lLooliing unto jjefu.s. . Book 11. 49 with power on thy heart? bath the Lord fo effectually called thee, tbat t~10u haft left all to follow Chri(\? do(\ thou believe on the Lord Jefus for life an~ for falvauon ?, artthou holy ? is thy life holy ? doft thou walk exactly, as the grace of God wluch bnngeth to falvation teacheth? Can(\ thou with enlarged thankfulnefs amplifie the love and grace of God in thy election; furely chef~ effects are the very fuel ofhope, they are the blelfed and clear evidences of thv fouls electwn'; and therefore hope well, take ftrong C'?nfolauon ; it is clear as the Sun, that God bath prede11inated thee to life, and that thy name is writ– ten in the Book of Life, and that none in Heaven, or on Earth, or in Hell, !hall be able to blot it out again. Away with all fad, dum~ilh, d~jected thoughts: loo!(;unro Je[UJ: hope in Chri(\, chat, that very falvadon concernmg wh1ch that great tranfact1pq was ~etwixt God and Chrift, belongs even to.chee,and that one daythoulhaltfee tt,:·1imd e\1joy the happinefs of it to all eternity, 5 E c ' T. V. Of believing in 'fe[U< in that refpeff. 5· '{ 1 \i E muft believe in{ef.u, as carrying on that great work of falvation for us in V that eternity. It is not enough to kpow, and confider, and dejire, and hope, but we murl: believe. Now this is the nature and property of faith, to apply all thefe ancient and future doings and dealings of God to our felves, as jfthey were now prefent. Some difference there is betwixt hope and faith; 'as hope hath refpetl: tO that which ,the Word promifeth, remverbi; but faith refpects the Word it f~lf, verbmn rei; h9pe' eyes chiefly the mercy and goodnefs of fhe promife, but faith eyes m1inly the.aurhority and trUth of the promifer; hope looks upon its obje,ct as future> but faith only looks upon the object as prefem; both make a particular appli,ation to thernfelves, but hope in a waiting for it; and faith in a way of now e.njoying it. Hence faith is called, thefubftance of things hoped for; it is the fubftance, ,or confidence o( things hoped for, as if we had H b . them already in hand : faith gives the foul a prefent intere!l: in God, in Chri[l:,·in a!J thofe • • 11 ' 1 ' glorious things in the Gofpel of Chrift; ey,enin the thing~of eternal life. Fa~h is an appropriating,an applying,an ,uniting grace; le is ablelfed thing to have the light of' God, there is much power in it; butt<;> fee God in his Glory as my God, to fee all the M~efty,' greamefs, and goodnefs of. Gpd, as tho(ethings that my foul bath an~mereft in ; to fee how the eternal counfels of God wrought.for me to make me happy, why this is of the nature of Faith: And herein lies the fweeme'fs of faith, in that we.believe not Chrill: only to be a Saviour, and righteoufnefs, bu! my Sa~iouy and my riglufotifnefs; .And therefore Lmher affirmed tha,t the fwmnefs of Chrillianuy lay in pronounes; wfien a man can fay, my Lord, and my God, and my {efm. !Ji'!'e by. the f"itb of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himfelffor me. i · , Gal. '• 10: 0 my fou) I bel.ieve for thy felf; believe, and; be confident of it that thofe et.erual pro– -ietis,counfels, love, pm·pofe, decree, and coven~nt betwixt Cod and CIU'ill: :Were all for · thee: haft not thou a promife? Nay, was t11erenot a promife before the world began ? and that very .pr.omifc rhe promife of eternal,ljfe? Mark ~he words; in ho£e of eternat'T' , , !if~, which Godthqt·"""not lie, ;prornifed btfor~ t~r.W~rld beg arz.~ ~~i:e~s a,promife,and a pro- !CUI '· '· ~1fe of Etqq~l)!fe, and a promife of .Emnal hfe mad.eby~od, by G.oq that cannot he, and th~l·before. there ~as a World, or ~IJY man in th~'WPfld.; . Iftho\1 enquireft, to whom then.was . ~hts, profUlfe made?.. S~e.~.G.0,Jll,. it wasmade>to.Chri(\for. lpee; ·many prom1fes thou haft mSqtpture made mor.~ tm!nFdlate~y t~ t!)¥Jelf, busrhis,wes rh~ grand prom1fe, and all the othct' prom1fes they·.are..but.a draugb~;of,thac..grand, 1pro\Dife that God tl:e Father made tQ his Son ,before di~,~~~·!d Tie&an;. ··' ·-:., .:. , · ·'{ ..'. '· . 0 cnes the Soul,! cannot beheve, what? 1s lt pofltble tha~. Godm Ius Em,ngy fhould · have a~y thou~sht of me? "Vllat _of me, being n,•t{et borq,.·'!eit~tr having done any good Rom. 9• II. or evtl. What, of me, born i~ thefe laR,timeso the W,<:>r~d, the lea(\ of saint>, the greateft of St.nncrs, lefs then the leafr of '}11;P,o,ds l}lerfi~~A,1 tlfa£ of fuc~ a ore the great God, the MaJefty ofHe.aven and E~rth},w,u.]\1-\l~~e ,a th?gght.,:liJfOJefr,~ 'counJ.el, a knowledge of ~pp.robanon, a purpOfe, .~ ~"(e,e.; t\Jay,. ~n~~.ID.F<! a.Gov;e?~ptwitb his Son fot my Salvatton? I cannorbelieve tt.. Alas!--What.amii to God? or•whan need bath God of me? if allthe,fvations iftlu f:~;:;h are· t~~;.;;; , bttr,~s adropo/,abu~kst; , and M the [mall duftof th~ ballance; 0 wha,~; a' minime ami of that droP.!: or what a rra. 4'·'>· lmle,httle atomeam~ of'i:hat fmall duft; and is it probable t"':it rhe gre'au1efs of God . H the
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