condemned eternally because I would not come to Christ who would have given me life Fourthly and lastly such as refuse to come to Christ and to be guided by the doctrin of faith may come to make an open defiance against him and his Gospel theâ—e is a great differancs between the wants of faith and a conâ—rarietie to the faith Aug. in Ioh. 15 Magnum quoddam peccatum sub generali nomine vult intelligi where this later is in the height of it men come to dissent from the truth to deny it and in time to defie it and Christ the author of it the beleever he honours Christ by acknowledging him by assenting to his truth and casting his confidence and affiance upon him but the willfull unbeleever doth the contrarie and offers much dishonour to Christ by his deniall his dissent his diffidence and defiance Aqui. 2. 2 dae q 10. Artic. 3. Infidelitas est maximum peccatum Therefore some nay almost all do judge infidelity to be a very great sin and others argue and indeaver to proove it to be the greatest sin of all We come to the Second point formerly propounded which is That Jesus Christ will freely give life eternall to them that come unto him It is cleer that he understands eternall life by his expression elsewhere I give unto them eternall life and they shal never perish Ioh. 10.28 and such as speake to Christ about life mention eternall life as the ruler that followed after Christ said Good Master Luk. 18.18 What shall I do to inherit eternall life so that the life which Christ offered and the people sought for was eternall life and it was freely to be given them Life is the best kind of being and presupposeth a cause of life remaining in and working upon a Subject capable of life all things that are yet live not there is a being inferiour to life and those that live live not all a like beasts and plants live yet not such a life as man lives for as the soule is so is their life beasts have souls and yet have but sence and somewhat like reason men have understanding and utter by speech what they conceive for they have a resonable soule and a more noble then beasts and if all difference come from the act of the forme upon the matter then the soule of man more noble will still worke as we see it doth upon the body to fashion it into more excellent parts and to make the house and roomes for it's own use and therefore this life in man comming from a more excellent principle is above the life of beasts Among men some have the Spirit of Life in them who were dead by nature in sins 2 Cor. 3. they being quickned have a more noble principle of life and have in them the beginning of life eternall such as are alive to God have union with Christ they live in another kind then naturall men do for in the spiritual life the Spirit of God works on the soul as the soul doth on the body but first the soule is a meere patient which in the naturall life is the sole agent the soule is under the power of Gods Spirit and as far as Gods Spirit is above the spirit of man so far is this life of grace above that of nature therefore the Apostle magnifies this life in the regenerate above the life of reason not so much as mentioning it In that I now live Gal. 2.20 I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himselfe for mee Life is spread over the whole man yet first and principally it is in the soule and diffused through every faculty and if we stand not too nicely upon the distinction of life and the actions of life we may say that faculty lives when it is able to do the works that belong to it as the minde lives when it knowes God and is dead while it remaines ignorant the heart lives when it loves God and reposeth trust in him the affections live when they joy in God and make fit expressions of that joy towards him as we perceive the hand to live when it can stir and work and when this life of grace continues beyond time it becomes life eternall eternity to life in the world to come is but as time in this world This is life eternall to know thee and he that beleeves hath everlasting life Faith in Christ and knowledge of him Ioh. 17.3 Ioh. 3.36 are made the beginings of life eternall and because it is propounded as a reward in heaven therefore life eternall includes the beginnings of the life of grace and the perfection of it hereafter it is the altering of our naturall lives for all our infirmities and griefes shall be remooved and for the spirituall life all the graces that in heaven shall be of use shall be perfected Life eternall includes all things essentially necessary to make us happy and also all additions and attendants to make it compleat honour and glorie and immortality are in it for such as by continuance in well doing seeke for these shall find them in eternall life But because the life of glory which Saints have in heaven Rom. 2.7 is the strongest motive that might have perswaded them to come to Christ therefore we must more fully explain that unto you the life of glory will be in the whole man but principally in the soule and most in the cheifest faculties which are the understanding and will to the understanding refer the blessed vision to the will the fruition of God these two are the principall parts of the life of glory Vide Wendelium qui scripsit upple Biel. distinct 49. conclus 4. qu. 2. I am not ignorant that many writers make the vision of God in glory to comprehend all the happinesse which the soule hath from him but there is reason and authority sufficiently to propound them distinctly 1. In the life of glory the mind shall see God that is fully and perfectly know him for seeing is put for knowing Now ye say you see Iohn 9.41 Nâ—w we see through a glasse darkly but then face to face now I know in part â—ut then shall I know even as I am known 1 Cor. 13.12 every one in heaven shall with their own mind understand all things and know all persons so fully as may any way conduce to their happinesse and to the end it may be so all weaknesses and imperfections of the mind shall be remooved no simplicity no shallownesse shall be upon any Idiots and men of weake abilities may have so much knowledge of Christ as to bring them to heaven but when they are there they shall have sharpnesse of wit Prov 1.4 for full conformity with God in his Image Col. 3.10 is a chiefe thing in life eternall and knowledge is a principall part of Gods Image as the Apostle plainly affirmes Having put on
not what he hath the soule lives in hope to injoy God the will of man goes further in her art then any other faculty sence looks at the outside of a thing viz. colour reason hath an idea or notion of it but will desires the thing it self the heart of man is set upon God himself Charitas intrat scientia foris stat Biel and as in heauen we shall know God more so we shall love him more and injoy him more and none can tell what affections he shall have in heaven the soule shall have a wide capacity and receive in much of God which may appeare by these two particulars 1. God is sweet in the use of his creatures as meat to the hungrie clothes to the naked sleepe to the wearie fire to them that are cold these are very welcome but if God be tasted in them they are sweeter then ordinarie 2. In the Ordinances God is more to the beleeving heart when the troubled conscience can find rest no where if it hear of the mercy of God in Christ it is revived the soule that groans under the burthen of sin if it be put in hope of pardon it begins to look up which before was quite down and utterly dejected But what need I to speak how sweet God is in his Ordinances I appeale to all those hearts that ever have received good by his word whether it hath not been more then their appointed food far above all the comforts of this world but in heaven we shall injoy God not in his creatures nor in his Ordinances but in himself and we shall find the varietie of all comforts to meet in him we shall need no Sun to shine upon us no wine to make our hearts glad no oyl to make our faces shine nay we shall need no Sacraments no preaching of the word but God in himself and from himself will communicate the fulnesse of joy and it shall continue without interruption without any mixture of sorrow or sinfulnesse no devill shall be there to tempt no deceitfulnesse in our hearts to betray us no worldly occasion to entangle or trouble us our hearts shall be lifted up and never fall again our affections warm and never coole again our mindes settled in the full assurance of Gods favour and never doubt again our natures shall be perfectly holy and never sin again all our thoughts and desires shall be set on God and nothing else and for conclusion of this point we shall be happie and there will be no danger no possibilitie of loosing it again lo thus shall it be done to the man whom God will honour And now that I have explained what life eternall is I come to the latter part which is to shew you that Christ will confer upon you this life by way of gift Rom. 6.23 he will freely give it to you The gift of God is eternall life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And this aggravates the sin of the Jewes that they might have so great a blessing in such a free way of gift and yet would not come unto him and not onely the Jews in the daies of Christ were to be blamed but even in these daies the Papists will not come to him to have life in this way of gift they will merit it else they will not have it they will not have a heaven that costs them nothing To meet with both these I shall briefly shew you that Christ will freely give you life if you come to him and that you must have it this way or not at all Christ purchased it and meritoriously procured it and it is freely given by him to us he bought it as if it had been freely given it is freely given as if it had not been bought it is Christs purchase but our inheritance Christ is given who bought it the Word that works faith to apply it is given the Spirit that inables us to beleeve and to look after life eternall is given And therefore the grace of God is made the cause of salvation in generall Ephe 2.8 Rom. 3.24 Ephe. 1.6 7. and also ascribed to the particulars of justification adoption remission of sins and glorification And as God intended his glory should arise out of the manifestation of his severall attributes so he purposed severall works wherein they were to shine and more eminently to appear as his power in the Creation the invisible things of him Rom. 1.20 that is his eternall power and Godhead are seen in the Creation Wisdom and Providence are chiefly seen in the government of the world He made the Earth by his power he established the world by his wisdom and stretched out the Heavens by his discretion Ier 10.12 Justice is seen in the condemnation of the wicked and Gods free grace in the salvation of the elect Yet we must not imagine that nothing else but power and wisdom and justice and grace appear in these works but these are more eminent and perspicuous and the Attributes of God though they be not subordinate or inferiour one to another yet they give way one to another as the Mayor and Aldermen in a Corporation they give honour to him whose turn it is to have the chief place so here all give way to power in Creation none did so much appear as that and all give way to Gods free grace in our salvation and from those words of the Apostle Eph. 1.6 we were adopted to the praise of the glory of his grace We may infer the like he made the world for the praise of the glory of his power he governs it for the praise of the glory of his wisdom he condemnes wicked men for the praise of the glory of his Justice and saves his own for the praise of his glorious grace And how dare any shew themselves enemies to the grace of God or go about to obscure it or derogate from the goodnesse of Christ who doth freely offer life to them that come unto him That we may vindicate the grace of God against the Papist and others and shew that life eternall is not merited or deserved by man we will pick out an Argument or two such â—s seeâ— to have most strength in them and answer them yet so as to deliver the positive truth rather then meddle much with the controversie There are two things alledged against this truth one by ancient Writers the other by Modern Papists which seem to prove that we are not to look for life at Christs hand of free gift I will put them both together thus If the holy actions and services of beleevers come from the Spirit of grace inabling them thereto and shall be rewarded not of grace and favour but of justice then they are meritorious and consequently life eternall comes not by free gift but is due to the Saints But both the former are true Ergo. The first is urged by Biell and Greg. de Valentia Biel li 2. dist 29.
removing of the Objection But the question is whether Adam had power to beleeve in Christ crucified He did beleeve in God and his faith was joyned with his obedience for he obeying the voice of God was to beleeve that God would make good his promise to him but his power was to the things of the Law written in his heart it was within that compasse and latitude but not in the way of the Gospel which supposeth man to be fallen and quite over-turned and how faith in Christ which is the condition of the Covenant of grace should be commanded in the Law given to Adam in his innocencie I do not understand And though he did beleeve in God yet he might not have power to beleeve in Christ dying for sinners But suppose God had revealed to Adam while he stood the event of things and imagine he had said to him Adam I have made thee wise and righteous I have enstamped mine Image upon thee I have given thee a just Law and power to keep it and for thy reward I will give thee life I have put thee into a pleasant Paradise where thou hast all things for necessity and delight but thou wilt disobey my voice and loose thy self and forfeit all that I have given thee yet neither thou nor all thy posterity shall perish I will send my Son into the world to take mans nature and dye for sin and life and happinesse shall come by faith in him The question is whether Adam could have beleeved upon such a Revelation I answer That he could and would have credited God and beleeved the truth of this relation made unto him by his Creator but to beleeve in Christ and cast himself upon a Saviour must presuppose him to be cast away and lost But could not Adam have promised to beleeve in Christ upon the former Revelation I answer If he had it had not been available for it is all one as if a rich man worth many thousand pounds should promise and give his Bond to pay me an 100 li. when he is broken and not worth a groat But it is very true that men have more power then they put out for faith and obedience and it is as true that infidelity is in their power and they willingly remain in unbelief The Answer that men return to the invitations of Christ are the same which the Jews made unto him How often would I have gathered thee together as the hen her chickens Matth. 23. and ye would not 1. Further to clear the point in hand we may safely affirm that all men in Adam stand guiltie of disobedience and God may justly punish them for that sin Iâ—h 3 36 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Non dicit ira Dei veniet super eum sed ira Dei manet super cum quamvis naturaliter damnati jam sint reprobi sua tamen infidelitate novam sibi mortem accersunt 2. That Christ being offered to them to deliver them from curse and condemnation and they wilfully rejecting him they aggravate their sins and bring upon them the condemnation of the Gospel so that the Law and the Gospel both condemne them the wrath of God that formerly was upon them by the sentence of the Law abides upon them and new wrath is kindled against them because they beleeve not in Christ the Son of God and so comes the great condemnation oft mentioned Joh. 3.19 And to set out the cause of mans miserie take it in this comparison A man lyes sick of a feaver he is told by the Physitian unlesse he bleed or purge and take other Physick he will dye he is distempered and will not be ruled he dyes The question is what this man dyed of I answer He dyed of a Feaver that was originally the cause of his death And then in the second place he dyed of wilfulnesse because he would not follow advice In the great day of judgement men shall be condemned for their disobedience and next which is the great aggravation of their sin for infidelity because they beleeved not in Christ Vse Before we come to the next point let us make a breefe application of this and it shall be an Item to take heed of infidelity especially of willfull infidelity say not that ye will not come to Christ neglect it not for he will take it ill and that because Foure aggravations of the sin of infidelity 1. The last best words that ever God spake were by Jesus Christ and to contemne them were a greater sin he that despiseth Moses Law did sin in a high degree but what will betide him that despiseth the glorious truthes of the Gospel uttered by Christ to honour him and the truthes he revealed the sweetest expressions were made that ever we heard of Luk. 2.14 Glory to be to God on high Peace on earth and good will towards men the Jewes could not be ignorant of those glorious manifestations and might have bin convinced by them we all do beleive the doctrin of the Gospel and we receive them and are readie to come unto him in the use of his Ordinances But with our faith we must joyne all other graces and the practise of al duties we must do every thing answerable to the profession of the Faith or else we are in some measure guilty of the sin of the Jewes 2. There is no such impediments to hinder us as was to the Jewes they might have said the Priests lips must preserve knowledge and the people must seeke the Law at their mouthes and they say that Christ is a deceiver a Samaritan and hath a Devill these might stumble the Jewes and keepe them from comming to Christ but there is no such let to us the Gospel is countenanced Christ is received In the Primitive times they were faine to sell all in Qâ—een Maries daies they went through the flames or else they could not have Christ these were great tryalls they fall not upon us and therefore our sin is the greater if we do not imbrace him 3. We must give a reason why we did not come to Christ why we did not beleive in him why we did not accept of him when he was offered unto us with all his Excellencies he came to us and brought with him righteousnesse life pardon heaven and the glorie of it and would have freely given us them if we would willingly and freely have accepted him for our Saviour but those that have rejected him shall see with sorrow the fruites of their infidelity and cry out against themselves for loosing so great joyes and pulling so great torments upon themselves and as Malefactors in the day of their execution lament their folly and obstinacie in that they would not be ruled and that brought them to their miserable end so the unbeleever in the day of judgment shall have it charged upon him and he shall repeat these words in the dolour of his trembling heart I dye and am
word signifies heat and we would have our friends hot in our cause we would not have a Counsellor that should plead coldly or indifferently and shall we be indifferent in the service of God far be it from us Breathing is a signe of life it befals many that are in swoonings and dangerous fits that it is heard to tell whether they be yet if they breath in wholsome aire and pant after God and the Scriptures and after good advice to be set and kept in the way of Religion it is an argument they live I might follow the similie of breathing in and out but I surcease Those that are alive to choose would converse with the living and not with the dead I would not have any one to think that I would insinuate any such matter or suggest any such thoughts into the heads of any that should go about to tell who are dead and who are alive but we must not deny that which Scriptures plainly affirm to choose a man that is not dead in sins would not familiarly converse with any but such as he hopes in the judgement of charity to be alive and it stands thus between the living and the dead no fellowship no commerce if you speak to a dead man you are not answered if you take him by the hand and otherwayes expresse your self yet no correspondence no sutablenesse your love is not answered again and therefore there can be no joy in such conversing Speak to a worldly man he can say little unles it be in worldly things he is out of his element And surely such as rejoyce in good things must needs cheerfully delight in the society of such as minde the like And for further enlarging of this point think what a miserie it would be for a man to marry a dead woman to have her layed in his bed carried to his board to be with her continually it would be irksome and unpleasing You see Abraham would fain bury his wife Sarah out of his fight for the face of death is irksome and uncomfortable And is it not the case of many a man that lives with a dead wife and the wife with a dead husband if it be no sorrow to you it is so much the worse with you for then you your selves are dead A woman goes with grief and is daily in sorrow if she think her child is dead in her wombe she hath no joy to think of the time of her deliverance O what is it to carry about with you a dead heart a dead soul And it is so if you be not moved in pitie to such as converse with you of whose life in Religion you have no warrantable nor well grounded hope But all you that by these or the like signes can suppose and conclude to your selves that you are now alive I dare be bold to assure you that you shall still live and live eternally in heaven many things may in this world trouble you molest the comfort of your lives but nothing shall cut it off therefore with patience wait untill you injoy a better life then you now have beare with patience sicklinesse of body troubles of minde the reproaches and crosses of this life in hope of eternall life And the consideration hereof should make us willing to undergo any difficulties because we hope to live happily and that happinesse to remain eternally And surely there is great reason why the servants of God should wait patiently and cheerfully expect the accomplishment of their hope for of all men in the world they are in the way to the greatest preferment and by faith they see already the bounty of God which shal hereafter be manifested towards them It may be of reproofe justly to tax and challenge the most part of Christians Vse 2. for not longing more after life eternall what should moove us to be in love with the world Ah do we so much esteem life that is temporall it is a wonder to see so great matters mentioned in the Scriptures and our hearts so little affected with them and it may be a matter of wonderment why our hearts make no more after things that be so pretious I take it these causes may be rendered but all of them intimate matter of reproofe First men that are not assured of a better estate are loath to leave that which they have in possession a poore man thaâ—â—ives in a cold house and hath never a good roome yet if he knowes not whither to go he will not wilâ—lingly go out though it be never so cold so is it with many men that are miserable and poor they have no assurance of a better estate and therefore they are loath to leave this It may be they have some hopes and cares and that honest and religious as in David he had a promise of the Kingdom and his heart was set on the service he meant to do when he came to the Kingdome this may be in the mind and hinder the more earnest desires of heaven The maine cause is life eternall and the joyes of heaven are so high above our spirit that till the soul be fitted by an extraordinarie measure of grace and raised above an ordinarie pitch it is not made sutable to them Paul that had visions and revelations was elevated higher than ordinary he was full of heavenly desires FINIS Die Jovis 27 May. 1647. ORdered by the Lords in Parliament assembled That Mr. Valentine one of the Assembly of Divines is hereby thanked for his great pains taken in his Sermon Preached yesterday before their Lordships in the Abbey Church Westminster And he is hereby desired to cause the same to be Printed and published Which is to be done onely by Authority under his own Hand Jo Browne Cler Parl ' I Appoint Joh Rothwell to Print my Sermon Tho Valentime
v. 31. and read on you may find that he layes aside his own testimony and insists on five more every one of which were sufficient to convince them that he was the Son of God and that they ought to come unto him 1. The testimony of his Father ver 32.37 There is another which beareth witnesse of me and who that is v. 37. shews The Father himself which hath sent me beareth witnesse of me 2. The testimonie of John the Baptist v. 33. And ye rejoyced in him and he bare witnesse of me 3. His works and miracles v. 36. The works that the Father hath given me to finish the same works that I do bear witnesse of me that the Father hath sent me 4. The Scriptures v. 39. Search the Scriptures for in them ye think to have eternall life and they are they which testifie of me 5. The last testimonie alledged is that of Moses v. 46. Had ye beleeved Moses you would have beleeved me for he wrote of me The summe of all is I have the testimony of my Father and of John the Baptist and of my works and miracles and of the Scriptures an of Moses but none of these will convince you you will not come to me and therefore your sin is great In the text you have 1. the illation or inference and which according to the sence was formerly translated but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 being often put for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Beza observes 2. There is the sin reproved in the Jews You will not come 3. The person to whom they should have come but did not me 4. The end which they might have attained but did not That ye might have life And must not be understood as a copulative The sence of the text but discretive therefore in the sence it is but You will not come to me It shews the wicked and obstinate nature of the Jews though they had so many clear testimonies of Christ yet they would not imbrace him you Jews will not come therefore your sin is the greater the Gentiles have no knowledge of me it cannot be expected that they should come but you Jews that have knowledge of the prophesies and promises and of the Law that are a light to them that sit in darknes teachers of the unlearned instructers of them that lack discretion you offend the more in not coming to me You will not our Saviour saith not you cannot but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Non dicit non venitis sed non vultis venire cum cos nolle dicit ignorantiae caeritatis causam pravitati contumatiae assignat Muscul you will not come the wilfulnesse of their spirits is set out there are three distinct degrees 1. Men do not come 2. They cannot come 3. They will not come to Christ The first is their carelesnesse and negligence the second is their weaknesse and impotencie the third is their wilfulnesse and great wickednesse and the last is the result of all men do not come to Christ because they will not come and they cannot come because they will not their wills must be subdued and the rebellion thereof must be removed else they neither can nor will come to Christ Not come You will not beleeve in me that 's the sin but with an aggravation you will not so much as come unto me they would not vouchsafe him any respect they would not frequent his company nor willingly be in his presence That ye might have life We must not imagine that they were out of love with life for that 's desirable by all and it cannot fall upon the reasonable creature simplie to desire not to live so as the reason of their not coming was not because he did not offer them that which was pleasing and amiable but they were so far out of love with him and so much prejudiced against him that they would not come unto him though they might have life Or else they would not come unto him for a right end that they might have life Ye will come to me for the loafes that I might feed you and for by-ends if I came like a conquering Alexander with an Army to deliver you from the power of the Romane Monarchie and to repair the glory of your decayed kingdom you would come unto me but to have life and to obtain salvation ye will not come unto me The words briefly thus explained afford two severall Propositions 1. The great condemning sin which will be charged upon the Jews and the Christian world is that they would not come to Christ 2 That Jesus Christ will freely give eternall life to them that come unto him To come to Christ is not any locall motion or change of place for go all the world over and you cannot find him he is ascended into heaven and whither he is gone ye cannot come When this was spoken it was spiritually to be understood if a man had been in Christs presence and stayed long with him nay if he had taken him into his arms if he had not received him into his heart by faith it would not have availed Therefore understand it thus 1 To come to Christ is to have recourse unto him and acknowledge him worthy of all respect all that came unto him d d not beleeve in him but these will vouchsafe him no honour they disdain him and cast scorn and contempt upon him in not coming to him Foure things move us to come to an other the command of one in authority the Centurion saith to me Go and he goeth Matth. 8 9. to another Come and he cometh Christ was a King Psal 2.6 for God set his King upon his holy hill of Sion and all power in heaven and earth was given him Kings have power Honorant ut Regem adorant ut Deum vident enim hominem agnoscunt Deum but not all power they have a conditionall temporarie externall power derived from Christ But he hath an absolute eternall primative power which all men should acknowledge and stoope unto the wise men the first fruites of the Gentiles they came unto Christ and they did acknowledge him and ask boldly Where is he that is born King of the Jews this might justly shame the Jewes they came to him while he was a young Infant and found him in a mean condition Adorant magi offerunt munera adhuc lactâ—nti matris ubera Bern. Parvulum non honorassent nec adorassent si parvulum tantummodo credidissent sucking of his mothers breasts they came from farre and present him with gold franckincense and mirrhe gold because he was a King frankincense as he was God for that was used in the offerings and mirrhe as he was man hereby they honoured him much and were readie to tender their homage to him but the Iewes would not come unto him 2. Necessity might have made them come unto him for he was the onely remedie that God appointed
and the greatest sinners that are most sensible of their miserie wil come most humblie and in much poverty of spirit no creature so wilde as a sinner in his jollitie who is as the wilde Asse in the wildernesse that runs up and down at pleasure none so tame as the penitent sinner that is taken in his moneth God hath humbled him and taken down the pride of his spirit he stood in his way as the Angel in Balaams he threatned him he had his bowe in his hand and his arrow on the string Psal 7.12 and the sinner not giving back he shot at him and wounded him and left the arrow sticking in his heart Psal 38.2 and now this wounded man he mourns inwardly and makes his moane to God Thine arrowes stick fast in me is willing to come to Christ to be healed and to have the arrow pluckt out and the wound cured Necessitie at first brings us unto Christ afterward we apprehend goodnesse and his divine perfections and we come in love to him we cannot stay away a poore man at the doore that hath scarce a ragge to cover his nakednesse not a peece of bread to satisfie nature he comes to aske for the Master not to be acquainted with him that were boldnesse but to be releived in his necessities so Christ is sought unto as a Saviour to take away our guilt to give a pardon to supply our wants and when we are sensible of our miserie we are easily induced to come to Christ But when we are justified and accepted and find the sweetnesse of fellowship and communion with Christ then we are delighted in him and if there were no necessity compelling us if no weaknesse in our faith no want in our souls yet we should desire to come to him they that have seen God in any ordinance are restlesse till they see him again Psal 63.2 David could bear well enough his banishment from the Court yet he much desired to come to the place of Gods publick worship that he might see his power and glory as formerly he had seen them in the sanctuary 4. To come to Christ is to beleeve in him and when he complains of the Jews not coming he chargeth them with unbelief He that comes to God must beleeve that he is Credere est actus intellectus assertientis veritati divinae ex imperio voluntatis motae à Deo per gratiam Aqui. and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him The Jews beleeved no such thing of Christ they did not think him to be God nor that he would reward them that come to him they gave no assent to what he spake they did not credit him Faith hath a double act one more common and generall and that is to give a firm assent to all Divine truth revealed in the Scripture Faith gives God the honour of his truth as love and hope do give him the honour of his goodnesse and bountie And truth is equally spread over all the Scriptures I beleeve as verily that Isaac was the son of Abraham as that Christ is the Son of God because Scripture affirms both and one thing cannot be more or lesse true then another one is more usefull then another Fides ambiguum non habet si habet non est fides and conduceth more to my good and in this generall act of faith I am to consider of one more then another but both are equally true but there should be nay there is no doubtihg though some men have doubted whether this or that part of the Bible were Scripture yet a beleever must not doubt whether Scripture be true that were to doubt whether God be true The truth which faith beleeves comes by divine revelation if I can prove by reason that all things that are Haereticus dubitens de uno articulo fidei opinionem habet de reliquis Biel. Gen. 1. were made by him that hath an absolute being and is the first cause of all I do not beleeve it because I can prove it but because Scripture saith it for in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth The Scriptures of the Old Testament held out clearly the Messiah and by those prophesies and promises wherin the Jews were very well verst they might know that he was the Christ and yet they did beleeve neither those Scriptures nor any thing himself spake or did And then no wonder if they fail in the second act of faith which is to relye and rest with confidence on Christ the Saviour Mar. 15.31 they were so far from this that they upbraid him at his death saying He could not save himself and therefore it was in vain to expect salvation from him Notitia assensus fiducia are made parts of Faith but two of them being in the understanding the 3 in the Will it may be doubted how one such grace can be in two faculties Schoolmen generally to salve this doubt make gne faculty subordinate to the other saying Faith is Actus imperatus a voluntate elicitus ab intellectu It is in the will ut in primo motivo in intellectu ut in proximo subjecto But the doubt is when they say it is ex imperio voluntatis they seem to give the precedencie to the will to shun such disputes we may rather call them acts in the beleever then parts of Faith But we have in these dayes all the means necessarie to work in us all the particulars required to a saving faith we have knowledge of him we question not his Divinity we beleeve he came with a commission from heaven we give a full and firm assent to whatsoever he spake as being undoubtedly true we would cast our selves with confidence into his arms that is able to save us we beleeve that God is reconciliable that sin is pardonable and this we do upon the hearing of the glad tydings of the Gospel and afterward we grow up into a greater confidence and assurance of the pardon of our sins purchased by his blood But those that do not beleeve shall have this great sin charged upon them and that we may clear Gods justice in punishing men that live in the Christian world for their infidelity it will be needfull to inquire where the power of beleeving lyes for if they cannot beleeve how is God just to require that of them which they have not power to do I answer Adam in his innocencie had a kinde of legall faith whereby he was to depend upon God for the performance of his promise for God promised him life as a reward of his obedience and he was to look for it Now what ever he had being a publick person we may be said to have it and must be accountable for it so as in him we had power to beleeve and therefore may be punished for unbelief And this Answer is given by many Reverend Divines and let it go as far as it may to the