Testament Deut. 6.25 And it shall be our righteousness if we observe to do viz. through the help of Christ all these commandements before the Lord our God as he hath commanded us Ezek. 18.22 All his transgressions that he hath committed shall not be mentioned unto him in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live Rom. 8.4 That the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit Rom. 10.4 For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to every one that believeth 2 Cor. 9.10 As it is written he hath dispersed abroad he hath given to the poor his righteousness remaineth for ever Now he that ministreth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food and multiplie your seed sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness See Heb. 10.36 James 1.22.23 24. Rom 2.13 For not the hearers of the Law are just before God but the doers of the same and they onely shall be justified And Augustine himself doth acknowledge That forasmuch as this obedience is performed with our consents and endeavors though principally begun and ended through the grace and power of God yet it is through the mercy and goodness of God imputed unto us as if it were entirely ours Ninthly you say That men are justified by having Christs obedience and satisfaction imputed unto them but we have shewed before that the outward person and active obedience of Christ stands upon his own score he as a creature being a debtor to keep the Law and is not imputed unto us as his passive obedience is through which we are discharged of those sins which we have repented of and left Tenthly you say That persons to be justified rest upon Christ and his righteousness by faith which is true of his internal righteousness as we have shewed but not in your sense for so Saint Paul having spoken of the righteousness of faith Phil. 3.8 9. doth explain himself at the 10. vers saying That I may know him and the power of his resurrection c. So the same Apostle Rom. 4.11 saith That Abraham received circumcision which in it self signifies and sets forth sanctification as a seal of the righteousness of faith Lastly whereas you say That they have not this faith of themselves it is the gift of God we grant it to be true of Gods illumination revealing unto us the things which we knew not but not of our credence which we yeeld unto the same as we said before In your second Section besides one of your former errors resumed of faiths resting upon an imagined righteousness his outward obedience aforesaid you affiâ—m two untruths more The first is That faith is the alone instrument of Justification whereas the Publican who went away justified rather then the self justifying Pharisee obtained that mercy partly by his penitence and partly by prayer saying Lord be merciful unto me a sinner Luk. 18.14 Furthermore the word of God is a blessed instrument of our cleansing and justification from sin Joh. 15.3 Now are ye clean through the word that I have spoken unto you Joh 17.17 Sanctifie them through thy truth thy word is truth see Eph. 5.25 26. Finally we have shewed before that our obedience both active and passive is a way wherein and so a mean and instrument whereby we attain justifying and sanctifying grace from Christ Secondly you say but untruely That faith is accompained with all other graces For though it is the high way to obtain whatsoever grace we want yet at the first it is seconded but with two other ordinarily to wit hope and love Hence the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 13.13 Now abideth these three Faith Hope and Love but the greatest of these is Love And if it were attended at the first with all other graces why doth the Apostle thus charge us 2 Pet. 1.5 6 7. And besides this giving all diligence add to your faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness love Lastly though you say truly That the faith which justifieth is no dead faith we may justly fear that such a faith as seeks no living justification is scarce a lively faith In your third Section first you harp upon that old string That Christ hath discharged our debt and satisfied Gods justice by his death which how far it is true or false we have already declared yet is our justification of freegrace and so contrived that both Gods exact justice which can have no fellowship with iniquity and his rich grace also might be glorified in the justification that is the renewing and reparation of sinners In your fourth Section we acknowledge Gods decree to justifie all sinners if they oppose him not in the work but not to justifie all the elect For such chosen ones as die in innocency need it not We assent also unto it that Christ did in the fulness of time in his assumed humanity die for the sins of all offenders as in his Godâ—ead he dyeth in them from the time of their fall but neither way doth he suffer death for all the Elect. T is granted likewise that he is risen again both inwardly and outwardly for the justification of sinners but not in your sense But that which you add in the close of the same Section That they are not justified until the Holy Spirit doth in due time actually apply Christ unto them is false Not that we dream as some do that men are justified either from eternity or from the time of Christs resurrection but that Christ in the work of our justification applyeth the spirit unto us and not the Spirit him as you here dream In your fifth Section by not distinguishing of justification in sieri in facto you bring forth both confusion and error For first you say That God doth continue to forgive the sins of those that are justified which is true of them that are now under the work so far as they continue in faith and obedience or after fals renew their repentance but as for those who are fully justified they have a general acquitance and discharge of all their sins sealed up unto them in and through the death of Christ Heb. 10.14 15 16. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that aâ—e sanctified whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us For after that he had said before this is the Covenant that I will make with them after those dayes saith the Lord I will put my Lawes into their hearts and in their minds will I write them and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more Now where remission of these is there is no more offering for sin Secondly whereas you say That the justified persons can never fall away from the state of justification it is false of persons that are there in fieri and true of
afterwards being taken in due time may be recovered and revived by the respective means which you here set forth Yea whatsoever you here surmise to the contrary as we have proved it may be finally and irrecoverably lost by security presumptuous rebellions finall and total Apostacy See 2 Joh. 8. Look to your selves that we lose not those things which we have wrought Rev. 3.11 Hold that fast which thou hast that no man take thy crown But the absolute and final assurance of which we speak is neither subject to shaking nor any diminution and much less to a total and finall amission as the place before cited proves For when a man attaines to that estate his seed remaineth in him and can never be lost as we said before 1 John 3.9 See Revelations 3.12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God and he shall go no more out c. And I will write upon him the name of my God and the name of the City of my God which is new Jerusalem that cometh down out of heaven from my God and I will write upon him my new name and verse 8.10 of that Chapter Jeremy 32.40 John 14.16 23. Hebrews 17.28 Revelation 7.14 15 16 17. Revelation 21.3 4 5 6. Wherefore we ought as you say in your former Section to give all diligence to make our calling and Election sure 2 Pet. 1.10 as neither of which is sure or absolute at the first And this we must do not by searching out certain markes and tokens which proves us to be in some estate of grace but by adding vertue to vertue and a spiritual progress even to the end 2 Peter 15 6 7 8 9. Wherefore adde unto your faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patienece godliness and to godliness brotherly kindnesss and to brotherly kindness love where the Apostle sets forth seven steps of spiritual progress beyond saith which you take to be the highest estate of grace in this life and then addes this encouragement upon our respective proceeding verse 12. For so an entrance shall he abundantly Ministred unto you into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ CHAP. XIX Of the Law of God GOD gave to Adam a Law as a covenant of works by which he bound him and all his posterity to personal entire exact and perpetual obedience promised life upon the fulfilling and threatned death upon the breach of it a Gen 1.26 27. with Gen 2.17 Ro 2.14 15. Rom 10.5 Gal 3.10 11. Eccl 7. â—9 Act 2â— 28 II. This Law after his fall continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness and as such was delivered by God upon mount Sinai in ten commandements and written in two Tables b Jam 1.25 Jam 2.8 10 11 12. Ro 13.8 9. Deut 5.32 Deut 10.8 Exo 34.1 The four first commandments containing our duty toward God and the other six our duly toward man c Mat 22.37 38 39 40. III. Besides this Law Commonly called morall God was pleased to give to the people of Israel as a Church under age ceremonial Laws containing several Typical ordinances partly of worship prefiguring Christ his graces actions sufferings and benefits d Heb 9. c. Heb 10.1 Col 2.17 Ga 4.1 2 3. and partly holding forth many instructions of moral duties e 1 Cor 5.7 2 Cor 6.17 Jud. v. 23. all which ceremoniall Laws are now abrogated under the New Testament f Col. 2.14 15 16. Dan 9.27 Eph 2.15 16. IV. To them also as a body Politicke he gave sundry Judicial Laws which expired together with the state of that people not obliging any other now further then the general equity thereof may require g Exod 21. ch Ex 22.1 to 29. Gen 9.10 with 1 Pet 2 13 14. Mat 5.17 with v. 38 39 1 Cor 9.8 9 10. V. The moral Law doth for ever binde all as well Justified persons as others to the obedience thereof h Ro 13.8 9 10. Ep 6.2 1 Joh 2.3 4 5 6. and that not only in regard of the matter contained in it but also in respect of the authority of God the Creator who gave it i Jam 2.10 11. neither doth Christ in the Gospel any way dissolve but much strengthen this obligation k Mat 517 18.19 Jam 2.8 Rom 3.31 VI. Although true believers be not under the Law as a Covenant of works to be thereby justified or condemned l Ro 6.14 Gal 2.16 Gal 3.13 Gal 4.4 5. Act 13.39 Rom 8.1 yet it is of great use to them as well as to others in that as a rule of life informing them of the will of God and their duty it directs and binds them to walk accordingly m Ro 7.12 22 25. Psa 119.4 5 6. 1 Cor 7.19 Gal 5 14 16 18 19 20 21 21. discovering also the sinful pollutions of their natures hearts and lives n Ro 7.7 Ro 3.20 so that examining themselves thereby they may come to further conviction of humiliation for and hatred against sin o Jam 1.23 24 25. Ro 7 9 14 23. together with a clearer sight of the need they have of Christ and the perfection of his obedience p Gal 3 24. Rom 7.24 25. Rom 1.3 4. It is likewise of use to the regenerate to restrain their corruptions q Jam 2.11 Psal 119.101 104 128 in that it forbids sin and the threatning of it serve to shew what even their sins deserve and what afflictions in this life they may expect for them although freed from the curse thereof threatned in the Law r Ezra 9.13 14. Psa 89.30 31 32 33 34. The promises of it in like manner shew them Gods approbation of obedience and what blessings they may expect upon the performance thereof Å¿ Lev 36.1 to 15 with 2 Chr 6.16 Eph 6 2 3. Psa 37.11 Although not as due to them by the Law as a Covenant of works t Gal 2.16 Luk 17.19 So as a man doing good and refraining from evil because the Law encourageth to the one and deterreth from the other is no evidence of his being under the Law and not under grace u Rom 6.12 14. 1 Pet 3.8 9 10 11 12 with Psal 34 12 13 14 15 16. Heb 12.28 29. VII Neither are the forementioned uses of the Law contrary to the Grace of the Gospel but do sweetly comply with it w Gal. 3.21 the spirit of Christ subduing and inabling the will of man to do that freely and cheerfully which the will of God revealed in the Law requireth to be done x Exek 36.27 Heb 8.10 with Jer 31.33 CHAP. XIX Of the Law of God examined TRuth it self hath no such cause to wage Law with you here as elswhere most of those things which you have here set forth especially concerning the moral law being legal just and true though herein you
cogit triplices ad praelia sectas Hásque omnes temerat caede livore dolis Effugient pauci Lotus ut de triplice sectâ Uvas qui Sodomae non comedêre suae E Babylone fugam propera properante ruinâ Ne te corripiant dira flagella Dei. Mitte fidem citus hanc nobis tot monstra creantem Quot nescit monstri Nilus ipse ferax Ad pulsus cytharae vestrae saltabimus omnes An fidibus vestris admodulanda fides Sis Gomarhaee puer pueris coeleste paratur Regnum stultescas si sapuisse velis Cum Christo moriare prius vivatur ut illi Quà m nos de Christo tale quid edoceas Scire tuum nihil est vetitae nocet arboris esus Obsequium ad vitam jam patefecit iter Vera fides coelis ignem deducit Amoris Igneus hic currus tollit ad astra virum Quicquid lex mandat quicquid sacra foedera spondent Et Legem Vates unus adimplet Amor. Arbor quid vitalis Amor. Paradisus Amores Fons Edenis Amor. Vita perennis Amor. Quid Deus ipsus Amor fine Marte cupidinis expers Cui Veneres virtus fas pietásque faces THE Lamentation over the Synod of DORT OR The verses of an out-landish but a learned and peaceable man since deceased unto and upon that Synod sitting in the fatal yeer presently after the great blazing Star that messenger of Gods wrath and the foreteller of the worlds ensuing calamities appeared Anno Dom. 1618. now turned into English WHen in the Netherlands the learned crew Of James Arminius first 'gan to brew Or broach their sober Tenets to the Dutch Prejudice-drunk uncapable of such The Gomarist the fatal Comets brother A Synod called at Dort which was no mother And being set upon the judgement throne Convents th' Arminians yet leave out one But Dordrect might have learnt of Amsterdame No man that lives well for his faith to blame Yet in that Synod rests a knot untide Who shall Umpire be 'twixt side and side Sayest thou the Scripture That each side doth wrest They make their own sence not the Text the Test A rule is one thing in a lightful place A Judge another in a doubtful case Shal then the Church be judge which of the twain The Roman Synagogue or Lutheran Neither say you the former are my foes The later with Arminius doth close Will yee the Dominick shall moderate No they in some thing suit the knaves I hate Then chuse the Anabaptists at a pinch No I fear drowning if they me should drench Wilt thou be judge thy self That likes me well What foe judge foe So heaven may yield to hell Then let Arminius have leave to cite The Gomarists and boldly them indite If Gomarists shall any Vorsty yield Let that learned combatant be barr'd the field And let new Spanish inquisitions With interrogatories vex those sons Be sure with heresie thy charge be strong With schisme them burden be it right or wrong Damn them to hell as reprobates alive The Authors of their damning Art deprive What shall for truth for falshood pass decree The Law is in thine hand be bold and free Thine Articles of faith bring into light Though they be errors darker then the night Awake the civil sword the soldier call To helpe the cause of Christ material Now Gomarist doth all this seem accurst Why didst thou then this way pursue at first Cymerian darkness droppeth from thy quil The ship of truth doth touch the Armenian hil Who to these haltings twain shall be umpire Unless some new Elias bring down fire Dost thou reply that prophets now are gone Then in the list of prophets thou art none Prophesie faith and knowledge cease But when When peece-works have an end with perfect men A prophet wants not honor save at home I le prophecy of some but be no Mome One by Loves spiri't doth evangelize Of love and peace against wickedness and vice Another in his eight books doth impart Th' Heavenly treasures hidden in mans heart A third to Ninivitish penitence Like a new Jonas doth us all incense A Belgick prophetess I here could spring Sions laments who dolefully doth sing Pretor's Elias and Schnaubar Divine Europes post writer make up a new trine What need I pantel Trapim Faire recite Or Behman who did like a prophet write Arnd and thy lesser prophets I forget Oh what a harvest here of prophets met Was not the Comet late a prophet true Of errors schismes and wars which all must rue Armin's when he had write Elias found With him the fire of love which to the ground Consumes the altar with the sacrifice Oh that thou Gomarist mighst find the prize Who had he lived would an Elisha prove But death untimely did the man remove When he that did these Articles discry Of the disease articular doth ly What faith is this which soyles the Deity With little-less then tacit blasphemy Decrees Laconick which were writ in blood Saturne his sons devouring far from good Yet far more cruel things to God the Fount And Ocean of goodness thou dost count Who mak'st him damne from all eternity Most men then guiltless with unmov'd decree Which Soveraign justice to him such ascribes As him from favor frees not though from bribes Whilst men of equal merits it will have Some to destroy at pleasure some to save Which to the herds of Epicure sets ope a gate By Stoical necessity and fate If all things hurryed be by fatal stream Drink Dutch man cover of no vertue dream Which for the fathers fault condemn's the seed This God abjures and this his lawes forbid Go burn thy guiltless infants Gomarist That thou with th' name of justice may'st be blest Which the most simple Deity doth fill Here with a double but contrary will Who by his secret will would few men save By his revealed none would damned have Doth not this faith make him an hypocrite And worse then Satan see the foul despight For by the Laws of contraries the Devil Hath a will secret good but th' open evil Which of Divine Elections makes no choice Though one a calling is from sin and vice Another crowneth after tryal late A third from ages all conditionate Which saith that Esau yet unborn was hated Ere he or good or ill had perpetrated But why should God himself so oft perplex Creating things so hated self to vex God of two seeds did to Rebecca say The younger people shall the elder sway It is the house of Edom desperate Whom Malachy doth shew this God to hate Which general for sorts Christs ransome makes But individuals must claim no stakes Is not Christs Godhead then a boundless spirit Infinite in mercy as well as merit Which makes God now create all men impure Can he produce uncleanness most past cure Which maketh God use force and violence When his converting work he doth commence Hence slothful souls till they drop into hel Expect a time when God
should them compel Which men at will in sacred things deprives Of will as that which no man drawes but drives Hence threats and promises man hath no merit Nor preach nor teach He is a block no spirit Which takes away the Law or its best fruits As not performable by best recruits In vain 't was writ man made and grace distilld If by Christs help it cannot be fulfill'd Which saith the Saints may will not further go Doth not God grant to will and then to do Which will have God to justifie the lewd While they with sanctity are not endu'd Nor are nor will be justified within As men devoted to inherent sin Which freeth all men both from sin and hell By Christ his outward cross and passing-bell Not urging once the needful death of sin Nor th' inward cross which victory must win Most pretious we hold his blood and merit But first we should be purged by his spirit Such a physitian which maketh Christ As doth not heal the Lepry with the priest But hides the sore from th' eye with cloth or plaster Were men of old so healed by this master Which in beleevers all good works destroyes Whilst it their phansy filleth with these toyes Faith alone saveth do but this believe Do not thy self with further trouble grieve Which cals the called to security Saying none such though they may step awry Can finally or totally relapse With such soft pillowes some men get long naps Which saith what hurt doth sin Christ for't was kil'd What need obedience he hath all fulfill'd Which Satans kingdom stronger makes then Christ For not till death his kingdom is dismist Thus death a passive stronger is then life Then Christ himself to end this ghostly strife Go on with this thy Christ drink rant and whore He is the purse bearer and payes the score He is thy porter all thy burdens beares But all without thee nought within repaires How wide the way how broad mak'st thou the gate Which leads to life But Christ hath made it strait What prodigies doth this new blazing Star This faith of thine bring forth O Synod rare Recount thine articles see how they thrive With five begun they end with three times five Five Amoritish Kings were hang'd but now do rise These Amorites vain talkings signifies O Midian now do thy five Kings return Midian is strife her raised heads we mourn See Philistins your cities rais'd from death Ashkelon Ashdod Ekron Gaza Gath. Goth is wraths winepress Ashdod wasting sore Ekron a rooter out of rich and poor Ashkelon false weights in judgement useth Gaza the knowing wealth which most ammuseth Philistins are men involved in ashes Or such as fall down drunken with their glasses The five sons of the Gyants now revive Errors of many cubits high do strive The Horim clothed in white specious sins The Emims terrible with force and grins Zanzummim with their perverse thoughts wee find The chained Anakims stay not behind Builders of Babel of a triple sect Gomarist Papist Lutheran erect With strife war and bloodshed a Babel new Which counts her self the spouse of Christ most true Yet from his life doth lewdly go astray With world sin Satan doth the Harlot play Three unclean frogs their own respective catt'l Of God Almighty's wrath prepare the batt'l As Midianites fell by intestine strife And Edom Moab Ammon lost their life So this divided Babel now shall fall And blood shall drink who unto Christ gave gall A remnant of each Sect with Lot escape Which eat not of the Sodomitish grape Then fly from Babel and her sins forsake Least thee her judgements chance to overtake Dismiss this Faith with her more monstrous brood Then Nilus beares that Monster bearing flood Your faith a fidle ill tun'd instrument Shall we dance to 't and sing in one consent Become a child again and go to School Who will be wise must first become a fool Forbidden fruit of knowledge thou must hate Obedience to life sets ope the gate Learn first with Christ to dye with him to live Ere thou of Christ true testimony give True faith brings down from heaven the fire of love This firy Chariots mounts men up above What Cov'nants promise what the law doth will Both law and prophets Love doth all fulfill What 's tree of life what 's Paradise above What 's Edens stream what 's bliss eternal love What 's God but love No Mars no Cupid blind This darling vertue doth inflame his mind FINIS ERRATA PAge 10. line 4. for relations read revelations p 19. l 4. before essential put in attribute so p 20. l 32. for inward and r inward or p 24. l 10. of the chapter for work r rocks and l 15. for knowledge r foreknowledg p 30. l 5. for that not r not that p 31. l 21. for would r could p 32. l 21. after Angels put in And men p 43. l 8. for no r out p. 98. l. 19. for intentive r. incitative p. 99. l. 20. for spirit r. spiritual p. 110. l. 36. after when r. as p. 125. l. 10. for view r. review and l. 23 for all r fall p. 126. l. 1. for but r. one And l. 18. for Remalia r. Remaliahs son p. 127. l. 30. for unregerate r. unregenerate p. â—â— l. 1. for retain r. return p. 140. l. 15. for the r. your p. 144. l. 36. for interminate r. indeterminate p. 155. l. 15. for that r. the. And l. â—â— for makers r. workers p. 156. l. 15. for person r. personal p. 158. l. â— for repeated r. revealed p 174. l. 32. for justified r. sanctified p 201. l. 12. after against his put in will p 208. l. 20. for hopes r. hopers p. 221. l. 1â— for whom r. when p 22â— l. 32. for fourthly r. fifthly p 24â— l. 12. of the chapter for would r. could p 250. l. 28. for being by 1. Beingly p. 270. l. 9. for possibility r. visibility p 273. l. 13. for of r. iâ— l. 23. put out odde p. 274. l. 8. for be not r. not be p 276. l. 9. put opt delusion and l. 23. after passeth put in with p 280. l. 10. of the châ—â— for tumble r. jumble p 285. l. 5. for certifie r. rectifie p 297. l. 28. for of his r. of this p 298. before l. 2. add And p 310. l. 24. for verticum r. viaticum The late SYNODS Confession of Faith EXAMINED CHAP. I. Of the Holy Scripture ALthough the light of nature and the works of Creation and providence do so farr manifest the goodness wisdome and power of God as to leav men unexcusable a Rom. 2.14.15 Ro. 1.19.20 Psal 19.1.2.3 RoÌ„ 1.32 with Chap. 2.1 yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and of his will which is necessary unto salvation b 1 Cor. 1.21 1. Cor. 2.13.14 Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in divers manners to reveal himselfe and to declare that his will unto his
wayes assailed and weakned but gets the victory l Luk 22.33 Ephes 6.16 1 John 5.4 5. growing up in many to the attainment of a full assurance through Christ m Heb 6.11 12. Heb 10.12 Col 2 â— who is both the Author and Finisher of our Faith n Heb. 12.2 CHAP. XIV Of Saving Faith Examined AS Your selves elsewhere condemn an implicite faith of which notwithstanding you are not altogether guiltless in letting your authors so often impose upon you as they do so we hope you will leave our faith free to dissent from you where truth is not on your side in this and other chapters Here some men perhaps would quarrel with you for not setting forth the kinds of faith but since it was your scope and purpose to speak here of saving faith onely which is a living faith or hope 1 Pet. 1.3 We will not much blame you for making no mention of that dead faith spoken of by St. James chapter 2.20 The like we say of omitting the mention of a false and feigned faith seeing that whereby me must be saved is called faith unfeigned 1 Tim. 1 5. The ordinary distribution of faith into those of historical temporary miraculous and saving might here by you with the lesse detriment be passed over in silence because as historical faith is an ingredient into true faith so the temporary differs nothing or very little from it but in point of perseverance and though outward miracles with the primitive power of godlinesse for the greatest part seem long fince to have grown rare yet the true saving faith in Jesus Christ hath alwayes according to its strength and growth been a worker of inward and spiritual miracles and that upon sure grounded promises John 14.12 Verily verily I say unto you he that beleeveth in me the works that I do shall he do also and greater works then these shall he do because I go unto the Father And those words of our Saviour Marke 16.17 18. being spiritually understood do set forth the signes of a true faith to the end of the world And these signes shall follow them that beleeve In my name shall they cast out Devils they shall speak with new tongues they shall take up Serpents and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them they shall lay their hands upon the sick and they shall recover But the things we most wonder at are these First That you should now come to speak of faith not onely after effectual calling which in your sense implies faith but after justification which you confess to be attained by faith yea and after sanctification also which though you take it to be a distinct thing from justification must for the greatest part follow faith also as an effect of it Acts 26.18 Among them that are justified by faith that is in me And Secondly That you should make no distinction betwixt the three degrees if not kindes of saving faith to wit Faith in God the father Belief in God the Son and Confidence in the Holy Ghost The which as they are in part descriminated from each other at least wise by their distinct objects in the Apostles Creed so are they clearly dissevered from each other in the holy Scripture It is in a general comprehension that the Apostle takes the faith of the elect when he describes it to be an acknowledgment of the truth that is according to godliness in hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the world began 1 Tit. 1.2 But it is faith in God the Father or faith in confuso as we said before that is set forth Heb. 11.6 For he that cometh to God must beleeve that God is and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him as it is faith in God the Son which St. Paul points at Gal. 2.15 16. saying We who are Jewes by nature and not finners of the Gentiles knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but by the faith of Jesus Christ even we have beleeved in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Jesus It is also that faith in the holy Ghost of which the Apostle speaks thus Gal. 5.3 For we through the spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith that is the Lord our righteousness or the beavenly Jerusalem Jer. 33.16 These three are distinct from each other and men may have the first without the second and the first and second without the third For first we finde that Cornelius beleeved in God prayed unto him gave alms and did many things with acceptance before God ere ever he was commanded to send for Peter that he might by him hear of the faith in Jesus Christ Acts 10. chapter Thus our Saviour speaks to his Disciples and Apostles John 14.1 Let not your hearts be troubled ye beleeve in God beleeve also in me intimating that though they had a clear and strong faith in God the Father yet their knowledge of him in his right saving office and their respective faith was but darke and weak as yet for they neither distinctly understood that he must dye for them and that they must dye with him if they should be saved nor expected salvation from sins and Satan by his blood and spirit and much less had they any hope or due knowledge of the promised Spirit the everlasting comforter who should abide with them for ever till Christ there especially after his resurrection revealed the same unto them and brought them to a true belief and stedfast hope of the same yea where are they now to be found who thus beleeve in the holy Ghost or in Jesus Christ himself for a right justification and spiritual salvation from the hands of all their enemies by his alone power and grace Thus is that fulfilled Luke 18.7 8. And shall not God avenge his own Elect which cry day and night to wit for help against their spiritual enemies I tell you that he will avenge them speedily nevertheless when the Son of man cometh shall he finde faith upon the earth This faith was a rare bird like a black Swan at Christs last comming in the Spirit That there may be some pious souls which not onely want the third degree or kinde of faith but have not so much as heard that there is an holy Ghost the Scriptures witness clearly Acts 19.2 The like may be said concerning the Lord Jesus and faith in him among the Heathen to whom the Father hath not revealed him as yet But now to come to your particular Sections In the first of them you say That faith whereby the Elect beleeve to the saving of their souls is the work of the spirit of Christ which thing in a proper and accurate kinke of speaking is not true for it is the work of the Father to reveale and manifest the Son unto us as it is the work of the Father and Son to beget faith in