------~--~~~~~~~--~-~ An Expo[ition of the Epiflle ~ I lhall give you a place of Scripture for it, and it is in Mar.9.21 ,22. There is Sermon a poor man cometh to Chrift to have a Miracle done for him; what cloth he fay XXV. to Chrifl? If thotl ctm{l do m.ythmg (fmhhe) wt!tthou hea/mfSon, mtd ~ throw the 'Devil out of him1 lf thou ca11ji do a1!J thing1 fo be faith to Chrifl. Then mark what Chrifi faith to him; Je[!U f<Jid unto htm, If thou canfl hlitve all things are poj]ible to him that 6etuveth. To open thefe words a llt~le, Yo~ fee when the man fatd, If thou canjl do mty thwg, help my Cb1td 1 Satth Chrifl again, If tkotuanfl6e!ieve,a/JthitJgsarepoj]i6te. . He makes it of equal pof- : fibili ty (or htm to do the thmg, and forthe man to beheve. It was as hard a mat– ter for the man to believe this, and required as much power to work Faith in him as it was for Chrifl to effect it: Therefore our Saviour adueth, To him that /;t/i;veth a/J thi11gs t;repoj]i~te, (for Faith com~andeth all the power in God,) as if he lhould fay, There IS as great an mfimty ot power regutred to work Faith in thee to believe it, it is all one and to do the thing. So far as any thing is poillble, fo far it is credible, it is believable, p;:> Let me ('Ut you a Suppolition. If God lhould reveal by me infallibly, as he did fpeak by the Prophets and Apoflles, That he would make a new World to morrow. It were as hard a thing for God to work this Faith in yo11, as for him to make this World; he might make this World upon the fame rate, as he would work this faith in your hearts. To believe a thing upon Divine Authority cloth require an Omnipotent power: To believe things upon flight grounds, that is ealie, Tht Foot beluvtth every thmg, fatth Solomon tn the Proverbs; but to believe this in earnefi, it is a work of an Almighty power. Ana fo much in General, That thepower of God in doing any thing for us, it is but proportionable to the working of Faith in us, that he will do it, or that he is able tado it; yet you think this is ealie, and yet you fee what the Scripture faith. To come now particularly to lhew you, what a mighty power goeth to work taith and Spiritual knowledge; and it is but to believe the thing, not ,to believe that it is yours;but to believe the thing in a Spiritual manner requireth an exceed– inggreattufs if power. I lhalllhew you it byTwo things, The F'irfi is, to work a principle of Faith. You know I told you in the la!l difcourfe, that this new Creatios, much of the power of it was fpent in work– ing Habits as we call them, that is, inward Abilities, to work a formal prin– ciple, fuch as is to work light in a blind Eye. You know there is the ad: of See– ing, or Seeing it felf, and there is a principle of feeing , a power to fee ; a fra– ming of an Eye and of a Soul to fee, (as I may fo exprefs it,) or of a faculty of feeing. Now in the Underfianding, to undedland things fpiritually and aright, . there mull: be an Almighty power go to it, to put a new principle in you , IQ , make you capable to believe and know Spiritual things. 1 I remember in the !all: difcourfe, ·when I lhewed what expreillons the Holy ' Ghofl ufeth to exprefs the work of Converlion, I quoted RPm.12. r ,2. where it is called a Transformation, an alteEing the form of the mind, the lhape of the mind; it is a Metamorphofis, as I then exprefi it, and indeed the word is fo in the Greek. Now the transformation there, what is it applied unto? It is ap· plied unto the Underfianding of a man , it is but the changing of the Under– fianding that that word is ufed of. 'You think, that to believe aad to know SpirituaJ tbings is no great matter, and that •all the difficulty lies in doing of them, and·in being affected wit.h them. But the Afofile faith plainly, That you may k11ow thmgs ar1ght, that you may approve o them in a Spiritual way, of their goodnefs and excellencies; you mull: be Metamorphofed, faith he, in your minds, yllu mull: have a new form come in to your underfianding; fo the word fignifieth, .· He ufeth twp words there, Be twt eo11[ormed ,to tht World, faith he; and the word he ufeth for that is "'1<."1"'7;~.,, it fignifieth an outward form, an artifcial form; for theWorld is but an empty lhew,an empty lhape(as the Apofile calleth it, TIJtfafbio11of tht World pajJeth away, it is the fame word.) But when he fpeaks of tlie other, the transformation of the Underflanding; the word is "'"'~"~''~"'~;, it fignifieth an inward caufe, fuch as the Sow is to the Body, a
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