(3.) The promise is a pawn of the thing promised, and must be kept till performance comes. God's truth and holiness are left at pledge with the creature, and he will set them free ; his honour lies at
VeR. 1.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 329
stake, aiid you may tell him of it ; ' Lord, for thy mercy and truth's sake/ Ps. cxv. 1. God is interested to vindicate his name from calumny and reproach. Well then, faith, looking- upon the promises as the eruptions of God's love, flowing from God's eternal love, as so many bonds and holdfasts upon God, and looking upon them as a pawn left us till the blessing come, upon all these advantages it serves instead of fruition ; it entertains things to come with like certainty as if they were accomplished.
[2.] Faith considers whose the promises are ; they are God's, who is faithful and able. The faithful and almighty God, he cannot say and unsay. We have it under assurance enough if we have it under his word. There is both Sarah's and Abraham's faith commended to us in scripture; Sarah's, 'because she judged him faithful who had promised,' Heb. xi. 11. That God who cannot lie, that God who hath been ever tender of his word, that God who will destroy heaven and earth rather than one iota of his word shall pass away, he hath left us promises, and is not this as good as payment ? Then faith looks upon God's almightiness. This was Abraham's faith : Eom. iv. 21, ' ]3eing fully persuaded that what he had promised he was also able to perform.' It is a difficult thing to see how we shall be secured from so many temporal dangers, and brought safe to eternal happiness. Aye, but God is able, and we have his word ; his saying is doing ; ' God spake the word, and it was done,' Ps. xxxiii. 9. What can let the all- sufficient God ? His promises are performances.
3. We have it in capite, in our head. That is a christian's tenure ; he holds all in his head by Christ. Though he be not glorified in his own person, he is glorified in his head, in Jesus Christ. When Christ was glorified, we were glorified ; he seized upon heaven in our right : John xiv. 2, ' I go to prepare a place for you.' Christ is gone to hea- ven in our name, to possess it in our stead ; therefore a believer is assured he shall share therein. Therefore as Christ's glorification is past, so in a sense a believer's glorification is past ; the head cannot rise, and ascend, and be glorified without the members : Eph. ii. 6, 'And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.' The apostle speaks of it as a thing past. He doth not say, We shall rise, shall sit down with him ; but we are risen, and are ascended, and are sat down with him in heavenly places. In the right, and by virtue of the head, all of us are already glorified — an expression which implies greater certainty than a single prediction and promise ; and all this that our comfort might be more abounding, and our courage more strong against dangers, death, difficulties, and all that may befal us in the way to heaven. Look, as we say of an old decrepit man, such an one hath one foot in the grave, a believer hath more than one foot in heaven ; his head is there ; we have taken pos- session of it in Christ, or rather he hath taken possession of it in our name ; and as soon as we are united to Christ we are interested in this comfort, even whilst we lie groaning under pres- sures and miseries. Nothing but faith can unriddle this mystery, that a believer should be on earth, and yet in heaven ; converse with sinners, and yet be in the company of glorified saints •, or humbled with the pressures and inconveniences of the present state, yet be ascended and sit down with Christ in heavenly places. Faith gives you an actual
3S0 SERMONS UPOX HEBREWS XI. [SeR. 1.
right and investiture in regard of your head. As soon as we are sanctified we are in a manner glorified also, and have not only a title and right in ourselves, but an actual possession in our head. As the head is crowned to reflect a glory and honour upon the whole body, so Jesus Christ is crowned, and we are glorified with him ; and this makes the right more strong ; for nothing on earth can take that happiness from me which Christ keeps for me in heaven.
4. Faith gives being iii'primitiis, in the first-fruits. The Israelites had not only a right to Canaan given them by God, but had livery and seizin of Canaan, where the spies did not only make report of the goodness of the land, but brought the clusters of grapes with them, not only to encourage them to conquer, but actually to instate them in the possession of the land ; so doth God deal with a believing soijl, not only give it a right, but give it some first-fruits ; there is not only a report and promise, but God hath as it were given us livery and seizin of heaven. A believing soul hath the beginnings of that estate which it hopes for ; some clusters of Eschol by way of foretaste in the midst of present miseries and difficulties. This is the great love of God to us, that he would give us something of heaven here upon earth, that he will make us enter upon our happiness by degrees. Saith the apostle, 1 Cor. xiii. 13, 'Now abideth faith, hope, charity.' Belief in this life is instead of intuition : by faith we begin our glory, and here- after it is perfected, and made up in sight and vision. We have some- thing by way of advance and foretaste, in our wants and present dangers. In nature things do not arrive at once to their last perfection ; so it is in grace, God carrieth us on by degrees to heaven's glory and happiness. We have something by way of essay and prelibation, before we possess and enjoy the sovereign good, and those riches and treasure.?, and that fulness of eternal glory which God hath provided for us. But what are these first-fruits ? They are three — union with Christ, the joys of the Spirit, and grace.