man is bound to love God his Maker, and serve him, with all his heart and might, and to believe that his labour is not vain that we must do our best to know God's will, that we may do it. This, with much more, is of natural revelation, which infidels may know. 8. There is so admirable a concord and correspondency of natural divinity with supernatural, the natural leading towards the supernatural, and the supernatural falling in so meet where the natural endeth, or falls short, or is defective, that it greatly advantageth us in the belief of supernatural divinity. Nay, as the law of nature was exactly fitted to man in his natural innocent estate; so the law and way of grace in Christ is so admirably and exactly fitted to the state of lapsed man for his recovery and salvation, that the experience which man hath of his sin and misery may greatly prepare him to perceive and believe this most suitable Gospel or doctrine of recovery. And though it may not be called natural, as if it were fitted to innocent nature, or as if it were revealed by natural, ordinary means, yet may it be so called, as it is exactly suited to the restoration of lapsed, miserable nature; even as Lazarus's restored soul, though supernaturally restored, was the most natural associate of his body; or as the bread, or milk, or wine, though it should fall from heaven, is in itself the most natural food for man. 9. The same things in divinity, which are revealed na b Laertius saith of the Magi, that they did Deorum vacare cultui: signa statuasque repudiare, et eorum in primis, qui mares esse Deos et fœminas dicunt, opinionem improbare. Proœmium, sect. 6. p. 5. He saith also, that the said Magi held, and Theopompus with them, that men should live again, and become immortal. The like he saith of many other sects. It is a thing most irrational to doubt of the being of the unseen worlds, and the more excellent inhabitants thereof, when we consider that this low and little part of God's creation is so full of inhabitants. If a microscope will shew your very eyes a thousand visible creatures which you could never see without it, nor know that they had ang being, will you not allow the pure intellectual sight to go much further beyond your microscope? Thales' sayings in Laertius are, Pulcherrimum, mundus ; à Deo enim factus est. Maximum, locus; capit enim omnia. Velocissimum, mens; nam per universa discurrit. Fortissimum, necessitas; cuncta enim superat. Sapientissimum, tempus; invenit namque omnia. Sciscitanti cuidam, utrum prius factum esset, nox an dies : nox ait, una prius die. Interrogatus, lateret ne Deos homo male agens: ne cogitans qudem, inquit. Interrogatus quidnam esse difficile; se, inquit, ipsum noscere: quid contra facile; alteri consilium dare. Quid suavissimam; consequi quod velis. Quid Deus; quod initio et fine caret. Diog. Laert. lib. I. sect. 35, 36. pp. 21, 22. turally to all, are again revealed supernaturally in the Gos pel; 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 faiths. 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 înter 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 me'." 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-bom 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 ness 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 draw near, with a true heart, in full assurance of faith"." him it is that we have access by faith into this 66 that we have bold grace Eph. ii. 13-18. • Heb. x. 19-22. By wherein |