turally to all, are again revealed supernaturally in the Gospel; and therefore may, and must be the matter both of natural knowledge and of faith.

10. When the malicious tempter casteth in doubts of a Deity, or other points of natural certainty, it so much discrediteth his suggestions, as may help us much to reject them when withal he tempteth us to doubt of the truth of the Gospel.

11. There are many needful appurtenances to the objects of a Divine faith, which are the matter of a human faith. (Of which more anon.)

12. Christ, as Mediator, is the way or principal means to God, as coming to restore man to his Maker. And so faith in Christ is but the means to bring us to the love of God (though in time they are commixed).

13. Knowledge and faith are the eye of the new creature, and love is in the heart: there is no more spiritual wisdom than there is faith; and there is no more life or acceptable qualification, or amiableness, than there is love to God.

14. All truths in divinity are revealed in order to a holy life: both faith and love are the principles and springs of practice.

15. Practice affordeth such experience to a believing soul, as may confirm him greatly in the belief of those supernatural revelations, which he before received without that help.

16. The everlasting fruition of God in glory being the end of all religion, must be next the heart and most in our eye, and must objectively animate our whole religion, and actuate us in every duty.

17. The pleasing of God being also our end, and both of these (enjoying him and pleasing him), being in some small foretastes attainable in this life, the endeavour of our souls and lives must be by faith to exercise love and obedience; for thus God is pleased and enjoyed.

18. All things in religion are fitted to the good of man, and nothing to his hurt: God doth not command us to honour him by any thing which would make us miserable, but by closing with, and magnifying his love and graced.

d Conjungi vult nos inter nos, atque connecti per mutua beneficia charitatis: adeo

19. But yet it is his own revelation by which we must judge what is finally for our good or hurt; and we may not imagine that our shallow or deceivable wit is sufficient to discern without his Word what is best or worst for us: nor can we rationally argue from any present temporal adversity or unpleasing bitterness in the means, that 'This is worst for us, and therefore it is not from the goodness of God;' but we must argue in such cases, This is from the goodness and love of God, and therefore it is best.'

20. The grand impediment to all religion and our salvation, which hindereth both our believing, loving, and obeying, is the inordinate, sensual inclination to carnal self and present transitory things, cunningly proposed by the tempter to ensnare us, and divert and steal away our hearts from God and the life to come. The understanding of these Propositions will much help you in discerning the nature and reason of religion.

Grand Direct. 11. Diligently labour in that part of the life of faith which consisteth in the constant use of Christ as the means of the soul's access to God, acceptance with him, and comfort from him: and think not of coming to the Father, but by him.'

To talk and boast of Christ is easy, and to use him for the increase of our carnal security, and boldness in sinning: but to live in the daily use of Christ to those ends of his office, to which he is by us to be made use of, is a matter of greater skill and diligence than many self-esteeming professors are aware of. What Christ himself hath done, or will do, for our salvation, is not directly the thing that we are now considering of; but what use he requireth us to make of him in the life of faith. He hath told us, that his flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed; and that except we eat his flesh and drink his blood, we have no life in us. Here is our use of Christ, expressed by eating and drinking his flesh and blood, which is by faith. The general parts of the work of redemption, Christ hath himself ut tota justicia et præceptum hoc Dei, communis sit utilitas hominum. O miram clementiam Domini! O ineffabilem Dei benignitatem! præmium nobis pollicetur, si nos invicem diligamus; id est, si nos ea præstemus invicem, quorum vicissim indigemus: et nos superbo et ingrato animo, ejus remittimur voluntati, cujus etiam imperium beneficium est. Hieron. ad Celant. See my book of the "Reasons of the Christian Religion."

performed for us, without asking our consent, or imposing upon us any condition on our parts, without which he would not do that work: as the sun doth illustrate and warm the earth whether it will or not, and as the rain falleth on the grass without asking whether it consent or will be thankful; so Christ, without our consent or knowledge, did take our nature, and fulfil the law, and satisfy the offended Law-giver, and merit grace, and conquer satan, death, and hell, and became the glorified Lord of all: but for the exercise of his graces in us, and our advancement to communion with God, and our living in the strength and joys of faith, he is himself the object of our duty, even of that faith which we must daily and diligently exercise upon him: and thus Christ will profit us no further than we make use of him by faith. It is not a forgotten Christ that objectively comforteth or encourageth the soul; but a Christ believed in, and skilfully and faithfully used to that end. It is objectively (principally) that Christ is called our wisdom, 1 Cor. i. 30. The knowledge of him, and the mysteries of grace in him, is the Christian or Divine philosophy or wisdom, in opposition to the vain philosophy which the learned heathen boasted of. And therefore Paul determined to know nothing but Christ crucified, that is, to make ostentation of no other knowledge, and to glory in nothing but the cross of Christ, and so to preach Christ as if he knew nothing else but Christ. And it is objectively that Christ is said to dwell in our hearts by faith. Faith keepeth him still upon the heart by continual cogitation, application, and improvement: as a friend is said to dwell in our hearts whom we continually love and think of.

Christ himself teacheth us to distinguish between faith in God (as God), and faith in himself (as Mediator): "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God":" (or, believe ye in God?) "believe also in me." These set together are

e Vel propter unionem inter creaturam et creatorem necessaria fuit incarnatio. Sicut in Divinitate una est essentia et tres personæ ; ita in Christo una persona et tres essentiæ; Deitas, anima, et caro. Christus secundum naturam divinitatis est genitus; secundum animam creatus; et secundum carnem factus. Unio in Christo triplex est; Deitatis ad animam; Deitatis ad carnem; et animæ ad carnem. Paul. Scaliger. Thes. p. 725. Christus solus, et quidem secundum utramque naturam dicitur Caput ecclesiæ. Id. p. 726. h John xiv. 1.

f See 1 Cor. i, 23. ii. 2. Gal, vi. 14.

Ephes. iii. 17.

the sufficient cure of a troubled heart. It is not Faith in God, as God,' but 'Faith in Christ as Mediator,' that I am now to speak of: and that not as it is inherent in the understanding, but as it is operative on the heart and in the life and this is not the smallest part of the life of faith, by which the just are said to live. Every true Christian must in his measure be able to say with Paul, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for mei." The pure Godhead is the beginning and the end of all. But Christ is "the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature; and by him all things were created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers, all things were created by him and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things do consist. And he is the head of the body, the church; who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence." "In him it is that we who were sometime afar off are made nigh, even by his blood. For he is our peace, who hath reconciled both Jew and Gentile unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby and came and preached peace to them that were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have an access by one Spirit unto the Father: so that now we are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God'." "In him" it is "that we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in him; he is the way, the truth, and the life: and no man cometh to the Father, but by him"." It is "by the blood of Jesus that we have boldness" (and liberty)" to enter into the holiest ; by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the vail, that is to say, his flesh." Because "we have so great a Priest over the house of God, we may near, with a true heart, in full assurance of faith"." By him it is that we have access by faith into this grace wherein

i Gal. ii. 20. Eph. iii. 12. VOL. II.

k Col. i. 16-19. n John xiv. 6.

N

1

Eph. ii. 13-18.

Heb. x. 19-22.

draw

So

we stand, and boast in hope of the glory of God"." that we must have" all our communion with God through him"."

Supposing what I have said of this subject in my "Directions for a sound Conversion," Direct. 5., (which I hope the reader will peruse,) I shall here briefly name the uses which we must make of Christ by faith, in order to our holy converse with God'. But I must tell you, that it is a doctrine which requireth a prepared heart, that hath life within to enable it to relish holy truth, and to dispose it to diligence, delight, and constancy in practice. A senseless reader will feel but little savour in it, and a sluggish reader, that suffereth it to die as soon as it hath touched his ears or fantasy, will fall short of the practice and the pleasure of this life. He must have faith that will live by faith: and he must have the heart and nature of a child, that will take pleasure in loving, reverent, and obedient converse with a father.

1. The darkness of ignorance and unbelief is the great impediment of the soul that desireth to draw near to God. When it knoweth not God, or knoweth not man's capacity of enjoying him, and how much he regardeth the heart of man; or knoweth not by what way he must be sought and found or when he doubteth of the certainty of the word.

P Rom. v. 1,2.

4 Ex apostolica et veteri traditione, nemo baptizatur in ecclesia Christi, nisi prius rogatus, an credat in Deum Patrem, et in Jesum Christum Dei Filium, et in Spiritum sanctum, responderit, firmiter se credere: quantum vis ergo hebes sit, si judicii ali. quid habet, et ita rogatur et ita respondet, prorsusque ita expresse credere jubetur: namque implicite et involute non isthæc solum, sed quæcunque Divinæ literæ produnt, credit, de quibus tamen non omnibus interrogatur, quod ea expresse scire omnia, illi minime opus sit. Acosta lib. v. c. 6. p. 461. Christian religion beginneth not at the highest, but the lowest with Christ incarnate, teaching, dying, &c. Dr. Boy's postil. p. 121. out of Luther.

r Sane omnium virtutum radix et fundamentum fides est; quæ certantes adjuvat, vincentes coronat, et cœlesti dono quosdam defectu signorum remunerat: nihil enim quod sinceræ fidei denegetur, quia nec aliud à nobis Deus, quam fidem exigit: hanc diligit, hanc requirit, buic cuncta promittit et tribuit. S. Eulogius Mart. Arch. Tolet. Memorial. Sanct. p. 4. Notandum, quod cum fides mortua sit præter opera, jam neque fides est: nam neque homo mortuus, homo est. Non enim sicut spiritum corpore meliorem, ita opera fidei præponenda sunt, quando gratia salvatur homo, non ex ope ribus sed ex fide: nisi fortè et hoc in quæstione sit, quod salvet fides quæ cum operibus propriis vivit; tanquam aliud genus operum sit, præter quæ salus ex fide proveniat : nec autem sunt opera quæ sub umbra legis observantur. Didymus Alexand. in Jac. c. 2.