required a double action of saith The first is to order our labours that they be done in good manner that is in obedience and to good endes that is to Gods glorie and to the good of men with whom we liue In this respect is Nohe said to build an Arke by faith and good princes to order their commō wealths in way of protection to make warre with their enemies and thus must euery man of euery office calling trade occupation doe his dutie by faith The second action of faith is in our daiely labours to restraine moderate our care Men commonly take vpon them a double care one is to doe the workes and labours of their callings the other is to procure a blessing good successe to their foresaide labours But faith in Gods word where it raignes it stirs vp the hearts of men onely to the first care which is in the performance of their painefull labours and duties and it restraines them from the second causing them to leaue it to God For when men haue done the dutie that appertaines vnto them thē faith makes them without any more adoe to waite for a blessing on god To this purpose the holy Ghost saith Cast thy burthen on the Lord and he shall nourish thee Againe Be nothing carefull but in all things let your requests be shewed vnto God in prayer and supplication with thanksgiuing Cast your care on God Now this faith wherby we depend on God for the successe of our labours hath an infallible ground namely That God best knowes our wants and he will giue vnto vs all things which he in his wisdome knows to be necessarie Christ saith Your heauēly father knoweth that you haue neede of these things that is food and rayment Againe He careth for you nothing shall be wanting vnto thē that feare God If men would by faith build on these promises they should not neede like drudges of the world to foyle and spend themselues the best part of their daies in worldly cares as they doe For they should haue a greater blessing of God with lesse care if they would trust him and they should haue farre more time then they haue to care for heauen and heauenly things Thirdly and lastly euery calling since the fall of Adam hath miserie and affliction to be his companion And for the quiet bearing of the miseries of euery calling faith is of great moment For it workes patience by perswading and setling our mindes in two things the first that God is well pleased with vs and that we are reconciled to God in Christ the second that all our miseries shall in the ende turne to our good euerlasting saluation And where these two perswasions take place there is contentation in any estate Thus much for the meaning of the text nowe followes the vse The first and principall vse concernes the information of our iudgement in the maine point of our saluation For hence Paul hath taught vs to gather that a sinner is iustified before God by his faith without the workes of the lawe And he disputes on this manner If a sinner be iustified by faith he is not iustified by the lawe but a sinner is iustified by faith therefore he is not iustified by the law The conclusion is propounded in the eleuen verse of the 3. chapter to the Galatians The major is confirmed in the 12. verse by the diuers manner of iustifying The law saith Paul iustifieth by doing not by beleeuing and faith iustifieth not by doing but by beleeuing The minor is confirmed in the 11. verse by the testimonie of the prophet Habacuk The iust shall liue by his faith And whereas the Papists of our time say that Paul in this argument disputes onely against such workes of the law as are done by nature but not by grace they erre and are deceiued For he opposeth not workes of nature and works of grace but workes and faith doing and beleeuing and the prophet saith very plainely and marke it that the iust man who is a doer of the workes of grace is iustified and liues not by his workes but by his faith Againe where they make a double iustification one whereby a sinner is made a iust man the other whereby a iust man is made more iust and teach that the first is by faith without works and the second by faith and workes they erre likewise For not onely a sinner vnconuerted but the iust man stands iust and is still iustified by his faith without his workes Paul when he alleadged this text knew but of one iustification whether we respect the beginning or the continuance and the accomplishment thereof Secondly hence may be learned the right way of reformation of our liues In this reformation two things are required an Examination and a change If we examine our liues by this text we shall finde two maine faults and aberrations in the liues of men The first is that they reiect put away the rule of direction that serues for the ordering of their liues And this they doe when they doe not beleeue and trust God in his word And we may not thinke that this our vnbeleefe is a small matter because it is a mother sinne of all other sinnes and it is the principall law of the kingdome of darknes not to beleeue God Hereupon our enemie Satan endeauoured by all meanes to imprint this lesson of vnbeleefe in the mindes of our first parents and hauing effected his purpose he euer since endeauoured to make this sinne to raigne in the liues of men It raignes commonly by seauen especiall fruits or sinnes The first is Atheisme when men denie God and his word Atheisme hath two parts Epicurisme and Temporising Epicurisme is when men contemning Gods commādements threatnings promises care for nothing but meat drinke and pleasures Temporising is when men imbrace religion on-so farre forth as they are forced by lawes and times and no otherwise These are the common sinnes of our daies The second fruite is Heresie and that is when men distrust God in some article of faith This fruit abounds in this last age of the world because in these times the deuill hath reuiued the heresies of the former ages The third fruit is Apostasie and that is when men chaunge their faith and religion And this change is made when the euill heart of vnbeleefe causeth them to depart from the liuing God This hath beene the fault of the people of this land in the daies of persecution The fourth fruit is Hypocrisie which is to make a shew and pretence of faith and to want the power of it in honest and godly conuersation or againe hypocrisie is nothing else but the vnbeleefe of the heart couered ouer with the false appearance of faith And it is the common sinne of these times in which a formall or ceremoniall faith and ceremonial repentance beare a great sway For mē make the
remission of sinne Thus newnes of life with all the parts thereof hath his offspring of our faith Yea after that a man is once made a new creature faith giues him his life and sense faith is the eye of the minde whereby we behold Christ in the word and sacraments By this faith Abraham saw the day of Christ and reioyced With this eye we may sufficiently beholde Christ and bodily sight in this case is not necessarie for the time of this life therefore Christ saith Blessed are they which haue not seene and haue beleeued Againe faith is the hand of the soule whereby we lay holde on Christ and receiue him with all his benefits It is the mouth of the heart whereby we feed on Christ eating his bodie and drinking his blood to eternall life It is the feete of the soule that makes vs walke with God Lastly it is a means to bring vs into familiaritie with God For it is an eare whereby we heare God speak to vs in his word and it is as it were the tongue of the soule whereby we speake to God by Inuocation of his holy name To goe yet further Spirituall life is most of all manifest in afflictions and temptations in the bearing whereof faith raignes and that by a threefold action First of all it makes vs to depend on gods promises and to trust God without limitation For it doth not limit God to any set time of deliuerance but leaues all to God He that beleeues doth not make hast Daniel waited 70 yeares for deliuerance out of captiuitie in Babylon and then finding the time of deliuerance to be at hand he praied to God for the same Againe faith doth not limit God to any meanes of deliuerance God made promise to Abraham of a blessed seede For the verifying of this promise he gaue him Isaac in his old age This don he commands him to offer his onely sonne in sacrifice A grieuous crosse for by this meanes all hope is cut off touching the promised seede Yet by faith Abraham still beleeuees the promise and that in the very offering of his sonne Lastly faith doth not limit God for the measure of affliction Iob saith He will trust in God though he kill him It was a grieuous affliction for Dauid to be driuen out of his kingdome by his owne son yet marke what he saith in the flight If he say I haue no delight in thee behold here I am let him doe vnto me as shall seeme good in his eyes The second action of faith is to make vs beleeue the promises of God when we feele the contrarie and in one contrarie to beleeue an other Whē we feele our owne sinnes it makes vs beleeue our iustification when we feele our wretchednesse and miserie it makes vs beleeue our happinesse when we feele nothing but death it makes vs beleeue our eternall saluation when we apprehend Gods anger and feele him to be our enemie it makes vs to apprehende his mercie and to beleeue his fatherly kindnesse When Christ was forsaken of God he euen then by his faith beleeues God to be his God The third action of faith in afflictions is to assure vs of Gods presence and to beholde him with the eyes of faith Thus Dauid saith I haue set the Lord alwaies before me for he is at my right hand Moses left Egypt and feared not the wrath of the king because he saw him that was inuisible When the seruant of Elisha feared ouer much the host of the king of Syria that compassed the towne of Dothan the Prophet praies to God for him that his eyes might be opened to see the fierie charets of the Angels of God protecting him and we likewise are to pray to God that the eyes of our minds may be opened to beleeue and to acknowledge the same or the like protection And thus are men to liue by faith in the midst of their afflictions By this which hath beene said we are admonished first of all to acquaint our selues with the promises of God as they are recorded in the bookes of the Prophets and Apostles secondly at all times to build vpon them by our faith and not to suffer our selues to be drawne from them though all temporall blessings of God faile vs yea health and life it selfe This is to arme our selues with a shield against all the fierie darts of the deuill and to put on a breast-plate that will saue the heart and life though otherwise in temptations we be grieuously maimed and foyled Thus much of spirituall life That our temporall life is lead by faith I make it thus manifest Temporall life is preserued and maintained by an honest calling euery calling hath his labour work and the labour of all callings hath miserie and trouble for his companion and fellow and in all these faith raignes and beares the sway in them that beleeue For the first that is for the choosing and holding of our callings with good conscience there is required a double vse of faith For we must haue a faith wherby we must be assured that our callings are good lawfull in themselues as Paul saith VVhat soeuer is not of faith is sinne For the setling of this faith this rule must be remembered That offices and callings which serue to preserue the good estate of any familie Church or commonwealth are lawfull and of God because these are estates ordained of God and established in the commaundements of the morall law specially in the first fifth and sixth commandements Againe faith is required wherby euery man must beleeue that the calling in which he is is the particular calling in which God will be serued of him For vnlesse the conscience be setled in this no good worke can be done in any calling And for the better establishing of the conscience an other rule must be remēbred That they which are furnished with gifts for their callings namely aptnesse and willingnes and are thereunto called or set apart by men whome it concernes to call are indeede called of God Thus the Elders of Ephesus hauing gifts to feede and being not called of God immediatly but by men are said to be made ouerseers by the holy Ghost And Paul saith that God committed not onely to himselfe but also to Timothie the ministerie of reconciliation and yet was Timothie not called immediatly of God but by men And thus in all other offices and conditions of life he that hath gifts sit for his place and is in good manner called thereto by them whose dutie it is to call may assure himselfe that he is called of God And from this double faith perswasion that our calling is lawfull in it selfe and lawfull or pleasing God in respect of vs ariseth an assurance of the presence of God and of his protection whē we walke in the duties of our callings In the labour and worke of our calling there is
which the law requires The perfect obedience of the law is impossible to all men except Christ yea to such as are borne anewe of the Holy Ghost though for the time of this life they desire it neuer so earnestly Yet faith in Christ and repentance is so farre forth possible to all that will and desire it that whosoeuer doth seriously but wil to and be conuerted doth indeede beleeue and is conuerted and doth please God and shall not perish eternally although the beginning of this faith and conuersion be weake so it be in truth and not counterfeit Isa. 1.19 If ye will and obey ye shall eate the good things of the land Luke 11.13 Your heauenly father giueth the holy Ghost to them that desire him Math. 11. My yoke is easie and my burden light Therefore let vs trie our selues whether we haue a will to subiect our selues to the word of God that biddes vs beleeue in Christ. Neuerthelesse we may not thinke that this will to beleeue is in our power For it is by the speciall mercie of God stirred vp in the hearts of the Elect by the operation of the Holy Ghost The fourth and last thing in this change is that faith in Christ or in the word beleeued must raigne and rule in the heart bringing the whole man in subiection to the whole word of god And this faith in Christ doth because when it is once setled in the heart it workes in vs a ful and setled faith of euery part of the word of God namely of his precepts and of his threats Here then our dutie is to subiect our selues by meanes of our faith to the whole word and to suffer nothing within vs but it alone to beare sway This is the will of God let the word of God dwell in you plentifully The good groūd yelds it selfe giues place that the seed may take deepe roote It is a blessed thing to haue the kingdome of God erected in our hearts now this kingdome is erected when the word of God keepes all the powers of bodie and soule in subiection And when our faith in Christ brings our thoughts affections words deedes sufferings in subiection to the word of God then we liue by faith The third vse followeth in that we are to liue by our faith we are taught to seeke for knowledge of the wil and word of God daily to increase in the same knowledg specially to acquaint our selues with the commaundements of God that concerne vs with his promises and threatnings For faith is the life of our soules the word is the life of faith because it is first kindled and afterward confirmed by the hearing of Gods word Again the word moderates our faith that we beleeue not more then we should or come short in beleeuing The word therefore that serues thus to limit our faith must be knowne in his seuerall heads and points Fourthly hence we learne how we are to cary our selues in greatest dangers as in the time of plague pestilence in the time of famine in the time of warre bloodshed in the time of our last and deadly sicknes We haue then neede of great helpe and the onely way is then to stay our selues and establish our hearts by our faith on Gods promises It is the very scope of this text to teach this one point of doctrine to the Iewes beeing now oppressed by the Babylonians Dauid in danger and Christ in the time of his passion by their faith commende their spirites into the handes of God Of the martyrs and Saints of God some were by their faith imprisoned some racked some stoned Faith in perilous times is of great vse First when a man is halfe dead it quickens and puts life in him as Dauid saith Remember the promise made to thy seruant wherein thou hast caused me to trust it is my comfort in my trouble for thy promise hath quickned me Vnderstand here the promise as it was tempered and mingled with his faith Againe faith in the times of daunger doth as it were sense and compasse vs with the promises of God This may be gathered by the opposition that is betweene these wordes and the former The vniust man puffs vp himselfe saith the Prophet or builds towers of defence to himselfe but the iust man onely beleeues and that shall be to him in stead of all the towers in the world For it brings vs vnder the presence wing and protection of god it makes him to be our safeguard and tower of defence This doctrin is to be thought on the rather because though we now inioy peace and other blessings of God yet our common sinnes and especially our vnbeleefe calls downe for the great and grieuous iudgements of God Moreouer hence we are taught that euery man must haue a faith of his owne The iust man shall liue by his OWN faith saith the Prophet And good reason for euery man is a creature of god and must doe his homage to God by beleeuing in him because euery man hath neede of Christ for himselfe therefore must euery one haue a faith of his owne to lay holde on Christ. It may be obiected that some time the faith of others hath saued men Mark 2.5 VVhen Christ saw their faith he saide to the sicke of the palsie Thy sinnes are forgiuen thee And Iam. 5.6 The prayer of faith shall saue the sicke I answer that the faith of one man may be a meanes to procure health of bodie and other temporall blessings yea faith vnto others yet cannot any man receiue pardon of sinnes and eternall life but for himselfe Therefore when it is said in the first place VVhen he saw their faith the faith of the palsie man must not be excluded but included and the place of Iames speakes onely of the bodily health Againe it may be alleadged that seeing we are iustified by the iustice of an other namely of Christ we may also be iustified and saued by the faith of an other I answer that the reason is not like because the obedience of Christ is both his and ours his because it is in him ours because it is applied vnto vs by God and receiued by our faith and the like can not be saide of the faith of any other man Thirdly it may be alleadged that infants haue no faith of their owne I answer there be three opinions touching Infants faith The first that infants haue actuall faith wrought in them by the holy Ghost because it is said Mat. 18.6 Whosoeuer offendeth one of these little ones that beleeues in me But this opinion seemes to be an vntruth because faith presupposeth vnderstāding and knowledge which infants want Againe if infants receiued to beleeue when they are young they would no doubt shew it when they come to be of yeares but faith they shew none vnlesse they attaine vnto it afterward by diligent teaching and instruction And the place in Matthew may be vnderstood of