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gospel way of salvation by free grace through him, lays the foundation for faith; and faith naturally results therefrom; as has been observed, and as is evident from John vi. 45. : and therefore, from the nature of the case, they must be in equal degree in the heart. And therefore, those who pretend to live by faith, when they are spiritually blind and dead, do but deceive themselves. Nor is what they plead from Isai. 1. 10. at all to the purpose. Who is among you that feareth the Lord; that obeyeth the voice of his servant; that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? Let him trust in the Lord, and stay upon his God. Because, 1. The persons here spoken of were not spiritually blind and dead, but had a spiritual sense of God and divine things on their hearts; for they feared the Lord, and obeyed his voice; so that they lived in the exercise of grace, and walked in the ways of holiness, which, without spiritual light, had been impossible. And, 2. What they were in the dark about, was, how, or by what means, the children of Israel should ever be brought out of the Babylonish captivity, back again to Zion: which they knew God had promised, but they could see no way wherein it could be brought about. In this respect thev walked in darkness, and could see no light, and therefore they are exhorted to put their trust in the Lord, whose wisdom, power, and faithfulness, are infinite. This is evidently the meaning of the words, as is manifest from the scope and tenour of the prophet's discourse through all the ten preceding chapters, which was calculated for the support and comfort of the godly in the Babylonish captivity, by assuring them of a return *. Nor is what is said about Abraham, that against hope he believed in hope;

The three first verses of the next chapter, (Isai. li. 1, 2, 3.) do, I think, confirm the above interpretation of Isai. 1. 10. although, I doubt not, the prophet's discourse, through the above said ten chapters, has a further look to the Messiah's kingdom, and our redemption out of mystical Babylon. But let the words be considered in either view, or only considered in themselves absolutely, it is plain they never were designed to comfort stoney ground hearers, when their religion is all worn out, and they become dead, blind, and carnal, and so full of doubts and fears. Nor do they mean to embolden such "firmly to believe they are in a good state, though ever so much in the dark, i. e. though they see no grace in their hearts, nor signs of any." For the words are directed only to those who fear the Lord, and obey the voice of his servant.

nor what is said by St. Paul; We walk by faith, and not by sight, an thing to their purpose; unless they suppose that Abraham and Paul, and the primitive christians in general, were as dead, and blind, and carnal, as themselves. The truth is, that this blind faith is the very thing which the Apostle James calls a dead faith.

5. Evangelical humiliation and true faith are likewise always in proportion. Evangelical humiliation consists in a sense of our own sinfulness, vileness, odiousness, and ill-desert, and in a disposition, thence resulting, to lie down in the dust full of self-loathing and self-abhorrence, abased before the Lord, really accounting ourselves infinitely too bad ever to venture to come into the divine presence in our own names, or to have a thought of mercy from God on the account of our own goodness. And it is this which makes us sensible of our need of a mediator, and makes us desire to be found, not in ourselves, but in Christ; not having on our own righteousness, but his. No further, therefore, than these views and this temper, prevail in us, shall we truly discern any need of Christ, or be heartily inclined to have any respect to him as a mediator between God and us. There can, therefore, be no more of true faith in exercise, than there is of this true humility. When men, therefore, appear righteous in their own eyes, and look upon themselves as deserving well at the hands of God, on the account of their own goodness, they can feel no need of a mediator, nor at heart have any respect to Christ under that character, Luke v. 31. This condemns the faith of the self-righteous formalist, who depends upon his being conscientious in his ways, and upon his sincerely endeavouring to do as well as he can, to recommend him to God. And this condemns, also, the faith of the proud enthusiast, who appears so good in his own eyes; so far from a legal spirit; so purely evangelical; so full of light and knowledge, humility and love, zeal and devotion, as that, from a sense of his own goodness, and how greatly beloved he is in the sight of God, he is encouraged and elevated, and feels greatly emboldened to come into the presence of God, and draw near, and come even to his seat, and use familiarity and boldness with God as though he was almost an equal. Such are so far from any

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true sense of their need of Christ, as that they rather feel more fit to be mediators and intercessors in behalf of others, than to want one for themselves. And it is the way of such, from that great sense they have of their own goodness, to make bold with God, and to make bold with Christ, in their prayers, as if they felt themselves pretty nigh upon a level. Of all men in the world, I am ready to think that God looks upon. these the worst, and hates them the most. (Luke xviii. 9 14. Isai. lxv. 5.) But did they know it, they would hate him as entirely as he does them. Hypocrites of all sorts fail in this point: they see no real need of Christ; they are not so bad but that, to their own sense and feeling, they might be pardoned and saved by the free mercy of God, without any mediator. Hence they do not understand the gospel; it is all foolishness to them. 1 Cor. ii. 14.

6. It is a spiritual sense and firm belief of the truths of the gospel which encourages the heart to trust in Christ. John vi. 45. That the goodness of God is infinite, and self-moving; that Christ, as Mediator, has secured the honour of God, the moral Governor of the world, and opened a way for the free and honourable exercise of his graee; that through Christ, God, the supreme Governor of the world, is actually ready to be reconciled, and invites all, the vilest not excepted, to return to him in this way. These truths, being spiritually understood and firmly believed, convince the heart of the safety of trusting in Christ, and encourage it so to do. Heb. x. 19. Mat. xxii. 4.

7. Saving faith consists in that entire trust, reliance, or dependance on Jesus Christ, the great Mediator, his satisfaction and merits, mediation and intercession, which the humbled sinner has, whereby he is emboldened to return home to God in hopes of acceptance, and is encouraged to look to and trust in God through him for that complete salvation which is offered in the gospel. The opposite to justifying faith, is a selfrighteous spirit and temper, whereby a man, from a conceit of, and reliance upon his own goodness, is emboldened and encouraged to trust and hope in the mercy of God. Heb. X. 19. 23. Luke xviii. 9. 14. and accordingly, when such see how bad they really are, their faith fails; they naturally think that God cannot find in his heart to show mercy to such.

8. Faith emboldens the heart. In a legal humiliation, which is antecedent to spiritual light, the sinner is brought to a kind of despair. The things which used to embolden him, do now entirely fail he finds no good in himself; yea, he feels him self dead in sin; and upon this his heart dies within him. I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. Rom. vii. 9. And by spiritual light, in evangelical humiliation, his undone state, in and of himself, is made still more plain. But now faith emboldens the heart, begets new courage, lays the foundation for a new kind of hope; a hope springing entirely from a new foundation. Heb, x. 19. 22. Having, therefore, brethren, BOLDNESS to enter into the holiest, by the blood of Jesus, let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith. By faith the heart is emboldened. 1. To return home to God, in hopes of acceptance. A spiritual sight and sense of the ineffable beauty of the divine nature begets a disposition to look upon it the fittest and happiest thing in the world to love God with all the heart, and be entirely devoted to him for ever; and enkindles an inclination to return, and everlastingly give up and consecrate ourselves unto him. "But may such a wretch as I be the Lord's? Will he accept me?" Now the believer, understanding the way of acceptance by Christ, and seeing the safety of it, ventures his ALL upon this sure foundation, and hereby is emboldened to return. Heb. xi. 6. He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him; i. e. first: He must see what God is; behold him in his glory, or he cannot, in a genuine manner, desire to come to him. And secondly: He must see that he is ready to be reconciled unto and to save those who, from a genuine desire to be his, do heartily return to him through the Mediator he has appointed; or else he will not dare to come. But when both these are seen and believed, now the soul will return, and come and give up itself to God, to be the Lord's for ever. 2. Faith in Christ emboldens the heart to look to and trust in the free grace of God through him, for all things that just such a poor creature wants; even for all things offered in the gospel to poor sinners. Heb. iv.

16. Let us, therefore, come BOLDLY to the throne of grace, that we ma . obtain mercy and ƒnd grace. Pardoning mercy and sanctifying grace are the two great benefits of the new covenant; and these are the two great things which an enlightened soul feels the want of, and for which he is emboldened to come to God by Jesus Christ. I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a, eople, saith the Lord in the new covenant; and this is all my salvation, and all my desire, saith the believer.

were seen.

9. The word faith, in scripture, is evidently used in various senses. Or thus, there are various different exercises of a godly soul, all which in scripture are called jaith, for I mean here to leave out all those sorts of faith, spoken of in scripture, which the unregenerate man is capable of. 1. It is the way of godly men to live under a spiritual sense of God, his being and perfections, and government of the world, and the glory, reality, and importance of divine and eternal things; even under such a living sense of these things, as that they are firmly believed, and are made to influence them as though they Hence they are said to look at things which are unseen. 2 Cor. iv. 18. To see him who is invisible. Heb. xi. 27. And are said to walk by faith. 2 Cor. v. 7. And this seems to be the meaning of the word faith, as it is used in Heb. xi. where we read of what Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses, did by faith. Their faith was the substance of things hoped for, and evidence of things not seen ; i. e. it made divine and eternal things, as it were, subsist, in all their glory and importance, before their minds, and appear as evident as though they were seen, (ver. 1.) 2. It is the way of godly men to live under a spiritual sense of the divine all-sufficiency, whereby they are influenced firmly to believe that God is able to do all things for them, and be all to them, which they can possibly need in time and to eternity; by all which, they are influenced to live in a way of continual dependence upon him for all things. And this is what, in the book of Psalms and elsewhere, is called trusting in the Lord, waiting and leaning upon the Lord, making him our refuge. This temper is expressed in Psal. Ixxiii. 25, 26. Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I de

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