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God, revealing his will in the Scripture. It receives the Scripture; " not as the word of men, but as the word of God, which effectually worketh in them that believe." This is sufficiently confirmed, 1. By the constant practice of the apostles. The way they took to persuade the unbelieving world to receive the gospel, was not by proposing arguments to prove the truth of their doctrine, nor working miracles, nor insisting upon miracles wrought by them, for the confirmation of their doctrine; but by a bare proposal of the truth, and a sincere manifestation of it to the consciences of their hearers, in the name of God they proceeded, and demanded acceptance of it, as the word of God, and not the word of men; and, by this means, they converted the world. This is further confirmed, 2. By the experience of those that believe in Christ to the saving of their souls, However they may be relieved against the objections of adversaries, and enabled to deal with them by other arguments and means; yet that, whereupon believers of all sorts, learned and unlearned, do themselves rest their whole dependence, hope, and joy, is the word of God, evidencing itself unto their faith, by its own light and power. The unlearned are for the most part capable of no other evidence; and yet, upon this alone, in all ages, in life and death, in doing and suffering, they have evidenced another sort of stability and firmness in cleaving to it, and suffering cheerfully for it, on this account only, than the most learned, who were best furnished with arguments of another nature, but wanted this. Besides, if this be not allowed as the ground and foundation of faith, there can be no divine faith leaning

upon an infallible bottom; and the vulgar, who are not capable of any other evidence, must either rove in the greatest uncertainty, or pin their faith upon the sleeves of their teachers. But, blessed be God, here is a ground sufficient to rest upon, that will neither fail nor deceive. The Lord speaks, and his sheep, notwithstanding that simplicity which makes them contemptible in the eyes of the world, know his voice, hear it, and follow him, and will not hear the voice of a stranger." ""* This is more than can be said of historical or temporary believers, whose faith stands only in the wisdom of men, or in the demonstrations of reason, or in the evidence of miracles, or in the authority of the church, or in their education-principles, or in their blind attachment to a party, or in a general view of the gospel, as a means of saving them from misery; but their faith cannot rise so high as to "stand in the power God," demonstrating the evidence and authority of his word to their consciences.

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(3.) Saving faith receives the word of God, depends upon divine faithfulness engaged in the promises, and lives by the Lord Jesus Christ and his complete salvation therein revealed, renouncing every other confidence, and rejoicing only in Christ Jesus. But this is not, cannot be, the character and exercise of historical or temporary believers, who, amidst all their convictions and joys, remain utter strangers to those demonstrations of the Spirit, which discover the true nature and heinous guilt of their unbelief, and which should constrain them to confess the ab

Mr. Halyburton's Essay concerning the Reason of Faith, page 152.

solute necessity and sufficiency of the righteousness of Christ, revealed to them in the gospel.

To conclude the whole: If a person would be satisfied, whether he is a believer of the gospel, who unfeignedly believeth on the Son of God, it is evi dently improper to perplex his mind with the idle and deceiving inquiry, Doth my heart believe in a right manner? or, What circumstances distinguish my act of faith, to prove it either right or wrong? The only proper questions that can tend to a safe and certain resolution of this most important case, are these: 1. What do I believe?

2. Upon what

ground, and for what reason do I believe? 3. Do I really judge him faithful, who hath revealed in his word those truths that I believe? And, 4. Do those truths which I believe, teach and constrain me to "cleanse myself from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, and to perfect holiness in the fear of God?"

REFLECTIONS.

1. What has been said concerning the several kinds of faith, shows the necessity of reading the Scriptures with judgment and attention. The Spirit of God uses the same word to denote the faith of devils, and of all the different classes of men that profess any regard to the character and word of Christ, without putting any difference between the acts of faith performed by one and another; and yet the same Spirit has so clearly distinguished. every kind of faith, wherever he speaks of believing, that the particular kind he speaks of is very evident to an impartial and attentive reader. A few examples

will sufficiently illustrate this observation. "Devils believe and tremble," says the apostle; whereby it is manifest, that they do not believe the word of truth, as the gospel of their salvation; for, if they considered it as the gospel of the grace of God to them, they would, in believing it," rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory;" whereas, they "believe and tremble." The devils said, "What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee, who thou art, the Holy One of God." But it is plain, they did not believe him to be their Saviour; on the contrary, they were persuaded that they had no part in his salvation; they believed he would destroy them. "King Agrippa believed the prophets;" but while he was persuaded that these holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, he did not believe that Christ suffered, and that he rose again from the dead, and that he showed light unto the people, and to the Gentiles; he did not rejoice in Christ Jesus, the chief corner-stone, laid in the writings of the prophets. This appears from his own words to Paul: "Almost," said he, "thou per suadest me to be a Christian;" which the apostle understood as implying that he was not altogether a Christian, or that he did not believe on the Son of God as his righteousness and his salvation. We are informed, that when Jesus was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast-day, "many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.” But as their faith was only the effect of their seeing the miracles he wrought, so it is plain from the next verse, that they did not believe in his name for sal

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vation from sin, and for reconciliation to God by his death. Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men;" and he perfectly knew that they only considered him as a temporal Messiah and Prince. The great multitude whom Jesus miraculously fed with five barley-loaves and two small fishes, said, "This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world." Here was their belief; but they did not believe that he was to redeem them unto God by his blood; for they intended to take him by force, and make him a temporal king. When Jesus opened the design of his coming into the world, which was, to "give his flesh for the life of the world," many of his disciples, who believed on him as a Prophet and King, "murmured at him, went back" from him, "and walked no more with him." The stony-ground hearers of the word "receive it with joy, and for a while believe; but when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended;" whereby they plainly discover, that their minds are not impressed with the majesty and authority of God, speaking in his word; and also that they do not believe the reality and excellency of eternal life, which God hath given them in that record, for the sake of which affliction and persecution ariseth. " Simon Magus believed, and was baptized;" yet he so entirely misunderstood the design of the gospel, and the sovereignty of divine grace, that " he thought the gift of God might be purchased with money." Now, in all these instances, and in all other examples of believing mentioned in the Scriptures, we find there was an essential error and defect in every kind of

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