were required of us were this that we should sit still and without any more to do relie upon Christ for pardon and for life for righteousness and eternal glory certainly would be no very hard thing to believe and the world would not be so so full of unbelievers as now it is Who would not be saved from the wrath to come Who would not be glad to have his sins forgiven him Christ was never yet unwelcome to any man upon this score And if this were Faith Christ may always find great store of Faith upon Earth The vilest sinner who loves his folly is yet willing to have it pardoned and that by Christ also The Adulterer and the Drunkard love their sin indeed but not the guilt and penalty None are so fond of Hell but they will readily that Christ should redeem them from it Nor do they desire to betake themselves to any other Saviour to redeem them from that horrour and those pains The blood of Jesus they do readily fly to for Sanctuary against the destroyer However men are fond of their sin yet sure no man is fond of the sting and plague which it leaves behind it Such a recumbency and relying upon Christ as this is not enough to shew that we have saving Faith We shall infinitely deceive our selves if we have no other Faith but this The way to Heaven were very easie if such a Faith as this would bring us thither Our sins would be no obstacle to us if this were all that were required Our greatest sins and such a Faith as this might easily consist with each other We shall not need much labour to perswade men to believe if this were all that is meant by it We are very willing to be saved at so cheap a rate We are ready enough to receive the pardon which the Gospel brings us the tydings of We are content that Jesus should save us from our sins that is from the punishment and guilt of them And we are very forward to believe this was the main if not the only end of his coming into the World 3. Nor will the bare assent to the history of the Gospel be enough to entitle us to a saving Faith We may believe the truth of what we there find and yet be very far from the Kingdom of God Indeed unless we do this we cannot have a saving Faith but it is not our bare believing all this which is a sufficient argument of such a Faith For saving Faith is that which implys more than the assent of the mind to the truth of that which is revealed and made known For we are not justified by this assent of our understanding There are great arguments to evict the truth of Christianity so great and so powerful that if we apprehend them aright we cannot but assent to the truth of what they do infer and it is not in our power to resist so great an evidence For we cannot believe what we please but must needs assent to what is evident to our understanding And to do this is so far from being a saving Faith that it may belong to those who are not in a state of Salvation There have been many that have believed the History of the Gospel and made profession of this belief also who yet have turn'd Apostates It is very possible that a man's reason may be satisfied in the truth of Christianity and yet still he may remain in a very dangerous estate as to his own Salvation we find that many believed in the name of Christ when they saw the miracles which he did That is they were convinced by the works which Jesus did that he came from God and consequently must needs believe what he said to be true But this Faith in the name of Jesus does not seem to be such as our Saviour thought sufficient for it is presently added That Jesus did not commit himself unto them because he knew all men Joh. 2.23 24. Our Saviour would not trust them who yet believed on his name when they saw the Miracles which he did And we read of others who are said to believe on him who for all that are called by our Saviour the Children of the Devil Joh. 8.30 31 44. We may see great reason to believe the truth of the Gospel the belief of which we cannot resist and yet not be endued with a Faith that is saving if we go no farther Indeed the Scripture sometimes speaks as if the assent to the articles of Christianity were sufficient to our Salvation If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto Salvation Rom. 10.9 10. Again Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God 1 Joh. 5.1 And again Hereby know ye the Spirit of God every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God Chap. 4. ver 2. Again No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost 1 Cor. 12.3 Which expressions seem to intimate that there is no more required to make our Faith saving but this that we do heartily believe and also profess the articles of the Christian Religion But certain it is however we misunderstand our selves and mistake the meaning of these places such a Faith as this though it be enough to leave us without excuse will not save our Souls And therefore as to the words of Scripture which are brought to this purpose there are these two things to be considered First the time in which these words were spoken and that was in the early dayes of Christianity when there was danger in professing the Religion of Christ In the beginning of Christian Religion he that made a profession of it exposed himself to the fury of Jew and Gentile The Jews had agreed while Jesus was alive that if any man did confess that he was Christ he should be put out of the Synagogue And the man that was restored to his sight we find cast out by the Jews for pleading that Jesus must needs be from God Joh. 9.22 34. And we read afterwards how very furiously the Jews did persecute them who did profess the Faith of Christ And they who did profess Christ among the Gentiles were not only derided for the sake of their crucified Saviour but also persecuted for his names sake And when they were so it was no easie thing to profess Christianity Indeed as things are now we do very easily profess our Religion 'T is that which agrees well with the Laws of the Country and the custom of the place we live in It puts us now to no expence to profess Jesus to be the Christ We can do it without the fear of the Jew or any other There is no man suffers among us because he is a Christian We may
his lusts he that despises riches and conquers himself does works as pleasing to God and as profitable to himself as he that removed Mountains and cast them into the Sea Nay such works as these are better for us and more acceptable to God than the power of doing the greatest Miracles He that lives well does more than he that wrought Miracles It was not the power of doing Wonders that made men Christians Their Christianity did consist in the obedience of there lives He that obeys the Gospel and our Faith teacheth us to do so receives the grace mercy which it offers If we could do wonders and yet remained void of the love and image of God we would not be in the state of Salvation The lives of the Apostles made them dear to God and not their miracles And St. Luke when he writes the story of what the Apostles did does not give his Book the title of the Miracles of the Apostles but the Acts or Practices of the Apostles is the title which it bears Our Saviour bids the Disciples not to rejoyce that the spirits are subject to them but rather says he rejoyce because your names are written in Heaven Luk. 10.20 Our obedience does intitle us to Gods favour but so does not our power to do wonderful works If we work iniquity it is not the gift of working Miracles that shall stand us in stead Many says Christ will say to me in that day Lord Lord have not we prophesied in thy name And in thy name have cast out Devils And in thy name done many wonderful works And then will I profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work iniquity Matth. 7.22 23. That Faith which wrought Miracles endured but for a time but the Faith which works righteousness is to abide for ever If our Faith cleanse and purifie our hearts we shall not need be troubled that it does not remove Mountains If we be condemned at that great day it shall not be because we did not work Miracles but because we did not feed the hungred and cloth the naked c. Matth. 25. Jam. 2.15 16. 'T is our sincere obedience to the Gospel which God requires and will reward hereafter We must shew our Faith by our works as Abraham did or else we shall have no reason to judge Faith saving If it be such a Faith as cleanseth our hearts if it enable us to forgive our enemies if it help us to overcome the World if it make us strong against Temptations patient under Afflictions constant under Trials and careful to obey God then it is such a Faith as God requires of us But if on the other hand it be but a lazy belief of the truth of the Gospel and a confident expectation however of grace and pardon it is not such a Faith that will save our Souls And let us never so much vaunt our selves that we magnifie the free Grace of God when we profess a recumbency upon Christ and a resting upon him for Salvation yet if we remain idle and disobedient this Faith will not avail us He does savingly believe that does assent to the truth of what God hath revealed and is so far in love with it also that he does sincerely and heartily give himself up to the obedience of it And he that does this as he ought is so far from depressing the freeness of Gods Grace and exalting himself that when he hath done all that he can and which is commanded he can say from the bottom of his heart that he is an unprofitable Servant and hath done that which was his duty to do Luk. 17.10 CHAP. IX BUT as we must examine our Faith towards God so we must try our love towards one another For the Eucharist is a feast of love and a Sacrament of Charity And was not only designed for our renewing our most solemn Covenant with God but also for the maintaining a fervent Charity with one another as hath been shewed before Now as we are too forward to profess a Faith which we have not so it is to be feared we do commonly profess a Charity when we are devoid of it And therefore it will very highly concern us to enquire diligently whether or no we have a fervent Charity and Love to one another For the Holy Scriptures commend to us a Love without dissimulation Rom. 12.9 a Love that is fervent and with a pure heart 1 Pet. 1.22 A Love which does not lie in Word and in Tongue but in Deed and in Truth 1 Joh. 3.18 Now though we do make pretences of Love to one another yet it is much to be feared that we do frequently but pretend it and that under this great pretence of kindness there does frequently lurk a secret root of bitterness Now notwithstanding Charity be a most extensive Grace yet I shall consider it at this time as it does import these two things First a readiness to do our Neighbour good Secondly to forgive evil For where there is a true Love we shall be ready to give and forgive to do all the good we can and forgive all the evil which is done against us These two will make our love to one another like the love of God to us who does not only forgive our offences but does also load us daily with his benefits First we shall be ready to do our Neighbour all the good we can if we do love him as we should And if we would make a right judgment of the sincerity of this love which we bear our Neighbour we must judge of it by that love which we bear our selves for we are strictly obliged to Love our Neighbour as we love our selves Mat. 22.39 Now before we can be said to do this we must 1. Wish our Neighbour the same good which we wish to our selves We must have the same sincere affection to our Neighbour which we have to our selves This must be the standard by which we are to measure our love And as it is very easie to discern that we do very sincerely wish well to our selves so must we do by our Neighbour also before we can be said to love him as we love our selves And this must be understood in the greatest latitude Certain it is that we wish well in the general to our own souls to our Bodies our Credit and Estate though we many times use not the means which tend to their welfare we must do thus as sincerely by our Neighbour also And 2. We must in all our actions do by him as we in the like case should or may reasonably desire that he should do by us This we must inviolably observe before we can be said to love our Neighbour as we do love our selves And it is a very plain case that we would not that our Neighbour should invade our just rights and therefore if we love him as we love our selves we shall be as careful not to invade his If
Convivium Caeleste A plain and familiar DISCOURSE Concerning the LORDS SUPPER SHEWING At once the nature of that Sacrament as also the right way of preparing our selves for the receiving of it In which are also considered those Exceptions which men usually bring to excuse their not partaking of it The Second Edition with some Additions By RICHARD KIDDER Rector of St. Martin Outwich London LONDON Printed by John Richardson for Tho. Parkhurst at the Bible and three Crowns in Cheapside near Mercers-Chappel 1684. The Epistle Dedicatory To my Ever Honoured and very Good Lady the Lady Dawes of Putney Madam THere are many Books already extant upon the Argument which the following Discourse treats of And those also so very good in themselves and so very happy in their Authors that I cannot think that this which follows will ever deserve a name amongst them For as it was at first drawn up for those whose needs required all plainness of speech so it now adventures abroad in the very same dress in which it was at first composed and delivered And therefore I might well find great reason to dispute with my self whether or not I should adventure this Discourse abroad But whatever demur these things might make yet sure I am I did not doubt to whom I ought to address it when I was once resolved to make it publick 'T is due to you Madam whatever it is upon more scores than one And though it be unworthy of so good a name as it will now bear yet I am certain that it needs it I shall not need to recommend to your Ladiship the subject of this following Tract You are already greatly in love with that part of your duty which is here discoursed of You are firmly resolved to lead a life of Religion and to give up your self to the obedience of the Laws of your Lord and Saviour Now certainly you will find nothing a greater help to you than frequent and devout Communions are You will find great need in your pilgrimage towards Heaven of such Spiritual repasts and viands Nothing can be more welcome to a pious Soul than to meet with these happy opportunities of becoming better And they that love their Lord must needs be very forward to celebrate the memory of his death and unspeakable kindness to them The doing of this as we ought will redound greatly to our advantage We shall by this means be reconciled to God and in perfect charity to one another We shall be more fit to live and more prepared to die We shall the better support under our sorrows and be the more strong against our temptations our burden will be the lighter and yet our strength the greater We shall here receive new strength and vigor to walk in Gods ways We shall think that easie which once we thought intolerable We shall lead at once an innocent and an useful life The advantages of frequent and devout Communions are not to be expressed Here are joys which no man can rob us of Treasures more valuable than that of the Indies Every pious Soul will witness to this truth And therefore Madam I doubt not but you will the more favourably receive this treatise for the arguments sake which it discourseth of But still Madam I have farther reason upon my own account to make my acknowledgements to your Ladiship Your kindnesses to me have been very great and have laid a great obligation upon me to shew my thankfulness to you And as an unfained testimony of my gratitude I am bold to present you with this Discourse It is indeed but a small tribute of thanks which here I pay you but yet is such as I have and your Ladiship will I hope rather regard my mind than the thing it self However I shall be extreamly glad if any thing that is here offered may be of any use to your Ladiship in advancing your eternal interest and concern You have made a good beginning and a wise Choice in devoting your self to a Religious Life Continue Madam in this purpose This will turn to your account when all other things will fail you There was never greater need of regular and exemplary piety than now Religion is now become the scoff and derision of profane and foolish men It is not now the mode to be severely Pious Pure Religion and undefiled is very rarely to be found It is infinitely sad to think that so excellent a Religion as ours is should be almost every where either misunderstood or spoken against Your Constancy now will be more rewardable than at other times You will now see cause to shew a great regard to the Laws of your dearest Lord when they are so commonly trampled upon Count it your honour to be truly good And dare to own your Saviour before men and he will confess you before his Heavenly Father We are concerned to refute the Atheists and to defend the excellent Religion which our Lord hath left us against gain-sayers But there is not a more effectual way of doing this than by an exemplary and pious life This does more than our most subtile and nervous reasoning a great example of Piety does more good than a learned Pen. This is the most likely way to prevail against those that oppose themselves Our enemies mouths are stop'd if we take this course These Arguments are unanswerable and will convert more to the Faith than our Reasons are like to do Now Madam you can thus defend your Religion against contentious men This is the way to restore us to what we should be I have great reason to believe that your Ladiship will be a great example of real piety That you will strongly pursue every vertuous and good thing But yet Madam you will pardon me that I put you in mind to persevere and to abound in every good thing This proceeds not from any distrust but from a great and sincere desire of your happiness That the Almighty would keep your Ladiship from every evil thing and bless you with all the blessings of this and a better Life is the most hearty prayer of Madam Your Ladiships most humble Servant Richard Kidder The PREFACE HOW plain a Precept we have to partake of our Lords Supper and how much it would be for our advantage to do it I shall not need to represent to the Reader in this place That is done in the following Discourse And all that I shall here trouble the Reader with is First that he would be pleased to understand that this Discourse was by the Author designed for the use of those men who stand in need of the most plain and easie directions And therefore it is accordingly fitted for such men who have not either the leisure or the other advantages of perusing the more large and elaborate Discourses upon this Subject Secondly that the Authors lot is fallen among those who do very rarely partake of this Sacrament and that therefore he does the more insist upon
profess that Jesus is risen from the dead and that he is the Christ without any molestation And therefore this profession is no argument now that we have a saving Faith But were it now with us as it was with the first Christians it would be indeed an argument of our sincerity If it would cost us our lives or estates to confess the Faith of Christ then we might hope well of our selves if we retained our confidence unto the end This would argue us to be the faithful and genuine followers of our Lord. It is an easie thing to profess the Faith when we lose nothing by this profession But we cannot be his Disciples till we do prefer him before our Houses and Lands and our Life it self This was that which the first Martyrs or Witnesses of the Resurrection did They durst own Jesus to be the Christ though they paid their blood and sacrificed their lives for him No terrors or torments could make them deny the Lord that bought them The Faith of the Gospel was dearer to them than all the best things of this present life They that did this were indeed born of God And their patient sufferings for Christ were an evident argument of the sincerity of their Faith Secondly it is very certain and this follows from what was said before that the confessing of Christ the saying that he is the Lord the believing that Jesus is the Christ and confessing that he is come in the flesh do imply a life agreeable to such a profession 1 John 5 4 5. If the belief of these things have an influence upon our lives if it regulate and form them to a due and proportionable obedience then indeed we are born of God and shall be saved If we believe that Christ is risen and do which such a belief should teach us to do also rise with him to newness of life If we believe Jesus to be the Christ and accordingly submit to him in all his offices if we call him Lord and then do whatsoever he commands then indeed we are Gods Children and shall be saved It is very evident that no less than this can be meant by those expressions which are before named we cannot imagine that it is enough to call him Lord though we obey him not To believe that he rose from the dead when we lie in the grave of our sin and filthiness Certainly these expressions import the belief and profession of these truths and a life answerable to such a belief Were it not so it would be a most easie thing to be a Christian and our Faith were very reconcileable with our evil lives And therefore I add 4. A true and saving Faith is productive of a good life We must not only believe that what God hath revealed is true but we must consent to it and yield our selves obedient The Gospel may be looked upon either as an History of things that were done and said or as a tendry and offer of mercy upon terms and conditions which are therein specified and propounded And accordingly he that believes to Salvation does not only assent to what is therein revealed and made known but also consent to embrace the mercy that is there offered upon those terms upon which it is propounded For a man may believe what is revealed to be true and to have come from God and yet refuse to give up himself to the obedience of those precepts and rules which are there injoyned him in order to his eternal Salvation The holy Scriptures require of us such a belief as is accompanied with obedience And when it commands us the belief of the Gospel it requires that we should shew by our actions that we do believe it That is that we should so behave our selves as we do in other things which we do believe and how we do in other things it is easie to observe If men do upon rational grounds believe that they may attain their ends be it riches or honour c. by using such or such a method and course they do diligently set themselves to work that they may accomplish their designs Nay a very small assurance will set men to work in these cases The Merchant out of the uncertain hope of wealth will venture himself and what he hath upon a rough and a doubtful Sea The Ambitious man of Wars for the hope of a victory and a triumph will adventure his life upon the chance of battel The Husbandman that believes he shall fill his Barns and Coffers by his labour and pains will rise up early and sit up late and eat the bread of carefulness He will spare nor cost nor pains he will not be dismayed with the burden of the Summers heat nor the keenness of the Winters cold he will do and he will suffer no pains or care are thought too much that he may obtain his end Men do this when they have no assurance of success and when the thing which they aim at is not worth their while Yet these pains they take because they beleive their success is possible and that their labour may not be lost If men did believe the Gospel at this rate what would they not do that they might lay hold of eternal life Here 's a sure word of promise and here 's a great promise too here 's all the encouragement that can be imagined here 's eternal life before us that unspeakable gift and the greatest assurance of it upon the terms offered God himself who cannot lie or repent hath promised if we did believe this as much as we do other things which we have not such reason to believe we should not be idle and lazy but we should give all diligence we should always abound in the work of the Lord knowing that our labour would not be in vain in the Lord. Certainly thus it would be with us if our Faith were as it should be if it were genuine and of the right stamp But if we sit still and be unconcerned in the great affair of our Souls if we be lazy and without devotion we may indeed boast of a Faith but it is a dead Faith and we may please our selves with a good opinion of our estate but sure it is we are not risen with Christ but we are dead in our trespasses and sins Then we do indeed savingly believe the Gospel when this belief of it begets in us a good life Unless it have this effect upon us we are infidels and unbelievers For we cannot think our selves better then the Heathens for our Faith if our works be not better than theirs If we know these things and do not do them we are worse than they who know them not He believes as he should do that lives as he does believe The Gospel tells us that without holiness no man shall see God Heb. 12.14 Who can imagine that the man believes this who does confidently expect to go to Heaven and yet takes no care to pâ—â—ge and
cleanse his heart He that believes it as he ought endeavours to be holy as God is holy Again the Gospel tells us that we must not swear at all Matth. 5.34 Nay more than that that we shall give an account at the day of judgement for every idle word we speak Matth. 12.36 Now certain it is that there are many who swear in their ordinary conversation and others also who forswear themselves and whose mouths are full of cursing and bitterness And who can think that such men as these are do believe the Gospel as they should do He believes aright who does practise those precepts which he professes the belief of He that does not that is an unbeliever He may profess that he knows God but in works he denies him Tit. 1.16 and they that do so the Apostle reckons among the unbelieving ver 15. Our Saviour tells us that he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life i. e. he that obeyeth the Son 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for he presently adds he that believeth not the Son or he that obeyeth not the Son as those words may well be rendred shall not see life Joh. 3.36 And when the Apostle tells us that God sware to some that they should not enter into his rest he adds that it was to them who believed not so we render the words but they might be rendred to them who obeyed not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And then he presently infers we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief Heb. 3.18 19. To believe on the name of Christ is to receive him Joh. 1.12 But if we receive him as we should we must receive him and acknowledge him in all his Offices as our Prophet Priest and King That is we must believe the truth of his Doctrine as he is our great Prophet and that Teacher who came from God and then we must obey his Precepts as he is our Lord and our King as well as expect pardon from him as he is our Priest and our Atonement We must receive him as he is offered to us in the Gospel and not only confidently expect our pardon from him but we must receive him as God hath sent him and God hath sent him to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities Act. 3.26 Now that it is such a Faith in Christ as I have been speaking of which the Scriptures require of us in order to our eternal Salvation will appear 1. If we consider the great end of the manifestation of Jesus Christ or the great purpose for which he was sent into the World Now we must not think that Christ came into the world and did and suffered those great things which we read of him only to procure our pardon and indemnity we must not think that the only end of all this was that we might be delivered from the evil effects and bad consequents of our sins he would be certainly a welcome Saviour to the worst of mankind upon this score For provided we may enjoy our sins we are content that he should suffer for them We are very willing that he should bear the blame provided we may but have the liberty to commit the fault Though we love our sins well yet are we not fond of the sorrows which they bring with them We are willing enough that Christ should pay our scores and well pleased to live in our sins and take it kindly that Christ would die for them But certain it is that Christ appeared and suffered for us too that he might deliver us from the power and dominion as well as from the guilt of our sins He did not die for sin that we might live in it He never came to discharge us from our duty we think unworthily of our Saviour and of our Religion if we think thus He came to plant the divine life in our hearts to make us better and more like unto God Let the holy Scriptures speak in this matter His name is called Jesus because he should save his people from their sins Matth. 1.21 It is ridiculous to say that by sins is meant no more than the punishment of them Nor can we think that Christ came into the world for no other end He would then have taken away the effect and left the cause remaining This would be to remove the less evil and to let the greater continue as if a Physician should only project how to remove or abate the symptom and take no care to suppress the disease and remove the morbifick matter which is the cause of it Certainly we think meanly of our Saviours design if we think this was all his business in the World He came to save us from our sins and they are a greater evil sure than the effects of them This is a nobler conquest than to deliver us from death And this sure was the great purpose of our blessed Saviour When God promised the Messias no less blessing was contained in that promise than this that we might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our Life Luk. 1.74 75. The Apostle certainly understood the great end for which Christ appeared He tells us that for this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the Devil 1 Joh. 3.8 And that this was one great end why our Lord laid down his life no man can deny that gives any credit to the Holy Scriptures There we are told that he gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works Tit. 2.14 Again it is said that he gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil World Gal. 1.4 And that he dyed for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto him which dyed for them and rose again 2 Cor. 5.15 He dyed for his Church indeed but then he gave himself for it that he might sanctifie and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word that he might present it to himself a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that it should be Holy and without blemish Eph. 5.25 26 27. The same Apostle tells his Colossians that Christ hath reconciled them in the body of his flesh through death to present them holy and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight Col. 1.21 22. Besides what hath been said we are from the death of Christ exhorted to an Holy Life 1 Pet. 4.1 2. Rom. 6.3 4. 1 Cor. 5.7 8. Which certainly we could not so effectually have been had our Saviour only dyed for our Indemnity and to procure our pardon But since he dyed for sin that we might not live in it well may we from his death be exhorted to an Holy Life and Conversation Which if we do not lead we do then frustrate and make void the
great end and purpose for which our Lord was sent into the world Now this makes it evident that where there is a saving Faith in Christ it is accompanied with an Holy Life And that we do but pretend to be Believers of the Gospel if we do not obey its Precepts and perform those Conditions which it doth require at our hands For we then do believe the Gospel when we believe all the parts of it Now certain it is that the Gospel does not only bring us the tydings of pardon but it makes known the conditions upon which this Grace and Favour is offered And it will avail us nothing that we accept the pardon if we do refuse the condition upon which it is offered unto us for this is but to believe the Gospel in part and to be but almost Christians The Gospel does not only contain an History of what was said and done and suffered by our Lord but also promises precepts and threats and he does fully believe this Gospel who not only believes the truth of what is there related but obeys its Precepts submits to the condition of its promises and reveres its threats We do easily believe that Christ dyed for our sins but this is but part of what the Gospel tells us We must also believe that therefore we are not to live in them And that he did not only dye to redeem us from wrath but from our vain Conversations also We believe that Christ is our Atonement 'T is well but then we must believe that he is our Law-giver and our Lord and must own him for our King as well as for our Priest And if we believe that he dyed for this end that he might be our propitiation and our ransom we must also believe that to this end Christ both dyed and rose and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead and living Rom. 14.9 And certainly if we think it an act of Faith to acknowledge him for our Priest and consequently to rest upon him for our Salvation we must needs think it an act of Faith to acknowledge him for our King and Lord and consequently to obey his commands And unless we do obey him we do but mock him when we call him Lord Why call ye me Lord Lord and do not the things which 〈◊〉 say Luk. 6.46 If Christ be our Redeemer he is our Lord too and if he came to procure our pardon he also came to amend our hearts and lives for the time to come And methinks the words of St. Peter are very plain and yet very Emphatical also to the purpose in hand He tells the Jews that God had exalted Jesus with his right hand and for what end he had exalted him he adds in the next words to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give Repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins Act. 5.31 So that if we believe him to be our Saviour yet we must believe him to be our Prince and when we hope for forgiveness of sins we must be first endued with repentance in order to it Our Saviour he is but then he is our Lord first He is the Author of Eternal Salvation but to whom is he so it is to them that obey him Heb. 5.9 He came to save sinners 't is true but he came to save them from their sins They must be divorced from their sins or else may not expect to be saved He was not obedient that we might have leave to rebel he did not suffer for sin that we might live in it without controul He did not do his Fathers will that we might do our own He did not come only to dispossess the Devil out of Temples and Oracles or the bodies of men but to drive him also out of mens hearts and lives He came to set us at liberty from our sins and from the evil effects of them And we may not think we have gained the end of our Saviours being manifested till we are set free from the slavery of our sins And that Faith which lets us spare our sins and suffers us to live in a contradiction to the commands of Christ will never save our Souls 2. This will farther appear to be a great Truth that a true and saving Faith is productive of a good life and that the Gospel does not require a less Faith than this if we do consider the Faith of Abraham who is the Father of the faithful His Faith is much spoken of in the New Testament and seems to be set there as the pattern of our Faith And therefore it will be worth our while to consider what kind of Faith that is which the Holy Scriptures take so great notice of Abraham for Now there are two things very remarkable in this Faith of Abraham 1. That he did believe that God would make good his promise which he had made to him And this he did firmly believe notwithstanding the great unlikelihood of the thing promised had he consulted with flesh and blood He had a great assurance that God would make his word good unto him though it seemed to contradict the ordinary course of nature and the common reasonings of Mankind He knew not how the thing could come to pass but yet he judged him faithful and able to do it who had made the promise to him ' Being not weak in faith he considered not his own body now dead when hs was about an hundred years old neither yet the deadness of Sarahs Womb He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief but was strong in faith giving glory to God and being fully perswaded that what he had promised he was able also to perform Rom. 4.19 20 11. Thus did Abraham against hope believe in hope v. 18. He could have no natural hopes that this promise should be verified but yet he believed it would because God had made the promise upon this it is that he rests and stays himself He does not dispute either Gods Veracity or Power Now then our Faith is like that of Abraham when we do believe what God hath revealed and promised though the thing revealed should in it self seem very mysterious and strange to our reason and the thing promised very unlikely in it self to come to pass We ought to believe that which God sayes for his revealing of it makes it evidently credible though the thing it self be not in it self evidently true We have sufficient reason to believe when yet this reason does not stand upon the evidence of the thing but upon the veracity of him who makes it known to us Then we do believe as Abraham did when we acquiesce in Gods Veracity and Power He that hath a true Faith does believe what God hath revealed and doubts not but God will make his promise good He does intirely trust in God in whom he hath believed And he will neither reject an Article of Faith because his reason cannot comprehend it nor yet will he distrust Gods