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Show 75~ An Addrtfs to P;ou§1ants: 1679. few i which leads me to the next Poin.r, and that is FAITS, which is gene· ~ rally rniftaken in the very Nature of tt. sPeaar. tll. 'Uijl''. 3· Sea )· OfF A IT H, ana'"' aKes aOOMt "· T HE Second Mifchief that is am.ongft us, is th(! Alifundcrftanding·of tlJe J\arure of FAITH; whe\ce It ~omes to p~fs, that.~en rake rh~t for Faitb, which is not; and fir down 1n a ~ctmty per~tCious t? rh etr Eternal Happinefs. I (h:~ll briefly fay fomethmg of what IS nor F.aHh, be~ fore 1 fpeak of that, which appears to me to be Truly and Scnptut::rlly fuc~he Faith of our Lord Jefus Chrill is not only not believing Men'• Opinions and Determinations from the Sacred Text, of whtch 1 have fo freely deli\'er'd my felf, but it is not meerly ~he Belie~ even of the Things contain'd in Scripture, to be True: For thts the Devtls and Hypo· crires do, and yet are very Erzd Belie'f!er.r: T~ey ~efufe not the Authority of Scripture: The Devil made Ufe .of It to Chnft h1mfclf; but h~ would ha,:e the explaining and applying of 1t : And fince he could .not hmder the Divine Infpiration, if he .may but be allo~'d the Expofit.tOn, he hopes .to fecure his Kingdom. Smce then the Ven~y and Autho.my of both H1ftory an.i Do8:rinc may be believ'd by the DevJ/ an~ Hypocrues, th~t a!e falfe to their own Faith and Knowledge, we cannot without great lnju{bce to the Faith of our Lord Jefin Cbri~, which is the !aitb of afiJ!H FoOowr:rs, all~w, That a meer Belief ofthe Venty and Authonty of the H1ftory and Doanne of Scripture, is that True and Precious Faith, which was the Sainr·s Viflc· ry 0\'er the \¥orld. . Faith then, in the Senfe of the Holy Ghofr, IS by the Holy Ghoft thus defined: viz. The Evidence of Things nor fun m1d tbe Subfi.ance of .Thmgs Heb. 11' 1' hoped for. This is General and runs r~r?ugh :111 ~ges ; bem~ received of all Sons of Chrift~ans as a true Defimuon of Fauh : But wnh leave, I fhal1 exprefs it thus: ~True Faitb in Go~ W enrire!J. heti.eving ~nd t:uflmg in God, confi.Jing in his GooJ.nefs, rejignmg up to bu flftU, obeymg 1us Com· Eph. 2' 8" mands, and relying upon IJis Condu{f and Mucie~, refpeflJng t.h's Life and that which i.r to come. For a Man cannot be fa1d to believe tn God, that believes not what he fays and requires: And ~oMan can .be fa~d 1to ~o that who does not obey it, and conform tQ It; for that IS behevmg m God: to do 111 he Jays. This is in ScriptUre called t~e Giji of Goi; and well it may, for it is Supernatural: It croJfes the Pnde, Confidence and Gal. 1' ~. Luft of Man : It grows out of the Seed. of. I:ove! fow~ by God in ~he Heart, at leaft it works by Love: And thts ddtm~u1fhes 1t fro~ the Faith of Ill Men and Devils, that though they do belteve, they don r Love God above aU but fomething elfe inftead of God, ·and are full of Pride, Anger, Cruelty ;nd all Manner of Wickednefs. ~ur this Faith. that works .by Love, that Divine Love which God plant' tn the Heart, It draws and m~ clines Man, and gives him Power to forfake aU that difpleafeth God: And every fuch Reliever · becomes an Enoch, Tranflared, that is, Changed from theFafhion of chis World·, the Earthly Image, the Corrupt Nature; and is renewed in the Likenefs of the Son of God, and walks with God. Heb, 2.4. The ]JJjljh.tU l!ve by Ft~itb: They have in all Ages l_iv'd. hr_ this Faith; that is, been fuflam'd, Jupported, prcferved: The DevJl Withm nor rhe World without could never conquer them. They walked not by Sighr, bur by Faith, and had Regard to the Erernal Recompence: No Vilible Things prevailed with them to depart from the Invifible .God, to quench their Loye, or flacken their Obedience to him; the great Teftimony of their Fatth in Him. This Holy Faith excludes no Age of the World J the Jufr Men, the Cor· ntlit~/s in e\'ery General ion have had fome Degree of it: It was more e· llom. 2 • 14- fpecially the Faith of the fimpler Ages of the World, fuch as thofe in Heb. u. 39• which the Patriarchs lived, who having not an outward Law. became a Lato to tbemftlves, and did tke Thin:r tomained in the Law; for rhire::d VoL. I. An Addrefs to 'Proteflanu; lieve:i in God, and, throu~h FJ.ith, oht1ined a good Report. But betaufe that lt ~ath ~leafed God, tn o.rder to Man's Recovery t[om that grievous LapfeD1fobedtence hath caft hlm into, at f~J!Idry Tunes and in Jivers Man· nen to appear to the Sons of Men, firfi: by his Prophets and lafi: of all ~y his Son; and that thefe feveral ~anifeftarions have had 'romething peculiar ro them, :1n~ very remar~able 10 them, fo that they claim a Place in our Creed; It wtll not be am1fs, that we briefly confider them. 753 ~ Part I!. Sea.;. Heb.I,J, The firfi was that of the Prophets, in which ft1oJes preceded, by whom the .Law came to the Jews, but Grace and Tr~Jtb to mankind by }.efUs John.r.t7• Chnft. The hfft brought Co~demnation, the !aft Salvation; rhe one udg-ment, the other Mercy .I whtch was glad Tidings indeed. The one did fore·run the other, as In Order of Time, fo in Nature cf Difpenfation. The Law was the Gofpel begun, the Gofpel was the Law fulfilled or fi: nifht: They cannot be parted. The Decnlogue or Te.n Commandm~nrs were little more than what had been known and I?ra~hfed before; for it feem'd hut an Epitome and Tranfcript of the Law wri~ in 111.an's li_eart by the Finger of God: This is con~ feft on all Hands and tn all Ages Iince, as the Writings of ancient Gentiles as we11 as Jews and_ C~rifiians tell us. This therefore muft needs be a "Part of our Creed; for 1t relates to that Righr~oufnefs which is Indifpen· ~ble and J!l'mut.a~le: The_ other Part of their Confiitution that was pecu· har to the1~ P9lmck, Typ1cal a.nd Mutable Srate, the Gofpel is either unconcerned In 1~, or elfe ended It by the bringing in of a better Hope and 11 mor~ end~Jrmg Su!tjla1rce. Bnr Grace and Tr~Jth came by 7efm Chrifl: Gracr IS oppofed to the Condemn ado,. of the Law and Truth ro Shadows. Th_is is the moft excellenr Difpenf:ulon ; it is our~, and it becomes us ro we1gh well our I mere~ in it. ~a~e. it in other Words of the Holy (ihoft. God, who at fundry Trmes and m· dzvers .ilianners fpak.e in Timer pafl unto Heb.t.r. zbe Fathers by the Prophetr, hath in thefe !tzfl Daysfpoken to 111 by fiis Son. John ].16,17 God fo loved the Worhl, that (after a11 the World's Provocations by Omif}ionr and Commijlion~) be gave bis only begotten Son into the World, that t1Je World through bun nugbt be faved. . And here . Two Things prefent .themfelv~ to our Confi~eration: Firfl, the P~rfon, who he was? Wh:J:t .h1s Aurhonry? Secondly, hts MeJfage, his DoEt:nne, what he tau~ht? Wh1ch though never fo reafonable in it felf. depended very much, 1n it's Entertainment among the People upon th~ Truth of his Miffion and Auth?rity, that he was no Impofl:or: bur came from God, :tnd was the promrfed Meffiah. This was done two Ways; by Revehtion and by Miracles. By Revelation, ro fuch as were as well prepared and incllned, :tshoneft Peter, the Woman of Samaria, and ihofe that were mov'd to believe him from the Authority in which he fpake, fo unlike that of the Format Scribes. By Miracles, to thofe that being blinded by Ignorance or Prejudice, needed to have the.ir Senfes ftruck With fuch Supernarur:tl Evidences, from many of whom this Witnefs came that be wtls tbe Jl1effiah, the Chrift and Son of God. , In line, all was done within the Com pars of that People, among whom he daily convcrfed, that was needful to prove he was from God, and had God's MeJJate to declare to the World. Info mucti that when fame of his Difciples were not fo firm in their Relief of his Authority, as he de .. ferved at their Hands, he calls his own Works ro prove his Commiflion and convict them of Incredulity : If )'e win uot believe, that the Pother is ;nme, that be doth tbeft Works by me; believe mt for the very Wor!ufake, Thus he ar~eth with the Jews: Say ye of him the Father hath fanflifid and John 14- 1o, /tnr mto the Wcrld, thou. Blttfphemef1; becaufe Ifaid, lam the Son of God! u. lf I do not the Works of my Fnther, believe me not (this is reafonable; he John 81o. 3t, that !hall Judge the World, offers to be tryed himfelf; he goes on) B.r 37, l • if I Jo, tbo~Jgb ye belive not me, believe the Wor~s. tbar ye mq /mow and he· htvc, tba1 tl•e Father i1 in me. And he laid the Sin of the fewr upon this Foot, viz. That they rejected him, after he had mad~ Proof of his Divine Ali(fiM by fuch exu'ilordinary Workr, As no J11en among tbrm all co11ld ~o.· ' s D wh1ch, |