The Works of Jeremiah Burroughs 9-11, Treatise 1 · Chapter 4
CHAP. IV.
Fourthly, Faith is precious, because it's that gives a substance to things hoped for, and an evidence of things not seen.
FOurthly, The Grace of Faith is a most precious Grace, because it's that which doth give a substance unto things hoped for, and an evidence to things that are not seen: Heb. 11. 1. there is such a Description of Faith as we have not in all the Book of God besides, Now Faith is the Substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen: For the opening a little of this, that we may see what abundance of Excellency and preciousness there is in Faith; It is the Substance; the word inforeign, Substance: in the Original it is Subsistence: Vox a platonicis, Grotius. the Greek is, that which gives a real substantial being to (things that are hoped for) things that have no reality of being in themselves for the present, Faith doth make them real and present to the soul; that's the meaning of this first expression, The substance of things hoped for, those things that otherwise might seem to be but notions, or imaginations, & fancies, and the conceits of men, faith makes them to be the greatest realities in the world, Faith doth give them a substance, makes them all substantial things: Many of you it may be have heard much of the Kingdom of Heaven, of the glory of the soul that is departed, and what body and soul you shall have hereafter with God in Heaven, the vision of God, and the presence of God, and the like: but now if this grace of Faith be not in the soul, these things are but meerly fictions to men, and I fear least they have been so to many, meer imaginations; these are fine things that the Minister speaks of, witty Notions and curious fancies of men, and such kind of thoughts I fear many have of them: Certainly all carnal hearts are possessed with such kind of thoughts of the Kingdom of Heaven; What tell you me of such things? give me House and Land, and let me enjoy an Estate here in this world, and as for these things they are such as are above us; and such kind of reasonings are the whisperings of some mens spirits: Oh the poor thoughts that men have of the things of the Kingdom of Heaven before Faith comes into the foul; but when Faith comes into the soul, they are made the most real things of any in the world; the soul comes now to see those blessed and glorious things that are revealed in Christ about the Kingdom of Heaven the most real and substantial of any things in the world, and now is ashamed of those vain conceits that it had of those things heretofore, and indeed the things of the world are but fancies in the hearts of Beleevers: Here's the change that Faith makes, before faith came, the things of the world were substantial, and the things of Heaven were imaginations and fancies; but now when Faith comes, the things of the World they are but fancies, and the things of Heaven they are the substantials, for so the Scripture speaks of the things of the World, that it is but much fancy; as it is said offoreign, Acts, 25. 23. Cum multa ostentatione. Beza. Cum multo apparatu. Erasmus. Cum multa ambitione. Vulg. In Elatione multa. Syr. Cum comitatu multo. Arabs. Avec grand pompe. Gal. et sic nostrum, with great pomp. The Original words signifie with great fantasie, or vain shew. A Graecis vocatur, foreign, à luce et lumine, &c. Agrippa, that he came with much fancy: But now for the things of Heaven and Eternal Life, they have a substance in them, a reality in them; so saith the Apostle, Faith is the substance of things hoped for; it reallizeth them to the soul. Further, The substance of things hoped for; though the things are not for the present in possession, yet it gives a substance to them, for thee to be in Heaven, and enjoy the presence of God, thou art not now actually in Heaven; I but faith makes it as it were actually done, it makes those things to have a substance (as the word may be translated) a subsistance, it doth give the things of Heaven a present subsistance to thy soul; so the Scripture speaks somtimes of the Kingdom of Heaven, that that is in you; and it was a Speech of Ecolampadius when he lay upon his sick bed, and they bad him think on Heaven, Why, I bless God I am in Heaven already (saith he.) Look as it is with Despair (oppose that to Faith) that makes Hell as present to the souls that do despair, one that is in despair doth feel the very wrath of God presently burning upon him, doth not only fear that he shall go to Hell afterwards, but even feels himself in Hell already: And so it was a speech of Spira, Verily desparation is Hell its self; and many poor people that have layen upon their sick beds, wicked and ungodly men and women that have had horror upon their consciences, they have cryed out that they have been in Hell already. Now as despair on the one side, which is contrary to Faith, hath the power to make Hell torments to be real and present now to the soul; so Faith on the other side, being contrary to it, hath that vertue and efficacie in it to make all the glory and blessedness of Heaven to be real and substantial to the soul.
I shall proceed to the Second Branch of this Description:
The Evidence of things not seen.
Object. I but are these things certain?
Answ. Yes, Faith gives an Evidence.
Object. I but they are not seen; if Heaven were open to men as it was to Stephen, and I could see Christ at the right hand of the Father as he did, then it were somwhat.
Answ. Saith the Text, Faith is the EVIDENCE of things not seen; it is the Demonstration, so the word that is translatedforeign, the Evidence or convincing demonstration: as the word is, Chrysostomus vertit convictionem secutus Agustinum, qui plurib…s locis i… transt…it. in your Books [Evidence] it is a word that signifies to demonstrate and convince by the strongest Arguments that may be; Faith doth convince by Argument, and make things cleer and evident unto the soul, makes them sure and certain unto the soul; it is Faith that gives such a piercing eye that the soul is able to look up to Heaven to the Throne of God, and see Jesus Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father, and making intercession for the soul, to see it as really as if he should see one at the right hand of a Judg presenting a Petition, for certainly Faith hath as piercing an eye as Stephens bodily eye was; God is so able to elevate the eye of the body, as that it shall be able to look up to Heaven, as he did elevate Stephens eye; but certainly Faith (that is the eye of the soul) is capable of a higher Elevation than the eye of the body possibly can be, the bodily eye is precious, that Cristal Pearl that is in a mans eye, what man in the world would give but one of his eyes for any Diamond or Pearl upon Earth? it were an unworthy thing for any to make such an exchange, to give both his eyes, to lose the benefit of those things he sees in Nature, of the Sun, Moon, and Stars, or of the Seas, what man in the world would lose such a benefit? Certainly there is no man would have lost the benefit of that he hath seen, and of his present seeing for a whol world (if he were a wise man.) Now if God hath placed such a thing in ones body that shall be of such great use to discover such great things of God unto us as our eyes do, for by our eyes we come to see the wonderful works of God, and much of God comes to be let into the soul by the eye; you that have been abroad and seen the wonderful works of God, Oh how much of God have been let in, especially if you have had gracious hear…s, you might have had abundance of God let into your souls by that which you have seen with your bodily eyes: But now argue a little from the less to the greater, If such a bodily thing as a mans eye hath so much excellency and preciousness in it, and lets in so much of God to the soul, Oh what doth this Diamond that God puts into the soul! how much doth that let in of God to the soul! Then a man comes to see the wonders of Gods Law and Gospel when God gives him an eye of Faith: And there is the like difference between a man that hath not Faith, and another that hath, it is the same difference as if a man were born blind, or were shut up in a Dungeon, and suddenly this mans eyes should be opened, and he should come and see all the great things of God in the world, this man should behold the glory of the Sun; he had heard talk of the shining of the Sun, and of the Heavens, and of the Stars, and Moon, and Seas, and Trees, and Fields, and beautiful things in the World, but alas he knew not what they meant, only he heard people talk of it, and perhaps he could talk what he heard before; but now his eyes are opened, and he comes to behold all these things: Such a kind of change there is in the hearts of men when God doth put Faith into them, they come to have another eye to let in the great things of Christ, and to see them evidently, such an Evidence that the soul is content to venture all that it hath upon it; such an Evidence hath one that hath faith: howsoever other men will not venture any thing for the things of Eternal Life that they hear preached unto them, they will not venture the parting with any one lust, they will not venture the loss of their Estates, if they have but hopes of gaining never so little a matter by any sinful way, they will not venture the loss of their sinful gain, because they look not upon these things as real; but when God puts Faith into the soul, saith the soul, take all, I am content to venture my Estate, my Name, my Liberty, all my Comforts, I am content to venture my Soul, I am content to venture Eternity upon this Word of God that doth reveal such things as these are; here's Faith now, so that you by this may see that Christians that are never so poor and weak, yet they have the same Faith with those that are the most eminent, and wheras there are some that have excellent parts, learned Doctors that can talk more of Faith and Religion, I but they having not Faith to make the evidence to their souls, they will venture nothing; whereas you shall have a poor man or woman that works at their daies labor for their dayly bread, to whom God hath given Faith, they will venture more for God and Jesus Christ than your great Doctors: Here's the preciousness of Faith, It is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. There are many things of God that we have made known by Reason, Faith doth elevate Reason, and discover those things more gloriously to us than Reason could do; therefore the Apostle in speaking of the excellency of Faith, saith in Heb. 3. 11. Through Faith we understand that the Worlds were framed; Why do we not understand that without Faith? A man by the light of Nature can know that nothing can be eternal of its self; I but saith the Apostle, by Faith we know that the Worlds were made; as if he should say thus, Indeed there are many things that you know by the eye of Reason, but when you come to have Faith, you shal know in a higher manner than ever you knew before, Faith will give a new light to all things, all things will become new, there will be a new world; as the difference between the light that there is in Heaven (the place of the blessed) and the light that is here in the world, certainly it's different; now we have the light of the world by the Sun, but in the highest Heavens, there's no Sun there, and yet there's light as much as here, and more too, the blessed Saints in Heaven they have light, and yet they have not the light of the Sun there; there's a great deal of difference between that light and the light of the Sun; as thus, In the night season you have a Candle, and you have light then, I but there's a great deal of difference between the light of a Candle, and the light of the Sun: so there is a great deal of difference between the light of the Sun, and the light of God in the highest Heavens: So there is as much difference between the light a man hath to understand things by Reason, and of his understanding things by Faith, he understands the same things; as by the light of a Candle I can, see the same things as I can see by the light of the Sun; and so when I come to Heaven, I may see the same things that I see in the World, as the bodies of the Saints, &c. but with another light, the presence of God doth enlighten the place; so Faith is like that Light that is in Heaven, the place of the blessed that doth discover things by the presence of God, it is but indeed the radiation of the Presence of God to the soul. It is a Speech of Luther, Faith is a certain beam of the very Divinity that is shed down into the heart of a Beleever, a Beam of the Divinity, that as God in Heaven by his own presence filling that place with the beams of his own Light, makes it a glorious place of Light; so God comes to the soul and fills the soul with his presence by working faith in it, and so makes it full of light; it is a kind of omnipotent thing, and the vertue of it is inestimable and infinite; so saith Luther (who was a man that was acquainted as much with the excellency of Faith as any man that I know of since the Apostles time,) Thus it's evident what a precious thing Faith is: The Application of the Point follows.