The Life of Faith. 241 David was pardoned upon repentance, fo mayothers : Icon- fefd, and thouforgaveff : For this fhall every one that is godly pray to thee --- Prat. 32. 5,6. Hath God pardoned a Ma- naffeb, a Peur, a Paul, Vic. upon repentance ? Co is he ready to do to us. Hath he helped the difireffcd? hath he heard and pittied, even the weak in faith ? fo we may hope he will do by us, Ifa. 38. io, 1:. Pfal. i 16. 3. Alts 27. 20. Jonah 2.4. We have the fame God, the fumeChrift, the fame Promife, if we have the fame Faith, and pray with the fame Spirit, Roan. 8. 26. Heb. 4 15. Though we may not have jail the famecafe, or the fame manner of deliverance. Therefore it is a mercy that theScripture is written hifloiically : And there- fore we fhould remember filch particular examples as fuit our own cafe. CHAP. V. bit-alias bow to live by Faith upon Gods Promifes. TUHis part of the work of Faith is the more noble, !accent's the eminent part of the Gofpel is thePromeifes,or Covenant of Grace; and it is the more necéjfary, becaufe our lapfed ferable 'late hath made the Promifes fo neccffary to our ufe The helps to be tired herein are thefe: Dire&. 1. Confider that every Promife ofGod, is the expregon of his immutable will and counfel. It is a great difputc among theSchool men, whether, God be properly obliged tous by his Proneifes : When the word [obli- gation] it felt is but a metaphor, which mull be call away or explained, before the queilion can be anfwered : God cannot be bound as man is, who transferreth a propriety to another from himfelf: or makethhimfelf a proper debter in point of communicative Jut-lice ; or may be filed at Law, and made to perform again(] his will. But it is a higher obligation than ail this which lycth upon God. His Power, Wifdom and Goodnefi, which arc himfelf, do conflitute his Veracity And his very Nature is immutable, and j1uJf; and therefore his Nature and ;Being, is the infallible caufe of the fulfilling of his Promifes Hb He
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