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q4í.
FAITH
BUfLT
ON
,KNOWLEDGE.
[DISC.`Ii4..
angels,
and..men
;
in
this,day
shall
Christ
openly deli-
ver up
his
great trust
tö the
Father,
Who
committed all
elect
sihners into his hands
:
In
this day shall
he
tnakeit
appear,
that
he has been able and faithful
to
keep what-
soever
God
and his
saints have committed to hire.
Besides, till this day come,
Christ
has
not
fulfilled
his
commission,
nor
answered
his
trust
for which
he
is
en-
gaged
to his
Father,
aid
to
believers;
for this
is
one
part
of.it,
that
he would
take care
of
their
dying bodies,
and
raise
them
up
at
the last day
;
John
vi. 39.
The apostle,
though
he
well knew
the
happiness
of separate
souls,
that
were
absent
from
the
body, and
immediately
present_
with the Lord,
yet
he
more
frequently points
to
this
bright and distant
day
of
the resurrection,.
when he
in-
vites
our
hope
abroad
beyond the limits
of
life
and
time
to give it'
the fairest and the longest prospect.
Thus
having
sufficiently
unfolded whatsoever might
teem doubtful
in the
text,
let
us
proceed
to
a more
par-
ticular improvement of it
:
And
to this
end
we
may
com-
prise
the sense
in this
one
proposition or doctrine
:
Doctrine.
A
christian
lays
a solid' foundation
for
his
faith and joyful hope
in
the knowledge
of
the person
whom
he
trusts.
He
has some good
acquaintance with
that great Friend
of
his,
to whom. he
commits all
his
con-
cerns
from time
to
eternity
;
and
upon
this
he
builds
his
confidence
and
comfort
;
and
from this
he
rises
to
joy
and
triumph.
The
words
of
my
text are
the
language
of
an advanced and
well
-
grown faith,;
and
both
my
doc-
trine and discourse keep
this
in view
;
yet the
nature
and
practice
of
a
sinners
first
addresses
to
Christ
by
faith,
may
be easily
learnt
hereby
;
as
I
shall
shew
hereafter.
To
confirm
and
improve
this
doctrine,
_let
us
consider,
I. What it
is
that
a
christiao
knows
of
Christ,
that
engages
his
trust
and confidence
?
.
II.
What
sort
of
knowledge
it
-is
?
And
how he
comes
by
it
?
And:
III.
What
useful
remarks
may be
drawn from
this sub
-
ject
Fiist,
What
is
it
that
a
christian
knows
of
Christ,
that
engages
his
trust
in
him
?
The
answer
may be
comprised
under
these
two4geue-
ral
heads
;
ris.
The
personal qualifications
of
Christ,