Secondly, This is of use to check our despair for others ; for when you find some of your relations, after many warnings, to relapse into gross sins, certainly we are bound to do all we can to reclaim them from them. Give not over praying and warning ; you ought still to represent to them the danger of such courses, but cut them not off from all hopes, for God can reclaim the most odious sinners ; and show them that there may yet be hope of mercy for them, and that no past sins can hinder our conversion to God if the Lord pleases ; and that they ought to put themselves into a posture to seek his grace ; though still you are always to represent the danger of those desperate courses wherein they are engaged.
JDoct. 2. From her act — ' By faith the harlot Rahab perished not,' &c. Observe, that true faith, where it is weakest, will show itself by some eminent and notable effect. AVe, in the latter age, to excuse our- selves from duty, have involved all things into controversy ; therefore it is good to look to the ancient faith. How did the holy ones of God live heretofore ? Here is an instance of an ancient faith, and the low- est of the kind ; it is a firm belief of such things as God hath revealed to us, so as to make us fruitful and faithful in obedience to him. And I would have you observe, that in all this catalogue and chronicle of the faithful and eminent believers, no instance is propounded to us of an idle and barren faith, and always the apostle shows what was done by faith ; for surely the working faith is only the true faith : Gal. v. 6, ' Faith which worketh by love.' Eahab's faith was no dead faith, but manifested by works ; therefore the apostle James saith, chap. ii. 21, ' Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered
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Isaac his son upon the altar?' and ver. 25. 'Likewise also was not Eahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the mes- sengers, and had sent them out another way ? ' In this raw and young convert faith was not without its effect.
To make this more evident, let us consider the temper of her faith, since it is so good to live by the ancient faith.
1. The ground of her faith was the fame and the report of God's wondrous works which he had done for his people. She had heard of the true God, as much as was necessary to acknowledge his power against his enemies and his grace towards his people, and this was sufficient as a means to beget saving faith in her soul. And if so, then we have greater grounds of faith than she had ; for we have heard of the stupendous wonders of our redemption by Christ. Now, where more is given, the more we must account for: Luke xii. 48, ' For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required ; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.' The more light God bestows, the greater improvement he expects. We have not only general rumours to build upon, as she had, but the sure word, where these things are more certainly and clearly discovered to us ; and therefore God expects a better tempered faith from us.
2. She makes a confession of that faith which was wrought in her heart ; for to the spies she acknowledges God to be the only true God, both in heaven above and the earth beneath ; and she acknowledges the Israelites to be his peculiar people, whom he had owned and loved, and that she could not be saved but as gathered to that people under the head, Messiah ; and in heart and affection she was already become one of God's servants, and this she professed to the spies. And the same is required of us : Eom. ix. 10, ' If thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus Christ, and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved ; for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.' Let us own the true God in Jesus Christ, and love him, and own and love his people. When once we are brought to this, to run hazard and take our lot with them, then we are in the right posture.
3. This faith and confession was evinced by some effect ; for she enter- tained the spies, which was all she was capable of doing at present, and she entertains them as some of the people of God, as members of the true church, or as of the number of them who worshipped that God whom she believed to be the true God. And truly much faith is shown in harbouring the saints and being kind to God's people. Many shall be tried at the last day by this : Mat. xxv. 35, ' I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat ; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; I was a stranger, and ye took me in,' &c. Everything is accepted with God according to the principle from whence it flows. Now, what might it have been, for anything in the nature of the act, but her trade, an entertaining and being kind to her guest, for she kept a house of public entertainment ? or what might it have been but a bare act of civility ? Yet, because of her faith in God, and love to his people, it is counted an act of love and obedience, not civility, but religion. So our Lord hath told us, Mat. x. 41, ' He that receiveth a prophet in the name of