1. That which is implied in faith is knowledge and feeling.
[1.] There must be a distinct knowledge : Isa. liii. 11, ' By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many ; ' and therefore the faith that justified the sinner pre-supposeth knowledge. The first creature that God made was light ; and so it is in the new creation, the first thing is light. God bringeth into the soul in conversion a stock of truth as well as a frame of grace. Heathens that are wholly ignorant of Christ cannot be justified by him, nor christians that only know him at random, and by a general tradition, for this begets but a loose hope. And though none so confident as ignorant men, which make a full account, that they shall go to heaven, yet when they are anything serious, we find all their confidence to amount to no more than a bare conjecture, or a blind and rash presumption. And usually, the more ignorant the more persuming ; they cherish a blind hope. As Paul saith, Eom. vii. 9, ' I was alive without the law once ; ' that is, in his. own persuasion and account. It is a long time ere men can get know- ledge enough to be out of conceit with themselves, and to discern their own delusions. The blind world doth not look after justification by Christ, but only liveth by guess and devout aims ; some loose hopes they have conceived, out of common tradition and good meanings, by which' they secure themselves in their fond presumption. There must bC' some competent and distinct knowledge of the mysteries of salvation, that we may not foster a blind and mistaken hope.
[2] There must be upon this knowledge some feeling and experience, which the apostle means when he calleth it, Heb. vi. 5, ' Taste of the- good word of God, and the powers of the world to come ; ' some com- mon efiicacy and virtue of the spirit. There is a form of knowledge' as well as a form of godliness : Rom. ii. 20, ' Which hast the form oi
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knowledge, and of the truth in the law ; ' some unactive liglit and speculative contemplation, a naked model of truth, such as scholars have in the brain, or men may gain by parts and attendance on the word. But there must be some feeling and experience, which we usually call conviction ; and to consider it only as it concerns our present pur- pose, it respects two things — a sense of our misery, and our own inability to overcome it. Man is a secure creature, therefore there must be a sense of misery ; and man is a proud creature, therefore there must be a sense of our own insufficiency.
(1.) A sense of our misery by sin, and of God's curse due to us. This justifying faith supposeth ; for why should a man look to be justi- fied till he be condemned? Who would care for balm that is not wounded ? for a pardon that is not accused in his own conscience ? Man is a lazy creature, and will not apply himself to the work and care of religion, till he be spurred on and driven to it by his own need. Christ saith. Mat. ix. 12, ' They that be whole need not the physician, but they that are sick.' Men are at ease and heart-whole, and till they are pos- sessed with a deep sense of their own misery they do not care for Christ. The stung Israelites looked up to the brazen serpent ; and those that were ' pricked in heart cried, What shall we do ? ' Acts ii. 37. Men slight mercy till they need it, and are careless of the great salvation till God affect them with the sight of their own sins and his wrath. Israel in Egypt was not easily weaned from the flesh-pots till their bur- dens were doubled ; so till wrath presseth to anguish, till it sits heavy upon the conscience, we do not groan for a deliverer : Jer. xv. 17, ' I sat alone because of thy hand, for thou hast filled me with indignation.' This makes us to sit alone, and ponder seriously upon the matter. It is true, the degree is various and different : this sense of misery worketh in some as far as horror ; in all it worketh so far as to make them anxious and solicitous about a saviour, and about our everlasting condition. In short, Jesus Christ doth not seek us till we be lost, and we do not seek him till we be lost.
(2.) There must be a sense of our own inability to help ourselves. Man is not only apt to be secure, but self-confident ; and therefore till the soul seeth nothing within itself and nothing without itself but Christ, who is the only way, we shall never go to him. Man is a proud creature, loth to be beholden. A borrowed garment, though of silk, doth not suit with proud nature so well as a russet-coat of our own. So this full satisfaction of Christ, proud man regards it not ; we go about to establish our own righteousness. Legal dejection is always accompanied with pride and self-love. The sinner is cast down, but not humbled ; doth not come and lie at the feet of Christ, that he may be beholden to him for mercy ; therefore there must be somewhat more than a sight of misery. Look, as the Corinthians did not care for Paul because they thought they were full of gifts : 1 Cor. iv. 8, ' Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us ; ' no more do men for Christ, as long as they have anything of their own. This is the reason why Paul accounts not only his pharisaical righteousness, but his best works loss, Phil. iii. 8, because it hindered him from looking after the righteousness of Christ. We would be sufficient to ourselves, happy within ourselves. Justifying faith implies that man hath given up all