of Lowliness. The finfulness of it. Particular remedies, 446 Chap. 16. How to escape the fin of Fulness, Gulofity or Glutto- ny, by faith. The mischiefs of ferving the appetite. Particular Chap. 17. How faith muft conquer flab and idleness. Who are Chap. 20. How to live by faith in trouble of confcience, and doubts of our falvation. The difference between true and false repen- tance. How to apply the univerfal grace to our comfort. The danger of cafting our part on Chrift; and of afcribing all me- lancholy disturbances and thoughts to the fpirit. Of the trying the fpiris: and of the witness of the Spirit, Chap. 21. How to live by faith in the publick Wofhipping of God, Overvalue not your own manner of Worship, and overvilifie not Chap. 23. How to live by faith towards children and other Re-" 539 Chap. 24. How by faith to order our affections to publick Societies, Chap. 25. How to live by faith in the love of one another, and to mortifie felf-love. It is our own intereft and gain, to love our neighbours as our felves. Objections wherein it confifteth. What is the fincerity of it. Confectaries. Loving others as your felves is a duty even as to the degree, Chap. 26. How by faith to be followers of the Saints, and to look with profit to their examples and their end, and to hold com- munion with the heavenly Society. Reasons of the duty. The nature of it. Negatively, what it is not; and Affirmatively, Reader, The first and great Errour of the Printer, is, that he hath not diftinguifhed the three diftinct Parts of the Treatile. Therefore you muft write Page 1. PART. 1. and Pag. 81. PART 2. Chap. 1. and Pag. 168. PART 3. Chap. 1. N the Preface, Page 3.1. 16. put If you would have. p. S. 1. 8. put out have p. 31. 1. 31. put out out p. 40. 1-22. for that r. the p. 51. 1. 37. for your r. their p. 54. 1.13. for believe r. defire p. 65.1. 31. for against r. at p. 67.1. 32. for tam r. qram p. 68. 1. 8. for murmurr r. morn 1. 27. aftes better put countrey p. 69. 1. 17. r.nemo p. 70 1. 16. r. ventofam p.75. 1. 24. r. made them p. 77. 1. 12. r. literate p. 87.1. 3. for offered read obferved p. 93.1 25. for cannot r.can p.96.1.12.for Nations r.rotions.21.r.conduceth p. 99. 1.9. r. which p. 101. 1. 38. for Goodness r. Good will p. 130. 1.13.r. inconfiderateneß p. 134. 1. 1o. r. Victor uticenfis p. 155.1. 37. for never r. necrer p. 163. l. 6. put our are p. 166. 1. 2. for worketh r. marketh 1. 24. r. aime at 1. 29. r. taketh p. 196. T. 7. for meditate r. mediate p. 206. 1.1.r. canfally 1.4. for his r. this p 217. (falle Printed for 209) 1. 38. blot out or p. 224. 1.6. for was r. were p. 232.1. 19. r. Antoninus p. 241.1.31.r.conmutative p. 244. 1. 38. put out of p. 249. 1. 5. for rather r. alwa es p. 250. 1. 9. blot out O and r. of objective grace 1.30. for promifeth r. promijeth not p. 253. 1. 12. for confirmeth r. confineth I. 20. for leß of r. Loẞ of p. 254.1. 29. r. non-amiffioz p. 332. 1.33. r. which mot p. 346. 1.14. .faults p. 359. 1. 18. for him r. himself p. 366. 1. 29, for that rathe p.371. 1.12. for there r. then p. 382. 1. 28. for as r. or p. 384. 1. 3. put a comma after efficient and Dirigent p. 405. I. 36. r. Chr ft ans p. 406. 1. 37. for end r. and p. 411.1.16. 1. things p. 413. 1. 20. for it r. is p. 414. 1. 2. put out or and 1. 34. for in it r.in us (elfe it is blafphemy against the Scripture) p.430. 1.3. put out may p. 435. 1.25.r. Cye cal p. 441. J. 5. Fut out not p. 485. 1. 25.for themselves r himself p. 505. 1. 27. x. Aflent p. 540. 1. 21. put out and p. 582. l. 11. r. friends. . THE THE Life of Faith. HEBREWS 11. 1. Now faith is the fubftance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not feen. T UMO Hough the wicked are diftinguished in to Hypocrites and Vabeli vers, yet Hypocrites themselves are Unbelievers too. They have no faith which they can juftfie, by its prevailing efficacy and works: and therefore have no faith by which they can be juftified. Because their difcovery is needful to their recovery, and all our falvation depends on the fincerity of our faith. I have chofen this text, which is a defcription of faith, that the opening of it may help us for the opening of our hearts, and refolving the great, queftion, on which our endless life depends. To be a Christian, and to be a Believer in Christ, are words in Scripture of the fame fignification. If you have not faith, you are not Chriftians. This faith hath various offices and B objects. obj:s. By it we are justified, fanctified and faved. We are justified, not by believing that we are justified, but by believing that we may be justified. Not by receiving juftification immediately, but by receiving Chrift for our justification: not by meer accepting the pardon in it felf, but by firft receiving him that procureth and bestoweth it, on his terms: Not by meer accepting bealth, but by receiving the Phyfician and his remedies, for bealib. Faith is the practical Believing in God as promifing, and Chrift as procuring juftification and falvation. Or, the practical belief and acceptance of life, as procured by Christ, and promised by God in the Gospel. The everlafting fruition of God in Heaven, is the ultimate object. No man believeth in Chrift as Chrift, that believeth not in him for eternal life. As faith looks at Chrift as the neceffary means, and at the divine benignity as the fountain, and at his veracity as the foundation or formal object, and at the promife, as the true fignification of bis will; fo doth it ultimately look at our falvation, (begun on earth, and perfected in Heaven) as the end, for which it looketh at the reft. No wonder therefore if the holy Ghoft here fpeaking of the Dignity and Power of faith, do principally infift on that part of its defcription, which is taken from this final object. As Chrift himself in his Humiliation was rejected by the Gentiles, and a stumbling stone to the femos, defpifed and not efteemed, Ifa. 53. 2, 3. baring made himself of no reputation, Phil. 27. So faith in Chrift as incarnate and crucified, is defpifed and counted foolishness by the world. But as Chrift in his glory, and the glory of believers, fhall force them to an aweful admiration; fo faith it felf as exercifed on that glory, is more glorious in the eyes of all. Believers are never fo reverenced by the world, as when they converfe in Heaven, and the Spirit of Glory refteth on them, 1 Pet. 4. 14. How faith by beholding this glorious end, doth move all the faculties of the foul, and fubdue the inclinations and interefts of the flesh, and make the greateft fufferings tollerable, is the work of the holy Ghoft in this Chapter to demonftrate, which beginning with the defcription, proceeds to the proof by a cloud of witneffes. There are two forts of perfons (and imployments) imployments) in the world, for whom there are two contrary ends hereafter. One fort fubject their reason to their fenfual or carnal intereft. The other fubject their fenfes to their reafon, cleared, conducted and elevated by faith. Things prefent or poffeffed, are the riches of the fenfual, and the by as of their hearts and lives: Things abfent but hoped for, are the riches of Believers, which actuate their chief endeavours. This is the fenfe of the text which I have read to you; which fetting things hoped for, in oppofition to things prefent, and things unfeen, to thofe that fenfe doth apprehend, affureth us that faith (which fixeth on the firft) doth give to its ob jea a fubfiftence, prefence and evidence, that is, it feeth that which supplieth the want of prefence and vifibility. The Josutis, is that which quoad effe&tum is equal to a prefent fulfiftence. And the xyxos, the evidence is fomewhat which quoad effectum is equal to vifibility. As if he had faid, [I bough the glory prowifed to Believers, and expected ly them, be yet to come, and only hopedfor, and be yet unfeen and only believed, yet is the found believer as truly affected with it, and acted by its attrative force, as if it were prefent and before his eyes] as a man is by an inheritance, or estate in reverfion, or out of fight, if well fecured, and not only by that which is prefent to his view. The Syriack Interpreter inftead of a Tranflation, gives us a true expofition of the words, viz. [Faith is a certainty of thofe things that are in hope, as if they did already actually exist, and the revelation of those things that are not feen. Or you may take the fenfe in this Propofition, which I am next to open further, and apply, viz. [That the nature and ufe of faith is to be as it were instead of presence, possession and fight or to make the things that will be, as if they were already in existence; and the things unseen which God revealeth, as if our bodily eyes bebeld them. 1. Not that faith doth really change its object. 2. Nor doth it give the fame degree of apprehenfions and affections, as the fight of prefent things would do. But 1. Things invifible are the objects of our faith. 2. And Faith is effectual instead of fight to all thefe ufes: 1. The apprehenfion is as infallible, because of the objective Ba certainty, |
