by Faith And even by the same Faith to which he doth there exhort the Christian Hebrews It was the same Christ the same Gospel though not so clearly reveiled and the same Eternal Life which they expected though they were more in the dark as to the particulars and the distinct ways and methodes of bringing it to pass And as the first Threatening In the day that thou Eatest thereof thou shalt surely Dy extended to Spiritual and Eternal Death as well as the Natural For we are not to suppose that God Inflicts a greater Punishment than what he threatened So the Life there Promised by way of Insinuation and elsewhere Expressed He that doth them shall Live in them must be understood in a like sense not of Temporal Promises onely but of Spiritual and Eternal And the Apostle expounds it if the same Life or what is equivalent to be obtained by the first Covenant upon condition of Obedience and by the second Covenant by Faith in Christ. That no man is Justified by the Law in the sight of God is evident For the Just shall live by Faith And the Law is not of Faith but the Man that Doth them shall live in them The same Life or Blessedness though by different ways attainable And the Apostle here shews That it is the same Faith by which We beleeve to the saving of our Souls and by which the Elders obtained a good Report And by Faith Abraham with Isaac and Jacob Heirs with him of the same promise Sojourned in the Promised Land as in a strange Countrey of which though promised to them they had no other Enjoyment than mere Strangers For he looked for a City who 's Builder and Maker was God another kind of City than those on Earth All these Died in Faith not having Received the Promises which were therefore such as were to be enjoyed after Death but seeing them afar off and were perswaded of them and Embraced them and confessed that they were Strangers and Pilgrims upon Earth this being not the Countrey they sought for For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a Countrey such a Countrey as yet they had not And truly if they had been mindful of such a Countrey as that from whence they came they might have had opportunity to have returned But now 't is manifest they desire a Better Countrey that is an Heavenly Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called Their God the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob For he hath prepared a City for them By all which the Apostle doth not only Declare that they expected an Heavenly Happiness but Argues strongly That it must needs be so And by Faith Moses he tells us Esteemed the Reproches of Christ greater Riches than the Treasures of Egypt For he had respect to the Recompense of Reward as Seeing him that is Invisible Others were Tortured not accepting Deliverance that they might obtain a better Resurrection Others had Tryal of or did undergo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 expertisunt Cruel Mockings of Bonds and Imprisonment Were Stoned were Sawn asunder were Slayn with the Sword c. And all these having obtained a good Report through Faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 received not the Promise their Faith was exercised on better Promises than of what they here received God having provided for them Better things that they without us should not be perfect the Promises to them and those to us being the same Again As this Duty and Privilege of Living by Faith extended Backwards to the times before Christ So it extends Wider than the Nation of the Jews A Blessing which the Gentiles are particularly concerned in and which we this day celebrate The Epiphany or the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles For the Blessing of Abraham is come upon the Gentiles also through Jesus Christ that We might receive the promise of the Spirit through Faith And the Scripture foreseeing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that God would Justify the Heathen through Faith preached before 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 did before hand preach the Gospell to Abraham saying In thee that all Nations be blessed So then they which are of Faith the same are the Children of Abraham They which be of Faith are Blessed with faithfull Abraham And are therefore of the number of those as there it follows who shall Live by Faith Now if it be asked What it is thus to Live by Faith It is too large a Task for one Sermon to give a full account of it For allmost the whole Bible and the Practise of the Saints in all Ages are but a Comment on it I shall therefore content my self to give a short account of some of the chief Heads thereof To Live by Faith therefore is First to Beleeve the Word of God to give Credit to the Truthes of God or things by him declared how unlikely soever they may seem to be and however different from the common Sentiments of Natural men or what the Light of Nature alone could teach us For though there be nothing in Divine Truths Contrary to what the Light of Nature truly understood may teach us Yet there may be some things much above it which without Revelation cannot be known Thus By Faith we Beleeve That the Worlds were made by the Word of God that things that are now seen were made not of things that do appear That is that the now visible World was not made up of such things as we now see or that there was no praeexisting Matter such as we now see of which it was made but was indeed made of Nothing Which however contrary to the sentiments of Philosophers Ex nihilo nihil in nihilum nil posse reverti That nothing can be made out of Nothing Yet when God hath told us that it is so we are to give full credit to it There is indeed nothing from the Light of Nature Contrary hereunto why we should Disbeleeve it when it is Reveiled But yet we are sayd to know it by Faith because it is Above what Nature alone could have taught For when we see this glorious Fabrick of the World we might well admire it but could never know whence it was if God had not told us For though Naturalists have with a great deal of Reason talked of a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Causa prima a Common Maker or First Cause which should give Original to all things else Yet this was but either from some faint Remains of an ancient Tradition from Adam and Noah downward to after Ages Or atmost be Conjectural and Groping in the dark and Guessing at this as a more likely Supposition than That it had Allways been or should take its beginning from a Fortuitous Concurse of Atomes Which yet the Wits of this Age as they would be thought or the Fools rather would now cry-up as
the more Rational Without considering If they must at lest allow Eternity to Matter why not rather to a Wise and Knowing Agent Onely because their Wickedness hath made them think it their Interest That there be no God to call them to account for it And therefore would fain perswade themselves That there is none And think there is nothing so Absurd which they would not rather Beleeve than That there is a God And what is sayd of the Creation of the World may be equally applyed to the Immortality of the Soul the Resurrection of the Body and the Eternal state of Bliss or Misery hereafter according as Men have or have not approved themselves to God and others of like nature Of all which what ever faint Conjectures or doubtful Traditions the Heathen might have from the Light of Nature they were yet much in the dark till Immortality was brought to Light by the Gospel Not that I take pleasure to Decry Disparage Depreciate or Invalidate that Light which Nature and Reason afford us toward Reveiled Truthes For this I think we ought rather to Cherish to Enforce and Improve what we can rather than to Enervate or Elude as of great subserviency to that of Faith For while we study to Elude these Arguments we are so far doing their Work who would Elude the Scripture too For even where we cannot from Nature alone conclude an absolute Certainty so as to Stop the Mouths of those that love to Cavil or as the Apostle speaks list to be Contentious Yet if this afford us from considerations Natural and Moral Probable Arguments and a Multitude of them all concurring to shew That it is not Impossible not Improbable but very Likely that these things May be so It is a great Preparative to the Beleeving of a Revelation that says It is so And such Arguments we find the Apostles did oft make use of to very good Purpose and with very good Success A Cloud of Witnesses though each singly may seem but Cloudy may afford a considerable Light like the Stellae Nebulosae in the via Lactea And Probable Arguments though not singly Demonstrative yet where there be Many of them and those Concurrent and Nothing to the Contrary Experience tells us in affaires of all natures create at lest Violent Presumption and oft obtain a firm Assent And 't is seldome we have a greater Evidence either for Determining Civil Affairs or for Stating the Hypotheses of Nature There is none of us can Doubt but that there is such a place as Rome though we have not seen it and though of all those who have Told us so there is no one who might not possibly have told a Ly. But a Concurrence of many Probabilities passeth for a sufficient Proof And such Arguments how ever we now look upon them as not Demonstrative were yet of such force with the Heathens who had no better Light to Determine them at lest with the Wisest of them that they judged it a matter at lest of great Probability if not of absolute Certainty That the Souls of men are Immortal and That there is a State of Rewards and Punishments after this Life Who shall therefore rise up in Iudgement with the men of this Generation and Condemn them who disbeleeve it under a greater Light But when all is done the Fullest and Clearest Evidence is from Revelation Whereby what to Reason was very Probable is to our Faith made Certain The Jews indeed had some better Knowledge of these things than the Gentiles had Not onely their great Rabbi's but even Ordinary persons and those of the other Sex According to that of Martha concerning Lazarus I know that he shall Rise again in the Resurrection at the last day And the Sadduces before the Resurrection of Christ and the full Discovery of the Gospell expostulating with Christ concerning the Resurrection is an Argument that though themselves did disbeleeve it it was an Opinion commonly received by the rest of the Jews That the Dead should rise again But They had it by Revelation not by Natural Light onely Now these Great and Momentous Truthes which God hath vouchsafed thus to make known we are to Beleeve by Faith And that not onely so as to give Credit to them as matters of News for thus the Devils Beleeve and Tremble But so to Beleeve as to Live sutably so to Live as becomes those who Beleeve such things Secondly As we are thus in general to beleeve the Word of God So particularly to beleeve the Commands of God And so to live as becomes those that beleeve these to be God's Commands That is To Obey them and Conform our selves unto them however contrary to our perverse Inclinations If Christ command us To Deny our selves To take up our Cross and follow him To sell all if need be and give to the Poor To Leave House or Brethren or Sisters or Father or Mother or Wife or Lands for His sake and the Gospell yea or Life it self To pull out a Right Eye or Cut off a Right Hand in case they Offend or part with what is as dear to us as these We must Obey it Thus among the many Examples in the following Chapter By Faith Abraham being Called of God Obeyed and went out he knew not whither forsaking his Countrey and his Fathers House in Obedience to Gods Command and Sojourned in the Land of Promise as in a Strange Land By Faith Abraham when he was Tryed Offered up Isaac And he that had received the Promises Offered-up his onely begotten Son Of whom it was sayd That in Isaac shall thy Seed be Called Without disputing How this was consistent with the Bowels of a Father or How unacceptable News it would be to Sarah when she should hear it or How consistent with that great Promise wherein all the Nations of the Earth were concerned That in his Seed that is in Isaac and what should proceed from him all the Nations of the Earth should be Blessed He presently addressed himself to this hard Task to the Obedience of this unexpected Command Leaving it to God who he knew was able to Reconcile his own Promise with his Command By Faith Moses chose rather to suffer Affliction with the Children of God than to enjoy the Pleasures of Sin for a Season Esteeming the Reproach of Christ greater Riches than the Treasures of Egypt On the same account the Three Children would rather venture on a Firy Furnace and Daniel on the Lyons Den than not Obey the Commands of God Which here I suppose the Apostle intimates when he tells us of those who by Faith stopped the mouths of Lyons and Quenched violence of Fire Others were Tortured 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not accepting deliverance Endured cruell Mockings and Scourgings Bonds and Imprisonments Were Stoned were Sawn-asunder were Tempted or Burned alive were Slain with the Sword they
wandered about in Sheep-skins and Goat-skins in Deserts and Mountains in Dens and Caves of the Earth were Destitute Afflicted Tormented c. rather than not Obey the Commands of God And thus through Faith obtained a good Report S. Paul allso as to himself I go bound sayth he in the Spirit to Jerusalem not knowing the things that shall befall me there Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every City that Bonds and Afflictions abide me But none of these things move me neither count I my Life dear unto me so that I may Fullfill my Course with joy and the Ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus Nor would he be disswaded though he knew thus much from going thither Being ready he tells us not only to be Bound but to Dy at Jerusalem for the Name of the Lord Jesus So great an Incentive there is in Faith to the Obedience of Gods Commands Thirdly As we are thus to give heed to the Commands of God So to the Threatenings of God likewise And this is a part of our Living by Faith allso By Faith Noah being moved with Fear prepared an Ark for the Saving of his House He being warned of God of things not yet seen that the World should be destroyed by a Deluge though as yet there appeared no Likelihood of it Gave Credit to that Threatening while others its like Scoffed at it and at Him too for giving Credit to it and accordingly by Gods direction took Care to Avoid it as to himself and his family while others perished in it By which he Condemned the World and became Heir of the Righteousness which is by Faith And I choose to give Instances all along in such Examples as are here cited in the following Chapter Heb. 11. Because all that Cloud of Witnesses are there designedly brought-in as a Confirmation of what is here asserted That the Just shall Live by Faith Thus Solomon likewise tells us to the same purpose A Wise man Feareth and Departeth from Evill Forbears the evill of Sin and Avoids the evill of Punishment But the Fool Rageth and is Confident he runs-on without Fear or Wit A Prudent man Foreseeth the Evil and Hideth himself But the Simple pass on and are Punished Like as it was when Moses from God threatened the Plague of Hail in Egypt Who so feared the Lord amongst the Servants of Pharaoh made his Servants and his Cattell to flee into Houses But who so regarded not the Word of the Lord as not beleeving it Left his Servants and Cattel in the Field which were destroyed by the Hail which Smote all that was in the Field both Man and Beast Now Solomon's Wise man is the Good man and his Fool is the Wicked man He that makes a Mock of Sin to whom it is a Sport to do Mischief Who goes on as Solomon speaks of the Wanton Young-man as an Ox to the Slaughter and a Fool to the Correction of the Stocks Till a Dart strike through his Liver as a Bird that hasteth to the Snare and knoweth not that it is for his Life Not like the men of Niniveh who Repented at the Preaching of Jonas Who when Jonah preached Yet forty days and Niniveh shall be Destroyed Beleeved God and proclaimed a Fast and that Every one should turn from the Evill of his ways For who can tell say they if God will Turn and Repent that we Perish not But rather like Lot 's Sons in Law when he warned them of the Destruction then coming on Sodome He seemed to them as one that Mocked and accordingly they mocked at him they looked upon him as one that talked idly or but in jest till in good earnest God rain'd fire and brimstone on them and destroyed them Much at the same rate with those Scoffers who as S. Peter tells us should come in the last days walking after their own Lusts Laughing at Gods Threatenings and saying scoffingly Where is the Promise of his coming For since the Fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the Creation The grave Fathers that talked of these things be Dead and Gone and the World goes on as it was wont to do notwithstanding their Threats Who if they be told from God by his Ministers that Except they Repent they shall all likewise Perish They look upon them as those did on Lot as a company of Brain-Sick men that talk idly Till suddain Destruction come upon them as a Thief in the Night which they did not Expect and as Pain on a Woman in Travail which they cannot Escape Who first Walk in the way of the Vngodly and stand in the Way of Sinners and then Sit in the Seat of Scorners Till at length when 't is too late they shall with those in Wisdome be convinced of their own Folly and Value the Righteous whom before they Despised When with Anguish of spirit they shall say within themselves of him whom before they had in Derision and a Proverb of Reproach We Fools accounted his Life Madness and his End without Honour But How is He numbred among the Children of God and his Lot is among the Saints while We have wearied our selves in the way of Wickedness and Destruction and have not known the Way of the Lord. Who when they Hear the words of the Curse Bless themselves in their Heart saying I shall have Peace though I walk in the Imagination of my Heart adding Drunkenness to Thirst I shall do well enough though I take my pleasure But the Lord saith Moses will not Spare that man he will shew him no mercy His Jealousy shall Smoak against him who sins thus Presumptuously and Promiseth himself Peace notwithstanding Gods Threatenings And all the Curses written in this Book shall light upon him The Lord will Separate him unto Evil out of all the Cities of Israel he will Single him out to make him an Example That others may Hear and Fear and do no more Presumptuously These are those who Beleeve not the Threatenings of God nor fear to incur his Displeasure But Happy is the man that feareth allways That so feareth as to depart from Evill He that so Feareth the Threatenings of God as to Avoid his Judgments And thus to fear is to Live by Faith Fourthly As we are to beleeve the Threatenings of God So to Beleeve the Promises of God allso And so to Beleeve them as to Rest upon them to fetch Strength and Comfort from them And this is one great part of a Christians Living by Faith And of This also we have Examples in the Chapter following By Faith Abraham sojourned in the Land of Promise the Promised Land as in a strange Countrey dwelling in Tabernacles as not taking up his Rest there with Isaac and Jacob Heirs with him of the same Promise Looking
for a City which hath Foundations a Firm and well Founded City instead of tbose Flitting Tabernacles who 's Maker and Builder is God And his Trusting to these Promises made him so cheerfully to Obey those Commands By Faith Sarah received Strength and obtained a Child when she was past Age Because shee judged him Faithful who had Promised By Faith in the Promise she was the better qualifyed to receive the Accomplishment of it By Faith Isaac Blessed Jacob and Esau concerning Things to come Himself Beleeving the Truthe of them By Faith Joseph when he Died made mention of the Departure of the Children of Israel out of Egypt as Beleeving the Promise of the Land of Canaan and gave Commandement concerning his Bones With many more whom I forbear to mention Who all by Faith Trusted to the Fullfilling of those Promises which God had made And here allso as we said before we must so Beleeve as to act accordingly And what the Hebrews say of their Language Verba Sensus connotant Affectum is true of other Languages too Words of Speculation imply suitable Action We must so Beleeve the Promises of God as to Trust in him to Rest upon him to Depend on him who hath so Promised A Christian Faith is not so much Fides as Fiducia Not barely an Act of the Vnderstanding but of the Will and Affections And 't is generally agreed by better Criticks than those that Laugh at it that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which are the Scripture-phrases is somewhat more than 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And answers to what in the Old Testament is called Trusting in God or Putting our Trust in Him It is not onely Deo Credere but Deo Fidere or Considere Deo se Credere To Trust God To Commit our selves to him as the phrase is Psal. 10. The Poor Committeth himself to thee or as the Margin reads it out of the Hebrew Leaves himself to thee Or to the same purpose Leanes upon thee innititur Deo as we have it phrased elsewhere Commit thy works unto the Lord Trust in the Lord with all thy Heart and Leane not to thy own Vnderstanding Commit thy way unto the Lord Trust in him and he shall bring it to pass Or as the Margin tells us it is in the Hebrew Roll thy way upon the Lord Devolve restuus in Deum and as there it follows Rest on the Lord and Wait patiently for him Roll thy self on the Lord and Rest in him and Wait patiently For Evil-doers shall be cutt off But those that Wait on the Lord shall inherit the Earth If any Object as I find some have done against this Language as less Significative and Improper to express the Nature of Faith and the Workings thereof Because to Rest in God and Rely on him to Depend upon him to Lean on him to Commit or Leave our selves to him to Roll our selves upon the Lord and the like Scripture Expressions are but Metaphors 'T is true they are so But so is allso the greatest part of Humane Discourse And if we Bar Metaphors we must Exclude the greatest part of what is Sayd or Written Whatever Author we look into we shall hardly find One Sentence that hath not in it More Tropes than One. When the Psalmist says The Lord is my Rock my Fortress my Strength in whom I will Trust my Bucler my Horn of Salvation and my High Tower These are all Metaphors But their Meaning is easily understood And when we Trust a Friend upon his Word to Help us in Distress and tell him We Rest upon him We Rely upon him we Depend on him we Commit our business to him and Leave it with him Expecting that he will not Fail us or Disappoint us and suffer us to be Vndone to be Overcome to be Run-down to be Ruined These are all Metaphors But of frequent Use and as Easily Understood and more Emphatically significative than if we should Study for Proper Words or Coin new ones when we find none ready made to our hands to signify the same as Fully without Trope And if we should according to the Farsy of the Age which affects Exotick words of Latin or French Extraction rather than good old English though to the same Sense instead of Resting and Relying make use of Acquiescence and Recumbence the case is still the same At lest the Modish and Romantick Speakers should not find fault with it Nor should we look upon it as Canting to make use of such Language as the Wisdom of God thinks fit to Teach us in Holy Writ and which as is said we do commonly make use of without Scruple in all Humane Affaires Bur further As Living by Faith on Gods Promises implies a Trusting to him or Resting on him So it implies allso a Fetching Strength from him and a supply of Grace for the performance of what Duties he requires of us Our Saviour tells us That as the Branch cannot bear Fruit of it self except it abide in the Vine and receive supply of Sap Juice and Nourishment from it So neither We except we abide in Him and accordingly receive Supply from him For without him we can do Nothing And S. Paul tells us That the Life which he lives he lives by the Faith of the Son of God and that it is not so much Himself that liveth as Christ liveth in him It is of His Fullness that We receive Grace for Grace 'T is the Spirit which he giveth us that is the Well of Water Springing up to Everlasting Life And it is by Faith that We Draw Water from these Wells of Salvation When we know not what we should Pray for as we ought It is this Spirit that helps our Infirmities and makes Intercession for us When we cannot of our selves even Think as we ought It is God worketh in us both to Will and to Do of his good pleasure Or as our Church phraseth it It is by his speciall Grace Preventing us that he puts into our Minds good Desires and by his Continual Help we bring the same to good Effect Or as S. Paul of himself I am Able to do all things through Christ that strengtheneth mee Now this Strength from God we fetch by Faith If any man lack Wisdome and the like we may say of other Supplies Let him ask of God and it shall be given him But let him ask in Faith nothing wavering Yee Have not because Ye Ask not and Yee Ask and Have not because yee Ask Amiss And it is the Prayer of Faith that saveth the Sick and the like of other Mercies The Word Preached did not Profit them who are there spoken of not being mixed with Faith in them that heard it And for want of such Exercise of Faith we may oft Loose those Mercies which otherwise we might obtain And even in Miraculous Cures there was