6. His invitation. This addes to all the reft: Behold he calls thee, Rev. 3. 18. Buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white rayment, that thou mayeft be cloathed; and anoint thine eyes with eye-falve, that thou mayeft fee. Rev. 22. 17. Let him that is a thirst come, and whofoezer will, let him take the waters of life freely. Heb.10.22. Draw neer in full affurance of faith. But this I have touched heretofore, therefore I fpare to infift, propofing onely one thing; that the invitation of Chrift is not onely to faith, but to the life of faith; not only to acceptance, but to dependance allo: not only to take his perfon, but to truft, and reft upon bis merit, and to ferve our felves of his fulneffe. As if Chrift should fay unto a beleever, I am thine, and all that I have is thine; now I pray thee in all thy neceffities, come unto me, live upon my ftock, draw from my fountaine; when guilt is upon thee, make use of my blood; when wants are upon thee, make use of my treasure; when temptations are upon thee, make ufe of my power: when infirmities are upon thee, make use of my interceffion, &c. 7. His affurances. What is that will you fay? Why; this it is, he doth affure the beleever, that if he will make ufe of him, he will not faile him, but will be: effectual unto him. See a place or two for this. Mark 11. 24. What things faever ye defire when ye pray, beleeve that je receive them, and pe· hall have them. Joh 14. 13.Whatsoever ye shall ask in my Name, that will I do, that your Father may be glorified in the fame! There be foure things by which we may be perfwaded: that Chrift will do us good, if that we will live upon him by faith. Firft his expreffe promife, which you fee in that place alledg.. ed, John 14. 13. whatsoever ye ask in my Name, that I will do:: Obferve it well he faith not, ask one particular onely, but: Wabaifoever ye ask in my Name, be it mercy, or be it justificati on, or be ic holineffe,&c. again, I will do it, as if he should fay, ye fhall not need to trouble your ietves; and do not you fear, by reafon of your unworthineffe; I will take the matter upon my felf, I will fee it done: now brethren, when he that can help faith, I will help; when he that can do all things,promifeth us that he will do any thing for us,have we not cause to truft?. Secondly, his fealing of the promifes: The promifes (you know) do plentifully undertake all the latitude of the foules eftate, and of the bodies too: There is mercy for tranfgreffis ons, grace for finfulnesse, comfort for teares, peace for trouble, ftrength for weaknesse, victory for affault, c. All which pro mifes Chrift hath fealed and ratified by his blood, and therefore his blood is ftiled the blood of the Covenant. See Heb.9. 15, 17. 13. 20. The principal reafon whereof is, to fettle the hearts of beleevers, and to encourage their fouls to live up. on him for the performances of them, they being all in him, Tea and Amen, 2 Cor. 1.20. 3. His actual impetration of all that good which now we do enjoy. Why O Chriftian, are thou afraid to live upon thy Saviour for more good? who was it that procured unto thee that fame heavenly condition which now thou doest enjoy? haft thou any relation to God as thy God? Chrift did procure it: Is any one finne fubdued? Chrift hath done it; Is any one finne got off and pardoned? Chrift did procure it: Is there any melting in thy breaft, any hatred of corruption, any defires of grace, any endeavour, any ftrength? Chrift wrought them, Thou doeft feek them, but Chrift did work them. Now this is to be learned,that what fpecial thing Christ bath done, that is a pledge and an affurance that Chrift is willing to do more: Every gracious fruit and work points us to him the fountaine and cause upon whom we are to trust, not only for the entrance, but alfo for the progreffe and compleatment of our spiritual cftate. 4. His perfonal donation: He hath given himselfe unto thee, and will he not do other things for thee which is greater. 5. His offices: All of them call upon us to live upon Christ by faith. To what end was he Prieft? was it to fatisfie for himfelf? He needed not to fatisfie for his own finnes who was without all finne: Nor doth he make his own peace, whom the the father did, and doth ever love: Verily his fatisfactions were for tranfgreffors, and if there be any fcope and intention of the vertues of that fatisfaction, affuredly they look directly upon penitentiall beleevers: fo likewife his interceffion (which is another part of that office;) why? is it,think you, for himself? may, in that he is a Mediator, and a Mediator is an Agent 'twixt two perfons, he bath no wants to be supplied, he needs not to ingratiate himfeif, affuredly brethren, be ever lives to make interceffion for us, for us, faith the Scripture, and He ever lives to do that work; He is continually offering and prefenting the efficacy of his merit, which, as a sweet incense perfumes our continual Sacrifices, fo making them acceptable, &c. The like may be faid of his Prophetical and Kingly offices: he was invested with them as our Mediator, and therefore for our good. ; Now fay, what a blafphemous abfurdity were it to conceive, of Jefus Chrift as of an Idol,which hath eyes, but fees not; which hach eares, but heares not; which hath bands, but handles not; which hath feet, but walks not. That he should he a Prieft to offer for finne, and yet we will not trust upon him for the pardon of the leaft; that he fhould live to make interceffion, and yet we will not deliver any one requeft into his hands, or relie on him to obtaine us any one good thing which we need or crave: That he is a King, able to fubdue all his enemies a Prophet,and able to teach any mans heart; but we will not credit our fouls upon him, we will not repofe the victories of our corruptions upon his mighty arme, nor the reforming and beautifying of our fpirits upon his fingular wisdom and holineffe. Why? what didft thou think or mean, when thou didst accept of him to be thy Mediator? didft thou conjecture that if once thou gavest thy confent to take him, that never after thou shouldst need him? or if fo, wouldeft never make use of him? Well, no more; what the Apoftle faid in another cafe, that I fay in this, if we will not live by faith upon Chrift, we do what in us lies make void the Redemption of Chrift, the interceffion of Chrift,the bolineffe of Christ, the glory and power of all the offices of Christ, LI 9. If 9. If all this will not move us to live by faith in Chrift, (that is) to trust upon him for the help and fupply of our ipiritual efface; then take one thing more, there is an impoffibility of lupplies for thy foul any other way; go and think, and act any other course to do thy foul good, besides this, and it shall be fruitleffe, after many years induftry; as thou art, fo ftill shale thou be Obj. Thou wilt fay, I will never leave complaining of this nature till it be bettered. Sol. Thy nature is not bettered by complaint, but by grace, and that is in Chrift, and never had,till we can trust. Object. Thou wilt fay, I will never leave grieving, nor praying, nor hearing, nor reading, nor fafting, nor conferring, till, &c. Sol. 'Tis true, thefe are meanes, but where is the cause? What if a man fhould fay, I will ftay here all my life at these conduit pipes, but I will have water, whiles in the meane time the fountaine yields not forth. I confeffe the Chriftian muft apply himself to the Ordinances, but then it is Chrift who fends forth the help, and then do the Ordinances deliver us our helps from Chrift, not prefently when one hears, but when effectually they have enabled us to beleeve. If thou canft heare and beleeve, pray and beleeve, mourne and beleeve, faft and beleeve, &c. Then good fhall come unto thy foul. Draw a thoufand bonds, yet if they be none of them fealed, nothing is yet legally and forcibly made over and conveyed: many prayers availe little or nothing till they are fealed with faith, and now God will acknowledge our de mands as authentick, and Chrift will deliver unto us our hearts defire. I had thought to have handled the oppofites of the life of faith ̧ with the evidence of a true living by faith, and alfo the meanes which might affift us to the life of faith: But I recal my felf, I may not expatiate fo farre, fufficient bath been touched for this Ufe, perhaps the subject may be more amply treatifed, if ever I fhould come to fet down before that theame die rectly and intentionally: I therefore proceed to another Ule. CHAP. The improvement of faith to a full Will yet advance on to one Ufe more; Since Divines obferve a double act of faith. One of adherence, by which it cleaves unto Chrift, and relies upon him alone for righteoufneffe, pardon of fin, grace and falvation. Another is of evidence, by which it cleares unto the foule its intereft in Chrift, and his righteoufneffé and me rits. In the former, the foul renounceth all other corner ftones, all other rocks of falvation, and trufts only upon the Name of Jefus Chrift, accepts of him as the only Lord, and relies on him as the only Saviour, cafting or rolling its heavenly and eternal fiferies into his bleffed armes. In the latter, the foul feels it felf reciprocally embraced by Chrift; I have accepted of him to be my Lord, and he faith, I am thy King. Thave relyed on him to be my Saviour, and he faith, I am tky) Salvation; For pardon of finnes, and he faith unto me; Be of good cheer, thy fins are forgiven thee. i Now to this part of faith do I defire to mount the foul of a true beleever, viz. not only to apprehend Chrift, but to know? himself to be apprehended by bim; not only to beleeve, but to know him whom he hath beleeved To rife thus far by faith to L12 an |