinner by whom he hath been drawn into sin and yet not Hate the sin execute the Traytor and yet like the Treason 2. A man may fall out with himself for sin and yet not hate sin When he hath brought some inconvenience to himself by his sin which otherwise he liketh well enough 3. A man may fall out with sin and yet not hate sin Cast away the coal when burnt with the fire that is in it and yet not offended with the blackness of it or the defilement which he getteth by it 3. Sin calls for the greatest care to avoid it 3. If sin be the Greatest Evil Then it calls out for the Greatest Care to avoid it Men are naturally afraid to fall into evil What study vvhat care vvhat endeavors to prevent Evil Did you apprehend sin to be the Greatest of Evils there vvould be no less care to avoid sin You vvould endeavor to walk closely and exactly with God to
had except he do historically believe as Simon Magus and others did who did not feign a Faith in words as Calvin saith but being overcome with the Majestie of the Gospel did in a sort sc historically believe and acknowledge Christ the Author of Life and Salvation Nay and if man did not Historically believe then all the sins committed against the Gospel were only sins of Ignorance and not against Knowledge So that there were no sins in the Gospel against Knowledge Nor Now neither if this bee granted And therefore as their Non-Receiving of him was not so much an Act of the Understanding whereby they Assented not to this That CHRIST was the Messiah But rather an Act of the VVill whereby they refused him to bee their Saviour As you see plainly exprest by CHRIST Luk. 19.14 wee will not have this man to reign over us So Mat. 23.37 So that their Receiving of him was not a bare Act of the Understanding whereby they Assented to this That CHRIST was the Saviour But an act of the VVill whereby they chose him embraced him rested and trusted upon him as a Saviour And therefore seeing this Act of Receiving of CHRIST is not an act of the Understanding but an act of the VVill imbracing him trusting on him And that this Receiving is Beleeving as the Evangelist saith Therefore To beleeve is to trust To the other places Isa 53.11 John 17.3 where Faith seems to bee an act of the Understanding As By his Knowledge shall hee justifie many And This is eternal life To know thee c. Wee are to understand them Senechdochically where part is set down for the whole The whole nature of Faith being implied in those Phrases These Phrases are Hebraismes In which language words of Knowledge and Sense do imply the Will and Affections They do not only signifie the Act of the mind and Sense but imply the Will and affections too As you see Psal 1.6 The Lord knoweth the way of the Righteous That is The Lord loveth The Lord approveth of the way of the Righteous So where it is said Depart from mee I know you not That is I love you not I allow not of you I approve you not And so may that place in Isa 53.11 bee interpreted Non solum agnitionem Personae beneficiorum Christi significat sed etiam Fiduciam quiescentem in Christi It doth not only signifie the knowledge of the person and benefits of Christ but resting and trusting upon them Such a Knowledge of Christ as is mingled with Faith and works our Wills to accept of CHRIST to trust in him CHRIST being So known as to bee Embraced Rested upon Trusted upon shall justifie many Hee speaks of such a Knowledge of CHRIST as is joyned with Faith And to the Testimony of the Fathers alledged As wee will not Resolve our Faith into the Authority of any though never so eminent in the Church So No Authority shall bear us down in this matter if it bee not Consentaneous and Agreeable to the Word of Truth It is no matter what others have taught before us Nil refert quid hic aut ille ante nos docuerit sed quid is qui ante omnes est CHRISTUS Ciprian but what CHRIST himself who was before all hath taught who is Truth himself So that seeing this is not manifested I might refel them with the same ease as they are alledged But seeing Authority is stood upon And I reverence Authority when it is with God And that Authority doth make Faith nothing but An Act of the Understanding whereby wee assent Wee will in the same way overthrow that by setting Authority against Authority Weight against Weight That if nothing will bee said for us so nothing may bee said against us One may balance the other if not weigh it down Now that it is An Act of the Will also let us hear Augustine Fides sine Voluntate non potest esse Et Fides in Credentium Voluntate consistit Faith lyes in the Will Again Voluntate utique credimus Verily wee beleeve with the Will Credere non potest nisi Volens August upon John 6.44 God makes a man willing before hee can beleeve A man may receive the Sacrament against his Will pray against his Will But hee cannot beleeve against his Will said Augustine Another It were not Vertuous to beleeve if it were not voluntary Ipsum velle credere est essentiale Fidei To beleeve willingly is essential to Faith Another upon Rom. 10. With the heart man beleeves upon which hee saith Signantèr dicit Corde creditur id est Voluntate Hee saith remarkably man beleeves with the heart that is with the Will To these I might alledge many more But these shall suffice By which you see That Authority is more for us than against us But leaving the Contestation wee will come to the Issue and conclude this And To speak what I think I conceive that to beleeve is not an Act of the Will only Nor an Act of the Understanding only But An Act of the whole Soul It is so an Act of the Will as the Understanding is folded up in it and so an Act of the Understanding as that the Will and Affections are joyned with it Hence by some it 's call'd Actus Complicatus An Act wherein many Acts are folded up An Act of the Understanding An Act of the Will And ' its not Absurd to mee but very fit to say That That Act whereby the whole Soul is justified pardoned purified is an Act of the whole Soul As the Apostle saith With the Heart man beleeveth to Righteousness So that In Intellectu habet Initium In Voluntate Complementum It begins in the Understanding It is compleat in the Will and Affections All that I know of moment against this will bee this That wee shall seat Faith in diverse faculties which is improper Now for the Answer or removing this wee say 1 That Distinction of Faculties is a Philosophical Opinion and not received by all So that the Will and the Understanding are two distinct Faculties is an Opinion not received by all Many there are that make them more Notional than Real As the East West North and South in the Heavens Not that there are such things but that such things are feigned for our clearer Understanding It is thought by many of good worth that Anima intelligit in intellectu Eligit in Voluntate c. That there 's no such distinction of Faculties But that the same Soul doth Understand in the Understanding VVill in the VVill Doth Understand VVill Love and do all And there 's Scripture for it where wee read all these Acts attributed to the Soul it self As namely an Understanding Heart A willing mind c. And therefore seeing it is a bare Philosophical Opinion and not received by All This will not overthrow nor strengthen any Divine Truths 2 Though this were true That there were distinction of
Person 2. The Conveniency This is fully made out in the necessity of it and that with an advantage there is such a conveniency as that it riseth up to a necessity in all the former particulars so that to an holy heart there is a moral impossibility of the contrary How can I do this great wickednesse and sin against God said Joseph Gen. 39.9 This is the first way of Faiths purifying the Heart Argumentativè or by way of Argument 2. Operativè As Faith doth operate and work for the cleansing of our nature making use of Christ who is called A Fountain Zach. 13.1 A Refiner Mal. 3.3 A Purger Joh. 15.2 Hee is said to come with Refiners fire with Fullers Sope to purge and purifie us And thus Faith makes use of Christ by the least touch of whom the sinfull flux of sin is dryed up and staid And Faith makes use 1. Of the Merit of Christ the Blood of Christ which is apt to purge us and cleanse us from sin And for this end was his Blood shed even to cleanse us from sin Tit. 2.14 Hee gave himself not only to bee a Redeemer to redeem us from Hell and the guilt of sin but to purifie to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works Ephes 5.26 27. Hee gave himself for us that hee might sanctifie us and cleanse us by the washing of Water through the Word So Faith makes use of this Fountain to wash and cleanse the soul it opens this Fountain to the washing of the soul 2. It makes use of the Prayer of Christ John 17.17 Sanctifie them through the Truth thy Word is Truth 3. Faith makes use of the Promise of Christ wherein his Fidelity and Truth is ingaged for our Purification Jer. 33.8 I will cleanse them from all their iniquities whereby they have sinned against mee Ezek. 33.25 I will sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall bee clean from all your filthiness and from all your Idols will I cleanse you Isa 4.4 The Lord shall wash away the filth of the Daughter of Zion and purge away the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof Hence they are called Purging-Promises Thus Faith makes use of Christ of the Merit of Christ of the Blood of Christ of the Prayer and Promise of Christ whereby it sets on the work of Self-cleansing whereby it purifies the soul By vertue of which it washes the soul from all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit 2 Cor. 7.1 Third Royalty Faith is a Heart-commanding Grace Christs Vice-Roy here in the Soul which Governs Rules Third Royalty Faith It s an Heart-commanding-Grace and bears sway in the soul by vertue of the power and Scepter of Christ Christ hath made Faith his Deputy here in the Soul and not any other Grace but Faith Hee knows Faith will rule by Christ by his power not its own So Rule as not to wrest the Scepter out of Christs hand It will rule for Christ and to Christ for his Glory and to his Glory not its own and therefore hee hath given Faith jurisdiction in the Soul So that it is a Soul-commanding Grace It is the Taskmaster of the Soul puts every Grace upon its work and burden It will not suffer any Grace to bee idle but puts every Grace to its work Nay it inableth the Soul to Doe what it Commands the Soul to Doe To every Precept wee have still a Promise Nay every Precept is a Promise Where God Commands us to Repent and Beleeve to make our selves new hearts to wash and cleanse our selves to circumcise our hearts Hee hath promised in his new Covenant to do what hee hath commanded to give us Faith to work Repentance in us to make us new hearts to circumcise the heart to wash and cleanse us from our filthiness And Faith urging the Precepts of God makes use of the Promises of God sues out the Promise and fetches strength from the Promise to perform the Precept Lord thou hast commanded mee to make mee a new heart and thou hast promised to take this stony heart from mee and to give mee an heart of Flesh Lord performe thy Promise to thy Servant in which thou madest mee put my trust Thou commandest mee to bee Holy and thou hast promised to make mee holy Thou art the Lord that Sanctifies Lord make mee Holy Da quod jubes jube quod vis sic enim implebitur voluntas tua obedientia nostra give what thou commandest and command what thou wilt and so both our obedience and thy Will shall bee fulfilled Thus you see as God so Faith ruling by God from God doth not only authoritatively impose commands and lay duties upon the soul but mercifully and friendly helps and inables the soul to do what is commanded It is not a Rigid-Master Reaping where it sows not commanding fruit from that ground whereon it sows no seed but sows strength to reap Obedience inables to do what is commanded to do It is said by Faith Abraham obeyed Faith did inable him to obey and made his obedience fruitfull and acceptable Faith inabled him to obey even in that great act of Obedience when his Son his only Son the Son of his Love the Son of the Promise the Son of his Old Age c. was to bee taken away by death killed murdered and that by his own hands c. And yet Faith inabled him hereunto Fourth Royalty Faith is an Heart-quieting Grace an Heart-calming and stilling-Grace It is a Grace thay layes all the tumults in the Soul all the insurrections in the Soul Fourth Royalty of Faith It s an Heart-quieting-Grace When Passions are up and unruly Affections do stir Faith doth allay and hush them When Passions of Fear are up Faith laies them will not suffer unruly fears to come into the Throne to command the Soul When Passions of Anger are up Faith doth quench their heat when Grief stirs Faith doth bridle and moderate this when Discontent is up and the Soul is ready to murmur and quarrel against God and his dealings Faith doth lay all these risings Faith hath a special art to still the Soul to strike it dumb in these cases Hence you see David I was dumb and opened not my mouth because it was thy doing Faith struck him dumb Wee read indeed Zacharie was dumb but Infidelity struck him dumb David saith here hee was dumb but Faith struck him dumb The former was a Penal-dumbness God silenced his Tongue because hee suspended his Faith But this latter was a dutiful-Dumbness such a Dumbness as Faith hath caused in the Soul which shut up his lips from murmuring not from praying Psal 39.9 hee praies there I was dumb and opened not my mouth and yet Take thy Plague from mee I am consumed by the stroke of thy hand c. The like power of Faith you see in the case of Aaron when it silenced his Soul in such a sad condition Levit. 10.3 4. And Moses said unto him This
strikes both wayes For the first Many have Peace who yet are not Beleevers I grant it Many who are unbeleevers have quiet Peace Are not in trouble as other men Psal 7.3 5. 1. A Peace they have but it is a false Peace And a true war is better than a false Peace 2. A Peace they have but it is not the Peace of God rather the Peace of the Devil The strong man keeps the house and therefore all is at Peace 3. A Peace they have but it is but an outward Peace not an inward Peace The heart knows its own bitterness even in the midst of laughter the heart is sorrowfull when the Countenance is full of chear the Conscience is full of woe As the godly have often the Pearle of Joy in the Heart when the dew of tears is in their eyes so the wicked 4 A Peace they have but it is but the Peace of a dreaming sleeping man not the Peace of a man awakened or it is but 5. A Peace of a condemned man before his Execution The Peace of a calm before a storm I have shewed you there is a fourfold Conscience 1. Good and quiet 2. Not god nor quiet 3. Good but not quiet 4. Quiet but not good which quiet doth arise partly From ignorance of their condition or From carnal security or From brawninesse of Conscience want of inquiry into Conscience But it is far from true Peace Sure I am Pax non est ubi non est Gratia Pax est Haereditas Sanctorum Where there is no Grace there is no Peace Hence saith one Peace is the inheritance of Saints only 'T was all the Legacy which the Prince of Peace lest to his Subject Peace I leave with you my Peace I give unto you Joh. 14.27 There may bee godlinesse without Peace for a time but there can bee no Peace without godlinesse As Jehu said to Jehoram What Peace so long as the Whoredomes of thy Mother and her Witchcrafts bee so many So I say to you What Peace There is no Peace saith my God to the wicked Isa 57.21 1. They have no Peace with God God is their enemy 2. They have no Peace with Conscience that is full of storms as one said of Jonah ubi peccatum ibi procella Where sin is there is a storm A sinfull Conscience is a stormy Conscience though for the present it is quiet yet it is like a Book bound up wherein if ever it bee unclasped if ever it bee opened nothing but hellish Tragedies will appear And that Peace thou hast in a sinfull way it is a fore-runner of eternal war it is but like the Peace of the old World They ate they drank they married and gave in marriage till at last the flood came and swept them all away Luk. 17.27 It is but the Peace of Sodom the Peace of Agag the Peace of Joab and Shimei the Peace of Eli's house the Peace of all ungodly men who when they say Peace and safety then sudden destruction as travel upon a woman with childe so that they shall not escape 1 Thes 5.3 Object 2. The second part of the Objection is Many are Beleevers who yet want Peace Ans Indeed the best have no perfection of Peace because they want a perfection of Grace They have no perfection of Peace because they have not the perfection of Faith the perfection of Grace If there were a perfection of Grace then there might bee a perfection of Peace But the perfection of both is reserved to another world Though sometimes Beleevers may have such a Peace as may overcome all doubts fears troubles c. yet ordinarily their Peace is not so high There is doubting as well as confidence fear as well as Faith trouble as well as Peace The Peace of the godly here is a peace joyned with war Our inward Peace is joyned with inward War war against sin and corruption It is such a Peace as doth not consist in freedome from war but in an actual warring The Flesh still lusting against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh And till this great Make-baâ—e bee taken away till sin bee destroyed wee must look for no perfect Peace 2. But secondly You say Beleevers want Peace It may bee they do They want the sense of Peace but not the ground of Peace They have the ground of Peace interest in Christ Reconciliation with God Justification pardon of sin Sanctification although for present they want the sense of Peace the clear apprehensions of all this to their Souls They have Peace with God Rom. 5.1 But they want Peace with themselves The direct act of Faith gives a man Peace with God Isa 27.5 Let him take hold of my strength and I will bee at Peace with him But the Reflect act of Faith is it which gives a man Peace within himself A man may have the one and yet want the other 3. It may bee they hold some secret Compliance with some secret and sweet corruption There may bee some secret Jonah which lies under hatches some secret Achan which lies undiscovered some secret close corruption which may cause God to make war against his own people and deny them Peace And therefore in this case wee must do as the Marriners in the storm as Israel in their trouble cast lots enter upon inquiry what that is that troubles our Peace and then cast him over-board that our hearts may bee calmed Wee have a passage worth observation 2 Sam. 20. from vers 16. to 23. Joab besieged Abel and threatned war A woman cryes out from the City to know the cause Hee returns her answer There was one Sheba the son of Bichri who was a traitor to the King Cast his head over the Wall and all shall bee at Peace which done Joab and all Israel retired every man to his tent and there was a Peace Thus God doth oftentimes besiege one of his own Subjects because they harbour some secret Traitor some close lust and corruption And therefore it would bee our wisdome to inquire and finde out the Traitor to yeeld up our sins and God will bee at Peace with us whereas otherwise God will never bee at Peace with him who is at Peace with his lusts nor spare him that spares his sin 4. It may bee they want present Peace because for present they are in warring conditions 1. In great Combates with lusts and corruptions 2. In great Conflicts with Satan 3. In sad deserted conditions At which times they may want the sense of Peace The Soul is now in the pursuit of Peace And though with Rebekah they have some strugling in the womb for a time yet God will part the womb at last Hee will speak Peace to his People at last hee will break the Cloud and discover himself 5. You say Beleevers want Peace But it is not as they are Beleevers but as they are Doubters If they had more Faith they would have more Peace It may bee they
give away to jealous mis-giving and mistrusting thoughts of God or of themselves Some there are who do nothing but make objections against themselves and Gods dealings with them And a quarrelsome heart is for the most part a troublesome heart You shall see some to whom God hath given evidences of their estate and condition and such as might content them such as they might have Peace in But they will quarrel against them Either their evidences are not so clear as others are not written in so fair and legible characters as others are Or else they want sealing And therefore they will take no comfort in them Thus do many forsake their own mercies breed their own disquiet and are injurious to their own peace When God hath spoken Peace and Peace to their Souls yet they return back again to folly to the folly of Unbeleeving Doubting Questioning of Gods love And no marvel if such do want Peace Men that will forgoe their evidences give up their claim and title to Christ Men whom Satan can make unsay what they know God hath said to their hearts may soon sit down in dumb silence and discouragement If when God hath manifested himself to you hath come and supped with you hath given you the white stone of absolution the Hidden Manna of comfort and consolation those manifest experiments of his love and yet you will joyn Issue with Satan give way to doubts No marvel if you disturb your peace bring insufferable fears and disquiets upon your selves And it were just with God to leave you to the doubts and mis-givings of your own hearts and never to give you a word of Peace more but suffer you to bring your gray hairs with sorrow to the Grave seeing nothing will satisfie you 6. The Reason why Beleevers have no more Peace is Because they seek Peace no more in a way of beleeving They seek it more in the Law than in the Gospel more in Sanctification than in Justification more in the Precept than in the Promise more in working than in beleeving more in their Obedience than in Christ. And therefore no marvel seeing all this is imperfect that they have no more perfection of peace So long as you make the grounds of your peace any thing within your selves or any thing wrought by your selves you will never have fulness of peace There may bee some peace for a time in these things but it is not a full and satisfying peace nor yet a permanent and constant peace It may be gotton to day lost or incumbred to morrow Every imperfection will disturb your peace Every failing will raise up a new and fresh storm breed a new quarrel in the soul Hee that would have peace must seek it in the God of Peace in the Prince of Peace in Christ himself in whom hee said Joh. 16.33 Wee should have Peace When there 's a storm in your selves there 's peace in him when there 's no peace in you in regard of your imperfections and failings there 's yet peace in Christ who is a perfect Saviour The Sacrifice is imperfect but the Priest is perfect Tenth Royalty 10 Faith is an Heart-inabling-Grace 10. Royalty of Faith It s an Heart-inabling-Grace It is such a Grace as inables a man 1. To do 2. To suffer A Beleeving Christian is a strong Christian He is strong for any service It is said By Faith Abraham obeyed God Faith did inable him to obey And it was a great act of Obedience as you may read scil The offering of his Son his only Son the Son of his love If it had been an adopted Son only and not his Natural or if his Natural and but one among many the trial had not been so great But hee was his own and only Son and the Son of his old age and therefore like to have no more the Son of the promise not an Ismael but an Isaac a Son long expected now exceedingly rejoyced in hee was the Son of his Love Now to part with such a Son was a great tryal But here was not all the tryal If hee had but parted with him in the way of Nature by a natural death this had not been so much but to part with him in way of Sacrifice wherein hee was to bee cut in peeces nay and hee himself must bee the Butcher of this Son of his Love must imbrue his own hands in the blood of this Son This was a great tryal yet here was seen the power of Faith tht it inabled him to obey Hee did not consult with Flesh and Blood did not dispute but obey By Faith hee obeyed Faith it is an Heart-inabling-Grace It will inable you to pray yea and to pray to purpose to wrestle with God Beleeving-prayers are wrestling prayers wherein the Soul wrestles with God by strength of his Promise his Covenant his Truth his Christ It inables you to hear and to hear with profit when Faith doth incorporate it self with the Word it will be profitable Faithful hearing is ever fruitful hearing It will inable you to receive the Sacrament and to receive with comfort Faith is the Organ whereby wee feed on Christ receive Christ Faith is the instrument that conveyes Christ the Conduit-pipe A beleeving Receiver is a blessed Receiver It will inable you to bring forth much fruit To bee fruitful in Obedience It plants us into a fruitfull stock and how can wee bee barren Plants It draws life and nourishment from Christ A faithfull Christian is a fruitfull Christian Men of a good Beleef are men of a good Life That soul that hath yeelded obedience to the Promise in a way of beleeving is ready to subject it self to every Precept in a way of Obedience Faith doth inable a man to contend with lusts with the strongest corruptions The sons of Zerviah which else would bee too hard for us It inables us to combate with Satan It is our shield whereby wee resist it is our weapon whereby wee conquer It sets Christ against Satan by whom wee over-overcome as the word is Wee are more than Conquerors It inables us to overcome the World This is our Victory whereby wee overcome the World even our Faith Whereas unbeleef doth slay and disable the heart both from doing and suffering An unbeleeving heart is an impotent heart The state of unbeleef is a state of impotency and disability to the performance of any thing that is good There is a total and universal impotency in an unbeleeving heart Hee cannot pray hear receive Faith on the contrary doth inable and strengthen the soul to all Obedience It inables a man to yeeld A willing Obedience cheerfull Obedience voluntary Obedience a constant a fruitful an universal Obedience It will inable a man to do his duty Towards God Towards others Towards himself It inables a man to walk through the duties of all relations faithfully The Husband to the Wife the Wife to the Husband The Parents to the Childe The Child to the
made the Spouse of Christ Christ doth en-noble his Spouse Christ doth adorn and beautifie his Spouse Ezek. 16.10 11 12 13. I cloathed thee with broidred work and shed thee and covered thee with silk I decked thee with Ornaments c. Wee shine with the beams of his Justice Holiness Riches Graces Christ is made to us Wisdome Justification Sanctification and Redemption 1 Cor. 1.30 Of his fulness wee all have received and Grace for Grace Joh. 1.16 Nay 5. Faith makes us the Members of Christ who is such an Head as doth en-noble his Members Christ throws more Glory and Honour upon the meanest Member of his Body than all the World is able to make us heirs of It were better to bee the meanest Member of Christ than to have all the Glory of the World out of Christ better to bee the meanest twig in this Vine Meliùs non â—â—se quà m sine Christo esse than to bee the most glorious branch in the World out of Christ Better it is not to bee at all than not to bee in Christ 3. Faith puts us upon Soul-in-nobling imployments It puts a man upon Prayer Holy exercises Communion with God which are noble Imployments above the World Faith makes the soul live high above the World above the Earth Faith carries the soul to Heaven makes it live were it had its First breath and being makes our way to lye above our Conversation to bee in Heaven our joyes to bee there our affections there our hearts there By Faith Enoch walked with God hee conversed with God had to do with God daily the great God of Heaven and Earth daily in supplications and meditations and holy conversation All which are noble imployments The higher the person wee have to do withall the more noble are the imployments And they are such as do in-noble the Soul No man hath to do with God in any way but hee is in-nobled by it Moses face shone when hee had been conversing with God God doth shed Glory upon all those who have to do with him None have to do with a glorious God but are made glorious None with an Holy God but are made holy If you have to do with him in Prayer or any of his Ordinances hee sends you still better away 4. Faith doth intitle us unto a Soul-in-nobling Inheritance unto Heaven unto Glory It makes us not only Sons of God but Heirs Every Son is an Heir nay and a Joint-Heir with Christ unto that eternal inheritance of Glory Rom. 8.17 Hence the Apostle 1 Joh. 3.2 Now wee are the Sons of God but it doth not yet appear what wee shall bee but wee know when hee shall appear wee shall bee like him for wee shall see him as hee is Then when Christ who is our life shall appear wee shall also appear with him in Glory Col. 3.4 Wee shall bee Citizens of Heaven Faith doth intitle us to Crowns of Glory To that House not made with hands eternal in the Heavens 2 Cor. 5.1 To an inheritance incorruptible and that fadeth not reserved in Heaven for us 1 Pet. 1.5 To a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory 1 Cor. 4.17 Which Inheritance is so certain by Faith to Beleevers that the Apostle saith Wee sit together with him in heavenly places Ephes 2.6 wee sit now with him in respect of our Union by Faith and shall sit with him hereafter in our Communion with his Glory when wee shall bee invested with those Royal Robes of Glory Thus you see Faith is a Soul-in-nobling-Grace It makes God a Father Christ a Brother Angels fellow-servants Heaven our Inheritance It brings a man into a noble kindred a noble family the family of Heaven and makes all the family of Heaven our kindred It brings a man unto noble acquaintance puts a man upon noble imployments intitles a man unto a noble inheritance invests us with in-nobling Priviledges and begets us a noble spirit a spirit suitable to all these suitable to our Father our Kindred our Acquaintance our Imployments our Inheritance The whole frame of Christianity turns upon the hinge of Faith As the Bloud through the veins so Faith runs through every vein of the whole body of Religion It is the staff of our strength the support of all our comfort and the life of our soul In my discourse of which I have though indeed the Priviledges of Faith requires an Angel rather than a Man to make relation of it yet I say I have adventured to lay down diverse Royalties and Priviledges of this Grace wherein all that I have said or can say falls short of the excellency of it When I have told you what I can you may say as the Queen of Sheba when shee found the Truth to exceed the Relation that the one half hath not been told you Coelum Deus so Coelum fides non patiuntur Hyperbolen I cannot here Hyperbolize I cannot play the Mountebank to set down more in the Bill than is in the Physick more in the Relation than is in the Balsome All I can say will fall short of the preciousness of Faith Yet mistake mee not whatever I have said or shall say of Faith I speak not of Faith absolutely but of Faith relatively The Act with its Object Wee will not make a Christ of Faith nor raise up Faith any higher than wee may set up Christ with it by it above it Well then to proceed wee have laid down diverse glorious Priviledges or Royalties of Faith wee have yet more remaining such as these Twelfth Royalty 12. Faith is a Soul-fatning-Grace The beleeving Christian is the thriving Christian 12. Royalty of Faith In a Soul-fatning-Grace It is such a Grace as doth nourish and strengthen the soul It weakens corruption but strengthens Grace It starves the flesh but fattens the spirit It is indeed a sin-starving-Grace Faith will not feed and fuel lust It will neither entertain nor maintain corruptions Faith will abridge sin of that nourishment those dainty bits which it met withall in an unbeleeving heart It will not lay in provision for lust Unbeleef is the Caterer and the Provider for sin Sin hath its full desire in an unbeleeving heart whatever it lusts after it shall have nothing shall bee wanting to feed lust If a man bee addicted to the lust of uncleanness there is nothing the lust doth desire but an unbeleeving heart will make a supply of It shall have Books Ballads Plaies for the purpose It shall have obscene objects and pictures to gaze upon There shall bee nothing wanting for the fomenting and cherishing of the corruption nothing shall bee denied that may oile and increase the flame of lust All a man hath all his power all his riches his estate shall bee laid out for the fewelling of his corruption and so I might shew in other lusts But now Faith it starves sin it will not hold out the dugg to nourish a corruption It will not provide
fellow-Graces When Faith hath had a good meal here all the Graces of Gods Spirit are bettered by it our Love Humility c. All are strengthened by it Now Faith feeds upon Christ 1. In the Word 2. In the Sacrament Christ is Bread 1. Spiritual Panis Spiritualis 2. Sacramental Panis Sacramentalis Christ is Spiritual Bread in the Word to beget and increase life Christ is Sacramental Bread in Eucharist to nourish and augment our Spiritual life in us The one is Christ in Ordinary Christ in the Word is the Dayly-Bread for Faith to feed upon The other is Christ Extraordinary for Festival Gaudy-dayes And in this order Faith feeds on Christ First Faith feeds upon Christ in the Word and then Secondly Faith feeds upon Christ in the Sacrament None feed on Christ in the Sacrament but they who have fed on Christ in the Word By the one wee have Union by the other Communion with Christ By the one ingraftment into Christ by the other we have nourishment from Christ Christus grandescit in Sanctis By the one Christ is formed in us by the other Christ grows up in us to a perfect man Faith thus feeds upon Christ who is the summe of all nourishing things who is the heart the staff of nourishment Hence hee is called Bread which is the staff of nourishment Christ is the heart of nourishment in the Word in the Sacraments in every Ordinance All which are but empty things convey no spiritual strength to us if wee feed not upon Christ in them If Christ do withdraw himself from the Ordinances If wee feed not upon Christ in them they will do us no good If wee feed not upon Christ in the Word the Word will not profit If wee feed not upon Christ in the Sacraments the Sacraments will not nourish Men may live out their dayes under the Ordinances come to the Word and to the Sacraments and yet when all is done bee like Pharaohs lean Kine never the fatter for all this food if they feed not upon Christ in them And it is suspitious when men live under such precious Ordinances and yet grow no more that surely they feed not on Christ Alas Could wee bee so barren in our Graces so lean in our lives seeing wee go in such rich Pastures and are fed with such precious dainties the Word and Sacraments if wee fed upon Christ in these No my Brethren this is the great reason why wee have such pined and starved souls This is the reason of all our weaknesses our spiritual faintings our declinings our consumptions under the Ordinances wee feed not upon the Spirits of nourishment wee feed not upon Christ in them Panem Domini non Panem Dominum Purum Elementum non est Alimentum wee let not Faith feed on Christ and so are not nourished Wee eat the Bread of the Lord but not the Bread which is the Lord wee feed upon the Elements not upon Christ It is true here The pure Elements are no nourishment If Christ run not through the Bread and Wine they nourish not Well then would you have your Soul nourished take your fill of these Soul-refreshing-Dainties whereby you may get strength Here drink your fill The best measure is no measure Bibite Inebriamini Feed upon the Promises feed upon Christ whereby you may bee nourished Feed on Christ daily Sometimes wee have such a Feast on Christ as in the strength of which with Elijah wee go many dayes God sometimes gives such abundance of Refreshments that the Soul goes cheerfully a long time But this is not Ordinary And therefore there is need of our Daily feeding upon Christ Christ must bee Daily-Bread for Faith to feed on And it must bee our Prayer for the Soul as well as for the Body Give us our Daily-Bread Bread for the Soul as well as Bread for the Body That Day wherein Christ hath not been fed on is a Declining-day Thirteenth Royalty 13. Faith is an Heart-Emptying-Grace 13. Royalty of Faith It s an Heart emptying-Grace There are two things which are the most natural acts of Faith 1. It empties a man of himself 2. It fills the Soul with Christ The Soul cannot bee fill'd with Christ whilest it is full of it self And therefore Faith doth first empty a man of himself cast a man out of himself and then fills the Soul with Christ Faith doth cut a man off his own stock the stock of Nature the stock of Death before it doth ingraft us into Christ the Stock of Life Faith doth strip a man of his own cloaths his own Garments which are too short to cover him before it puts on the Robes of Christ It throws us off from our own bottom whereon wee stand before it set a man upon another Foundation It makes a man poor in himself before it inrich him with Christ It empties a man of himself before it fill the Soul with Christ Now there are two things in general which Faith doth empty the Soul of 1. Of all Opinion of Righteousness in our selves 2. Of all Opinion of strength to help our selves 1. It doth empty the Soul of that windy conceit that Pharisaical Opinion of Righteousness in our selves Faith doth not empty a man of any Righteousness but of the false Opinion of Righteousness It doth not empty us of any worth in our selves there is none but of that fond conceit of worth in our selves Faith makes us see wee are worthless Creatures Rev. 3.17.18 Thou saiest I am rich and increased with goods I have need of nothing And knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blinde and naked I counsel thee to buy of mee Cold that thou maiest bee rich c. My Brethren wee are all of us naturally full of our selves full of our selves full of the self of Pride full of the self of Love Self-love full of Self-conceits full of Self-sufficiency wee are apt to think highly to our selves Wee all hold of Adam in Capite wee are all full of Pride As Pride was the Fall of Adam so it would bee the ruine of us Wee think wee are Rich full need nothing As the Church did in the place afore quoted Rev. 3.17 18. Thus where Faith comes it empties a man of himself his Self-conceits it doth discover our selves to our selves makes us see our selves as wee lye weltring in blood in our own blood Ezek. 16.2 3 4 5 6. even in the Blood of Guilt and the Blood of Filth It puts down those Towering thoughts those Ayery imaginations those Mountainous conceits which men had of themselves It casts us out of our selves makes us Nothing in our selves makes us poor in our selves 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the word is Mat. 5.3 Beggars in Spirit Poor Beggars It makes us miserable in our selves empty in our selves blind naked lost in our selves Faith makes us to see all this in our selves Faith makes us see in stead of Righteousness
day and poor to morrow The Lord hath given Dominus dedit Dominus abstulit the Lord hath taken away Both with one breath Hence the wise man Riches make themselves wings and flye away But these are abiding Treasure A Treasure whose spring is in Heaven whose Foundation is in Christ Our life is hid with Christ in God not only hid for secrecy but hid for safety It is a safe life an abiding life Nay but if they should continue yet will they do us no good in the day of trouble They cannot save our souls from nor in the day of wrath They cannot save us from sicknesse nor from death not from Hell Nor are they able to mitigate our Torments to purchase one drop of water in that lake of fire What profit had Ahab of his Vineyard Baltazar of his cups Dives of his wealth Judas of his thirty-pence Agrippa of his gay apparel The rich fool of his full barns All these would do them no good Neither quench nor bribe these flames but rather afford Oile to increase them But now Grace that riches which Faith doth inrich us withall it is such as will uphold us in sickness bee a choice cordial in that bitter potion it will deliver us in death save us in the day of wrath and inable us to lift up our heads with joy and boldness in the day of Judgement that terrible day of the Lord when the wicked shall tremble before the Judge and call upon the Mountains to fall upon them and the Hills to cover them from the presence of him that sitteth on the Throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. Hast thou other riches and wantest thou Faith Hast thou Mountains of Gold Rocks of Diamonds shores of Rubies And wantest thou Faith wantest thou Grace Oh! thou art a poor man Thus you see Faith is an Heart-inriching-Grace A Beleever hath title to all A Beleever is the poorest and the richest man in the World As none is poorer than a godly man in himself so none is richer than a Beleever in Christ Hee is as having nothing and yet possessing all things Christ is the Heir of all things All are yours if you bee Christs No sooner can the soul say Christ is mine but hee may say His Blood is mine his Spirit mine his Glory mine all is mine Christ and all his are conveyed and made over by the same Deed of Gift Hence the Apostle saith Wee are made partakers of Christ Not of some part but of Christ all Christ not of Justification only but say Christ and there is all Fifteenth Royalty 15. Royalty Faith is an Heart-raising-Grace 15. Faith is an Heart-raising-Grace There is a threefold Death that Faith doth raise up the soul from 1. The Death of Sin 2. The Death of inward Trouble 3. The Death of outward Trouble 1. Faith raiseth up the soul from the Death of Sin Wee are all of us Dead by nature in trespasses and sins Ephes 2.1 Dead-Born And as dead men so wee have no notion to spiritual things no motion no strength to any good no sense being insensible of the weight of sin insensible of mercies and judgements wee have no desires after any thing good no affection to them And a Death it is not only Privative A meer absence and privation of spiritual life but a Positive Death wherein there is an Introduction of a Positive vitious Habit. As in Natural Death there is not only a Privation of Life of the former form but the Position of another form there is another form left in the body So in Spiritual Death there is not only a meer Absence a bare Privation of Life But there is a Positive Evil and Vitious Habit left in the soul Hence Heb. 9.14 The works of natural men are called Dead works There would bee a contradiction in calling them Dead works if unregenerate men were only deprived of spiritual life and had not another positive evil form in them Thus dead wee are then not only Privatively but Positively And it is Faith which doth raise up the Soul from the Death of Sin to the Life of Grace Faith is the Resurrection of the Soul from under the spiritual death the Death of Sin The first rise of the Soul from the Death of Sin is by beleeving Vita sancta aâ— fide sumit initium 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Fide regeneramut Calv. Resipiscentia non modo fidem subsequitur sed ex ea noscitur Calv. ibid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Fides justificationem praecipit sanctificationem efficit Tilen An holy life hath its rise from Faith The Fountain of all our spiritual Graces The worker of all good things That which begets Love Fear Repentance Hence Calvin saith Faith regenerates Repentance doth not only follow Faith but doth arise from Faith Hence Clemens Alexandrinus Faith is the first awakening the first inclination of the Soul to Christ. Hence by some Faith and the New Creation Faith and Sanctification do differ as much as the Cause and the Effect Faith is the Instrument of Justification but the efficient of Sanctification They who distinguish Regeneration which is part of our Vocation and Sanctification do make Faith and Sanctification differ as much as Cause and Effect Vocation say they produceth Faith â—nd Faith being begotten produceth Sanctification both habitual and â—ctual Hence it 's called the Mother-Grace But they who make Vocation and Sanctification all one and both to bee nothing else but our inherent Righteousness or those Habits that frame of Grace implanted in the Soul whereof Faith is a part they do say Faith doth not produce the Cause of the Habits of Graces but Faith produceth the acts of Grace of Love Repentance c. Faith doth not produce the Habits but the acts of Grace For the clearing of this Sanctification may bee considered as it is either In actu primo vel secundo 1. Habitual Or 2. Actual 1. For our Habitual Sanctification There wee say the Spirit of God is the only Cause and Faith is an Effect as well as others Faith is a part of our inherent Sanctification 2. For our Actual Sanctification or as those Habits do act and exercise and there wee say Faith doth help to produce the acts of Grace of Love of Repentance 1 Tim. 1.5 Love out of a pure heart and a good Conscience and of Faith unfeigned Faith doth not only lend an hand to its Fellow-Graces for the perfecting of Grace but Faith doth help to produce the Acts of Grace the Acts of Love of Repentance Zeal Patience c. Though at the same time they bee all implanted yet in Nature Faith hath the precedency and helps to produce the Acts of all the rest As God the Father is before the Son in Nature yet not in Time Hee is not a Father till hee have a Son So is it to bee understood concerning Faith and all other Graces 2. Faith raiseth us up
calls it And of all terribles the most terrible as the Philosopher speaks Unbeleef doth slay the heart with fears A man that knows not what shall become of his soul to all eternity no marvel if hee bee afraid to dye When a man shall lye upon his death bed and knows not whither hee shall go Quo vadam nescio As it was said of Aristotle I go I know not whither Or when a man shall look upon death and Hell behinde it upon the Pale Horse and Hell behinde as wee have it Rev. 6. no marvel if hee bee afraid to dye But when by Faith wee can look upon God a Father Christ a Saviour and can say God is my God Christ is my Christ Heaven is my Inheritance Glory is my portion no marvel then if death bee not terrible no marvel then if hee bee ready to meet death and say with Simeon Lord now lettest thou thy Servant depart in Peace Or with Paul sigh out Cupio dissolvi I desire to bee dissolved and to bee with Christ Men that have not assurance of a better life it is no wonder if they bee loath to leave this they know not where to mend themselves Earth in Possession is better than Heaven in Reversion But when God hath given a man the assurance of a better life when a man hath his hope in his hand his evidences sealed Oh! then death is not terrible There will bee a willing Resignation of the soul into Gods hands I'ts true in some case Hee that beleeves maketh not haste but here the more wee beleeve the more haste wee make to bee with God 4. Faith Stablisheth the heart against the Fear of Hell Faith knows who was in pretium as well as in premium and beholds Christ not only in Premium to intitle us to Heaven but in pretium as the price of our Redemption to free us from Hel. As by his Active Obedience hee answered Gods commanding and remunerative Justice So by his Passive Obedience hee answered Gods condemning and vindictive Justice freeing us from that wrath and misery which otherwise wee should unavoidably have fallen into 5. Faith doth establish the heart against the Fear of Judgement There shall bee no condemnation to such as are in Christ Jesus such as are Beleevers The Judge is our Advocate our Saviour Hee to whom wee are to answer hath answered for us Hee to whom wee are to give satisfaction hath satisfied for us Hee is our Redeemer who hath laid down his life for us Faith knows Christ will bee All in All to the soul not only in life to preserve it but in death to comfort and in Judgement to absolve thee and save thee 2. Faith doth establish the heart against falling 1. Against Total Apostacy 2. Against Final Apostacy 1. Against Total There is not a Total Apostacy Though the Saints fall sadly yet not Totally 1. A Child of God may lose all the comforts of spiritual life yet not spiritual life it self Hee may bring himself into such a sad condition by sin that hee may sin away all the comforts of this life Thus David Psal 51. Restore to mee the joy of thy Salvation Hee had not lost life but the comforts of it and desires they may bee restored A man may out-live the comforts of life this is a sad thing to out-live comforts here but Faith at least layeth the grounds of those comforts that are endless 2. A man may lose all the Vigorous and Powerful Operations of Grace and Life yet not life it self It may bee with a Child of God as with a man in a dead Swoon though there bee life in him yet the operations of life are but little discerned It 's not with him as it was wont to bee Hee thinks to go out as sometimes Sampson in prayer c. but his strength is gone from him as his was But his life is hid with Christ in God as the Apostle hath it Col. 3.3 3. A man may lose some measures and degrees of spiritual life yet not life it self Hee may suffer a great decay in his Faith a great abatement in his Love and Zeal c. and yet life is not lost Thus it was with the Church of Ephesus Rev. 2.5 Remember from whence thou art fallen and repent and do thy first Works Wee are not to think that the Church was fallen from Grace but only from some measures and degrees of Grace And concerning the same Church Rev. 2.4 when it is said Shee had lost her first love it is not meant that shee had lost the Grace of Charity you see the fruits of it in the second and third verses But shee had lost the degrees It was not extinguished but cooled only The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies not that shee did altogether Amittere lose it but somewhat Remittere remit and abate of the fervency of it As one saith of Peter Motum fuit i◠co spiritualis vitae robu◠non amotum con cussum non excussum Gratiam fidei remisit Actum intermisit Habitum non amisit The strength of spiritual life was moved in him but not removed shaken 't was but not shaken off Hee remitted the Grace of Faith intermitted the act of Faith but lost not the Habit. Isa 6.13 Hee shall bee like an Oak whose substance is in him when it casts its leaves so the Holy seed shall bee the substance thereof Like to that is that of 1 Joh. 3.9 Whosoever is born of God sinneth not for his seed remaineth in him neither can hee sin because hee is born of God It may bee with him as 't was with Nebuchadnezzar The Tree may bee hewn down but the stump is bound with a bond of Iron 2 Faith establisheth the heart against final Apostacy Though they fall foulely yet not finally They have the Prayer and Intercession of Christ the Power of Christ the Merit of Christ the Promise of Christ Faith produceth all these Wee are said to bee established by Faith to live by Faith to stand by Faith to bee preserved by Faith as with a guard 1 Pet. 1.5 Wee are kept by the Power of God through Faith unto salvation By Faith wee are said to subdue the flesh to have victory over the World to quench the fiery darts of Satan to bee saved by Faith c. Indeed all ages give reports to us of many who have been eminent in Profession and yet have come to nought Some fallen from Grace to basenesse some fallen from Grace to bitternesse some from Grace to vitiousness some from Grace to malitiousness But these were never true Beleevers A Star fallen is not a Star Stella caden◠non est Stella They went out from us because they were not of us for had they been of us they would have continued with us 1 Joh. 2.19 It is the evil heart of Unbelief that causeth them to depart from the living God Heb 3.12 Where there is true Faith
seems to hide himself or withdraw himself from our souls withholding either his quickening or his comforting Spirit yet trust still You that walk in darknesse and see no light Trust in the Name of the Lord and rest upon your God Isa 50.10 Trust in God in the darkest night of Desertion cast anchor there as the Apostle did What though the soul were as dark as Hell yet God can make it as light as Heaven That God that caused light to shine out of darkness can also shine into our dark hearts What though there bee nothing within thee nothing without thee nothing round about thee to comfort thee yet there is something above thee Cast anchor in Heaven there 's an Almighty God to stay thy soul upon The Name of the Lord is a sufficient prop and rock to rest upon in any condition The Name of the Lord is a strong Tower the Righteous flye to it and is exalted Prov. 18.10 or is in safety There 's safety in the Tower when all other sorts and Bulwarks are gone when Out-works are taken and Walls are scaled there is yet safety in the Tower So here when all Out-works are gone when all our Evidences seem to bee gone when nothing appears to comfort us yet the Name of the Lord is a strong Tower to flye to a rock to rest on whereupon being exalted wee are delivered from danger and set out of gun-shot Hence wee read the Name of the Lord opposed to all staies and props which Faith had to rest on Isa 50.10 Hee that walks in darkness and hath no light let him trust in the Name of the Lord and stay upon his God Here is such a bottom for Faith to rest upon that if Faith should fail All God would fail with it His Mercy His Truth His Wisdome His Power c. Let us then cast anchor here and wait till the time of refreshment come wait till all storms and clouds bee blown over Light is sown for the Righteous and joy for the upright in heart But wee must wait with the Husbandman with patience till the crop bee throughly ripe Thou must not look for clear day so soon as thou hast taken shelter nor a calm so soon as thou hast cast anchor but there thou must abide ride at anchor wait till the time of Refreshment shall come from the Lord. Godly security and apprehension of safety do not ever attend the act of Faith at the heels To trust is the act of Faith and apprehended security is the fruit of beleeving and therefore comes not till afterwards Here is thy comfort as was said before if thou diest whilst thou lyest at anchor having anchored on this rock thou dyest in the ship not in the Sea thou dyest in the Covenant and there is safety though the storm never cease Thy condition is safe and secure though thou do not yet apprehend the safety and security of it Never soul miscarried in a trusting way There is not one example in the Word no not one in the World where ever man trusted in God and was ashamed Psal 22.4 5. Our Fathers trusted in thee They trusted and were delivered God hath ingaged himself hee hath not only set the Sun and the Moon and Stars to pawn not only Heaven and Earth but even himself too Hee hath ingaged his Truth his Mercy his Promise his Wisdome and Power to save and keep them who trust in him All Heaven would sink if that soul that truly leans and trusts in God should miscarry 6. In case of outward Calamity not only Personal but National Other Nations God hath dealt withal as with Jerusalem Hee turned them upside down as a Dish and wiped them 2 King 21.13 Indeed wee have injoyed Peace and Plenty Peace with Plenty and Plenty with Peace How many ships deep laden with Mercy hath the stream of the Gospel brought to our shore But yet our sins may give us occasion to suspect the water heating for us Rods are preparing for us except wee return Would you then bee safe in the evil day Trust in the Lord. Hee that trusts in the Lord Mercy shall compass him about Psal 32.10 Hee shall bee begirt with Mercy Mercy shall imbrace him on every side As Faith doth compass Mercy so Mercy compasseth Faith As the Beleever imbraces Mercy so Mercy imbraces him Hee shall bee begirt with Mercy And not Mercy only but all Gods attributes are for him As whilst a man is an Unbeleever all God is against him All the Power of God the Wisdome of God the Justice of God is against him so if one bee a Beleever all is for him Faith makes all God ours his Mercy ours his Power his Justice c. As Jehoshaphat said to Ahab I am as thou art and my people as thy people 2 Chron. 18.3 So God to a beleeving soul all hee is or hath is for its use Faith doth initiate us into Covenant with God And there being a Covenant All God is for us Well then Let this exhort us all to bee resolute and peremptory in beleeving as Esther If I perish I perish in a beleeving way 3. Let this exhort us to grow up in Trust to grow to Perfection There is a Perfection 1. Of Nature 2. Of Degrees All Beleevers have the same Perfection of Faith for kind but all have not the same Perfection of degrees Well then You have that Perfection in the kind labour for this Perfection of degrees also Grow up from trust of Affiance to the trust of Assurance Let us not ever bee staggering and doubting but come to some grounded perswasion of Gods Love labour to bee rooted and grounded in love labour to work out all doubts and fears whereby wee dishonour God wrong our selves 1. Weakening our Faith 2. Hindring our growth 3. Disabling our selves to work 4. Discouraging our selves in our Christian way 5. Gratifying Satan And let us labour to grow up to higher measures in Beleeving Many incouragements might bee named 1. The more thou growest in Faith the more thou growest in the love and favour of God the more thou win'st his Love There is nothing in the World doth so much win Gods favour as a great degree of Faith Abraham was therefore called the friend of God And therefore though thou mayest bee saved with a less degree yet if thou wouldest grow more in Gods favour grow more in Faith 2. The more Faith the more Grace the more love of God the more Hope the more Patience the more Courage Obedience Repentance Humility Thou weak Christian if thou desirest more brokenness of heart for sin more love to God c. Why the way is to strengthen thy Faith 3. The more Faith the more spiritual Comfort the more Peace Joy and consolation These are the fruits of Faith 4. The more Faith the more strength to prevail with God in Prayer And therefore let this put you on to labour for the increase of Faith Grow from Faith to Faith In Temporals
you would not bee so injurious to him as to hinder him of the fruit of it every one would bee ready to cry out of such an act of injustice Why thou art Christs reward hee shed his bloud laid down his life for this end for this purpose And by thy standing out thou dost what is in thee to rob Christ of this his reward the fruit of his death and therefore what a provocation is it Reas 3. Because this temper keeps a man in an unserviceable condition both to God and man And this must needs bee very offensive to God It was one great end that God sent Christ into the World for that wee might bee able to do him service it was the end of our Creation and of our redemption too that being redeemed out of the hands of our enemies wee should serve him Luk. 1.74 75. Though our service was not the impulsive cause of Gods redeeming us though it was not the motive which did perswade and prevail with God to send Christ into the World to redeem us yet this was an end one main end which God aimed at in sending Christ into the World that wee might bee able to serve him without fear c. Christ did not discharge us from the debt of sin to free us from the debt of service but therefore did hee pay the one that wee might bee able to return the other As the Apostle Rom. 8.12 where having shewed that wee are justified and our sins pardoned hee concludes therefore Brethren wee are debters not to the flesh c. Christ hath broken the bands of subjection to others that wee might take upon us the yoak of service to him Christ freed us from the curse of the Law that wee might yeeld obedience to the Commands of the Law from the penalties that wee might obey the Precepts from the Law as a Covenant that we might walk in obedience to the Law as a Rule Plane dicimus decessisse legem quod onera c. That as the Law was given with Evangelical purposes so it might now bee kept of us with Evangelical principles So that this was one main end that God aimed at in our redemption that wee might bee able to do him service Now therefore that which crosseth this great end which God aimed at and keeps us in an unserviceable condition to God must needs bee very offensive to God But that unbeleeving doth It makes you utterly unserviceable to God There is a twofold unbeleef 1. Reigning 2. Remaining unbeleef For the first where Unâ—eâ—ieâ— reigns that man is altogether dead and no more able to do a peece of service to God than a dead man to perform actions of life As Christ saith Joh. 15.5 without mee yee can do nothing And for the second remaining Unbelief so far as Unbelief remainâ— so far it â—cts so far as it prevails so far are you wounded disabled â—or serâ—ice Though there bee not a total and universal impotency as â—n the former yet there is a partial disabilâ—ty and this is more or lesse according to the workings and prevailings of Unbeleef in you It is said of Abraham Heb. 11.8 That by Faith Abraham obeyed God And it was a high act of obedience It is Faith which doth inable us to obey and quicken us in obedience 1. It begets Soul-inabling-Principles such Principles as are suitable to the command and thing commanded 2. Faith supplies a man with Soul-inabling-strength from Christ Wee have not only inherent but assistant strength not only operative but cooperative c. from Christ and Faith furnisheth us with it 3. Faith doth furnish a man with Soul-inabling-considerations 1. From God 2. From the work 3. From the rewards c. 2. It inables the soul to suffer 1. It puts the soul into a suffering frame 2. It doth furnish the soul with suffering resolutions Faith cloatheth the soul with strong resolutions as in the three Children Dan. 3. 3. Faith begets suffering graces Courage magnanimity patience humility self-denyal contempt of the World high prizings of Christ 4. Faith layes in suffering strength strength from God from the Promise c. 5. It propounds to the soul suffering rewards for these light afflictions which are but for a moment work c. 2 Cor. 4.17 All which I might insist large upon to shew you how Faith doth inable the soul c. So Unbeleef it keeps the soul in an unserviceable condition Hee that doth not yeeld obedience to the promise in a way of beleeving cannot yeeld subjection to the Precept in a way of obeying men of a bad beleef can never bee men of a good life Hence wee read that Faith and Obedience and Unbeleef and Disobedience are expressed by the same name Rom. 15.31 which shews how near they are together If you bee once beleevers you will then bee obedient and while you continue in Unbeleef you must needs bee disobedient It is observeable that God gave the Law four hundred and thirty yeaâ—s after the Pâ—omiâ—e as the Apostle saith Gal. 3.17 which shews that Faith in the Promise must bee the spring of all our obedience to the Precept When God gave the Law see what a preface there is to obedience I am the Lord thy God As if hee had said here is that which must inable you to obedience After Adams fall God doth not then give him any new commands hee puts him not to work again but now to beleeve hee gave the Promise then and not the Law to shew that now hee must have a new Principle of working before hee could work hee must now beleeve that hee might bee able to do Many men think they can do God better service by doubting than by beleeving by standing off than by comming in But alas Satan deludes thee if hee get between thee and the Promise if hee keep thee off from Christ hee will either dishearten thee from obedience or hee will discourage and disable thee in thy obedience Faith is the spring of action the rise of all obedience without Christ wee can do nothing and without Faith wee must needs bee without Christ for Faith gives the soul union and communion with him it implants us into Christ and then and not till then wee bring forth fruit It is said of Abraham Heb. 11.8 That by Faith Abraham obeyed God and you know it was a high act of Obedience the sacrificing of his Son and so is the sacrificing of our sins It is Faith alone that doth inable the soul to do to suffer Wee now come to the Application wherein I shall bee brief because most of it I shall refer to the second Doctrin Use 1. If so then see how Satan doth delude their souls whom hee perswades not to beleeve is a vertue is a thing pleasing unto God Are there not many who as Jonah said hee did well to bee angry So they say they do well not to beleeve they do well to stand out c. You shall hear some make it a
mayest not wound him If hee cannot make thee his friend yet if hee can weaken his adversary If hee cannot take away thy weapon yet if hee can weaken thy arm or blunt thy weapon hee is content If hee cannot destroy thy Faith yet if hee can weaken thy Faith if not hurt thy Faith yet if hee can keep thy Faith from hurting him by weakening of it for every act of Faith wounds Satan bindes him in chains c. And therefore if hee can prevail to keep thee from beleeving or if hee can weaken and wound thy Faith hee is well contented this gratifieth him What can gratifie him more than to make a Pageant of all the great things of God than to make all these great things like a dream What can gratifie him more than to keep thy soul at a distance from Christ and the Promise what can pleasure him more than to make a soul look upon God as a God of terror and wrath What more than to keep the soul upon racks upon fears discouragements and disquiets this is some of his own spirit of darkness Nay what can gratifie him more than to keep a soul in a dead unserviceable condition make a man unfit to live unfit to dye unfit for any service to God and man Why all this doth Satan do if hee can but prevail to keep thy soul from Christ at distance from the Promise as I could shew you at large c. The way Satan doth it is by setting out sin Though I would bee willing to see sin yet I am not willing to see sin in the Devils glass I am not willing to see sin when Satan discovers sin Satan hath two glasses wherein hee discovers sin 1. Hee hath a lessening or extenuating glass wherein hee discovers sin to wicked men which makes them appear less than they are great sins small sins infirmities and lesser sins to bee no sins 2. And Satan hath a multiplying or magnifying glass wherein hee discovers sin to them when cast down and extends it not only above the greatness of sin but of mercy also As I would have my eyes broad and open to see sin when God discovers it So I would shut mine eyes when Satan discovers sin Quest But how shall I know when God and when Satan discovers sin 1. When God discovers sin hee keeps up the apprehensions of mercy above the greatness of sin But when Satan discovers sin hee heightens sin above the riches of mercy As you see in Cain 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 my sin is greater than can bee pardoned 2. When God discovers sin he doth not bleere but rather clear the eye of Faith to the beholding of Christ hee makes the soul fitter to see Christ doth not hinder but helpeth the soul in sight of Christ But when Satan discovers sin hee doth ever bleer and blinde the eye of Faith from the beholding of Mercy either hee discovers the malady and conceals the remedy or hee holds the eye of Faith that it cannot look upon Christ for mercy Hee puts the soul into a present incapacity to look up to God for mercy hee stings but holds not up the brazen Serpent 3. When God discovers sin it is to drive us out of our selves and to draw us unto Christ and the Promise makes the Law a Schoolmaster c. Gal. 3.24 but Satans discoveries of sin sets us further off from Christ 4. When God discovers sin it is to make the soul more in love with Christ to prize Christ more to advance him more to love him and desire him more It is such a discovery that makes the soul to run to the remedy But when Satan discovers sin it is to make us more affraid of Christ to flye from Christ as Adam never the more to desire him 5. When God discovers sin hee humbles the soul under the sight of it hee makes a man to abhor himself makes sin hatefull to him But when Satan discovers sin it is to discourage us not to humble us hee may make sin fearful but never makes it hateful Besides as you may know by the manner and the end of the discovery whether Gods or no. So by the time and temper wee are in Satan discovers sin when hee hath gotten the soul at an advantage he comes upon us as Simeon upon the Shechemites when they were sore Gen. 34. when hee hath gotten the hill and the wind on us when wee are in some sad condition when in temptation when in darkness when in some distresses when wee are drawn from our succours It is a passage of one that Satan when hee discovers sin and so hee openeth our wound hee gets us into the wilderness into the cold from our friends succours c. But when the Spirit of God openeth our wounds it is by the fire friends about us cordials near us c. But I think the difference is rather to bee taken from the manner of the discovery than from the end and effects of it Well then that is a sinfull looking on sin 1. Which heightened sin above the riches of mercy 2. Which bleereth and blindeth the eye of Faith from beholding Christ and the Promise 3. Which sets the soul at a farther distance from Christ 4. Which makes the soul affraid of Christ 5. Which discourageth the soul under sight of it And hee that thus looks upon sin in Satans glass no marvel if hee bee slow to beleeve and to come over to the Promise 7. When Satan discovers sin hee rather makes a malady than discovers a malady never discovereth one wound but makes another never discovereth a sin but takes a course that that discovery shall bee sinfull 3. Thirdly as you wrong God and gratifie Satan so you injure your own souls 1. You rob your selves of comfort and keep your selves in unnecessary racks and troubles and bondage And this is a great evil Nature cannot subsist without comfort comfort is to the soul what the soul is to the body a man cannot live without it and it puts grace to it too though for a time Grace may live and act strongly in the want of comfort yet when troubles continue and a man walks long without comfort it will put Grace to it to the utmost to subsist Oh what abundance of comfort what floods of consolation what peace what joy dost thou rob thy self of in thy standing off 2. You hinder your souls of Grace Quantum credimus tantum amamus Grace keeps a proportion with Faith So much Faith so much Grace c. keep down Faith and all Grace is kept down and where Faith stirs all the wheels move it s the spring of motion the Master-wheel Faith is the stomack which receives all for the nourishment of the whole As all the members depend upon the stomack so all the Graces upon Faith It is a Mediatour to our Mediatour it fetcheth in provision to the soul all depends upon it If Grace be weak Faith goes over to Christ