should liue by faith Because this last point is of great moment I will spend some time in the explaning of it That a man then may liue by his faith two things are required the first that faith be rightly conceiued grounded in the heart the second that after it is once conceiued it Raigne and rule in the heart That faith may rightly be conceiued two things are required The first is the knowledge of the word of God for faith stands in relation to the word the word alone is the foūdation of our faith Hereupon the word is called the foundation of the Prophets Apostles By light of naturall reason we vnderstand that the world had a beginning and was made of God Yet cānot reason breed in vs a certen perswasion of this point but onely the testimonie of the word of God and therefore it is saide By faith we vnderstand that the world was ordained by God And this made Dauid say In God I wil praise his word Furthermore in the Word three things are to be knowne precepts or commaundements because they teach obediēce threatnings because they restraine disobedience promises because they serue to confirme vs in our obedience Againe promises are either principall or lesse-principall The maine or principal promise is that in which God offereth and reuealeth righteousnesse and life euerlasting by Christ. Within this promise is contained the graunt of remission of our sinnes of necessarie patience of the assistāce of the spirit of God and of all gifts that are inseparably ioyned with faith Promises lesse-principall are concerning deliuerances in temptations safetie in daungers health wealth libertie peace c. And these must all be vnderstoode with an exception of the crosse and correction and they shal so farre forth be accomplished as they serue for Gods glorie and the good of them that beleeue Now all these heads points of the word of God must be knowne and that in some particular sort that a man may liue by his faith The second thing required for the right conceiuing of faith is after the word of God is once known To trust God vpon his word yea to depend vpon it to build vpon it This is the first principall worke of true faith it is called by Paul the obedience of faith and it is made the end and scope of the preaching of the Gospell and not without cause For this is the first and principal honour of god to beleeue him vpon his bare worde and thereby to make a cōfession of the truth of God This the deuill knew right well and therefore the first thing that he sought to ouerthrow in Adam was his faith in the word of God and the scope of the first temptation wherby he assaulted our Sauiour Christ was to ouerthrow that faith confidēce he had in his father saying if thou be the sonne of God commaund that these stones be made bread but this thou canst not doe therefore thou art not the sonne of God That this obedience which we giue to God by trusting his very word may be right obedience it must haue sixe conditions First of al it must be absolute for we must as it were shut vp our owne eyes and simply without any more ado trust god vpō his bare naked word and suffer our selues to be ledde by it In naturall things experience is first and then faith comes afterward And Thomas following nature desired first to feele before he would beleeue But God must be trusted though that which he saith be against reason and experience Thus Abraham beleeued God against all humane hope The secōd cōdition is that this obediēce must be sincere For we must trust Gods word for it selfe because it is Gods word all by-respects set apart They which are as the stony groūd receiue Gods word and reioyce in it and yet afterward in time of temptation goe awrie The reason is because they receiue the word reioyce in it not properly for it self but in respect of honour profite or pleasure which they looke to reape thereby Iohn the Baptist was a burning candle and the Iewes reioyced in his light onely in respect of the noualtie of it and therefore the holy ghost saith they reioyced in it but for a season The third condition is that we must trust God not in a part but in his whole word and therefore many faile in their faith that are cōtent to trust him in his promises of mercie saluation but list not to beleeue him in his commaundements and threats The fourth condition is that we must trust God in his word with al our hearts that it may take deepe roote and be an ingrafted word It is not sufficient for vs to haue a taste of the good word of God and to receiue it with ioy vnles we thoroughly and soundly build and relie our selues vpon it The fifth condition is that this trusting of God must be with an honest heart that is with an heart in which there is a distinct and setled purpose not to sinne but in all things to doe the will of God The good hearers are they which receiue the word with an honest and good heart Without this can no man possibly liue by faith He that puts away his good conscience makes shipwrack of his faith It is godlinesse alone that hath the promises of this life and the life to come And none can liue the life of faith but he that is a iust man After that men haue made some good proceedings and doe know the word receiue it reioyce in it bring forth some fruit if the heart for all this be euill it will cause them at length to depart frō God by distrusting or by denying credence to his word The sixth condition is that the obedience of faith must be stable and constant The Lord saith my soule hath no pleasure in them that withdraw themselues that is which for a time beleeue God and afterward pull backe their foot and goe backe from their faith Seeing this is the right way to cōceiue faith to know the word of god and to trust him vpon the same word all such as would liue by faith must haue their harts kindled with a desire to doe the things before named specially to giue credence to euery word of God We may not forsake God for any creature now we forsake him when we distrust him in his word Againe not to beleeue God is very Atheisme For by this meanes God is made a lyar and his glorie and maiestie is abolished It is the greatest part of our glorie to beleeue God as Christ saith He that receiues his testimonie puts to his seale that God is true that is giues vnto God as it were a testimonial of his truth and thereto puts his hand and seale And what greater honour can there be then this that the creature should giue testimonie to
of the doctrine of the Gospel worthie consideration on this manner There is a three-fold certentie the first is certentie of reason or of generall faith when a man by force of argument is conuicted of the certentie of the doctrine of the Bible This may be in the wicked and vngodly without faith in Christ. After this in the elect by a more speciall worke of Gods spirit followes a faith in Christ and the certentie of iustifying or speciall faith expressed in the conclusion of the former syllogisme Thirdly after this certentie of speciall faith followes an other experimental certentie of the truth of the Bible which also faith concludes on this manner That doctrine which assures vs to be Gods children is certenly of God But the doctrine of the Gospell beleeued or mingled with our faith assures vs to be Gods children Therefore it is of God The major is graunted of all the minor is in effect the conclusion of the former syllogisme and it is knowne by an experience of that spirituall comfort which the godly feele in their hearts The conclusion sets downe the certentie of the Bible vpon a further ground then any wit or learning of man can attaine vnto without the spirit of grace namely vpon an inward assurance of our reconciliation with God Of this certentie our Sauiour Christ speakes notably If any man will doe my fathers will that is beleeue it and subiect himselfe to it he shall know namely by that comfort which he shall feele vpon his subiection of the doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speake of my selfe And Paul saith that the spirituall man that is one regenerate by the spirit of God iudgeth all things Hence it followes that such as desire to be setled for their religion and such as desire to be good and profitable students in Diuinitie must first of all humble thēselues and indeauour in their hearts truly to beleeue in Christ. Because hence flowes the best experience of the certentie and consequently of the vnspeakable excellencie of the Bible Thus then we see how we are to receiue hold and inioy our Reconciliation with god in Christ by no other thing within vs but by meanes of our faith alone And therefore we must haue speciall care that we may by the vse of Gods meanes attaine to a liuely faith And for this cause we must do two things first we are to labour to be conuicted in conscience of the certentie of the word This done we must thē subiect our wils to the commandement of God that biddes vs beleeue in Christ we must bewaile our vnbeleefe we must striue against the same and pray vnto God to confirme and increase our faith by establishing our hearts in his loue The second part of spirituall life is Peace of conscience which is nothing else but a cōstant stable tranquilitie of minde when the cōscience doth not accuse but excuse and when neither hell death condemnation nor any danger is feared ouermuch This peace was in Dauid when he said I laid me down slept and rose againe in the middest of manifold daungers This peace is of great excellencie for it is the peace of God it is one part of the kingdome of God it passeth all vnderstanding it is in stead of a guard to keepe our hearts minds in Christ. Now this excellent peace springs out of our faith whereby we beleeue our reconciliation with god Rom. 5.1 Beeing iustified by faith we haue peace with God 1. Chron. 20.20 Trust in the Lord and ye shall be secure Yea as our faith is so is our peace no faith no peace liuely faith liuely peace constant faith constant peace faith in life peace in life faith in death peace in death so as we may say with Simeon Lord now lettest thou thy seruant depart in peace The third part of spirituall life is the ioy of the Holy Ghost and that is to reioyce in God because he is our God and in Christ because he is our Christ. And this kind of ioy is not taken from vs or abated in afflictions but rather increased Rom. 5.3 We reioyce in tribulatiōs And Hebr. 10.34 Ye endured the spoyling of your goods with ioy Now our faith in the promise of life is the mother and breeder of this ioy which ariseth of that happie and blessed conclusion that faith frames in the mind I beleeue therfore the blessings of God promised in the Gospel are mine Thus saith Saint Peter Beleeuing ye reioyce with ioy vnspeakable and glorious Again the continuance and increase of our faith is the increase of this ioy The last part of spirituall life is newnesse of life and conuersation whereby we are borne anew and made new creatures not because the substance of bodie and soule is changed but because the image of God is restored Now this change both for the whole and for the parts thereof is by faith Touching the whole Men as they are new creatures haue their beginning from the word of promise or from Christ crucified who is propounded in the promise and that as the said word or Christ is apprehended by faith Act. 15.9 Your hearts beeing purified by faith 1. Ioh. 3.3 He which hath this hope purifieth himselfe 1. Pet. 1.22 Your soules are purified in obeying the truth And again Being borne anew of the immortall seede of the word The parts of newnesse of life are specially three True wisedome good affections good workes True wisdome is to aduise of good things and to vse good meanes for the execution thereof This wisdome ariseth of our faith in the word of God Dauid saith he vvas vviser then his teachers and vviser then the auncient and he renders the cause therof from the worke of his faith For thy testimonies are euer with me and they are my meditation Out of the same fountaine spring all good affections The loue wherby we loue God comes of our faith beleeuing the loue wherewith God loueth vs. The perswasion of the forgiuenesse of many sinnes in the woman that washed Christs feete with her teares caused her to shewe much loue to Christ. Godly sorrow when the heart is grieued properly for the offence of God ariseth of faith apprehending and beleeuing the mercie of God in Christ. And in euery good worke there is a threefold action of faith required First there is required an acte of generall faith which is to beleeue that the worke to be done in his kind pleaseth god Rom. 14.23 VVhatsoeuer is not of faith is sinne The second is an acte of iustifying faith which is to purge the heart and to cause it to bring foorth the good worke to be done Psal. 116.10 I beleeued therefore I spake The third is also an act of iustifying faith and that is when the worke is done to apprehend Christ who by his merit is to couer the defect of the worke because no work of ours can please God without
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