he Vo uld if he could returne evil for evil, and doth as far as he dares ; but revenge, ' . . . · . h · r G d • h h thofe who havefaith to be thetr prmctple, they commtt t etr caureto o , t oug man curfe, they bleffe; they can heartily pray for their perfecmurs, as Chnst and Stephen dtd for theirs: The banner over a gracious heart in all the troubles that bef~I tt? . ts io-z:e > and therefore whatfoever the wrongs be that are offered to fuch, there 1S lhll a Spmt oflovc·preferved in them. sECT. 2 , wherein/yes the power of Faith to carry!"' tliro~<gh friffering, and death ? I Anfwer- . 149 1 . Faith difcovers the reality of the.beauty an~ excelte.ncy of fpiri~al thmgs, which before were but looked upon as nottons, concetts, and·unagmary thmgs; hence faith is defcribed to be thefubftance •f. things hopedfoS;and the evidence, or demonftration H,b, I I. 1~ ofthirgsnotfeen. The thmgs of Chnlt, ofgrace, ofneaven, what poor empty nottons were they to the foul? what uncertain things before faith came m? but faith makes them to be glorious things : faith difcovers ~.uch reall certain excdlencies in them, and is fo furc, that it wtll venture foul and body, tt wtll bear an- hardChtp, yea tt wtU venture the infinite loffe i>f eternity upon them. . z.. Faith makeSthefuture good offpiritmll andeternall things to be as prefentto the foule and workcs them upon the heart, as if they did now appear. This comes to paffc bec~ufe faith fees things:as the wor<! makes them known,tt pitches upon the word in thatway that it reveales the mind~ of God; Now th": word fpeaks often of mercies that are to corneas prefent things. Break.. forth into joy, fing toguher ye wafle places •f J[l;. ~·· 9, i?; jerufalem,for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerufalem, Thus the llrophet fpcakes of the deliverance of the Church from captivit)' as a thing already 2 Chron 20. J.7, .to 22. J ohn &. s6. . Jleb.jl i. 13~ done, which was not fulfilled many years after. As foon as 'Jt'hojhaphat had received the promlfe, he falls on praifing the Lord, as ifthe mercy were,already enjoyed, Praife ye the Lord, for his m<rcy endurethfor cver. Chrift faith of Abraham that hcfaw, and rcjoyccd, and wasglad, Chrifl:s d:ty was unto him, as if it liad been·therr, And·it i:s faid of the godly who lived in former ages, that thongh the promifes /vere a-fat-off, tO be fulfilled, yet thej'embraced them. 'The word in the Original fignifies, theyfalured them, Now falutations are not but betwixt friends when they meet together. Faith tak_:s hold 1 r.m. 6. 19 , upon cttr~al <•f e ; lt takes prefent poffeffion of the glorious things ofthe Kingdom of God ; it makes the foul to be in heaven converfing with-God, and Chrif!, hi$ Saints, and Angels already: That which is promifed, fAith accounts it given, And-the land G"l. 3S. 11. which 1gave toAbraham, to thee will I give it. It was only ptomifed to Abraham, bpt Abrahams Faith·made it to him as given. · . l'· l:'au!J makes ufe ofthings paftas if they were prefent. · r. It makes life of God! metcies to our fore-fathers; thus the Church makes ufe of the ntercy ofGod to ]4cobi . when he wrefl:Ied with him and P'revailed, as if it were a pref~nt mercy to themfelves. He hadpo1ver IY'Jer the Angel and'prevaiied, he wept and made fopplication ·rmto him lie Jotmd htm in Bethet,.and there he fpaks with m; not only with Jacob, but with US'. q. d. Ho[. 12 ' · 4 ; whatfoever mercy God fhewed to him, we tnake it ours. God fpaks withm: Thus Pfa!, 66, 0 , Dav,d and his people did when he faid ,he tltrned the Sea into dry ltmd, they went thro~<gh thefood unfoot, rhere did we rejoycei~>him. The com.fort of the mercies of God fo·r many yeats paft to their fore-fathers,they make as thetrs,there did·~r~ t-juy«' 'in him: 2. Faith makes ufe of all (he promifes that God bath made to any of his people thoughcn·ever fo· long agoe, yettt fetches out the comfort oftaofe promifes•,. as ifd\oy were maile now tooo.. Compare Jofh. I. 5· with Heb. q: 's. Godfaiti>ld Jblbua, lwiltbt~vith J rflJ. t. s. the.e, _Iw•ll not fail thee, norforfakst"hee, This pti11fapplies to the Believers in his rime, as tf.tfhadbeen_made to them: Becontent (faitfi he) with fiteh thing; "'you ha'Vf,for ileb. 13. s·. he ha~h f-.d, I W<li not iet~ve thee, norforfaft thee-~ ''Upon this !fuei!rnlance, whatfeever pronll:e God cv~r .made to any ofhi~ people, fince the beginRingof the wotl& for any good, !four co~dltlon wmes to be tl'te-fame,f;tit 1 h'will make lt her o\>.ln, as•if God had but·rtow made tt to IJS m·particUlar.'· 3 . Faith mirk~$ tife of· '(Jo};{if.orm.r dealings with our fclves <' wlien all·fenfe of Gods·mercies failes', that GO'd (~etnS:fdbeias iifi eiietn}", f..t;lhwm fetch !if~ from 'his formentiereies; as ir'they,wcretto\>i pfcfent,; I·hai!J~~onl'f.tl 97·S,6,tt· fiaered the dayes uf old (faith Ddvid) 'theyears ofancient tiln~, ~I.call to remembrance my fong •n, the mght.- IJaid, this is my infirmity, b111 I wilt mnember thrye arid~{ the >'ight ' • h~r>4·
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=