Baxter - Houston-Packer Collection BT770 .B39 1670

The Life of Faith. i5t they -think of little other ufe of it, than to comfort them again(} the guilt of fin, with theaffurance of their Jutti: cation. But the great and principal work of Faith is, that which is about itsfinal of jeit ; to carry up the foil! to God and Heaven, where the world, and things fenfible, are the terminus à qoo, and God, and things invifible, the terminus ad pent : And thus it is put in contradift:n lion to living by fight, in 2 Cor. 5. 6,', And thus mortification is made one port of this great cffed, in Rom. 6. throughout, and many other places : and thus it is that Heb. r t. loth let before us thofc numerous examples of a life of Faith, as it was exppeffed in valuing things unfeen, upón the belief of the Word of God, and the vilifying of things leen which Rand againit them. And thus Chrift tryed the Rich man, Luke 18. 22. whether he would be his Difciple, by calling him to fell all, andgive to the po. r, for the hopes cf a treafure in Heaven. And thus Chrift maketh bearing the Crofs, and denying our felves, and farJaking all for him, to be neceffary in all that are his D;fcipies. And thus Paul defcribeth the life of Faith, 2 Cor. 4. 17, 18. by the contempt of the world, and fitffcring afflit fions for the hopes of Heaven : [For cur light afil7ion, which is butfor a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight ofglory ; while we look not at the things which are feen, lut at the things which are not feen : for the things which are feen are temparat, but the things which are not feen are eternal. ] Our Faith is our vi6ory over the world, even in the very nature of it, and not only in the remote cafe&; for its affeei and believing ap- proaches to God and the things unfeen, and a proporti niable recels from the things which are feen, is one and the fame mo- tion ofthe foul, denominated varioufly from its various re- fpeds to the terminus adquem, and à quo. Dires.$. 6. Remember, that `as God to be believed in, it ti e principal andfinalobject of Faith ; fo the kindling of love to Clod in the foul, is theprincipalufe and elect (f Faith : And to live by Faith, is but to leve (obey andfifer) by Faith. Faith ,work- ing by Love, is the defcription of our Chrittianity, Gal. 5. 6. As Chrifi is the Way to the Father, Jeh. 14. 6. and came into the world to recover Apoflate wan to God, to love him, and be beloved by him ; fo the true ufe ofFaith in Jefus Chrifi, is to

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