Two Books, Treatise 1 · Chapter 7
CHAP. VII.
A ſecond Work of Faith as it is an Act of the Ʋnderſtanding, viz. To perſwade the Soul to an aſſent. A third work, is to perſwade the Soul to go to Jeſus Chriſt for all things revealed to be in him. A fourth work is, to keep in mind the thoughts of theſe things thus revealed.
SEcondly: And as Faith doth thus in the Underſtanding inform, So it doth perſwade the Soul unto an aſſent, that is to judg and approve all the things that are revealed to be reall and true. Faith in the Underſtanding doth reveal the things promiſed as real and ſubſtantial, & not barely as news▪ but as matters of concernment; and not of concernment only, but as the things which cannot be otherwiſe. And therefore it works a firm aſſent in the ſoul, ſo as nothing can make it think otherwiſe. Nothing can make it queſtion whether theſe things be not to be had in Chriſt which it doth reveal. And ſo you have it in John 3.33. He that doth beleeve ſets to his Seal that God is true. He ſets to his Seal. It's a further confirmation (you know) in Law, for a man to ſet to his ſeal before witneſs than it is for a man to paſs his promiſe. When the Seal is ſet, there is no plea, as wel as no going back: That is the fulleſt confirmation ſuch a confirmation as Amen, and ſuch a ful aſſent doth faith work in the Soul concerning what it knows of Jeſus Chriſt: So that Faith wil ſay, It's true, and it cannot be queſtioned, and it is undoubted, It is worthy of all acceptation, as the Apoſtle ſaith in another caſe. And let the cunning and ſubtilty of Satan be what it will be, yet he holds that ſure which is ſpoken concerning the promiſes. And hence in all the troubles in the minds of the Saints, their trouble is not ſo much for any thing as this, that there being ſuch things to be had, that they have no ſhare nor portion in them as they fear. For the ſetting forth of this firm aſſent, In Bſay 53.1. Who (ſaith the Text) hath beleeved our report, and that word there foreign [Beleeved] is of ſuch a conjugation in the Hebrew Tongue, as maketh a thing out to be true, It gives it a being, that is, it makes the thing as reall, as if the thing revealed, were revealed unto ſenſe, and to be taken notice of by the eye, or ear, or the like. And in Rom. 4.21. it is ſaid that Abraham becauſe he had the promiſe of God, was fully perſwaded, that what God had promiſed he was able to perform. He was fully perſwaded. Where true faith is, there is not alwaies ſuch a ful perſwaſion that a man ſhal be ſaved: but where true faith is, there is a fulneſs of perſwaſion that the things revealed ſhall be accompliſhed: But yet not ſuch a fulneſs as no further degree can be added to it, but ſuch a fulneſs, as there is no doubt nor fear of the contrary: As full aſſurance is oppoſite to an opinion: whereas an opinion is nothing elſe but an aſſenting to a thing with fear that it may be otherwiſe than it ſeems to be. In oppoſition to an opinion, Faith is a full perſwaſion, though it's not a ful aſſurance as it notes perfection. As for example. He that ſees a color may be ſo certain as he cannot be deceived and yet he may ſee it more cleerly than he doth. So a man may have more of the Grace of the faith of aſſent, yet that further degree doth not adde any further certainty of the object, but only of the degree of beleeving. Joh. 10.3. Iſa. 55.3.And therefore in the Scripture, Faith is ſomtimes called ſeeing, and ſomtimes taſting. Taſt and ſee how good the Lord is. And ſomtimes hearing: My ſheep hear my voice. And hear and your Souls ſhall live. As reaſon perſwades the underſtanding in ordinary and natuarll things, and that Reaſon moſt which is demonſtrative. So Faith perſwades the Soul in things that are revealed, and though that the things themſelves do not appear, yet becauſe God ſaith they are ſo, it doth as verily beleeve them, as if they ſaw them with their eyes, or felt them with their hands, or were partakers of them by any ſenſe. And herein lies a very great difference between the people of God, Beleevers, and others. To others, the great things of the Goſpel ſeem to be as a ſtrange thing, yea as fooliſhneſs as the Apoſtle ſaith. And as the Apoſtle doth intimate in another place when he uſeth this phraſe, Why ſhould it ſeem ſtrange and incredible to you that God ſhould raiſe up the dead? All that the Goſpell ſaith till faith hath this work, is not only counted as a fable that is the Phraſe of the Apoſtle when he ſpeaks of them that preach Fables, ſuch things as are devices for ſome further end, and becauſe there are ſuch things but only uſed as a piece of Rhetorick to perſwade men to another thing: As there is no diſputing againſt ſenſe: A man feels it to be hot, and nothing can make him ſay it is cold; when he taſts the thing that is ſweet, nothing can make him ſay it is bitter. So nothing can make a man that beleeves, beleeve the things that are revealed to be otherwiſe. That is the meaning of the Apoſtle, 1 Cor. 2.15. That the ſpiritual man is judged of none. He may be cenſured of men for to be a fool, and by his own heart, and by Satan: What do you beleeve that God wil part with ſuch things unto ſuch a one as you are? Is it reaſon that the Lord of life ſhould die, & be made a curſe for you? But though he may be judged, yet he cannot be caſt in his judgment; he cannot be perſwaded to the contrary, from what he receives from the judgment of Faith in the Word of God. The ſpirituall man judgeth all things and he himſelf is judged of none. There is a Judgment of cenſure and a Judgment of conviction. By a Judgment of cenſure a Beleever may be condemned of others, and condemned and checkt by his own carnall heart. As Sarah laughed when ſhe heard the news of having a child in her old age, in whom all the generations of the World ſhould be bleſſed. So a man is ready to laugh at himſelf for beleeving things which the Goſpell requires which are ſo much above reaſon. I ſay a man may cenſure himſelf, and be cenſured by others. But with the Judgment of Conviction he cannon be Judged. The word foreign, which the Apoſtle uſeth ſignifies ſuch a kind of Judgment wch a man makes of a thing when he hath tri'd it in al the moſt exquiſite waies that poſſibly may be uſed. Such a kind of knowledg as a man hath of the matter which he hath gotten out of the confeſſion of another by torments and tortures. Do what you wil unto a Godly man and a Beleever, yet ſtill he holds that God is good, and that there are ſuch things in Jeſus Chriſt which the Goſpell reveals. Do what you will; Torture him with temptations, yet when he is himſelf he holds that. You may ſee this to be the nature of common Faith. Men that have but a common hiſtorical faith, yet they beleeve ſo firmly as nothing can make them denie Chriſt. As we ſee by experience of many among the Turks who have nothing but this Faith, yet when they have liberty offered them from thoſe torments upon refuſing to own Jeſus Chriſt to be God, yet they refuſe that liberty. Specially you ſhall ſind thoſe that have ſtrong faith, they will hold the concluſion when they cannot anſwer the reaſon. As Job ſaid unto his friends, Job 27.5. He would hold his Integrity till he died. Let them ſay what they would of Gods dealing with good men and bad men, yet he would hold his own. Thou knoweſt there is no Iniquity in my hand ſaith he. So when a Godly man knows not what to ſay, yet he ſaith this is the word of God, & that remaines Faithfull, and this is certainly true concerning Jeſus Chriſt, and cannot be queſtioned Nay, take thoſe that have weak Faith: As the Needle that is touched with the Load-ſtone, though it may be jogged, yet it wil turn again to the North. So though a weak Faith ſhould forget it ſelf, yet it will recant, and retract, and recover it ſelf again to the acknowledgment of the Truth. I ſhall ſay no more of this, but only thus much; That as he that hath drunk in an Opinion, is ſo prejudiced againſt the contrary, that he will not hear nor credit whatever is ſaid againſt it. So doth Faith prejudice the Soul againſt any ill reports or falſhoods that can be raiſed of Jeſus Chriſt, or the Promiſes.
Thirdly: As Faith doth this as it is an act of the Underſtanding; So it doth perſwade and lay arguments before the Will, that it ſhould go unto Jeſus Chriſt for all theſe things which are revealed to be had in him. As Jacob in Gen. 42.1, 2. ſaith to his Children, Why ſtand you here when there is Corn in Egypt? Go down thither. So doth this Faith ſpeak unto the Soul of a man. Why do you ſit weeping, and mourning, and lamenting your condition? What is it you want? If it be either Grace or Comfort, you may have it in Jeſus Chriſt. As the Angel did check Hagar for weeping ſo as ſhe did, becauſe ſhe was athirſt in the Wilderneſs, when there was a Well hard by: So doth Faith check the Soul when it lies moaning and complaining and doth not put it ſelf upon the Lord Jeſus Chriſt for a ſupply. What would you have ſaith Faith? If what you would have were not to be had, not to be had any where, or upon a rate that you could not give, then you might ſit down ſadly. But when it is but Take, and Eat, when it is but ſtretching forth the hand, and take of the Word of Life: Why do you not beleeve? As Jeſus Chriſt ſaid, upbraiding his Diſciples of their Unbelief, Why is it thus with you? You are troubled with an heart of Unbelief, becauſe it is dull, and becauſe it is dead, and becauſe you are hurried with temptations, and you would fain be quick, and beleeving, and be at peace and quiet: Now go unto Jeſus Chriſt. Thus Faith cals upon a man. Pſal. 16.7. ſaith David, I bleſs the Lord who hath given me Counſell. Now God Counſels the Soul thus by the Revelation of his Word unto a man through Faith. In John 6.44, 45. Faith is called a going unto Jeſus Chriſt. And as Joab learned the Woman how to go unto King David in the behalf of Abſalom, So Faith learns the heart how to go and ſpeak unto God in the behalf of it ſelf. And this the light which is in his mind cannot but do. For you muſt know that the Underſtanding doth naturally work by way of perſwaſion upon the will. As Achan ſaid he ſaw the Babiloniſh garment and coveted it with the luſt of his ſoul, ſo the light that is in the ſoul by faith doth ſtir up a man much more to get it. The ſeeing of things by the underſtanding, cals upon it, and provokes it to apply it to it ſelf. We heard the King of Iſrael is a merciful King, and therefore we ſay to him, let thy ſervants live. So the ſoul upon the report which the underſtanding makes unto it, goes unto Jeſus Chriſt, and ſaith, we have heard that with thee is Grace, and that thou wilt impute thy righteouſneſs, and take my ſins upon thy account, and that the ſpirit ſhal be ſhed abroad in the heart of them that come to thee, And therefore it goes unto him. Therefore ſaith the Text in John 6.45. Every one that hath heard and learned of the Father comes unto me. That is, there is none but do come. There is indeed a perſwaſion which the word makes, which may be reſiſted, but the perſwaſion of true Faith cannot. There is ſuch a Sicada, and Rhetorick, and ſuch an Emphaſis, and ſuch an aptneſs in all that faith doth reveal unto a man, that as it is ſaid in Matth. 22.8. it doth compell a man to come in. Which compulſion there, is not meant of an externall violence, but of the conſtraint of the word of God to whom it comes ſavingly. And becauſe of this perſwaſion it is, that the ſin of Unbelief, of living out of Jeſus Chriſt, is ſo exceeding great where the Goſpell comes, becauſe men are wooed and intreated and preſſed by the beſt and ſtrongeſt arguments. And therefore there can be nothing elſe but a pure hatred, and not deſirous of the things of Jeſus Chriſt, which keeps a man from it. And that I may ſet forth this a little more cleerly unto your underſtanding.
You ſhall find in the Scripture that faith is ſaid to give a kind of reaſon unto a man, and to take from him that folly and unreaſonableneſs whereby he ſtands in the way of his own good, and cannot ſee what is good for himſelf. 2 Theſ. 3.1.2. Pray (ſaith he) that the word of the Lord may have free courſe, and that we may be freed from unreaſonable men, for all men have not Faith. Unbeleevers are unreaſonable. And on the contrary, Faith brings a man to his reaſon. That when the word comes, an Unbeleever ſtops it, and ſaith, this Doctrine ſhall not be preached, and this is not the way of life, and counts himſelf as Paul ſaith, unworthy of eternall life by contradicting it: Now a Godly man grows wiſe, and ſaith, ſpeak this word, and whatever is hid and concealed, yet hide not this word of God. He goes and ſels all as it is in Matth. 13. that he may buy this pearl.
And as Faith gives a reaſon to a man, ſo when a man is careleſs, Faith cals upon him, Iſa. 55.3. Hear and live. Will you loſe your ſouls, and your eternal good by loſing the opportunity? What ſhould you mind but the thing you are about? Hear what Jeſus Chriſt is, and what he hath done, and what he hath? Is there any thing like unto pardon, and like unto Union with himſelf?
And when a man ſaith, It is true, theſe things are, But not for me. Faith anſwers, the things are near unto you, in thy mouth and in thy heart. Rom. 10.6, 7, 8. Do not ſay who ſhall aſcend, or who ſhall deſcend, &c. The meaning of it is this, That whereas the Law doth require of a man duty, and gives him no power to perform it. the Goſpell gives him as well a power, as it doth make known his duty. Thoſe things are impoſſible unto us which are far off, either in the Heavens or in the depths. But now ſaith the Apoſtle, whereas you ſay it is not for you, becauſe you know not how to beleeve it and cloſe with it, ſaith he, you have this both given to you, that you ſhall imbrace it and confeſs it. With the mouth man confeſſeth it, and you ſhall with the heart ſubmit to it. With the heart man beleeves unto ſalvation. Why do you ſay it is not for you? You are in miſery by the corruption and depravation of your underſtanding and will: But ſaith Faith both ſhall be taken away. If that be the meaning of the place, as I conceive it is. But if it be meant of doubting as ſome conceive, Who ſhal eſcape the pit, and therfore who ſhal aſcend &c. Faith tels a man, Never be diſquieted becauſe of that, for Chriſt came down and is aſcended. He came down and deſcended and revealed the will of his Father to us. When the Soul is going towards Jeſus Chriſt, then this Faith perſwades it ſo far as that it puts it into a reſolution. I ſaid I would go ſaid the Prodigall. In 2 Cor. 5.15. We thus judg, ſaith the Apoſtle. A Judgment is a Sentence paſt after all is heard that can be ſaid on both ſides. A Judgment is the laſt act of the underſtanding after which there is no appeal not debate. Faith ſaith, I will hear no more doubts, nor aſſent to any doubts, ſuſpcions, nor fears. And when the Soul is ready to give over that work, then the work of Faith ſaith, If you withdraw your ſelves the Lord will have no pleaſure in you, Heb. 10.38. What though things go hard? yet you may live by your Faith. And as faith reveals the things that cannot be known by nature.
So as it is a Perſwader, it brings to mind ſuch things which the Soul knew not before, Such things which are ſuitable to its caſe and its preſent condition. And that is the third thing whereby faith receives. It doth perſwade, and invite, and excite a man, that ſeeing there is ſo much to be had in Chriſt that we would not ſuffer it to lie ſtil and to be unuſed. There is another thing that the underſtanding doth.
Fourthly: It keeps the thoughts of theſe things thus revealed. It lets them not go out of mind, but ſets them continually before a mans face. As the underſtanding doth put a man to go to Chriſt and to him only: So it keeps Chriſt and the things of him in mind. It's as the Glaſs to ſet them alwaies before the face. As David ſaith in Pſal. 51.3. that his ſin was ever before him: that is, he could be in no Ordinance, but his Conſcience troubled him: And he could be in no company, but it adminiſtred cauſe of fear to him. His ſin was alwaies dogging him, accuſing him, and oppoſing him. So Faith ſets Jeſus Chriſt in his benefits before the ſoul in whatever condition a man is. Therefore you ſhall find in the Scripture that it is all one to beleeve, and to think upon God. I thought upon thee in the night ſeaſon, and I ſet thy loving kindneſs alwaies before my face Pſal. 119.55. In Eccleſ. 12.1. Remember thy Creator. It's not the bare having God in our memory, but it is beleeving that will ſave us from wrath to come. But beleeving is called Remembrance there. And on the contrary ſide in Heb. 2.1. Unbelief is called a Letting eſcape. Take heed leaſt you let ſlip the things which you have heard. And in Matth. 13.4. thoſe that did not beleeve are ſaid to have the word of God piekt up our of their heart, As the Fowls of the Heavens do pick up the ſeed that is ſowen by the hand of the ſower, and are not converted by the Word. And Unbeleevers are called ſuch as forget God. Mark it.
There are Two waies of keeping things in mind:
One is by a Similitude, or Image, or Picture of it. Now to keep Spiritual things in a mans mind thus, is either but Natural Knowledg, or Superſtitious againſt the Second Commandment which forbids a man to make any graven Image of what God hath done, thereby to keep a man in thoughts of what God hath required.
There is another way of keeping things in mind, and that is by the preſence of the things themſelves. Now this is the way by which Faith keeps a man and the things of Jeſus Chriſt, which is by way of Intuitive knowledg. Or it keeps things in a mans knowledg by the preſence of the things themſelves. And that is the ground why that Faith doth cauſe ſo firm an aſſent, and is ſo ſtrong a perſwader, becauſe I ſay the things themſelves are made preſent unto the ſoul. In Pſal. 16.7. My Reins (ſaith he) inſtructs me in the night. In the night when others ſleep: or in the night when I am free to conſider, and awaking, then thy Promiſes (ſaith he) they come into my mind. As Faith will not take any ſlight denial for anſwer, but doth convince the falſe reaſonings that are in us: ſo it wil ſlip no time nor opportunity of winning us. It doth continually beliege the Soul, as I may ſay. The ſtrongeſt Fort may be taken in by a long Siege, when the Enemies riſe not from before it, but are continually battering it. Now Faith doth (as it were) batter the Unbelief and the Reaſonings of our heart with continual arguments to the contrary. Saith Faith to the Soul, You ſay thus, but hearken to what the Word ſaith: you ſpeak words of death, but God ſpeaks peace to his people. And you ſhal find by experience (which I ſhal leave as the proof of this point) that that word which a man hath often times forgotten, and which he ſeems to have loſt, the operation whereof is ceaſed, yet a year or two, yea ſeven years after it comes to work upon a man again, and works him to that very thing which all this whil he ſtood againſt. Eſpecially when the time of a mans converſion is come, it's with him as it is with a Woman in her time of travell, that one throw comes upon the neck of another, until ſhe be delivered and ſees the Fruit of her womb: So there comes one argument upon another. And if one thought comes and ſaith, This is not for me, There comes another and bids him take heed that he puts not the loving kindneſs of God from him, and ſo it leaves him not till he be conquered. And that is the fourth thing to help a man to receive.