An Expofttion of the Epiftle ~ demned already: He thatisjuflified, he is a living man; it is Juftification of life, Sermon it is thus really. Now then, what is it whereby a man is raifed up from this XXIX. fiate of Co11dernnatio11, and brought into this ftate of Ltje '! It is Faith; He th,tt ~ believeth, faith he, zs pajlfrom dtathto ltfe; and, He that bduvetb bath eter1Jallife. Now, my Brethren, as really and indeed aman in the ftate of Nature is a dead man, and a man in the fiate of Grace is a living man, is in the fiate of life: So now, that God may make the Soul to apprehend his love, what he cloth for him; he cloth not only change a man from a ltate of death 10 life by a real Pardon, (as a King ufeth to do, he only pardoneth a man outwardly,) he was a dead man be– fore, he is aliving man now, be upaf/from duuh ID tife. But God cloth fo deal with his Soul in working Faith in him, that what he cloth really the Soul may ap– prehend it, and in making him apprehend it (which is the work of Faith) there is truly a Rcfu.rrcdion from death to life. And _therefore in that fecond to the Colo/JiatJS, verf.12, and 13· Faith is called aquicktti11g of a man; Te bei11g dtad (faith he) ittyour fots, and ll1JCircumcijio1l of yourflejh, hatb he quickntd togtthtr with him, (he fpeaks of Faith, which he mentioned in the verfebefore, where he faith, Te are ri[t11 Wtth bim through Faith,) baviug forgivm you a/J tre{– paffis. Mark thofe words. So that now, that Faith whereby a man looks out for forgivenefs of all his Trefpafies, apprehendeth pardon of fin, that Faith is fa id to be a Refttrrdlion, for it makes a man to apprehend the Jufiification of li (e; it makes a man that apprehends himfelf to be a dead man, to be a living man, and puttetl1 a new life into his Soul. You Jhall find often in the Scripture that it is faid, The J•tfl fha/J live /;y F:tith. Now, when he faith in this place of the Colofli,ms, We art ri[tn hy F,zith, and that we are quick11ed by Faith, verfe 12.; it is plain he meaneth Faith as it bath Juflificatiorr for its objed, as we believe to be juflified; becaufe, Havi11g forgivmyotl allyour trtJpnfJes cometh-in in the 13th verfe, · Now then, having given you this General proof, that Faith u a Refi~rreflion from the dead; I will particularizq ou the work of Faith, and Jhew you that it is truly a work of a Re(i1rreflioll. I mufiopen it by thefe Two things. I mufi Jhew you firft, That. when God bringeth a man to believe, he firikes him flark dead to get life in him again, and he putteth fuch a new life into him, as all Creatures, Men and Angels, can never put into his Soul: So that you db rife through Faith, Faith of the meer operation of God, which none elfe could work, when you do lay hold upon Chrift for forgivmejs offins. Firfl, I fay, he firikes the man dead. I will explain that unto you by thefe Particu– lars. You muft !wow firfi, That every man,though he be dead it1ji11s a11d trefpaffes; (as you all are,) yet he is alive in himfelf. Through that great Sellfi,Jttery that is in all mens hearts, you think well of your ftlves, and that you are living men. I will give you an Inftance for it. You would think, that a man that is ufed to nothing but the preaching of the Law, and knoweth nothing but the Law, that that man muft needs be a .dead man in his own thoughts, and that he mufi ap· prebend nothing but the Sentence of death, and that he is a Child of wrath, for the Law is akilli11g tetter. Yet take the Inftancc of Paul, he was a man that had as exa·d a knowledge of the Law as any Unregenerate man in the World bath; Now (faith he, Rom.7.9•) I was ativewitho11t the Law. He faith two things of himfelf; Firft, !hat he was without the Law, that is, I was without the Spiritual knowledge of the Law, without the knowledge of the Law in the Spiritual ftridnefs of it: And then faith he, I was a living man, I thought I fhould have gone to Heaven as certainly as any man in the World. It is flrange, that a man that fl10uld be able to bear the Law, and Jhould yet think himfelf a living man; yet you fee P md did. ~c could not deny but that his fins had de– ferved death ; !:!ut yet he fram<d to h1mfelf fuch an Interpretation of the Law, as to think himfclf to be a liv;ng man. Wdl,
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