of peace and reconciliation with him, and is ready, upon repentance and amendinent, to pardon whatioever is amifs, and hath accordingly promised it; and that he hath the care, and love, and tenderness of a father towards us; that in our fincere endeavour of obedience to him, we shall be sure of his love, favour, and protection; that in all our afflictions and troubles he ftands by us, and will not leave us; that he will most certainly make good every promise that by Christ he hath fent unto us, for the life that is prefent, and that which is to come; that the law he hath fent us by Chrift to fubmit unto is an eafy and good law, fuch as will perfect our nature, and fit it to be partaker of his glory: And that all his thoughts towards us, in our faithful endeavour to obey him, are thoughts of love, favour, peace, bounty and goodnefs. And of this he hath given the greatelt affurance that is poilible for mankind to expect or defire, even the fending of his eternal Son into the world, to take upon him our nature, to acquaint us with his Father's will and love, to live a life of want and mifery, and to die a death full of fhame and horror, to rife again to difpatch meffengers into all the world, to publish the good will of God to mankind, to afcend up into glory, and there to make interceflion for us poor worms at the right hand of God; giving us alfo, hereby, affurance of our refurrection, and of his coming again to judge the world, and to receive his obedient fervants into eternal glory. These be some of those principal objects of that faith that overcometh the world, being foundly received, believed and digefted.

2. As touching the act itfelf; it is no other than a found, real and firm belief of thofe facred truths: And therefore it seems that they that perplex the notion of faith with other intricate and abftrufe definitions or descriptions, either render it very diflicult or fcarce intelligible, or elfe take into the definition or defcription of those things that are but the confequences and effects of it. He that hath this firm perfuafion will most certainly

certainly repent of his fins paft, will most certainly endeavour our obedience to the will of God, which is thus believed by him to be holy, just, and good, and upon the obedience or disobedience whereof depends his eternal happinefs or mifery, will most certainly depend upon the promises of God for this life and that to come; for those are as natural effects of fuch a firm perfuafion, as it is for the belief of a danger to put a man upon means to avoid it, or for the belief of a benefit to put a man upon means to attain it. Some things are of fuch a nature that the belief or knowledge of them goes no further, but it refts in itfelf; as the belief of bare fpeculative truths: but fome things are of fuch a nature as being once truly and firmly believed or known, carry a man out to action : and fuch as are especially the knowledge or belief of fuch things as are the objects of our fears or of our hopes; the belief of fuch objects do naturally and with a kind of moral neceffity carry a man out to action; to the avoiding of fuch fears, and the attaining of fuch hopes: And therefore faith and belief in reference thereunto comes often in the fcripture under the names of hope and fear, as being the proper effects of it. Inftances we have of both; For we must all appear before the judgment-feat of Chrift, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad 1 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we perfuade men. But we know that when 'he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we fhall fee ' him as he is; and every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himfelf, even as he is pure 2.'

Therefore we need not be fo folicitous touching the nature of faith, what kind of faith it is that must fave us: Certainly, if it be a true and real affent of the mind to thefe great truths of God, it must be operative, according to the nature of the things believed which are in order to working; and therefore if it have not that Cor. v. 10, 11. 21 John iii. 2, S.

effect,

effect, it is not faith nor affent; if it have it but weak' and imperfectly, it is evident that the affent is weak and fluctuating; if it have that effect at fome times but not at others, it is evident that the affent is fufpended, or intermitted, and not actually exercised at these intermiffions: If a man were really and fully perfuaded that if he took fuch a journey to-morrow, he fhould certainly break his leg, he would as certainly not go; or if he were under a certain perfuafion, that if he took fuch a drink, he fhould certainly recover his loft health, it were as certain he would drink it: and if a man were actually and fully perfuaded that if he used fuch means, he fhould attain everlasting happiness; or, if he should commit such a fin, he fhould certainly loofe it, it were fcarce morally poffible that a reasonable man in his wits would omit the one or commit the other.

And to fay this is but an historical faith, and that the devils have as much, they believe and tremble, and they do as fully affent to divine truths as any can do, yet it avails them not, concludes nothing; the reafon is evident, because the salvation to be attained, the faith which is the inftrument to attain it, concerns them not, neither are they in a state to be advantaged by it; but it is otherwise with men. If I fhould ac

quaint a stranger, that if my fon doth fuch a thing, I will give my fon five pounds, though the ftranger believes it as really true as any thing in the world, yet it puts him not upon the action, because as he is not concerned in the reward, fo he is not concerned in the means; but according to the belief that my fon hath, it will or will not put him upon the action: If he believe me not, he will not do it at all; if he believe it faintly and doubtingly, he will perform the action accordingly; but if he believe it truly, and fully, and fet any value upon the reward, he will perform it cheerfully; for he is concerned in the reward, and in the means to attain it.

Faith therefore is a firm affent to the facred truths, whether the truths relate to things paft, as that God

made

made the world, that Chrift the Meffiah is come in the flesh, &c. or to things prefent, as that Almighty God beholds all I do, and knows all I think, or that he is a reconciled father unto me in Chrift Jefus ; or things to come which principally excite those two great movers of the foul, hope and fear, in relation to the future life of rewards and punishments.

V. I come to the fifth thing, viz. How faith overcometh the world; which takes in these two confiderations: 1. How that is, in what degree: 2. How that is, by what method or means. Touching the former of thefe, touching the degree of the victory that faith gives, it is a victory, but not a victory to utter extermination. The Captain of our falvation indeed overcame the world, totally, perfectly. Our victory is not complete, nor perfect on this fide of death; but it is fuch a victory as leaves · ftill an adverfary to conteft with us, though not to fubdue and conquer us. It is a victory but not without

a continued warfare.

2. Touching the method whereby our faith overcometh the world, I fhall fay fomething in general, fomething more particularly with relation to the world under the former acceptations.

In general therefore, the great method whereby, faith overcometh the world, is by rectifying our judgments and removing those mistakes that are in us concerning the world, and our own condition. 1. Some things there are in the world, which we fet an efteem, and value, and love upon, which deferve rather our hatred or deteftation: As our fins, the irregularities of our lufts and pallions, and thofe degenerate plants that arife from them; as pride, ambition, revenge, intemperance, &c. Thefe we account our right hands, and our right eyes, in our state of natural darknefs. Faith rectifies this miftake of our judgment, by fhewing us the law and will of God revealed by Chrift, whereby we find that these are our : difeafes, diftempers and fickneffes, repugnant to the

1 John xvi. 33.

will, image, and command of God; that they are our lofs, and our danger, and our ruin; and therefore not to be entertained, but mortified and crucified. 2. Some things that are in the world, that we may allow Tomewhat of our affections unto, but we over-value them. We reckon wealth, and honours, and powers, the greatest happiness imaginable, and therefore intensely defire them; fickneffes and afflictions, and injuries and loffes, the greatest mifery imaginable, and therefore we fear them exceffively, we are intolerably difcontented under them. Faith rectifies our mistakes herein, gives us a juft value of these things, fhews us the law of God, checking and forbidding immoderate affections or paffions to be exercised about them, affures us that we are as well under the view and obfervation, as under the care and regiment of the great Lord of heaven and earth; and therefore expects our great moderation in relation to externals. 3. And principally, for the most part the children of men efteem this life the uttermoft term or limit of their happiness or mifery; and therefore make it their whole business, by all means poffible, to make their lives here as fplendid and glorious, as delightful and pleasant as it is poffible; and use all means whether honeft or dishoneft, fit or unfit, to fecure themfelves in the good they have, and to avoid any thing that is grievous or troublefome: And if they cannot compass it they fink, and defpond, and murmur, and die under it as the only hell imaginable; or if they have any thoughts of a future estate after death; yet they are but languid, faint, and fcarce believed in any tolerable degree, and fufpected rather as the impoftures of politicians, or fables of poets, than having any real truth in them. Faith rectifies this mistake, and affures us there is a judgment to come, a ftate of rewards and punishments of a far higher nature than this world can afford, or indeed apprehend; that the happiness of that life outbids all the greatest and most glorious entertainments

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that