Secondly. The second act of faith in and upon the promises in firm assent, Treto-^eWe?, — ' They were persuaded of them.' From hence I observe —
Doci. Faith is persuaded of the certainty of the blessings which it beholdeth in the promises.
That there is a firmness of assent and persuasion in faith, these
300 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SeR. XLVI,
scriptures evidence : Phil. i. 6, ' Beinf^ confident/ or firmly per- suaded, ' of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ;' so Kom. viii. 38, ireTreiafiaL, ' I am persuaded that neitlier death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come ; nor heiglit, nor depth, nor any other creatures, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord ; ' 2 Tim. i. 12, ' 1 know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day.' Faith is not a moral conjecture, but a certain persuasion : and yet there may be many doubtings : Mat. xiv. 31, ' 0 thou of little faifh, wherefore didst thou doubt ? ' which is an argument of the weakness, not of the nullity, of faith ; but, however, doubts do not get the victory ; 'but of this hereafter.
Now this persuasion of the certainty of the blessing promised stands upon two feet, God's truth in keeping promises, and his power to bring them to pass.
1. On God's truth. God is very tender of the honour of his truth: Ps. cxxxviii. 2, ' Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.' When we have the word of a man of credit we rest satisfied. Now we have not only God's word, but his bond. The great work of faith is to rest upon the promise. God would cease to be God if he were not & true God, and the chiefest honour that we can give him is to rest upon his faith : Heb. xi. 11, ' She judged him faithful who had promised.' Faith is a sealing to God's truth : John iii. 33, ' He that believeth his testimony, hath set to his seal that God is true;' whereas imbelief giveth God the lie, which is the worst reproach among men ; 1 John V, 10, ' He that believeth not God hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.' Now God's truth should be the more credited, —
[1.] Because when we trust God upon his word, God is doubly •engaged ; for there are not only promises made to invite faith, that we may trust in him, but promises made to faith, because we trust in him : Isa. xxvi. 3, ' Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee.' God counts himself bound in honour to fulfil that which we are firmly persuaded of, upon the ground of his word. God will not disappoint a trusting soul. When the soul dares upon the warrant of God's word to stay and rest upon him, God counts himself bound to satisfy such a soul. An in- genuous man would not disappoint one that reposeth his trust in him ; auuch less will God, Avho is a God of faithfulness.
[2.] Because of the form of God's engaging his truth to us. It is not only in the form of a promise, which is nudum j^cictum, a naked bargain ; but in the form of a covenant, which is the most solemn way of transaction and engagement between man and man ; nay, and this covenant is ratified by an oath, which is the highest assurance among men : Heb. vi. 16, ' An oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.' Barbarous nations have been always very tender of an oath ; take away the obligation of an oath, and you destroy all commerce among men. Herod made conscience of his oath when he promised lialf the kingdom, Mat. xiv. 9. Now the Lord interposeth an oath,
TeR. 13.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 301
and in every oath there is not only an invocation of God as a witness, but an implicit imprecation : God is called upon as a judge and avenger in case of falsehood. So in God's oath, he lays all his glory at stake, as in that oath, — ' As I live, saith the Lord ; ' count ntie not a living God if this be not accomplished for you. So that not only is the wortl of God gone out of his mouth, but it is put into the form of a covenant^ and that covenant is confirmed by the solemnity of an oath.
[3.] Because this covenant is ratified by the blood of Christ : 2 Cor. i. 20, ' All the promises of God in him are yea, and in him amen, unto the glory of God by us.' This gives us the more satisfaction, because the blood of Christ satisfies God's justice. All God's promises como from his mercy. Now that God's mercy might have a freer course, God represents himself as satisfied with the blood of Christ, which was a price to purchase our blessings. The covenant of grace is founded upoa the covenant of redemption, which was made between God and Christ ; so that God is not only engaged to us, but engaged to Christ ; so some expound that text, Titus i. 2, ' In hope of eternal life, which God that> cannot lie, pi»mised before the world began ;' and 2 Tim. i. 9, 'Accord- ing to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.' It is clear that there was a covenant made between God and Christ : Isa. Uii. 10, ' When thou shalt make his soul an ofiering for sin, he shall seek his seed ; he shall prolong his days^ and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his bauds.'