Of the Nature, Corruptio11 a11d Secondly, A juftijjing .tmd a [n11ing Faith putijie.s tke Coufcience , and that mifl ical!y. r. Firft, A dogmatical Fatth kttpJ 'rhe Con{cience clear and puu. A dog,matical Faith :J;~~.t·~ · :t l 1 call that which hath for i~s Object the whole rcv~alcd Truth o_f" God; and it is F1i~b i s . nothing butafirm, undonbt1.ng Alfent to the Vcntyand Certamtyof whatever is contained in the Holy Scnptures, upon no other Account and Rcafon, tban. meerly the Auchority and Veracity of God, who is the Author of it. This is a doxmatical or an hijlorical Faith, which though it be not Juftifying, as the Papifts hold, yet is it of a m~gh~y In~uence to fan~i~e the? ~eart, and to keep the Con. fcicnce and Converfatton motlenfive, and this 1t cloth In a moral way: For did but Men believe that Heaven is founconceivably glorious, fparklingwith Light, flow~ ing with Pleafure, refounding with Praifes, a Place where Joy and Blifs ever dwells and where we !hall dwell too in an endlefs Eternity in the Sm iles and Love of God, if now but for a few fhort Years we fl:rive to live holily; did we but as reiUy believe thefe Th ings to be true and certain, as we know thofc Things to be true and certain that we fee with our very Eyes, what manner of Chriftians would this force us to be in all Holioefs and Godlinefs of Converfation, cleanfing our felves from all Pollutioos both of Flefh and Spirit? Wherefore is it that the Promife of fame temporal Reward, the hopes of fame meau Preferment from fame great Perfon, is of Fo~ce fufficicnt to make Men obfeqnious to them? And yet the Promifcs that God hunfelf bath made of Heaven and Glory (in comparifon of which to promife Crowns,and Scepters, is but to promife Pebbles and Gugai\'S) work fo little e~e~ upon the generality_ of Men) to allure the1'!1 from Si~ to a holy Life? Whence IS 1t, but th:tt Men believe not that Hea\ren IS fo glonous as the Scripture defcribes it to be? Nay, indeed if _tbey .w?uld fpeak t.heir Minds, they are not yet fure whether there be a Heaven or not, lt IS from their Unbelief: 1Jid Men but believe the infupportable Wrath of God, thofc Horrors and Torments that Fire and Sulphur, that Stench and Darknefs, thofe burning Chains, and thof~ fiery Whips, the Woe and Anr,uifh of the Damned in Hell, which arc as far from being utterable as they arc from being tollerable, did they as certainly believe thefc Things, as if they believe them not they Ihall certainly feel them, would they dare frill to venture on to treafure up 11/rath to them/elves againft the Day of Wrath? Would they ibll dare, by w.oundlng their Confcienc~s, now to enrage them to their own WoundinB and Smart for ever hereafter? Would they dare to do it did they believe thefe Things? Di"d they but believe that Confcience will be r;vcnged fevenfold on them for all the Wrongs and Violence that they have don!! it: This Wo1m, that they now carry in their Breafts frozen and bcnum'd, !hall be heated by the Fire of Hell, and fly upon them and fling their Souls with a burn· ing and flaming Anguifh: Did they believe this, would they not be careful to give no Offence to their Con[cimces ~ Would ~hey no~ be as careful to avoid a1l Sin, that arms the Terrors of Hell agatnft them, as they have Reafon to think a damned Wretch in H ell, who hath had the Experience of thefe Things would do, if God would releafe him out of it, with ~ Promife tha~ he lh~ll for ever cfcape it, upon the fame Terms that he hath prom1fed us? Thmk w1th your felves, what eftC(t the Senfe and Feeling of thofe dreadful Things would have upon fuch a one? to make him rir.,oroufly confcitntious, that in nothing he provoke fo terrible a God, ~r offend and irritate a revenging Confcience, that will be fure to repay him home fevenfold into his own Bofom; why the fame carefulnefs and circnmfpetl:ion would it work in all of us, did we as firmly and Itrongly believe thofc Things to be true, as God bath evidently and clearly revealed them to. be true in his Word. It is true, thefeThings we all know, and we· perfuade our felves that we do bcliev,;: them. Do we not profefs t? believe that 'Jefus ~~hrift fhal1 judge both f2.!.tick and Dead, and that all fhall recetvc Rewards accordtng to thc1r Works, thofe that have done Well fhall receive ~he R~ward of eternal Life, and thofe that have done Ill the Reward of eternal Death l Thefe Things we may indeed profcfs to believe, and thefe Things we may frequently reprefent to our own Thoughts; but the weak and fmall Int\uence that thefe Things have to over-awe our Confciences, cvincoth clearly that this is not Faith but Fancy: It is a wavering, unevident Opi.. nion that we have taken up, and tbat we call by the Name of Faith ; for did we live in the Belief of thefe Truths, we ihould no more dare to fin againft our Con· fciences, than if we faw Hell flaming before thefe Eyes of ours, and knew that upon the next Sin we commit we were tD be caft into it. And thus you fee a dogma~ · tic11l
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