DISCOURSE IX. 283 T. Who is this great Friend of St. Paul's whom he has known and believed. II. What he means by believing. III. What it is he has committed into the hands of this friend. IV. What is that day, or period of time, whenhe expected to find all safe which he had thusintrusted him with. I. Who is this great friend of. St. Paul's whom he had be- lieved, and of whose ability he was so well persuaded ? These words can be properly appliedto none so well as to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the mediator : and that for these reasons. It is he that is spoken of in the context ; ver. 10. " Who has abolish- ed death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel : And it is this gospel of Christ for winch Paul is not ashamed to suffer, in the words just before the text. It is Christwho is recommended as the proper object of be- lief . or trust in theNew Testament, as God the Fatherwas under the Old: So our Lord himself declares ; John xiv. 1. " Ye believe in God :. believe also in me. This was the great duty that all the firstpreachers of the gospel pressed upon their hear- ers, even abelief on Jesus Christ. This was the perpetual sub- ject of. St. Paul'sexhortations, the matter of his practice, and the ground of his hope, the instances are so numerous, that it is needless and endless to collect them. It is Jesus Christ into whose hands the Fatherhas put all his saints and children, -and committed them to his care, that he may keep them. John xvii. 6, 9, 12. G0 Thine they were,.and thou gayest them to me out of the world ; and I have kept them through thy name." And therefore intothe same hands a childof God mostnaturally com- mits himself. II. What does the word believe signifyhere ? By believingwe are here to understand an assent to the re- velation that Jesus Christ had made of himself, as sent from the Father to save sinners, and a trust in him for this salvation For the word rertr,Vxa, in the Greek, naturallyincludes both, and the following part ofthe verse confirms this sense : whichwill be made more completely evident in the improvement of this discourse. Here let it be remarked, from the bold andpathetic manner of speaking, that the apostle appears as a strong believer, as one that had much acquaintance with Christ, and long trusted in him, and everyday gained further confirmation of his faith. Observe the expression, I knowwhom Iheve believed, and am come to a confident persuasion in myself, that he isable, &c. It is a faith rising to divine joy; for he mentions it as his support against shame and suffering. III. When 'we enquire, what it is that the apostle commit- ted to Christ ? I think there is no need to limit or confine the trust ; all thatbelongs to poor sinful man, which God the Father had appointed Christ to take care of, may be included in this
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