i Thcddcrip· ~~ th~ n. Chap. to the .!Jebr•. • crafty(,nd yet fooli01) wifcdome, the decay– ing fireng:th,the vanifhing bcaucy,thc cranfito– ric honour of this \1\'orld. A I not of faLil;l£ faith. . r -- i?< vnd<rj/and . . That is, whereas rherearc m~n}r ihi.ngs bP If thou hafr true faith, thou arc furc to hauc enemies: r. The wicked of chc world will ne.. ucr brooke thee, but openly orpriuatly hate&: bun thee.Then the dcuill is thy fwornc enemy: 1 how canfl: thou deale \·vieh fo powcrfr..ill an cnc- ; mic-, aud all his \\•ickcd inllrumcnts? Here is ! found comfort:ifthou h,flfaith,thou hall God thy frcind : labour therefore for this true faith; and then care not for the deuil,and lll his pow– er. Night and dly, Oceping lnd waking, by land and fea thou art fafe and (ccUrc, !he dcuill cannot hurt the~Jthy f:tith makes thec3tccptcd of God, and brings thee 1 Nithin the compaiTc of his proteCliori, The flme lirtldpltkc of B faith, which is in fo narrow a compaffc as thy heart, is {hongcr then :1ll the power and malice of Satan. As forthe malice which his inflru.:. mcncs, wicked men in this world,fhew'agai~fl: thee in mocks and abtilcs, much le fie care for 1 them: for their nature is to (pc:~kc euill , and cannot doe othcrwife : Jo·oke not therefore at them, but !ookc vp into hea>itn by the eye of thy foule, where rhy faithmaf:tirbecbdoued& appYooued of God himfc!f<, and honourable in d1e prcfence of his holy Angels. I yond the reaCh ofrcafon,aed thc~cforc,by .rca– fon c:mnot b~ apprd~endcd or vnderHOod, yet . by vetcue of":this_ fairb a man is brotJghtJO I vndcribnd them, :md ro bclccuc rhqn_:to bee 1 true. · . \'•~j No\lv then whereas gc:ncr31l faith ~riJJgs Vn.J" I dcrlbnding of rnariy thinfis \·vhich n;afotl con.... I not reach vmo; here, fuch as be Hudcnt.s in humane kar.ning, and whkh labour to :maioc to the 'dccpcndfe and perfeCtion of,it ,_arc taught, with thcirrraucll in humane 'fiudics, to hluc care to ioyuc faith and kno\\,ICdgc of religion. For rhcr~ arc many things "'·hi'ch our vndcrflandingby reaiO_n cannOt concciue; and may truthcs ....vhich Philofophy ci'l:'lnot rc.lch vmo; nay, many alfo which it dcnics:bu't fait If is able to perfwadc and demonfiratc. then\ rul, and it inlightcns the mindc; and t!eCbfics 'the iudgetnem, when as Philofoph)' lmh left the Il'!ind in darkndfc, and t~c iudgcmcmj n error. NoW; in whom found ki>owlcdge lh Philofo– phy, and this faith in rcligiori doe coJJcurrcto-t gcthcr, hce i~ a m:Ul ofa mofi .rc:Clified iUdgc– mcnt; and of a dccpc reach in the gre:uc!l mat~ ters : but, fcpar.ate fP.ith from humane .koow.r.. ledge, and h.e:c·_,.._,ill flumble at many truth.csj. though hee hot{ the wit 9fall the Phl!ofophers i_n his O\o\'nc b.cad : For example, .rhat God lhould make the wbr!d .of .nothing: that .it· lhould haucb.cginningandc.nding: thncGoa And thus much of the fccond action or ef~ feCi of faith, the third followcth. VERSE 3· Through faith 'fllee vnder.- flamlthat the 'fllorld 'flltUordai– nedby the wordoJqod, fothat the things 'fllhich wee foe, are not made of things 'fllhich did 11ppeare. I N .this.verfc is contained the third a&ion or ef!eC\ of faith, namely this; Faith tmkcs a I man to vndecfland things bcyopd the rclrh of mans reafon.This third cffeC\ is f<t out in thcfc words, by the int!an'c of a notable eXlmplc; I namely,ofth.e Creation ofthe worl.d; r, By the word of Gop. :. Ofnothing:both which,tha: we may the bcrt~r-vnderfland, let vs confider i of the wordsasrhey licin order. Thr..,ghfa;rh • 1 r. Byfaith,inthisplacc(as!ukcit) isnot · me:lntthat faui11g faith, which iuflifics a man before God; but a general! -fi'irb, whereby a rn:m imhraccth Chrifiian rdi~ion:or .....vhcrby a man bclccucth the word of l.iod in the <lo– llrine of the Law and the Gotpel, to be true. My rc:1!·on is. bccaufc aman that ncuc( had iu1\ifyinpnd f•uingfaith, and is no ·membcr of the cJtholil<c Cn~rch, nor child o(God, may hauc thiS g1ft, 1o beleeuc that God by hiS • I word made the world ofnothing, Therefore 1 Ithinkcth:n this i.s :m aCtionof a~ g.cnerall, 31 ;d C lhoiild be emnall,and not the world:tlmmans foule bcelng created, is i!nmo;tall: Thefe and maQy other tr_uc~es, rcafon c3~noc fcc,.'and' therefore Philofophy · will noi.adtnit·~ hnt ioyne faith to it, and then.Jhac cr.ookcd .vndcr.. fianding is reCtified and)11ade to beleeue it, .fi ,, thercfore.good couhfell,.to ioyne botn thefe together. Religion hinders not humane Icar... nihg, as fome fondly thinke; bu, is . a funhc– tance lnd hdpc,or rath~r the perfeCtion ofhu. inati~lc~rning, pc~fw~d~ng,and pro~U_i?g,~ud contimcmg that, '"'l11ch humane lcarn11J{;Clii.;. nor.And thus we fee ho\v faith inakcsvs tovn': derlhnd: , . ~ .•,, .. But wh~t cloth it moke vs to ~ndcrfland?the text foith, Tharrhe world WM ordained, .&1:. A• D mongfi many·Expofitions ''c may Jlloitlafcly fer downe and approoue this;God by his:','I'Ord or commandemcnt hath ordained, that is,trrJde in-good order; theagcs,rbat is, the.worl(J 'and .all io it; and all this he did by his word 7 and (vd1ich is more firange thcn ·th3t} made ·them all of nothing. This is a '"''ondcrfull thing: rCa- • fon conccmcs it nor, but difiurc.s .ago.infi it: Philofoph..,c grams it not, but \\·ritcsagain.fi:it.: but tnark_e the priuiled;?c ofchis faith; iirnakcs a. man bclceuc it, and Jhcwes him alfO how it is. ~ .. . Now for our better pcrceiuing the exccl1cn– cic ofrhis power'of faith)rcrc arc fourC pOints fet downc~ I. \Vhat was created : The wor!t:J.J. ____ _______ , .1il ~- - - - --- 9
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