Sect. 1. 185 To vifit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and keep himself unfpotted from the world. But in a more reftrained fence it is taken for that part of duty, which particularly relates to God in our worshippings and adoration of him, in confeffing his Excelfencies, loving his perfon, admiring his goodness, believing his word, and doing all that which may in a proper and direct manner do him honour. It contains the duties of the first Table only, and fo it is called Godliness, and is by S. Paul diftinguifhed Tic^2, 12] from Juftice and Sobriety. In this fence I am now to explicate the parts of it.

Of the internal Actions of Religion.

Those I call the internal Actions of Religion, in which the Soul only is employed, and ministers to God in the fpecial Actions of Faith, Hope, and Charity. Faith believes the Revelations of God: Hope expects his Promifes: and Charity loves his Excellencies and Mercies. Faith gives our understanding to God: Hope gives up all the paffions and affections to Heaven and heavenly things and Charity gives the Will to the fervice of God. Faith is oppofed to Infidelity, Hope to Defpair, Charity to Enmity, and Hoftility: and these three fanctifie the whole Man,and make our duty to God,and obedience to his Commandments to be chofen,reafonable and delightful,and therefore to be entire,perfevering and universal

TO

SECT. I.

Of Faith.

The Acts and Offices of Faith are,

believe every thing which God hath revea

led to us; and when once we are convinced that Demus DeGod hath spoken it, to make no farther enquiry, but um aliquid nos fateamur inveftigare non poffe, S. Aug. 1. 21. c.7. de Civit.

humbly

poffe quod

humbly to fubmit, ever remembring that there are fome things which our understanding cannot fathom nor fearch out their depth.

2. To believe nothing concerning God but what is honourable and excellent, as knowing that belief to be no honouring of God, which entertains of him any dishonourable thoughts. Faith is the Parent of Charity, and whattoever Faith entertains must be apt to produce Love to God: but he that believes God to be cruel or unmerciful, or a rejoicer in the unavoidable damnation of the greatest part of mankind, or that he speaks one thing, and privately means another, thinks evil thoughts concerning God, and fuch as for which we should hate a man, and therefore are great enemies of Faith, being apt to deftroy Charity. Our Faith concerning God must be as himfelt hath revealed and described his own excellencies: and in our difcourfes we must remove from him all imperfection, and attribute to him all Excellency.

3. To give our felves wholly up to Chrift in Heart and Defire, to become Difciples of his Do&trine with choice (befides conviction) being in the prefence of God, but as Idiots, that is, without any principles of our own to hinder the Truth of God; but fucking in greedily all that God hath taught us, believing it infinitely, and loving to believe it. For this is an Act of Love reflected upon Faith, or an A&t of Faith leaning upon Love.

4. To believe all God's promifes, and that whatfoever is promifed in Scripture fhall on God's part be as furely performed as if we had it in poffeffion. This Act makes us to rely upon God with the fame confidence as we did on our Parents when we were Children, when we made no doubt but whatsoever we needed we fhould have it, if it were in their power.

5. To believe also the conditions of the promise, or that part of the revelation which concerns our duty. Many are apt to believe the Article of Remiffion of fins, but they believe it without the condition of repentance, or the fruits of holy life and that is to

believe

believe the Article otherwise than God intended it. For the Covenant of the Gospel is the great object of Faith, and that fuppofes our duty to answer his grace; that God will be our God, fo long as we are his people. The other is not Faith, but Flattery.

6. To profefs publickly the Doctrine of Jefus Christ, openly owning whatfoever he hath revealed and commanded, not being afhamed of the Word of God, or of any practices enjoined by it; and this without complying with any man's intereft, not regarding favour, nor being moved with good words, not fearing difgrace, or lofs, or inconvenience, or death it felf.

7. To pray without doubting, without weariness, without faintness, entertaining no jealoufies or fufpicions of God, but being confident of God's hearing us, and of his returns to us, whatsoever the manner or the inftance be, that if we do our duty, it will be gracious and merciful.

Thefe Acts of Faith are in feveral degrees in the fervants of Jefus; fome have it but as a grain of mu ftard-feed, fome grow up to a plant, fome have the fulness of faith; but the leaft faith that is must be a perfuafion fo strong as to make us undertake the doing of all that duty which Chrift built upon the foundation of believing. But we shall beft difcern the truth of our Faith by thefe following Signs. S.Herom, Dial adverf. reckons three.

Signs of true Faith.

I. An earnest and vehement Prayer for it is impoffible we fhould heartily believe the things of God and the glories of the Gospel, and not most importunately defire them. For every thing is defired acccrding to our belief of its excellency and poffibility.

2. To do nothing for vain-glory, but wholly for the interefts of Religion, and thefe Articles we believe; valuing not at all the rumours of men, but the praife of God, to whom by Faith we have given up all our intellectual faculties.

Lucif

3. To be content with God for our Judge, for our Patron, for our Lord, for our Friend, defiring God to be all in all to us, as we are in our understanding and affections wholly his.

Add to these ;

4. To be a stranger upon earth in our affections, and to have all our thoughts and principal defires fixed upon the matters of Faith, the things of Heaven. For if a man were adopted Heir to Cafar, he would (if he believed it real and effective) defpife the prefent, and wholly be at Court in his Father's eye; and his defires would out run his swifteft speed, and all his thoughts would spend themselves in creating Idea's and little phantaftick images of his future condition. Now God hath made us Heirs of his Kingdom, and Co-heirs with Jefus: if we believed this, we would think and affect and study accordingly. But he that rejoyces in gain, and his heart dwells in the world, and is efpoufed to a fair estate, and transported with a light momentany joy, and is afflicted with loffes, and amazed with temporal perfecutions, and efteems difgrace or poverty in a good cause to be intolerable, this man either hath no inheritance in Heaven or believes none; and believes not that he is adopted to be the Son of God, the Heir of eternal glory.

5. S. James his fign is the beft; [Shew me thy faith by thy works. [Faith makes the Merchant diligent and venturous, and that makes him rich. Ferdinands of Arragon believed the ftory told him by Columbus, and therefore he furnished him with fhips and got the Weft-Indies by his Faith in the Undertaker. But Henry the Seventh of England believed him not, and therefore trufted him not with Shipping, and loft all the purchase of that Faith. It is told us by Chrift [He that forgives fhall be forgiven:] If we believe this, it is certain we fhall forgive our enemies; for none of us all but need and defire to be forgiven. No man can poffibly despise or refuse to defire fuch excellent glories as are revealed to them that are fervants of Chrift,

Chrift, and yet we do nothing that is commanded. us as a condition to obtain them. No man could work a days labour without faith but because he believes he fhall have his wages at the days or weeks end, he does his duty. But he only believes, who does that thing which other men in the like cafes do when they do believe. He that believes money gotten with danger is better than poverty with fafety, will venture for it in unknown lands or feas; and fo will he that believes it better to get Heaven with labour, than to go to Hell with pleasure.

6. He that believes does not make haste, but waits patiently till the times of refreshment come, and dares truft God for the morrow, and is no more folicitous for the next year than he is for that which is paft and it is certain, that Man wants Faith, who dares be more confident of being fupplied when he hath money in his purfe, than when he hath it only in bills of exchange from God; or that relies more upon his own induftry than upon Gods providence, when his own induftry fails him. If you dare trust to God when the cafe to humane reafon feems impoífible, and truft to God then alfo out of choice, not because you have nothing elfe to truft to, but because he is the only fupport of a juft confidence, then you give a good teftimony of your Faith.

7. True Faith is confident, and will venture all the world upon the strength of its perfuafion. Will you lay your life on it, your eftate, your reputation, that the doctrine of JESUS CHRIST is true. in every Article? Then you have true Faith. But he that fears Men more than God, believes Men more than he believes in God.

8. Faith if it be true, living and justifying, cannot be feparated from a good life; it works miracles, makes a drunkard become fober, a lafcivious perfon become chaft, a covetous man become liberal; it overcomes the world, it works righteousness, and makes us 2 Cor. 13. §. diligently to do, and chearfully to fuffer whatfoever Rom. 8. 10. God hath placed in our way to Heaven.

The