Owen - BS1450 130st 093 1669

i i 6 saving Faithwhere there is noA Trance. PCal. i 30. hit God. Here is the fear of the Lord and Obedience , with a bleffed encouragement to reft in God, and his Alfudiciency, yet noAffurance, nor light, but darknef, and that walked in, or continued in for a long feafon. For he cannot walk in dark; nefl, meet with nothing but darknefs, without any beam or ray of Light, as the words lignifie, who is perfwaded of the Love of God in the pardon of his fins. And yet the faith of fuch an one, and his Obedience fpringing from it, have this Gracious Promife of Acceptance with God. And innumera- ble tetiimonies to this purpofè might be produced , and in- fiances in great plenty. I (hall only tender a little Evidence unto it, in one Obfervation concerning the nature of faith, and one more, about the propofal of the thing to be believed, or forgivenefs. And, z. Faith is called, and is a cleaving unto the Lord, Deut. 4.. 4, Ye that did cleave, or adhere unto the Lord; that is, who did be- lieve. Jofh. 23. 8. cleave, or adhere unto the Ltrd your Cod. The fame word is ufed alfo in the New Tedament,A6s 11.23. He exhorted them that with purpofe of heart they would cleave unto the Lord, or continue fledtaü in believing. It is alto often ex- preffed by trufting in the Lord, rolling our burden, Or ca/ting our care upon him, by committing our [elves or our wayes unto him. Now all this goes no further than the fouls Kefignation of it felt unto God to be dealt withall by him according to the tenor of the Covenant of Grace, ratified in the blood of Chrift. This afoul cannot do without a difcovery of forgive- nefs in God. But this a foul may do, without a fpecial 4u. rance of his own intereft therein. Thisfaith that thus adheres to God, that cleaves tohim, will carry men to conclude, that it is their Duty, and their Wifdom, to give up the difpofal of their fouls unto God, and to cleave and adhere untohim as revealed in Chrift, waiting the pieafureof his will ; It ena- bles them tomake Chrift their choice; and will carry men to Heaven fàfely, though it may be at Come feafons not very comfortably. 2. The Revelation and difcovery offorgivenefl that is made in the Gofpel, evidenceph the fame truth. The firft propofal of it or concerning it, is not to any man, that bit fins are fàrgiven.

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