But farther; if faith be only an act of the understanding formed upon due reafons and motives, how comes it to be defcribed in Scripture as having its feat in the heart? The Apostle in the text cautions againftan evil heart of unbelief: and the fame notion prevails throughout the books of Scripture, and is as early as our Saviour's first preaching. In explaining the parable of the fower to his difciples, Luke viii. he tells them, Thofe by the way-fide are they that hear: then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, left they fhould believe and be faved, ver. 12. So again, That on the good ground are they which in an honest and good heart hear the word, and bring forth fruit with patience, ver. 15. The first fort are those who had an evil heart of unbelief: the fecond are those who, as the fame Apoftle to the Hebrews expreffes it, chap. x. had a true heart in full affurance of faith. In the Acts of the Apoftles, Philip tells the Eunuch, that, if he believed with all his heart, he might be baptized, chap. viii. 37. And Barnabas exhorts the Antiochans, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord; which is only a periphrafis for faith, chap. xi. 23. The Apoftle to the Romans has ex profeffo determined this matter: If thou shalt confefs, fays he, with thy mouth the Lord Jefus, and fhalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be faved, chap. x. 9. In the following verfe he gives this general reason for his affertion: For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confeffion is made unto falvation. Since then the Scripture, read to you for the text, contains an exhortation to faith, which fupposes a man's faith to be influenced by his affec tions and inclinations; which is not always true, if we confider faith merely as the affent of the mind to a credible propofition: fince there are also such things afcribed to faith in Scripture, fuch promifes made to it, as cannot belong to it in this acceptation fince faith, thus confidered, is a bare act of the mind; but the faith of the Gospel is described as having its feat and operations in the heart of man it is neceffary, for the right understanding of the text, to inquire, : First, What is the true notion of faith. From whence, in the second place, it will appear, That it is a proper exhortation, Take heed, left there be in you an evil heart of unbelief. The first thing to be inquired after is the true notion of faith. Every ftep by which we advance to the laft degree of perfection in faith, is an act of faith, though of a different kind, and not entitled either to the praises or rewards of the Gofpel. And hence has arifen great part of the confufion which has obfcured and darkened this question concerning faith: for, when men, not diftinguishing between the intermediate acts of faith, and that faith which is the ultimate end and perfection of the Gospel, afcribe that to one, which only and properly belongs to the other, no wonder if they are found inconfiftent with themselves, and deftroyers of reafon and religion, whilst they seem to themselves to labour for the promotion of the doctrine of righteousness. To render what I mean plain and intelligible, I defire you to confider the degrees and fteps of faith by which men arrive at Gospel righteousness. It is one degree of faith to believe the Gospels to be true and faithful accounts; and it is a degree that leads to greater perfection: he that wants this faith is at a stand, and can never proceed farther. But this is not the faith we feek after. It is a farther degree of faith to believe the miracles of Chrift and his Apoftles to be true and real miracles, and wrought by the power and Spirit of God. But neither is this faith complete: for the miracles were wrought, not for their own fakes, but for the fake of fomething else: and therefore to believe the miracles, without believing what the miracles were intended to prove, is not Chriftian faith. Farther ftill; it is another and a more advanced degree of faith to believe that the Spirit of God was given to the Apoftles in a large measure, and to Chrift, the author of the falvation, without meafure. But neither is this the faith which Chrift came to propagate: for, fhould I ask you, Why are we taught, and why are we to believe, that God gave the Spirit to his Son without measure, and to the difciples in a very wonderful manner and degree? would you not eafily anfwer, that these heavenly endowments were both given and declared to make them fit teachers, and us ready difciples, of the doctrines of God? It is evident then, that these gifts were fubfervient to a farther end, and that Chriftian faith does not terminate here. But if, notwithstanding this, you will apply all that you read of faith in holy Scripture to thefe or any of thefe kinds of faith, and then imagine that faith is a very ftrange principle of religion, and of foreign growth, repugnant to the fenfe and reason of mankind, and disclaimed by the light of nature; which are the ufual compliments beftowed on it in the world; you may thank yourself for the delufion : the doctrine of the Gospel of Chrift is clear of the reproach. Faith, which is the principle of the Gospel, refpects the promises and declarations of God, and includes a fure truft and reliance on him for the performance. Beyond this there is no farther act of faith. We are not taught to believe this in order to our believing fomething else: but here faith has its full completion, and leads immediately to the practice of virtue and holiness, the conditions in which all the promises of God are founded.. For this end was the Son of God revealed, to make known the will of his Father, to declare his mercy and pardon, and to confirm the promises of eternal life to mankind: he that believes and accepts this deliverance from the bondage of fin, and through patience and perfeverance in well-doing waits for the bleffed hope of immortality; who paffes through this world as a ftranger and pilgrim, looking for another country, and a city whose builder is God; this is he whofe faith fhall receive the promise, whofe confidence fhall have great recompence of reward. If these are hard fayings, what defence fhall we make for natural religion, which requires almost the fame faith, but without giving the fame evidence? Is it not the profeffion of every religion to believe God to be a rewarder of them who diligently seek 1 him? Could you have any natural religion without this principle? This the Gofpel requires of you: and, if Jefus Chrift has given you more evidence for this faith than ever nature could afford her children, forgive him this injury. Is it become lefs credible that God will reward the righteous, because he has fent his Son into the world to declare his full purpose so to do? Is it harder to truft him now, fince he has appeared to us in figns and in wonders and in mighty works, than it was before, when we faw him only by the glimmering light of nature? Are the exprefs promifes of God, confirmed to us in Chrift Jefus, of lefs weight than the general fuggeftions of nature? If these express promises, these clear evidences of the purpose of God are not the things complained of in the Gofpel, what are they? Faith has ever been the principle of religion, and must ever continue so to be: for, when all other gifts fhall cease, faith, hope, and charity will be the only Gospel graces which time fhall not deftroy. Religion is a ftruggle between fenfe and faith. The temptations to fin are the pleasures of this life: the incitements to virtue are the pleasures of the next. These are only feen by faith: those are the objects of every fenfe. On the fide of virtue, all the motives, all the objects of faith engage: on the fide of vice ftand the formidable powers of fense, paffion, and affection. Where the heart is eftablished in the fulness of faith, the heavenly hoft prevails, and virtue triumphs over all the works of darkness but, where fenfe governs, fin enters, and is ferved by every evil paffion of the heart. If this : |