3. There is affiance, which is an act which doth immediately respect the person of Jesus Christ. For we are not saved by giving credence to any axiom or maxim of religion, but by casting the soul upon Christ. Faith is thus described by resting upon God, 2 Chron. xiv. 11 ; by stay- ing upon God, Isa. xxvi. 3 ; by trusting in Christ, Mat. xii. 21, Ps. ii. 12. There must be some carrying out of the soul to the person of Christ himself. The devils may have knowledge — ' I know thee who thou art, the holy one of God,' Luke iv. 34. And the devil may have some assent too ; there are no a,theists in hell. Nay, they assent with some kind of affection — ' They believe and tremble,' James, ii. 19. Therefore there must be an act of faith that carrieth out the soul to Christ him- self. Believing in Christ noteth a recumbency — ' Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,' Acts xvi. 31 ; it is Paul's counsel to the gaoler. It is an allusion to a man that is ready to fall, that stays himself by some prop and sujiport ; so it is staying our souls upon Christ when we are ready to sink under the burden of divine displeasure, or are overwhelmed with terrors of conscience. Now let us a little consider this act in its progress and growth.
[1.] This act of affiance must arise from a brokenness of spirit. The soul must be broken and dejected with a sense of God's wrath, or else it can never come and lean upon Christ. It is the work of God to comfort those that are cast down. There is no dependence upon God for comfort till we are cast down and dejected with the sense of his wrath. This casting our souls upon Christ doth suppose a being pos- sessed with the fear of death ; then we take hold of the horns of the altar with Adonijah. Till there be a due sense and conviction of conscience, it is not faith, but carnal security. It is a great mistake to think God requires faith immediately of any. He requires faith of none immediately but those that are broken and contrite, that are dejected with a sense of their own wretched condition out of Christ. Therefore when Christ invites persons to grace, still he directs his speech to them that are thirsty, liungry, weary, because they are in thenext capacity of believing : Mat. xi. 28, ' Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and ye shall find rest for your souls.' Those are invited to Christ that groan under the heavy load upon their consciences : Isa. Iv. 1, ' Ho, every one that thirsteth, come to the waters,' &c. Christ speaks to those that are dejected with the sense of their natural condition. It is in vain to boast of peace of conscience when we were never troubled. Believing is a swimming to the rock. Now he that stands upon the firm land cannot swim ; that is not a work for him, but for those that are in the midst of the waves, ready to perish in the tempestuous waters. Men of an untroubled and unmoved conscience, their next duty is not to believe in Christ ; but those that are ready to despair, they are called to swim
VeR, 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. 109
to tlie rock, and run to Christ, the rock of ages, that they may not be swallowed up of divine displeasure.
[2.] This act is put forth with much difficulty and struggling. It is a hard matter to bring Christ and the soul together. There is a great deal of struggle ere we can cast our souls upon Christ. We must reason with our own fears, plead and dispute with ourselves and with God, and cry long and loud many times at the throne of grace. As when the prodigal began to be in want, then he deliberates with himself — In my father's house there is bread enough and to spare. The case of a soul in coming to Christ is much like the case of Peter in coming to Christ upon the waves : Mat. xiv. 28-30, Peter, when he saw Christ, he acknowledged him for his lord and saviour ' Peter said unto him. Lord, if it be thou, bid me to come on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked upon the water to go to Jesus ; but when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.' Peter left his ship, and resolved to venture on Christ's call ; but he found difficulty. So it is in our coming to Christ, when by an undoubted assent to the truth of the word we are convinced in con- science that Christ is the alone saviour, that he is a rock for shelter in the midst of waves ; by the impulses of grace the soul begins to make out to Christ. Christ saith, Come, come, and the soul is even overwhelmed with the tempests of wrath and waves of divine dis- pleasure ; therefore we had need encourage our hearts in God, and cry, Lord, arise and save us. After we have left the ship of our carnal confidence, after the soul is in its progress to Christ, there is a great deal of difficulty to bring God and the soul together. God doth not meet every soul as the father of the prodigal, half way ; but there is a long suspension of comfort that may cast us upon difficulties, that we may struggle with our own unbelieving thoughts.