jealous tliey have been of this, that for tlie prevention of all suspicion of such a foul act it hath been of old the custom of the greatest monarchs, that those who were their favourites, and admitted into the nearest attendance upon their own persons and queens, should be eunuchs ; such whose very disability of nature might remove all suspicion of any such attempt by them. Truly God is more jealous of having the glory of his grace ravished by the pride and self-glorying of the creature than ever any prince was of having his queen deflowered. And therefore to secure it from any such horrid abuse he hath chosen faith, this eunuch-grace, as I may so call it, to stand so nigh him, and be employed by him in this high act of grace, Avhose very nature, being a self-emptying grace, renders it incapable of entering into any such design against the glory of God's grace. Faith hath two hands ; with one it pulls off its own righteousness, and throws it away, as David did Saul's armour ; with the other it puts on Christ's righteousness over the soul's shame, as that in which alone it dares see God, or be seen of him. ' This makes it impossible,' saith learned and holy Master Ball, ' how to conceive that faith and works should be conjoined as con-causes in justification, seeing the one, that is, faith, attributes all to the free grace of God ; the other, that is, works, challenge all to themselves : the one, that is, faith, will aspire no higher, but to be the instrumental cause of fi-ee remission ; the other can sit no lower, but to be the matter of justification, if any cause at all ; for if works be accounted to us in the room or place of exact obedience in free justification, do not they supply tlie place ? are they not advanced to the dignity of works complete and perfect in justification from justice?' — Ireafise of Covenant of Grace, p. 70.
Section IV. — Fourthly, The mighty influence, yea, imiversal, that faith hath upon all her sister graces, speaks her the chief of them all. What makes the sun so glorious a creature, but because it is a common good, and serves all the lower world with light and influence ? Faith is a grace, whose ministry God useth as much for the good of the spiritual world in the saints, called in the Scripture the 'new creation,' Gal, vi. 15, as he doth the sun for the corporeal. ' Nothing is hid from the heat of the sun,' Psa. xix. 6. And no grace that faith's influence reacheth not vmto.
First, Faith finds all the graces with work. As the rich tradesman gives out his wool, some to this man, and some to that, who all spin and work of the stock he gives them out, so that when he ceaseth to trade they must also, because they have no stock but what he affords them; thus faith gives out to every grace what they act upon. If faith trades not, neither can they. To instance in one or two graces for all the rest. Repentance, this is a sweet grace, but set on work by faith. Nineveh's repentance is attributed unto their faith, Jonah iii. 5 : ' The people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth.' It is very like indeed that their repentance was no more than legal, but it was as good as their faith was. If their faith had been better, so would their repentance also. All is silence and quiet in an unbelieving soul : no news of repentance, no noise of any complaint made against sin, till faith begins to stir. When faith presents the threatening, and binds the truth and terror of it to the conscience, then the sinner hath some- thing to work upon. As light actuates colours, and brings the eye acquainted with its object, whereupon it falls to work, so doth faith actuate sin in 'the conscience. Now musing thoughts will soon rise, and, like clouds, thicken apace into a storm, till they bespread the soul with an imiversal blackness of horror and trembling for sin. But then also the creature is at a loss, and can go no farther in the business of repentance, till faith sends in more work from the promise, by presenting a pardon therein to the returning soul ; which no sooner is heard and believed by the creature, but the work of repentance goes on apace. Now the cloud of horror and terror, which the fear of wrath, from consideration of threatening, had gathered in the conscience, dissolves into a soft rain of evangelical sorrow, at the report which faith makes from the promise. Love is another heavenly grace ; but faith gathers the fuel that makes this fire. Speak, Christian, whose soul now flames with love to God, Avas it always thus? No, there was a time, I dare say for thee, when thy hearth was cold, not a spark of this fire to be found on the altar of thy heart. How is it, then. Christian, that now thy soul loves God, whom before thou
ABOVE ALL, TAKING THE SHIELD OF FAITH. 4^5