Sometimes you shall finde the weaknesse of Faith in the apprehension or application of Christ's benefits to our selves Yet even such Faith such palsie-Faith is able to receive a gift from Christ it is able to take hold on Christ who has compassionately promised not to break the bruised reed no nor to quench the smoaking flax But at last our observation shall finde a strength of Faith you shall feel a strength of Faith A yong faith is but a tender faith but a grown faith is a strong faith it grows as the body does from Infancy to Age. Which strength of faith arises from a continual observation of God's secret favours and motions in the soul through the whole course of life in the employments of the soul And yet this strength of faith is imperfect in this life the wisdome of God having left some doubtings in man that he may remember he is but man that he may the more earnestly depend upon the merits of our Saviour God and Man And thus by a gracious art he makes us by fearing the strength of our faith to increase the strength of it he shews his strength in our weakness nay he makes his strength our strength And to see the Effects of faith as there is no ground so weak but will by manuring if it has any heart in it beare some grain so Faith though weak being true Faith has some heart in it and will infallibly bear some fruit The infallible fruit of Faith as the Apostle teaches us is a good conscience Faith is the cause and a good conscience the effect whose evidence depending upon the cause makes it inseparable And since a good conscience is never without charity we may by the degrees of our charity measure the degrees of our faith and by a want of charity discern a want of faith And since a good conscience is a continual Feast there is provision not onely for him that makes the Feast There is provision enough not onely wherewith to please himself but wherwith also to please God As then faith provides a good conscience so a good conscience always provides a Sacrifice for God Look upon Abel's Sacrifice which the Lord did look upon and you shall see why the Lord did look upon it Both Abel and Cain offered that which was required they offer'd it to God by whom it was required but only Abel offer'd all that was required Ananias and Sapphira in a seeming holiness sold their possessions This was an action in it self indifferent in pretence good in purpose bad yea vile whilest they sold not onely their possessions but also themselves to work wickedness For when they brought the money to the Apostles as a full offering the price of all they kept back a part so when Cain brought his offering to the Lord hee kept back a part Nam Cain cum Deo offerret sua seip sum sibi retinuerat says Rupertus Hee brought an offering to God but hee left his heart behinde him Hee could not believe in God but thought that as God had no need of our offerings so he had no regard of our offerings Indeed he had no regard of his offering nay therefore God had no regard of it because Cain would not believe that God would regard it But Abel first brought his heart and then the firstlings of his flock His sacrifice was not only an offering from his flock but also from his conscience He did believe that he that commanded sacrifice did therefore regard it because he commanded it He did believe God could not command that which was unjust he could not command that which was in vain Therefore he had regard to offer sacrifice because he believed God did regard sacrifice You may see in Abel the whole course of Faith He did both know Gods will and assent unto it and professed both by his sacrifice he brought nay he rejoyced and brought forth fruit whiles he brought for sacrifice the fruit of his flock He went yet higher his faith was a faith of miracles for his faith fetch'd fire from Heaven to consume the sacrifice of his faith Nay this faith of miracles was also a saving faith it was the substance of what he hoped for he hoped to enjoy God in the Heavens and by Faith he prevents that joy and has him here on earth His Faith was the Evidence of God whom he hoped to see and by his Faith he saw God in the fire of his sacrifice In which fire that descended to consume a sacrifice the Rabbines have a tradition that the face of a Lion did still appear to represent the Lion of the tribe of Judah the Messias which to us is our Saviour Christ by whose only mediation sacrifices are made acceptable Abel's Faith was also an habit by which his sacrifice was made as acceptable as it was willing and ready and he as freely yielded it to the Lord as his flock yielded it to him And this offering of Faith proceeded both from his understanding and his will the fire express'd as much which did not only accept his sacrifice made by Faith but also exprest the nature of the Faith the light expressed his knowledge and the heat his love The cause was Grace Adam could instruct him to offer by Faith but Adam could not enable him to offer by Faith the knowledge was from Adam but the power from God And though his faith was before ours yet the manner of the production of it was like ours He understood the high offence of his Father and how that nature had cast him likewise under the same guilt this taught him to fear he had likewise heard of the prophesie that the seed of the Woman should break the Serpents head this made him to hope and both these inflam'd his desire to apply those mercies to himself The next degree of his faith was the wisdom of his faith which was to use those means which might attain the end Cain no doubt wish'd Heaven as much as Abel but not as well Cain desir'd Heaven but not Righteousness but Abel desired Righteousness as heartily as he desired Heaven This made his sacrifice as acceptable unto God as Heaven was acceptable unto Abel Now the reason why faith is of all virtues so acceptable unto God is because God is most honoured by faith for by faith we trust God we take God's Word and so at once acknowledge in him sufficiency and truth sufficiency that he is able to perform unto us what hee does promise and truth that he will infallibly perform it Thus did faithful Abraham honour God when upon Gods promise he left his Countrey his plentiful Countrey and his kindred not regarding the censures of the worldly-wise even in that age of the world who were ready to interpret his travail a levity and indiscretion to leave things certain for that which seemed uncertain Yet he did arm himself with Divine Wisdome against Humane wisdome against false discretion not having his eye upon the danger but upon the command which hee did not examine but speedily execute This was the faithful Abraham whom God honored But Abel was an example both for us and for Abraham if not for the degree of his faith yet for the precedency of it which as God made for an example in the beginning of the world so he intended it for an example to the end of the world Since then we have so excellent an hope in God and so excellent an example in Abel since God so looked upon his sacrifice that we might look upon his Faith since Abel's Faith was more precious unto God then his blood Let us beg of God that he will give us as true a Faith though not as glorious a Faith as Abels that he will give us not only the knowledge of faith but also the comfort of it a good conscience that he will make our Heart the Sacrifice and his Grace the Fire both to restifie his love unto us and to inflame our love unto him and that we may so follow Abel in Faith that we may follow him in Happinesse Which God grant for the merits of the blood of Jesus which speaks better things then the blood of Abel and work it for us by the power of his holy Spirit the giver of all good gifts the giver of Faith To which Three Persons and one God bee all faithful Sacrifice of Thanks and Praise now and for ever THE END Emendations PAg. 4. lin 1. dele hee Pag. 5. lin 11. and 12. read of corruption by the grave and death Pag. 8. lin 10. for understand r. understood P. 12. l. 4. for Theodosian r. Theodotion Pag. 14. lin ult for continue read convince P. 26. l. 7. dele was and for faith r. fail'd P. 27. l. 3 4. for evidence r. existence
like into which those external sacrifices were changed by Christ are all offered only unto God And indeed even in those first sacrifices the end being to unite man unto God ut sancta societate illi adhaereamus as S. Austin speaks there was not onely the external part but also the inward that with which it was offered the affection of which the outward was but a sign Without which mind God told them by his Prophet Isaiah He that kills an Oxe is as if he slew a man he that sacrifices a Lamb as if he cut off a dog's neck he that offers an oblation as if he offered swine's blood he that burns incense as if he blessed an idol Non sacrificia sunt quae sanctificant sed gratia offerentis sayes Irenaeus The holiness is not in the sacrifice but in the sacrificer It is not said that God had respect to Abel's sacrifice but to Abel and his sacrifice to signifie as some think that God looked first upon his faith and afterwards on his sacrifice Indeed the very Heathen understand this Divinity Plato tells us that the Athenians having with excessive sacrifices implored Jupiter Ammon in a war against the Lacedemonians yet receiving the overthrow sent Embassadors to expostulate the business with their God who was shrewdly shent by them and asked how chance he failed them in this their enterprise to whom their God excused himself by a reply that indeed he acknowledged their Altars were better dressed then the Lacedemonians but that nothing was dressed but their Altars or that their Altars were better dressed then their mindes The minde then being required in a true sacrifice you may view the sacrifices of Cain and Abel who according to the instructions they had from Adam bring their sacrifices from their own professions at the end of days Gen. 4.3 that is in processe of time Which some think to have been at the yeer's end then indeed men were wont solemnly to sacrifice to God in thankfulnesse having gathered in their fruits So did the Law of Moses afterwards command Exodus 23.16 which order was observed from the beginning by the Fathers and as the Philosopher in his Morals tells us it was observed even amongst the Gentiles But with the sacrifice of old there was besides a Thankfulnesse to God a yearly remembrance also of their sinnes Hebr. 10.3 and a hope of the forgivenesse of them by Christ to come the Legall sacrifices being insufficient Hebr. 10.1 2. Now some more particularly think these brothers offered these sacrifices by the hand of their Father Adam who was High Priest as afterwards ordinarily the first-born in families were Priests until Moses and that he offered their gifts upon an altar Cain being an Husbandman brought of the fruit of the ground and Abel being a Shepherd brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof These were their sacrifices but Abel offered the more excellent sacrifice this was the difference of the sacrifice That it was better it may partly appear from the sacrifice it self for whereas it is onely said Gen. 4.3 Cain's was of the fruit of the ground the holy Ghost more accurately Gen 4.4 describes Abels to have been of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof Which was even according to the minde of God to whom the first born were the most acceptable offering and such as afterwards he prescribed by Moses And as for the offering of the fat that likewise was as acceptable whether by that be signified the fattest of his flock or whether he brought the fat and burnt it to the Lord as God did afterwards command by Moses figuratively implying that the hardnesse of the heart is to be consum'd by the fireof the Spirit as some devoutly conceive though without doubt it properly signifies the excellency of the sacrifice and but in an after-sense want of sense and unbelief Again that Abel's sacrifice was the better it may appear from Gods approbation of it it being said that God had respect to Abel and to his offering but unto Cain and his offering he had not respect God had respect to Abel's offering 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 respexit which signifies to look upon a thing with intentiveness and approbation and so with delight so that God delighted in Abels sacrifice which pleasure of the Lord is somtimes call'd seeing so God is said to have respect or to see Abels offering and sometimes it is called smelling as it is said of Noah's first sacrifice after the flood The Lord smelled a sweet savour Gen. 8.21 So in 1 Sam. 26.19 When it is said Let the Lord accept an offering the Margin from the Original renders it Let him smell an offering Lastly that it was better God testified no doubt by some outward signe for otherwise how could Cain have known that God accepted not his offering and so fall into into discontent And this sign as Saint Jerome in his Hebraical Traditions tells us was no other then Fire sent down upon the sacrifice of Abel which it consumed leaving Cain's untouched According to which sense Theodosian renders it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God fir'd Abel and his sacrifice And this is most probable since God did afterwards in that manner declare his delight and acceptance of other mens sacrifices As of the sacrifice at Aarons consecration Levit. 9.24 Of Gideons likewise Judg. 6. v. 21. Of Davids 1. Chron. 21.26 Of Solomons 2 Chron. 7.1 Of Eliahs also 1 Kings 18.38 Nay the Heathens false Deity the Devil by divine permissiō did thus deal by the sacrifices offered amongst them Solinus telling us A litato numine fit incendium They brought the sacrifice and the God brought the fire which was according to a permitted imitation of Gods work who testified his favourable acceptance of a sacrifice by turning it to ashes so prayes the Church for Davids offering according to the Original Psal 20.3 Thus we see that Abel's was the more excellent sacrifice but now we must know why it vvas the more excellent we see the difference now vvee must see the cause of the difference and the Apostle tells us it was Faith by Faith If the Apostle had not here staid our enquiry vvee might have embraced the fine conjecture of Josephus a conjecture seemly though not found He vvill have the diversity to arise from the diversity of their professions Abel's sacrifice being taken out of his flock a sacrifice provided to his hand in the simplicity of nature but Cain's being a sacrifice from the fruit of the earth vvhich he did dresse vvith much care and covetousnesse forcing it by art unto abundance and so a sacrifice of guilt and violence But this caus does as much differ from the true cause as Cain's sacrifice differed frō Abel's it does as much differ though not as odiously the fruits of the earth being a sacrifice afterwards also as appears Lev. 23.14 but Cains was vvithout faith as Abel's the more excellent being offer'd by
Faith God saith Irenaeus look'd upon Abel's sacrifice and not upon Cain's propter ingenium offerentium Qualis est enim erga Deum voluntas offerentis talis est erga oblationem voluntas Dei such as is the sacrificers wil towards God such is God's vvill towards the sacrifice That therefore we may fully understand the nature of his offering we must fully understand the nature of his Faith and then we may be able to understand and imitate Abel's devotion in his sacrifice which he offered by Faith Know then we must that whatsoever creature is indued with reason the same is thereby also made capable of a faith all faith presupposing reason in which it is implanted in which it is employed Thus is there a faith in the glorious Angels who are indued with analogical reason and believe in God that they shall be preserved with perseverance in which faith they persevere in their perfection You shall see a faith too in the wicked Angels who do not onely know Gods Word but also give assent unto such knowledge which yet proceeds not from any special illumination but from the remainder of their natural angelical knowledge since their fall You shall finde a faith too in wicked men a faith by which they shall not save but continue and condemn themselves Yet by this faith they shall not onely know and assent unto Gods word but also professe that knowledge and assent as Saint Luke testifies of Simon Magus Acts 8.13 To which degree the Devils also in some sort arrive for they confessed that Christ was the Sonne of the most High and yet looked for no salvation by him nay they disclaimed all salvation by him crying out What have we to do with thee You shall yet finde a greater faith in wicked men whereby they shall not onely know and assent and professe but also rejoice nay and bring forth fruit Surely this will make the just man fear this will make him begin to suspect himself and not onely rest content with a direct faith to believe but seek also for a reflexive faith to believe that he does believe Yet even the faith of the wicked shall be attended with joy it shall be attended with fruit They shall bear fruit but it shall be like corn on the house-top in the heat of Summer it shall wither They shall bear fruit but it shall be like seed in the stony ground it shall take no deep root Luke 8.13 This faith shall passe away with time it shall passe away like time the causes of it shall passe away errour profit glory which commonly are the true causes of false faith Nay ye shall finde a greater faith even in wicked men a faith able to work miracles which faith where it has been found is judged to have been commonly grounded on some revelation or on some promise of God whereby a man believes God will bring such things to passe by him as by an instrument of such miracles And this was the faith which Simon Magus would have bought of the Apostles Acts 8.19 and though he could not get it for his money yet a worse hypocrite had it freely even Judas the worst of reprobates Yea and many more shall have part in this faith who notwithstanding shall have no part in Christ nay when at the last day they shall say to our Saviour Lord in thy name we have cast out Devils they shall be returned with I know you not They shall be cast out among those Devils whom once in his name they themselves cast out And may not this shake even the elect May not this cast them into doubting of their salvation Surely it may surely it does but it is but at some times it is but for some time it is but in some degree shake them it does but it is as the mighty wind shakes a mighty Tree it does but shake it it overthrow's it not nay it is so farre from overthrowing of it that by the shaking of it it makes it take the deeper root whiles both the tender strings and also the firmer and hidden spurres by which it is fastned do by the hollowing of the earth pierce farther into the earth Thus does the righteous man vvhen he sees that Faith even in a wicked man may be attended vvith profession joy fruit nay with miracles it does not make him desperate but diligent diligent to trie himselfe by the rules delivered in Gods Word to see whether or no hee have saving Faith Which indeed may more properly more effectually be called the Faith of miracles it being the truest miracle that any thing should be found in man which should be able to be an infallible instrument of the salvation of man Yet such is Faith the Faith of the elect who therefore carefully ask counsail of Saint Paul to know what such Faith is who has more carefully taught us what such Faith is And he has taught us that it is The substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen Hebrews 11.1 By which we may learn both the nature of the things which our Faith aims at and also the nature of our Faith it self The things which Faith aims at have a twofold nature they are things not as yet in our possession they are things not as yet in our sight for in this life they are but hoped for and in this life they are invisible Now Faith is of that nature that it supplies both defects for by Faith vve have even here a kinde of possession and by Faith wee have even here a kinde of sight It is the substance of things hoped for the foundation the ground the confidence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the subsistence it is that by which things that are but hoped for are in admirable manner in our possession already It is the evidence of things not seen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the argument proof demonstration S. Austin renders it the conviction of things not seen For as in natural knowledge Reason does convince the understanding so in supernatural knowledge Faith does convince the understanding not by the manifestation of the thing it self but by the authority of God that says it By which authority as the Apostle says he brings into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ 2 Cor. 10.5 And it is of things not seen Quae enim apparent sayes Saint Gregory jam fidem non habent sed agnitionem It is not so proper to say we believe things that are present as to say we acknowledge them By Faith then we have a kinde of possession of all those glories which we now but hope for and by Faith we may be said even to see those glories which in this life cannot be seen This is the nature of Faith which even the meanest may apprehend and if the more subtle would farther view it they may from inquisitiver eason improved by Religion know That it is an habit of the understanding whereby eternal life is begun in us
making the understanding firmly assent to things that do not appear It is an Habit for vvhereas man after his fall had onely a possibilitie to Belief Faith does not onely reduce that possibility into an ability but also into a facility Though Christ lay a yoke upon us Faith makes it easie though Christ lay a burden on us Faith makes it light Draw me we will run after thee says the Spouse Cant. 1. 4. Nor does this Faith teach onely to runne but also it shews us which way to runne it does not onely give us vvill but also knowledge it being an habit of the understanding And this is manifest from the act of Faith which is to believe To believe being an act of the understanding which does notwithstanding include an act of the will the understanding in this act being determined by the command of the will The act of believing being a cogitation with an assent whereby eternal life is begun in us This is the end and yet the beginning of Faith according to that of the Apostle Faith is the substance of things hoped for the certainty of happinesse by Faith being counted for possession And it gives this possession whiles it makes the understanding firmly assent it makes it assent it is the victory of the holy Ghost upon the understanding which is happily led captive into liberty and by the power of Grace is delivered from the bondage of Nature And being delivered it does firmly assent There is a neutral act of the understanding inclining to neither part and that is doubting There is an act of the understanding inclining onely to one part but it is onely through some light reason and that is conjecture There is an act of the understanding inclining likewise onely to one part but it is with fear and that is Opinion But this act of Faith is not onely to one part but also with a firm assent In which firmnesse of assent it agrees with knowledge from which notwithstanding it also disagrees knowledge being of things that are manifest to the understanding but Faith being of things that do not appear And thus is the act of Faith distinct from all the other acts of the understanding Will you see the Power that produces Faith Behold Grace For since the object of Faith is above nature the act of Faith must likewise be above nature and therefore must proceed from such a cause as is able to raise the soul to such an assent Now whereas faith comes by knowledge and knowledge seems to depend rather upon the industry of nature then upon infusion True it is Faith does depend upon nature in respect of its outward cause as external persuasion but the principal and proper cause of Faith is grace working inwardly in the soul Will yee see the excellency of Faith You see it is a supernatural gift It is above corrupt nature which alas is so corrupt that of it self it is not onely not able to believe but does ungraciously resist belief But was it also above Pure nature had not our Parents in the state of Innocency Faith Faith they had in God but had they Faith in Christ Could Christ be the object of man's Faith before man's fall If we consider the person of our Saviour consisting of God and Man it were improper to say he was then the object of Faith but if we consider the sufficiency which was radicated in the Divine Nature and by which power the Divine Nature did assume the Humane Nature we may say that man could then believe in Christ because then he was able to believe in God in what manner soever it should please God to exhibit his sufficiency whether under the nature of Creation Redemption or Sanctification Faith being more properly grounded in the sufficiency of these acts then in the specification of them Gold Chrystal and a Starre are the object of the fight not in respect of solidity and transparency but in respect of visibility in which they all agree But a foreknowledge of Redemption which implies mans fall seems not congruous with the state of Innocence such knowledge being not a degree of perfection before man's fall but a relief of his imperfection after it Yet Aquinas acutely if not warrantably thinks that Adam then foreknew the mystery of the Incarnation though not as a means of Redemption yet of mans perfection in the future vision of God Will you see the manner of the Production of Faith It is wrought in the soul by a double work of grace by an illumination of the understanding and by an excitation of the will Grace inlightens the understanding whereby first it looks forward on the Law and then it reflects upon its own guilt and so begets Fear Next it beholds eternal life and a promise of that life in Christ Grace likewise inflames the will first to desire remission of sinnes and then an application of Christs promises to ones self for the effecting of such remission These then are the things which grace makes us look after this is the Order of the things which grace makes us look after the Law the Gospel Pardon and the Application of Pardon Behold likewise the Passions which grace makes us feel Behold the Order of the Passions which grace makes us feel Fear Hope Desire Joy This is the Method of the holy Ghost in the conversion of the Soul And as some of these degrees goe before faith so you may see also the degrees of faith You shall sometimes see a faith so weak that it appears to be rather Desire then Faith But yet it is a desire not only of salvation for Balaam also could desire to die the death of the Righteous but it is also a desire of Righteousness The fool the wise man both desire the end but only the wise man desires also the means Now this desire of grace is never without grace and has the promise of blessednesse Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousnesse Mat. 5.6 And though this desire of Faith be not Faith Desire being a Passion and Faith an Habit yet this desire of Faith is never without Faith it is an infallible effect of Faith The desire of grace is a sanctified affection and where one affection is sanctified all are sanctified and where all are sanctified the whole man is sanctified He likewise that is sanctified is justified and he that is justified believes He then that unfeignedly desires Faith has Faith Which desire proceeds not from a want of Faith but from a want of the knowledge of Faith divers having Faith but not the skill to know it Sometimes you shall finde the weakness of Faith in respect of knowledge the knowledge of the Gospel Thus was the Apostles Faith in the knowledge of our Saviours Death and Resurrection For when our Saviour told them of his going down to Jerusalem and his sufferings there Peter rebukes him and sayes Master have pity on thy self this shall not be unto thee