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are in danger of delufion and enthusiasm; but not if you build your faith upon the word as your warrant.

OBJECT. 3. But if the word without me be the warrant of faith, and the Spirit within me be the worker of faith, what if I take hold of the warrant of the word, without the. Spirit taking hold of me, as the worker of faith within me?

ANSW. That is impoffible for, where a foul takes hold of Christ, and his love and grace revealed in the word, and upon the warrant of God's word itself in particular, it neceffarily prefuppofes the Spirit present in that word, opening up to the foul the particular warrant, and discovering the love of Chrift in that word, and fecretly and powerfully drawing the foul to apply it; and yet fo infenfibly may that power be exerted, that the foul feels nothing till afterwards; " After ye believed, ye were fealed." There may, indeed, be joy and peace in believing; but faith, though it may be attended with joy, and peace, and feeling, yet is not grounded upon any thing but the word, or the love and grace of Chrift revealed in the word: even as a house may be built with lime, and fand, and clay, but is not founded upon it.

OBJECT. 4. But, must not Christ be revealed into the heart? And is there not a feeing of the Son, in order to believing in him? And therefore fome fenfible work in the heart to found this particular application of faith?

ANSW. There is a fight of fpiritual knowledge and illumination that is neceffary to faith, and goes indeed before it: but there is a fight of fpiritual experience and fenfation, that is not neceffary to faith, but follows after it. The former is that revelation of Chrift into the heart that Paul speaks of, "He revealed his Son in me;" and that feeing of the Son that is necessary, in order to believing in him. Faith comes by hearing, not by feeling; and fo believing in Chrift comes by feeing him in the heart. Chrift is not formed in the heart by the Spirit, till once he be revealed in the heart by the word. And so it is not the Spirit's fealing work, giving an internal feeling of Chrift; but the Spirit's teaching work,

giving the internal revelation of Chrift, that is necessary. to faith.

OBJECT. 5. But if I want this internal revelation of Chrift, and have Chrift only revealed to me, and not revealed in me: Have I, in that cafe, any warrant to believe?

ANSW. 1. Though Chrift revealed in you, is neceffary to the working of faith; yet Chrift revealed to you, in the word, is all that is neceffary to the warranting of faith: and therefore,

2. Since it is not Chrift fpeaking in the heart, but Chrift fpeaking in the word, that is the ground and warrant of faith; if you build your faith and hope upon the love and grace of Chrift revealed to you in particular, you have no ground to doubt Chrift is revealed in you therefore, in feeking for a foundation and ground of faith, never pore upon yourself, or what you feel, or what the Spirit works in you; but rather hear what the Spirit fays to you: "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit faith to the churches." If you hear what the Spirit fays to you of the love of Chrift, and believe it with application as revealed to you, then you may be fure he is revealed in you: and upon the warrant of his word, thus revealing his love to you; you, through grace, may apply it to yourself with a me, me; He loved ME, and gave bimfelf for Mx.

III. The third general head I propofed was, To name the reasons why faith hath this appropriating property. And here I fhall fhew, 1. Why it is fo,.that faith hath this applying property; and, 2. Why it must be so, or the neceffity of it,

ft, As to the former of thefe, faith hath this applying property.

1. Because faith is an uniting grace, that unites the foul to Chrift; "That Chrift may dwell in your hearts by faith," Eph. iii. 17. As it comes from him, fo it leads the foul to him, and cannot ftay away from him, nor reft till it makes clofe application to him. God, the giver of faith, hath given it this office of joining the foul to Jefus; and therefore, in the day of believing,

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finners are brought to fay, “Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord; the everlafting covenant fhall not be forgotten," as the words may be read, Jer. 1. 5. Some drawing virtue is let out from that covenant between God and Chrift, that draws out the foul's confent to that bargain, and fo to take on with Jefus as the glorious Lover, that propofes fuch a bleffed bargain as himself to it: O! it is a good bargain!

2. Becaufe faith takes up the warrant and ground it hath to build upon; it reads the gofpel as a love-letter, faying, There is a letter from heaven, and it is backed for me, indorfed for me: it fays, To THEE; "To thee is the word of this falvation fent:" and therefore I may alfo fay, To me, to me, it is fent. He loved me, and gave himself for me.

3. Faith takes up the fitnefs and fuitablenefs between Chrift and the foul's cafe; and therefore makes particular application. As ever a plaifter was fuited to a fore, or a remedy fuited to a malady; fo Chrift is fuited to the finner's cafe; and faith; difcerns this, and fays, There is wisdom for a fool like me; there is righteouf-, nefs, for a guilty foul like me; fanctification, for a filthy foul like me; redemption, for loft and miferable me; there is light, for dark me; and life, for dead me; and liberty, for bond me:. and therefore I cannot but welcome it to me.

4. Faith's particular application flows from the approach of the Spirit of faith mixing itfelf with the word, to make application of Chrift's redemption. Though the external revelation fixes the duty of believing, and all have an equal warrant to believe in Jefus; yet fuch is the diftinguishing grace of God towards fome, that he opens up the warrant to them particularly, and caufes them make particular application thereof to themselves, and to believe what others have as fair à revealed warrant to believe, as they have: for, though this powerful coming of the Spirit is neceffary to work faith; yet nothing else but the word is neceffary to warrant faith, and to be the ground of it; yea, in pure believing, the Spirit makes the foul build upon nothing but the word. Faith may be confirmed afterward by the feeling and

feal

fealing of the Spirit, as I faid already; but in nothing does the power of the Spirit more exert itself in the day of believing, than in bringing the foul to be denied to all external feelings, and to reject all other grounds of faith than what is propofed in the word of grace. Let every one therefore, cry for the Spirit of faith, who is to be received in the hearing of faith. There is a paffive receiving of the Spirit, even as dry ground receives a fhower of water from the clouds; this is neceffary for the working of faith where it is not, and exerting it where it is: and there is an active receiving of the Spirit after faith, of which it is faid, "Received ye the Spirit fince believed?" And of which alfo it is faid, " After ye believed, ye were fealed with the holy Spirit of promife." Now, it is the former, the paflive reception of the Spirit," or the Spirit coming as the Spirit of faith, that would make a happy believing and applying time among us, by making us liften to the voice of Chrift in the word, and hear him only, of whom the Father fays, "This is my belov ed Son in whom I am well-pleased; hear ye him."

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2dly, Why is it neceffary that faith have this applying property, applying the love of Chrift as revealed in the gofpel with a me, me, of particular appropriation? Why, it is neceffary on many accounts.

1. It is neceffary to juftification. Faith doth not justify but in a way of applying and appropriating the righteoufnefs of Chrift to itfelf, faying, as it is, Ifa. xlv. 24. “Sure. ly, in the Lord have I righteoufnefs:" and hence the name of Chrift, in whom we are juftified, is a name of appropriation, Jer. xxiii. 6. "The Lord our righteoufnefs;" which, in the fingular number, when faith is acted perfonally and particularly, is, The Lord my righteousness. The juftifying blood of Christ must be fprinkled on the confcience by a particular application of faith; and it does not justify if it be not appropriated, no more than a plaifter can heal unlefs it be applied. It must be applied with a me, me; and loved me, and gave himself for me.

2. It is neceffary unto fanctification, Chrift is made of God to us not only righteousness, but also fanctification; ; and he is, fays faith, made of God to me fanctification : hence it is the language of faith, In the Lord have I

ftrength

ftrength, as well as righteoufnefs. In him there is ftrength for me, fays faith; and without this applying and appropriating of the ftrength and grace that is in Chrift to ourfelves, we cannot be ftrong in the Lord; or firong in the grace that is in Chrift Jefus.

3. It is neceflary to confolation. All the comfort we have in the love of Chrift, is in the application of it; He loved me. All the comfort that iffues from his death, is in the application of it; He gave himself for me. Take away this me, or this appropriation of Chrift, and you take away comfort: and hence the more clofely that faith acts upon Chrift, the more comfortably; for, "Believing we rejoice, with joy unfpeakable." And hence alfo, the more unbelief prevails, putting away the grace and love of Chrift, faying, O it is not for me, this promife is not to me, the more difcouragement prevails.

4. It is neceffary to peace, quiet, and reft; "Come to me all ye that are weary, and I will give you reft. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God. In me ye fhall have peace," fays Chrift; in a way of applying me, and appropriating me to yourselves, ye fhall have peace. Peace with God is a fafe garrifon in the time of outward trouble; but take away the me, me of faith, and you undermine the garrifon; you blow up the peace of the foul.

5. It is neceffary unto boldnefs in approaching to God; "We have boldnefs to enter into the holieft by the blood of Jefus:" and the boldness of faith flows from the applying quality of it. Faith walks on this red-fea: if it did not keep its feet upon this red carpet, it could not come boldly to God.

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6. It is neceffary unto evidential affurance, which is the fruit of faith. Faith's applying quality with a me, me, founded upon the word, is fiducial affurance, which is the very nature of faith grounded upon the word: but faith's reflection upon itself, and upon the work of God within one, is evidential affurance. And this cannot be without the former, no more than there can be true evidences of faith without faith itfelf. When a man can once fay, by the affurance of faith relying on the word, He loved me; then he may come, in due time, to be able

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