-,-_.------------- The Life of Faith. 339 ffrumeat of all the weahh'and honour which (he bath by her husband. Indeed marriage may be better called the inftrument of it; that is, not her own content (which is properly the re- ceiving condition) but the content and anual marriage by her husband: For he is thegiver. And fo the Covenant is Gods juhtifying inffrument, as lignifying his donative content ; and Beptifm is the inftrument of it, byfolemn inveffitur: or tradition; as the delivering ofa Key, is the inftrumental"delivery of the houfe. The cafe then is very plain to him that is but willing to un- der(land, viz.that Faitb,in its eOnce,is bdfdes the dffvting ads,. anaccepting ofan rfered Saviour for cur Ju}tifcation, Sanliiftca- tion and Salvation, anda tru(ting in biter : That this act of Faith being its effence, is the miff apt for the life that God in his Covenant hath appointed it unto : becaufe i e will give ua a Saviour freely, but yet not to be refufed and negleFed, but to be thankfully and honourably receive:/ and ufed : it this pecial aptitude of Faith, or its very cff?s'tee, is the reafm why it is chofen to be the condition of the Teitam nt or Gift That this fameelfence and aptitude, is that which lone call , Receptive or ['alive Inffrumentaliry : "'hat this (Price and aptitude is not the neerelt_ reofon why we are juliificd by it ;. for then Faith as Faith, and as filch an afì os rm,r.k of oars thould jufütie; and that exopere operato; and thtt without or agaíu(f Gods will. For if.Gods will have interpofed, the fg- nifter,of that will mull needs be the chief and ncarelï,r:aforí Thiercfore this ad foapt b ii?g by God made the condition' of the Gift or Covenant, i -s nsareft and chiefintere$ (I will not call it caufali:y) in our }unification, is this office of a condi- tion. Therefore in a word, we are jui$ißed vy Faith diera/y'as, or becaufe its the conditio praffira, the perform once of the co.1- edition of the }unifying ac`s; and it was by God made the con - ditiózì, b:eaufc it was in its nature m.l} apt thereto; which aptitude may b: metaphorically called its Receptive lnflrumenta- 1,ty : And that thus as it accepteth Cbriti hr ujtiftcatièn, Adoption, SanEliftcati.,n and Glariftc,ation ; Lo it is the loss- taphoricàlinfrument ofoar partinCkrijl; a d .ut confequent- ly the metaphorical in(truntent of our title, to, pacdort, the spirit and Heaved ; and in no tollerable feinfe at all (how ftgurat;vc U u 2 (revs)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=