Dirca. 2. Make it therefore your care and work to g ́t Faith, and to use it; and think not that God must reveal bu mind to you, as in vifions, while you idly neglect your proper work. Believing is the firft part of your trade of life; and the practice of it must be your conftant business. It is not hving ordinarily by fenfe, and looking when God will caft in the light of Faith extraordinarily, which is indeed the life of Faith: Nor is it feeming to ftir up Faith in a Prayer or Sermon, and looking no more after it all the day: This is but to give God a falutation, and not to dwell and walk with him: And to give Hea ven a complemental vilit fometimes, bàt not to have your converfation there, 2 Cor. 5.7, 8.

Dire&. 3. Be not too feldom in folitary meditation. Though it be a duty which melancholy perfons are difabled to perform, in any fet, and long, and orderly manner; yet it is fo needful to thofe who are able, that the greateft works of Faith are to be managed by it. How should things unseen be apprehended fo as to affect our hearts, without any ferious exercife of our thoughts? How fhould we fearch into myfteries of the Gofpel, or converfe with God, or walk in Heaven, or fetch either joyes or motives thence, without any retired ftudious contemplation? If you cannot meditate or think, you cannot believe. Meditation abstracteth the mind from vanity, and lifteth it up above the world, and fetteth it about the work of Faith; which by a mindlefs, thoughtless, or worldly foul, can never be performed, 2 Cor. 4. 16, 17, 18.Phil. 3. 20. Mat. 6. 21. Col. 3. 1, 3.

Direct. 4. Les the Image of the Life of Chrift, and bis Martyrs, and bolieft fervants, be deeply printed on your minds. That you may know what the way is which you have to go, and what patterns they be which you have to imitate; think how much they were above things fenfitive, and how light they fet by all the pleasures, wealth and glory of this world. Therefore the Holy Ghoft doth fet before us that cloud of witneffes, and catalogue of Martyrs, in Heb. 11. that exemple may help us, and we may fee with how good company we go, in the life of Faith, Paul had well ftudied the example of Chrift, when he took pleasure in infirmities, and gloryed only in the Crofs, to be bafe and afflicted in this world, for the

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hopes of endless glory, 2 Cor. 11:36. & 12. 5. 9, 10. And when he could fay, I count all things but lofs for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have fuffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung that I may win Chrift that I may know him, and the power of his refurredion, and the fellowship of bis fufferings, being made conformable to his death, Phil. 3. 8, 9, 10. No man will well militate in the life of Faith, but he that followeth the Captain of bi faluation, Heb. 2. 10. who for abe bringing of many Sons to glory (even those whom he is not ashamed to call bis Brethren) was made perfect, (as to perfection of action or performance) by Suffering: thereby to fhew us, how little the beft of these vitible and fenfible corporeal things, are to be valued in comparifon of the things invisible: and therefore as the General and the fouldiers make up one army, and militate in one militia; lo be that fan&ifieth, and they who are fantified, are all of one, Heb. 2. 10, 11, 12. Though that which is called the life of Faith in us, deferved a higher title in Chrift, and bis faith in his Father, and ours, do much differ, and he had not many of the objects, acts and uses of Faith, as we have who are finners; yet in this we muft follow him as our great example, in valuing things invifible, and vilifying things vifible in comparison of them. And therefore Paul faith [I am crucified with Chrift: Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Chrift 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 før me, Gal. 2. 20.

Direa. 5. Remember therefore that God and Heaven, the unfeen things are the final object of true Faith: and that the final object is the nobleft, and that the principal ufe of Faith, i tỏ carry up the whole heart and life from things vifible and temporal, to things invifible and eternal; and not only to comfort us in the affurance of our own forgiveness and falvation.

It is an exceeding common and dangerous deceit, to overlook both this principal object and principal ufe of the ChriGian Faith. 1. Many think of no other object of it, but the death and righteoufnels of Chrift, and the pardon of fin, and the promise of that pardon: And God and Heaven they look at as the objects of fome other common kind of Faith. 2. And

they

they think of little other ufe of it, than to comfort them against the guilt of fin, with the affurance of their Jultification. But the great and principal work of Faith is, that which is about its final olje, to carry up the foul to God and Heaven, where the world, and things fenfible, are the terminu à quo, and God, and things invifible, the terminus ad quem And thus it is put in contradiftinction to living by fight, in 2 Car. 5.6,7. And thus mortification is made one part of this great effect, in Rom. 6. throughout, and many other places and thus it is that Heb. 11. doth fet before us thofe numerous examples of a life of Faith, as it was expreffed in valuing things unfeen, upon the belief of the Word of God, and the vilifying of things feen which ftand against them. And thus Christ tryed the Rich man, Luke 18. 22. whether he would be his Difciple, by calling him to fell all, and give to the por, for the hopes of a treasure in Heaven. And thus Christ maketh bearing the Crofs, and denying our felves, and forfaking all for him, to be neceffary in all that are his Difciples. And thus Paul defcribeth the life of Faith, 2 Cor. 4. 17, 18. by the contempt of the world, and fuffering afflictions for the hopes of Heaven [For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we lock not at the things which are feen, but at the things which are not feen: for the things which are feen are temporal, but the things which are not feen are eternal.] Our Faith is our victory over the world, even in the very nature of it, and not only in the remote effect; for its apet and believing approaches to God and the things unfeen, and a proportionable recefs from the things which are feen, is one and the fame motion of the foul, denominated varioufly from its various refpects to the terminus ad quem, and à quo.

Dire&. 6. Remember, that as God to be believed in, is the principal and final object of Faith; fo the kindling of love to God in the foul, is the principal use and effect of Faith: And to live by Faith, is but to love (obey and fuffer) by Faith. Faith work ing by Love, is the defcription of our Chriftianity, Gal. 5. 6. As Chrift is the Way to the Father, Joh, 14. 6. and came into the world to recover Apoftate man to God, to love him, and be beloved by him; fo the true ufe of Faith in Jefus Chrift, is

to

to be as it were the bellows to kindle love, or the burning-glaß as it were of the foul, to receive the beams of the Love of God, as they shine upon us in Jefus Chrift, and thereby to enflame our hearts in love to God again. Therefore if you would live by Faith indeed, begin here, and first receive the deepest apprehenfions of that Love of the Father; Who fo loved the world, that be gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in bim, should not perish, but have everlasting life: And by thefe apprehenfins,ftir up your hearts to the Love of God;and make this very endeavour the work and bufinefs of your lives. Oh that mistaken Chriftians would be rectified in this point! how much would it tend to their boliness and their Peace? You think of almoft nothing of the life of Faith; but how to believe that you have a fpecial intereft in Chrift, and shall be faved by him: But you have first another work to do: You must first believe that common Love and Grace before mentioned, John 3. 16. 2 Cor. 5. 19, 20. 14, 15. 1 Tim. 2. 6. Heb. 2. 9. And you must believe your own interest inthis; that is, that God hath by Chrift, made to all, and therefore unto you, an act of oblivion, and free deed of gift, that you fhall have Chrift, and pardon, and eternal life, if you will believingly accept the gift, and will not finally rejec it. And the belief of this, even of this common Love and Grace, must first perfwade your hearts accordingly to accept the offer, (and then you have a special intereft) and withall, at the fame time, muft kindle in your fouls a thankful love to the Lord and fountain of this grace: and if you were fo ingenuous as to begin here, and firft ufe your Faith upon the forefaid common gift of Chrift, for the kindling of love to God within you, and would account this the work which Faith hath every day to do; you would then find that in the very exciting and exercife of this holy Love, your affurance of your own special intereft in Chrift, would be fooner and more comfortably brought about, than by fearching to find either evidence of pardon before you find your love to God; or to find your love to God, before you have laboured to get and exercise it.

I tell you, they are dangerous deceivers of your fouls, that fhall contradict this obvious truth; that the true method and

motive of mans first special love to God, muft not be by believing firft Gods Special love to us; but by believing his more Common love and mercy in the general act and offer of grace before mentioned. For he that believeth Gods special love to bim, and his fpecial intereft in Chrift, before be hath any special love to God, doth finfully prefume, and not believe. For if by Gods fpecial love, you mean his love of complacency to you, as a living member of Chrift; to believe this before you love God truly, is to believe a dangerous lie: and if you mean only, Gods love of benevolence, by which he decreeth to make you the objects of his forefaid complacency, and to sanctific and fave you to believe this before you truly love God, is to believe that which is utterly unknown to you, and may be falfe for ought you know, but is not at all revealed by God, and therefore is not the object of Faith.

Therefore if you cannot have true affurance or perfwafion of your special intereft in Chrift, and of your juftification, before you have a special love to God, then this special love muft be kindled (I fay not by a common Faith, but) by a true Faith in the General Love and Premife mentioned before.

Nay, you must not only bave firtt this fpecial love; but allo muft have fo much knowledge, that indeed you have it, as you will have knowledge of your fpecial intereft in Chrift, and the love of God: for no act of Faith will truly evidence fpecial grace, which is not immediately and intimately accompanied with true love to God our Father and Redeemer, and the ultimate object of our Faith: Nor can you any further perceive or prove, the fincerity of your Faith it felf, than you difcern in or with it, the Love here mentioned. For Faith is not only an act of the Intellect, but of the Will alfo : And there is no volition or confent to this or any offered good, which hath not in it the true nature of Love: and the intention of the end, being in order of nature, before our choice or use of means; the intending of God as our end, cannot come.behind that act of Faith, which is about Chrift as the chofen means or Way to God.

Therefore make this your great and principal use of your Faith, to receive all the expreffions of Gods Love in Chrift, and thereby to kindle in you a love to God; that firft the

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