A Model of Divinity, Chapter 2
CHAPTER II. Of Faith in God.
Queſtion.
VVHat are the parts?
Anſwere.
Faith in God, and obedience towards God. In the old Teſtement is devided into feare and ſeruice, Deut. 6.13. Ioſh. 24.14.1. Sam. 12.24. Ob 28.28. Pſal. 2.11. Eccl. 12.13. Feare is the head or beginning of this wiſedome, Pſal. 111.20. Pro. 9.10. and therefore to ſerue God without it, is a head-leſſe Religion. Yet on the other ſide, what comfort can we hauehave in ſuch an head, or Maſculine diſpoſition, if with the Iſraelites brood it ſhould be ſmoothered in the birth; or recoile like Zarah in Thamars wombe. So perfect is this Art, that wee muſt hauehave cleane fingers as well as cleane hearts. It is the plea of Ignorants in doing euill, to ſy they hauehave good hearts; which vndoubtedly are the worſt; for theſe two parts will euer goe together. Divine Philoſophie will teach vsus to referre all our ſpeculations to action, yea, our very affections. Feare in Scripture is ever accompanied with ſeruice, & ſeeing God hath ſo wedded them together, let no man preſume vponupon any condition to devorce them; as Papiſts doe with a dead faith: but their diſpenſation therein is the diſſipation of the truth, which will hauehave ſeruice and obedience the true probats of faith and feare. And as Dalilah ſaid to Sampſon, How canſt thou ſay thou loueſt mee when thy heart is not with mee? So how can they profeſſe they louelove God, whoſe hearts obey him not? In the new Teſtament, Religion is diſtributed into faith and lone. 2. Tim. 1.13. Keepe the paterne of wholeſome words, which thou haſt receiued of me in faith and louelove. LoueLove ſprings from faith. 1. Tim. 1.5. And faith workes by louelove. Gal. 5.6. and louelove fulfils the law. Rom. 13.10. not by action, but intention; for it is the end of the law. 1. Tim. 1.5. God accepting ſincere louelove for perfect dutie. By faith wee are ſpiritually glued and cimented to God, that we may bee one ſpirituall body with him; in which ſenſe it is ſaid, He that is glued to the Lord is one ſpirit. 1. Cor. 6.17. Cords will bind, ſo will the cords of louelove. Hoſ. 11.4. Zach. 11.7. But cords may be vnknitt: Nailes will faſten, and wee hauehave the words of the wiſe as nailes faſtned by the maſters of the aſſemblies. Eccl. 12.11. but yet nailes may ſlip, or leaue a chinke: onelyonly the glew of faith. ioynes all cloſe together, or rather both theſe parts will cauſe vsus, with full purpoſe of heart to cleaue vntounto the Lord, Act. 11.23. The heat of faith and louelove will digeſt this whole Art, that it may be diſtributed into the veines of eueryevery good word and worke. Theſe two will make vp a perfect paire of compaſſes, that can truely take the latitude of this Art. And firſt muſt wee hauehave faith as the one foote pitcht vponupon the Center, which is God, whiles obedience as the other walkes about in a perfect circle of all good duties. The fire of faith, and light of life, will evince againſt the gates of hell, the vndoubted truth of Religion. So that by theſe ſweete and cordiall flames may the ſoule of eueryevery Chriſtian warme it ſelfe, againſt all thoſe cold deſpaires whereunto Satan tempteth.
Q. What is Faith?
A. The firſt part of Religion, whereby from knowledge I beleeue in God; the firſt act of faith is paſſiue in receiuing what God giueth. And ſo layes hold of happineſſe, workes it not: Faith makes iuſt, as the hand makes rich, that is filled with the wealth of another; or, as the Iewellers boxe, baſe in it ſelfe, is made precious for the pearles it containeth: Here may wee iuſtly ſay, it is a poorer and meaner act to beleeue, then louelove; nay, rather paſſion then action; for, we are firſt apprehended of God before we apprehend him againe Phil 3.12. This grace is moſt freely graced, that it might the more frankely reflect all vponupon God a gaine. And becauſe it is the roote of all the reſt will teach humilitie, & exclude boaſting: like the ful eare of corn that hanges downe the head towards the originall, or if any be ſo graciouſly exalted, and freely favoured aboue his fellowes, that his ſtalke is ſo ſtiffe, that it beares him vp aboue the reſt of his ridge, then faith will make him looke vp to heauen aboue, not in the thoughts of pride, but in the humble vowes of thankefulneſſe, and ſay with Mary, the Lord hath regarded the low eſtate of his ſervant. Thus will faith (rightly vnderſtood) teach vsus to knead nature in the durt and duſt, and ſpoyle our free will of all her proud ragges, loading her with reproches, and giuegive all glory to him, that ſayes he will not giuegive it vntounto another. Papiſts being of late more aſhamed then before, doe confeſſe all is giuen: but (ſay they) is it not all one to pay a ſumme, and hauehave ſo much giuen mee as may pay it? No doubt, Faith receiues a full diſcharge, makes it not. We rather by Faith receiue an acquitance ſealed in the blood of Chriſt, then the blood of Chriſt to make our owne workes meritorious, which we may offer to God in payment for our ſelues. Eternall life. Rom. 6.23. is both merit and merciemercy, we take it as a gift, Chriſt earnes it as wages, Ephe. 2.8. Saluation through faith, yet not of our ſelues. Here lies the errour of the Papiſts, euen in faith it ſelfe, and eueryevery other good grace of the ſpirit, that our free will hath his intervention and operation, betwixt Gods giuing and our taking: ſo that if God will but beare halfe the charges by his co-operation, man ſhall vnderunder-take to merit his owne glory, and fulfill the royall law ſo abundantly, that he ſhall hauehave ſomething over and aboue, to be very beneficiall and helpefull to his needie neighbours. But the way of the law is longer then our purſey hearts, and ſhort legges can reach to the end and perfection of it. As Conſtantine ſayd to Aceſius the Novatian, Set vp ladders and climbe to heauen: ſo I to Papiſts, ſcale heauen by your workes; as for vsus we hauehave found another way, and that is to aſcend vponupon Iacobs ladder. Wee leaue tuggling and ſtrugling that way to preuaile, and fall with Iacob to wreſtle with Chriſt for a bleſſing. And though we goe lymping by our ſinnes, yet by our conquering Faith wee ſhall be Princes with God. By this therefore the vaunt of Papiſts, muſt needs avaunt: yet further, faith in another act will cut the very winde-pipe of our free-will, and merit. It is wittily ſayd of one, that faith in regard of his paſſiue act is rather a beggarly receiver, then a deſerving worker: all our converſion is paſſiue; but ſee faith in our actiue converſion, and you ſhall ſee workes a forme too low to come in any ſuch requeſt, as to iuſtifie. For what is faith, but as the hand of the ſoule? and what is the dutie of the hand, but eyther to hold or to worke? This hand then holds in the firſt part of Divinitie, and workes in the ſecond. Now without all queſtion, Iuſtification is to be taught in our firſt part, and therefore goes before obedience; and faith, which is as an inſtrument or hand, for to hold Chriſt to iuſtification, is mightie and operatiue both for ſanctification and new obedience. Workes therefore are the effects of ſanctification, and ſanctification is the effect of iuſtification; hence is it impoſſible to be iuſtified by workes as cauſes, as effects and fruits they may ſhew it. If then the ſecret apprehenſion of the cloſed hand of faith hide what it holdeth; ſee the hand of faith open to iuſtifie the cauſe by the evidence of the effects, & in this ſenſe workes may iuſtifie and perfect faith, as the ſecond part of any Art doth the firſt. Iam. 2.22.24. Papiſts againſt the whole order of Diuinitie would hauehave our workes to vſher in our Iuſtification, nay, as parents to beget it. Whereas they are in very deed the companions and pages, or honorable attendants of faith, and the righteouſneſſe it holdeth. Faith is both the mindes teſtimony in regard of the word, and the wills Amen, in regard of the ſpirit. Creed comes of credo, which ſignifies to ſee a thing certainely, and yeeld to it affiance. It is compounded of cernere, and dare. Pro certo videre, & pro certo dare. Hence Faiths motto, Caco nulli. By faith wee know whom wee hauehave beleeued. 2. Tim. 1.12. And our Creed puts vsus in mind of knowledge and affiance in faith: ſo the word it ſelfe teacheth no leſſe; for Faith comes of Fides, and fides of fiat dictum, where we hauehave God to ſay the word, and we ſay Amen vntounto it. The auncient Romanes at the very gate of their Pantheon, pictured faith with two hands cloſed together, intimating, that there was no comming to God but by the hand of faith. And Grace, which ſcorneth not to learne of Nature any good (though not Athens but Ieruſalem muſt teach this leſſon) can take this advice, as Moſes heard the good counſell of a Midianite, that he that commeth to God muſt beleeue that God, is, and that hee is a rewarder of all them that ſeeke him diligently. Heb. 11.6. That faith is the firſt part is cleare. Ier. 31.33.34. and 32.40. Firſt, God writes in vsus this principle of life, and then we obey him. Ezek. 11.19.20. and 36.26. Firſt, he puts in his ſpirit, and then cauſeth vsus to walke in his ſtatutes. Such is the ſervile, or rather bruitiſh nature of man, that he can neither be ſtirred, or ſtayed in any good courſe, except there go a new forming of his heart, before there be any reforming of his life. As dead bodies are rubbed without heat: ſo doe wee in vaine force vponupon our ſelues, an heartleſſe Religion without faith; all our life here is but a vitall death without it; till wee liue that life wee doe but carry our carcaſſes vp and downe careleſly, and doe nothing pleaſing vntounto God. Heb. 11.6. secondly, that faith is from knowledge, appeares Ioh. 6.69. and 16.30. and 17.3. Heb. 11.1. and that with affiance in God. Pſal. 40.4. Mark. 11.22. hence faith is a confidence in God, vponupon a particular aſſurance from God, that he is my God. Mark. 9.24. Rom. 4.20.21.2. Tim. 1.12. Faith layes not hold of God, as we take hold of a tree, or ſome ſuch like ſenceleſſe thing, but as we vſe to doe in our ſalutations, when there is a mutuall imbracing and kiſſing of each other. [aſpaſamenoi] Heb. 12.13.
Q. Seeing faith ſolely reſts vponupon God, what is God?
A. God in regard of himſelfe onelyonly knows himſlefe, as dwelling in the light vnaprochable, whom neuer man ſaw, neither can ſee. 1. Tim. 6.16. Ioh. 1.18. 1. Ioh. 4.12. The Sunne and the fire ſay of themſelues, come not too neere, how much more the light which none can atraine vntounto. Here the well is not onelyonly deepe, but wee want a bucket to draw withall. God to Moſes, Exod. 33.20. giues both the rule and the reaſon; thou canſt not ſee my face and liue: for, there ſhall none ſee me and liue. I muſt contract my meditations, leaſt the Art grow too big with amplifications. It would be an excellent worke, to write a booke by it ſelfe of the knowledge of Iehovah Elohim: It ſhall now be ſufficient to lay downe the precepts, with ſhort expoſitions, and as pregnant proofes as we can.
Q. What followes from hence?
A. That God is both incomprehenſible by reaſon, and vnnameable by words, and conſequently aboue all Arts; for Grammar and Logicke are the moſt generall, and goe before all other ſciences, nothing being to be conceiued without them. Iob 11.7.8.9. God is not to be found out by reaſon, therefore he cannot be meaſured by quantitie. Iob 36.26. too great for the finite vnderſtanding. God being the firſt is moſt intelligible, for prioritie of nature, ever goes with perſpicuitie of apprehenſion: But this is in God himſelfe, who beſt knowes his owne being, yea, better then any thing beſide it: although man better knowes other things then himſelfe. Gen. 32.29. Iudg. 13.18. Gods name, as his nature, is ſecret, and not be ſought; and this doth wonderfully ſtrengthen faith; for, if God were not greater then our apprehenſion, he could not helpe vsus infinitely. The holding of God by faith, is better then our beholding him by reaſon. Ephe. 3.20. God is able to doe exceeding abundantly, aboue all we can aske by words, or thinke by reaſon. foreign.
Q. May wee then inquire nothing?
A. Duet. 29.29. Secret things belong to the Lord our God, but things revealed belong to vsus, and our children for euer. Exod. 19.12. The people may not goe vp into the Mount, yet may they ſtand at the foote to heare God ſpeake vntounto them. Exod. 33.20.23. We may ſee Gods back-parts, but not his face. Rom. 1.19. that which may be knowne of God. ſome-thing is not to be knowne, as being too ſubtile for the eye of any creature. The beames of the Sunne are made viſible by reflection: and letters being refracted and broken in a paire of ſpectacles are made liable to a dimme eye: ſo Almightie God by his word and workes ſhining in his creatures, as in a glaſſe, is ſeene of vsus. Pſal. 19.1.7. & 104.24. and 119.105. Rom. 1.20. Iam. 1.23.25. but moſt of all by the eye of faith, looking in both. Heb. 11.3.27. Wee cannot looke vponupon the body of the Sunne, neither can we ſee at all without the light of it: ſo, as wee cannot looke vponupon the face and eſſence of God, ſo neither can we ſee any thing at all without him; hee therefore muſt name himſelfe, and ſo deſcribe himſelfe as wee may apprehend him by his owne Logicke and Grammar. It was well and modeſtly ſpoken by that Emperour to Ambroſe, Wee ſpeake of theſe things, not as wee ought, but as wee can: I hauehave euer thought with my ſelfe that here a fooliſh wiſedome is better then a wiſe ignorance, and that it is ſufficient to be one of Gods Court, though I may be none of his counſell. I will labour to know all that I need; and all that I may without prying into Gods Arke; aſſuring my ſelfe that he that is thus content to dwell with his poore ſervants in theſe ſmoky cottages of their mortality where we (through our vnquiet corruptions) will not ſuffer our ſelues to hauehave the full fruition of him, ſhall hauehave wonderfull happineſſe in our dwellings with him in thoſe eternall Tabernacles that are aboue. Alas, whiles the ſhadow of our ſinfull maſſe hides his beautie from our eyes, it is well if we can ſee any thing. This earthly Moone of the Church, hath her fulls and wainings; and muſt hauehave ſo long as ſhe wadeth in this planetary world: It is enough when ſhee is fixed aboue, to be in the full of her glory. Here wee hauehave but the dim ſhadowes of our future bleſſedneſſe. OnelyOnly at the right hand of our God are pleaſures for evermore; and ſuch pleaſures as if ever they could bee fully expreſſed or conceiued, were not worthy of our longings, nor able to ſatisfie vsus. For as God is infinite, and never to be comprehended eſſentially: ſo our ioyes are bottomleſſe, and ever ſpringing vp with new occaſions of our bleſſedneſſe. Oh then that wee could ſo much the more long to enioy them, by how much leſſe wee are able to comprehend them.