1. There is a clearness and perspicuity in the light of faith, which doth not only exclude the grossly ignorant, but those that have no saving knowledge. All wicked men, though never so knowing, and never so learned, and never so well accomplished with the furniture of gifts, they are under the power of darkness. There is ' a form of knowledge,' Rom. ii. 20, as well as ' a form of godliness ; ' there is but a model of truth in their brains, a naked speculation ; they may be able to discourse of the things of God, yet they cannot be said to have the life of God. A wild plant and a garden plant have the same name and common nature, yet differ much in their operations and virtues ; so do common know- ledge and the light of faith. There are two differences.
[1.] The light of faith is full of efficacy, the other not. Common water and strong water are alike in colour, but much differ in their efficacy, virtue and taste ; so the common knowledge of men, though for the object it may reach as far as the light of faith, a carnal man may know all that a believer knows, yet there is not such an efficacy. This light doth not discharge its office to encourage to confidence, to quicken to obedience, to ffil the heart with gladness ; this light never enters upon the afiections — ' Wisdom entereth not upon his heart,' Prov. ii. 10. Though they have knowledge, yet they are ' barren and unfruitful in the knowledge of Christ,' 2 Peter i. 8. It is light, but it doth little good, it is idle and inefi'ectual, it doth not ascend to the afiections or practice.
[2.] The light of faith is full of practical discourses, always reasoning and improving the truth. The devil diverteth wicked men ; though they have eyes, yet there are no holy arguings. The heathens are described to have ' a vain mind, and a dark heart,' Eph. iv. 17, 18. The apostle means they are full of vain principles, dark in their understand- ings, corrupt in their inferences. Their heart was blind which should have directed them in the ordering their conversations. A wicked man doth not discom'se of things in the time and season of them. The mind of a christian is stirred up by faith to holy reasonings : This will be your portion, and the fruit of such doings. It is said of Mary,
352 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SeR. III.
Luke ii. 19, ' She kept these saj' ings, and pondered them in her heart ; ' she traversed them in her mind by reason and discourse.
2. We may know whether faith be an evidence by the firmness of our consent. Most flatter themselves in this, they think they do not doubt of the ])rinciples of religion, but surely close with the truth of the word, yet this evicfence is wanting ; for if men were more convinced, there would be a greater conformity in their practices to the rules of religion. Our consent is very weak ; how does it appear ? Partly, because sense is more believed than the word. We build more upon assurances of our own devising, than upon that which God hath given us. Our Saviour impersonates all our thoughts in that speech, Luke xvi. 31, 'If one went unto them from the dead, they will not repent; ' we think the prophets have not spoken so feelingly and mournfully, as one from the dead would, if they should come from the flames. AVhen we will indent with God, as the Jews, Mat. xxvii. 40, ' If he be the Son of God, let him come down from the cross, and we will believe in him ; ' or, as the devil himself, who proposed such terms to Christ, Mat. iv. 3, ' If thou be the Son of God, command these stones to be made bread.' Partly, because temporal things do work far more with us than spiritual ; we fear temporal death more than spiritual, and will lose spiritual con- tentments for fleshly. And partly, because we are not affected with the things of religion as we would be, if they were before our eyes ; if we had with Stephen a sight of heaven, or if we could behold Christ in his glory, or coming in his majesty, these things would make us more careful.
But we may know whether the light of the gospel doth shine into our minds with such a convincing overpowering light ; and our hearts are possessed of the truth and worth of what God propounds in his covenant, by three effects of faith ; the mind, the heart, and the life will be altered.
[1.] The judgment will be altered. Thou wilt have other apprehen- sions of God, Christ, and eternity ; heaven and hell will seem to you other things than they did. Before they were looked upon but as fancies, and as things talked of in jest ; but now they will be apprehended as high and important realities, about which the soul is deeply concerned : Eph. i. 18, ' The eyes of your understandings being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.' When our natural blindness is removed, there is another manner of discerning things, and a sounder, belief of them than before ; then a man was in darkness, now he sees by another liglit, now he hath eyes indeed. As they say in nature, non dantur 'purai icnebrce, there is no such thing as pure darkness ; so it is true in moral things also. In a state of nature there is not pure dark- ness; there are some glimmerings of an everlasting state, and some super- ficial apprehensions more or less in men according to the advantages of their education. But now their eyes are opened ; they have another judgment about these things ; they are clearly discerned, so as to shake and move the heart, and pierce the soul to the quick.