man's faculties themselves be to be believed, he cannot be mistaken; and this is called certain knowledge.

3. There is a belief grounded upon the divine revelation, or the word of God; and this is properly called faith,

The first of these kinds of belief, to wit, opinion or conjecture, hath nothing to do in matters of religion, being no fufficient foundation to build any religiousprinciples upon.

The Second fort of belief, which is, knowledge, grounded upon clear and evident arguments,--is both useful and necessary in religion for we must know fomething by the light of reafon, before we can know any thing by divine revelation. We come to the knowledge of God, and of the holy fcriptures being the word of God, by the deductions of reason, and the natural faculties of our own minds and understanding; and then we advance to prove the precepts and doctrines of our religion from thence.

And here comes in the third kind of belief, which is, faith; for faith is the

belief of the word of God, of every thing revealed in that word, whether matter of fact or precept, prohibition, promise, or threatening and as reafon makes a man, so faith makes a Chriftian: There he begins, and there he ends: For as reafon makes us capable of faith; fo faith fupports and guides us afterwards, for the just shall live by faith,

In difcourfing upon which words, I fhall thus proceed:

I. I fhall fhew, How and in what manner a just man lives, and ought to live by faith. And then,

II. I fhall fhew the excellency of that life, and the advantages he bath by fo living.

I. I AM to fhew, How and in what man◄ ner a just man lives, and ought to live by faith.

One inftance thereof is this; That he expects all his fupports and fupplies from H 4 God,

God. This is a natural effect of faith in God. The juft man confiders who it is that clothes the lilies of the field, although they neither toil nor fpin; he remembers who plumes the fparrow's wings, who feeds the young ravens when they cry unto him, and therefore he doth not difpute the cause with divine providence, faying, What shall I eat, or what shall I drink, or wherewith fhall I be cloathed ?→→ but leaves him that gave life, to give meat; and alfo him that made the body, to provide cloathing: only he employs himself, according to God's will, in a just calling; he doth the bufinefs which God requires; but for the fuccefs, he is not troubled; for that, he doth his part, which is to obey God's will, and he leaves God to do the rest, which is, to take care of him, and to provide for him in that obedience. For it is too great a care, for him to take care of himfelf, who did not from himself receive his life.

The government of the world is an unwieldy thing in the hands of a man; It is not for him to take thought for to-mor

row,

row, who for ought he knows may die to-day. God hath not so far parted with the government of the world out of his own hands, as to leave every man's particular affairs to himfelf; that would be to let us live without dependance upon him, and to fuffer an eftrangement to grow between God and his creatures: but he reserves our meat and drink, our food and raiment, in his own hands, fo that we may live upon him for our daily bread.

And as the juft man lives in expectation of the supply of this life from God, fo alfo (and more especially) of the reward of the life to come. He that lives by faith, must always have heaven in his eye; he must continually abide in the expectation of a better world: and by this confideration he muft live, by this end he must be governed, by this promise he must be influenced, in every occafion, in every affair, in every concernment, that there is a

reward for the righteous.

Here he must begin, and here he must end every affair; hence he must derive his principles, and hitherto he must direct his

3

ends.

ends. For whatsoever is undertaken, whatfoever is acted, whatsoever is fpoken, nay whatsoever is thought, without an actual or habitual influence from the hope of eternal life, --hath not the faith of a Christian in it.

Here therefore doth a good man, a man that lives by faith, always begin, and thus doth he frame and purpose all things, Verily, there is a reward for the righteous, therefore will I be juft and righteous in my employment. The poor in spirit shall inherit heaven, and therefore I will labour to fubdue my pride. I will forgive the injuries that are done unto me, because he that forgives fhall be forgiven. I will be merciful to them that are in misery, because the merciful fhall obtain mercy. I will love my enemies, because that will make me like unto God, and fit for heaven. I will blefs them that curfe and hate me, because they that blefs fhall at last moft certainly be bleffed.

And thus you fee one inftance of the life of faith. The juft man expects all