True Happinef.r. 349 thcrchou art a rrue and genuincSonofGod,willlyeupon rhy Obulimceto hi sCorn- r John j. mands · Fr,r in this, fays the .Apoftlr, the Children of God nrr maniftff, nntl the Chil- 9· 10 ' Jrm of :he Devil. ll'hojoe'Wr iJ born of God doth not com?"it Shs; nntl 'Phoj~l"tJtr dotb not Rigbter.mfntji, iJ mt (Jf God. N_ow if by our Obedienc~ and purif~lnefs ir appears thacwc arc indeed the ChildrenofGod,our F.<ther Wll_l ~emunly g1vcus a Child's Portion, and rh:u is no Iefs than a Kingdom. So f<mh our Saviour, Luke 1 : . Fear not, little Flock j it iJ your Father's good pleafure to gi'Ve you the'Kingrlcm. 31. "· Thofe rhatdo God') Commandments have a Right to Erernal Life, by Pro3 . m;/C and SripuL1tion · rtnd therefore it is called Ettrnnl Life, 1vbich God thilf r.. nn- A Rit.ht of not lie b.lfh prrtmjffd.' lndec~! rhe wholeTenour of rh~ Golpe~ i~ nothing cUe bur ~;;~~f·~. the Exhibition of this Prom1le, and a Comment upon 1r. Th1s IS the Sum of the Go!pe!, the Terms of rbe Covenant, rhe_lndemure·made between God and M <in; If rb011 ?vilt mter into Life, fays our SaviOur, keep the CcmmundmrmtJ. And in a- Mar. , 9 • nother Pi:lce our Lord tells us, Nottvery "·Je that fnirh unto me, Lord, Lord, Jlutl/ 17. mter into the Kingd~m of He11vm; b1tt he that t!oth the W'i/1 of my Father ?11hicb is in Mar.,.z!: Heaven. And thus you fee what Right it is, that Obedience to the Commands of God gives us to Erornal Life: A Right of E-uideilu, a Right if HeirjiJip, and a Right of l'romi{e. · B1Jt, mr.y Jome (q, !J not thi1 again to eftablijiJ the imtiquated Cc-uenant ofWork.J; Objefr. Do this, and live? And dotb no~ thi1 abolijiJ the La?u of F,ith, 1-le that 6elieverh fhall be faved ? h it nvt the Office of Faith ahtte to con'tlry unto 111 " Right and Title unto Eternal Lifo ? ' . I anfwer, No, it dorh no_ prejudice unt~ Faith; for we fiill affirm, that oUr An{ll)tr. original and fundamental Rtghr to Heaven ts grounded,nor upon our Obedience, but Chrift's; not upon our Works, bur upon hfs; his M cries and Purchafe., which,through Faith,are imparted and imputed eo us. Y er give me leave to fay, that I chink chc Notion of Juftifying and Saving Faith is very much, if not generally miftaken hy us: ·And as the Soul is the mofinoble, and mofi ,·iral Principle of Man,and yet is mofi unknown to him what itis,and how it operates; fOFairh., which is the viral Principle of Chriftians, and by which the jufi are taid ro Jive is yer moH unknown,borh as eo its Nature and bpcrations,umo the Geheralicy of them: Some place ic in Affurance, lOme in Affiance and Recumbence . fome in one Act of Faith,and fame in another; which areeichcrrhe Effects of Faith as true,or rhe Degrees of it as ftrong,rarher than rbe proper and adequate Nature and Effence of it; and then they mightily puzzle rhemfelves how to acconl and reconcile F<tirh and Obedience in carrying: on the great Work of our Salvation, which yec were ne,·er at a variance about it,buronly in their miftaken Hypotht{is: For wh<tr is birh, buc an Affenr eo a Tcftimony? The very force and import of the Word can carry no other Senfe: And he that fairh he believes, muft needs mean he beliC\"CS fOme Record or Teftimony; orelfe he fpcaks that which neither himit::lf, nor anyorher can underHand. Confequemly therefore a Divine Faith muft be an AlTenr ro a DivineTeftimony; rharis,ro rh c Word ofGodconrai,l'd in thclloly Scripcures. Bur now if this Fairh relt only in a bare and naked A~em to rh.e ~~rurh of ~~\·ine~ev~lat~on, it is bur Hif!orical ~nd Dogmatical ; wh!ch,though H be a J?lvtne Fatrh.m re~pe9t of the ObJ_ecl:s believed, yer is it but Humane and Nacura\ tn reipetl: of ltsPnnctple and Monvcs. Bur when this Affcnc eo the Trurhs of the Scripture is joined with proportionable Affections eo chofe Truths, and dothexcitc us eo Actions conformable to rhe Difcovcrics of the Divine Will,there this F:~ith isjuftifying and Saving. And cerr~inly this_is n_or fo very diftant from Obedtence,as robe thought hardly zeconctleahle With u. As for Infiance, A Man may give a bare AiTem to this great Gofpd-Truth, char Jefru ChriFf came into l¥ul"ld to jfl-ue Sinnen, and yet this Faith may not fave him becaufc ir m<~y be unopcrarivc, and pafs no farther than the Act of the U~der1!anding: ..this is a dead fa_irh,which co:tn ne_v~r ?ring any Man to Hea\•en; yea, fuch a buh as rhe very Drozls and Damned Spmts tn Hell have,who belit'r.le and trem- b!r. Anothc~ M_an bdiC\'~ the fame ~rmt1, a~d affems eo the fame Propofi-]a!V.~-'9· tton ; but dHS IllS A ffenr tnfluencerh h1s Affethons, and governs his Actions in Conformity ro the Nature and Confequences of fuch a Belief: And becaufe h~ is affurcd that Jefus Chrifl: came inro rhe \Vorld to be the Saviour of it therefore he loves him, trufts !n him, relies upon him, hopes i~is Promifes, a~d obeys his Com-
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