- fatherless and widows in their affliction, mself unspotted from the world. But in a ined fence it is taken for that part of duty, icularly relates to God in our worshipadoration of him, in confeffing his Exceling his person, admiring his goodness, beword, and doing all that which may in a direct manner do him honour. It conuties of the first Table only, and so it is iness, and is by S. Paul diftinguished Tit. 12. 12 ce and Sobriety. In this fence I am now e the parts of it.

f the internal Actions of Religion.

call the internal Actions of Religion, in Soul only is employed, and minifters to e special Actions of Faith, Hope, and Chath believes the Revelations of God: Hope s Promises: and Charity loves his ExcelMercies. Faith gives our understanding Hope gives up all the paffions and affectiHeaven and heavenly things: and Charity Will to the service of God. Faith is oppodelity, Hope to Despair, Charity to EnmiLoftility: and these three sanctifie the whole make our duty to God,and obedience to his dments to be chosen, reasonable and delighterefore to be entire, persevering and universal.

SECT. I.

Of Faith.

The Acts and Offices of Faith are,

believe every thing which God hath revea ed to us; and when once we are convinced that Demus Dech spoken it, to make no farther enquiry, but um aliquid poffe quod

nos fateamur investigare non poffe, S. Aug. 1. 21. c. 7. de Civit.

humbly

some things which our understanding c nor fearch out their depth.

2. To believe nothing concerning C is honourable and excellent, as knowin to be no honouring of God, which enter any dishonourable thoughts. Faith is Charity, and whatsoever Faith entertain to produce Love to God: but he that I to be cruel or unmerciful, or a rejoice voidable damnation of the greatest part or that he speaks one thing, and privatel ther, thinks evil thoughts concerning G as for which we should hate a man, a are great enemies of Faith, being apt to rity. Our Faith concerning God must t hath revealed and described his own excel in our discourses we must remove from perfection, and attribute to him all Exc

3. To give our selves wholly up t Heart and Defire, to become Disciples ctrine with choice (befides conviction) 1 presence of God, but as Idiots, that is, v principles of our own to hinder the Trut but fucking in greedily all that God hath believing it infinitely, and loving to belie this is an Act of Love reflected upon Faith of Faith leaning upon Love.

4. To believe all God's promises, and foever is promised in Scripture shall on be as surely performed as if we had it in This Act makes us to rely upon God with confidence as we did on our Parents whe Children, when we made no doubt but ever we needed we should have it, if it we power.

5. To believe also the conditions of the p that part of the revelation which.concerns ty. Many are apt to believe the Article of of fins, but they believe it without the co repentance, or the fruits of holy life: and

believe the Article otherwise than God intended it.
For the Covenant of the Gospel is the great object of
Faith, and that supposes our duty to answer his grace;
that God will be our God, so long as we are his peo-

ple. The other is not Faith, but Flattery.

6. To profess publickly the Doctrine of Jesus Christ, openly owning whatsoever he hath revealed and commanded, not being ashamed of the Word of God, or of any practices enjoined by it; and this without complying with any man's interest, not regarding favour, nor being moved with good words, not fearing difgrace, or loss, or inconvenience, or death it self.

7. To pray without doubting, without weariness, without faintness, entertaining no jealoufies or fufpicions of God, but being confident of God's hearing us, and of his returns to us, whatsoever the manner or the instance be, that if we do our duty, it will be gracious and merciful.

These Acts of Faith are in several degrees in the fervants of Jesus; some have it but as a grain of mu stard-feed, fome grow up to a plant, some have the fulness of faith; but the least faith that is must be a perfuafion so strong as to make us undertake the doing of all that duty which Chrift built upon the foundation of believing. But we shall best discern the truth of our Faith by these following Signs. S.Herom, Dial adverf. reckons three.

Signs of true Faith.

1. An earnest and vehement Prayer: for it is impoffible we should heartily believe the things of God and the glories of the Gofpel, and not most importunately defire them. For every thing is defired according to our belief of its excellency and poffibility.

2. To do nothing for vain-glory, but wholly for the interests of Religion, and these Articles we believe; valuing not at all the rumours of men, but the praise of God, to whom by Faith we have given up all our intellectual faculties.

Lucif.

3. To be content with God for our Judge, for our Patron, for our Lord, for our Friend, defiring God to be all in all to us, as we are in our understanding and affections wholly his.

Add to these;

4. To be a stranger upon earth in our affections, and to have all our thoughts and principal defires fixed upon the matters of Faith, the things of Heaven. For if a man were adopted Heir to Cafar, he would (if he believed it real and effective) despise the present, and wholly be at Court in his Father's eye; and his defires would out run his swiftest speed, and all his thoughts would spend themselves in creating Idea's and little phantastick images of his future condition. Now God hath made us Heirs of his Kingdom, and Co-heirs with Jesus: if we believed this, we would think and affect and study accordingly. But he that rejoyces in gain, and his heart dwells in the world, and is espoused to a fair estate, and tranfported with a light momentany joy, and is afflicted with losses, and amazed with temporal persecutions, and esteems disgrace or poverty in a good cause to be intolerable, this man either hath no inheritance in Heaven or believes none; and believes not that he is adopted to be the Son of God, the Heir of eternal glory.

5. S. James his sign is the best; [Shew me thy faith by thy works. [Faith makes the Merchant diligent and venturous, and that makes him rich. Ferdinando of Arragon believed the story told him by Columbus, and therefore he furnished him with ships and got the West-Indies by his Faith in the Undertaker. But Henry the Seventh of England believed him not, and therefore trusted him not with Shipping, and lost all the purchase of that Faith. It is told us by Chrift [He that forgives shall be forgiven:] If we believe this, it is certain we shall forgive our enemies; for none of us all but need and defire to be forgiven. No man can poffibly despise or refuse to defire such excellent glories as are revealed to them that are servants of Chrift,

30 D.

Chrift, and yet we do nothing that is commanded us as a condition to obtain them. No man could work a days labour without faith: but because he believes he shall have his wages at the days or weeks end, he does his duty. But he only believes, who does that thing which other men in the like cases do when they do believe. He that believes money gotten with danger is better than poverty with safety, will venture for it in unknown lands or seas; and so will he that believes it better to get Heaven with labour, than to go to Hell with pleasure.

6. He that believes does not make haste, but waits patiently till the times of refreshment come, and dares truft God for the morrow, and is no more solicitous for the next year than he is for that which is paft: and it is certain, that Man wants Faith, who dares be more confident of being supplied when he hath money in his purse, than when he hath it only in bills of exchange from God; or that relies more upon his own industry than upon Gods providence, when his own industry fails him. If you dare trust to God when the cafe to humane reason seems impoffible, and trust to God then also out of choice, not because you have nothing else to trust to, but because he is the only support of a just confidence, then you give a good testimony of your Faith.

7. True Faith is confident, and will venture all the world upon the strength of its perfuafion. Will you lay your life on it, your estate, your reputation, that the doctrine of JESUS CHRIST is true in every Article? Then you have true Faith. But he that tears Men more than God, believes Men more than he believes in God.

8. Faith if it be true, living and justifying, cannot be separated from a good life; it works miracles, makes a drunkard become sober, a lascivious person become chaft, a covetous man become liberal; it overcomes the world, it works righteousness, and makes us 2 Cor. 13. 5. diligently to do, and chearfully to fuffer whatsoever Rom. 8. 10. God hath placed in our way to Heaven.

The