38 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SeR. LXV,
a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward ; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, shall receive a righteous man's reward : and whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.' It is accepted of God if it be in Christ's name ; and if we give because we believe they are Christ's disciples, w^ho is our Lord and Saviour, it is respected as done to him- self, and shall be accounted as a fruit of f;iith. But now those that love a gospel without charges, and whose faith shows itself by talk and high-flown and curious notions of religion, ratlier than by any solid fruit, their faith is but an imaginary delusion, a shadow of faith, not any true grace. Faith that is true is a plain thing — to believe in one God, and that this God hath a people with whom I must travel to heaven ; they are to be my everlasting companions. If I am true to this God, and kind to his people, the thiug is put to a plain issue.
4. This effect was accompanied wdth much self-denial, which was seen in two things — (1.) In preferring the will of God before the safety of her country, and cherishing those guests who were strangers before the gratifying and pleasing her own citizens. We are bound to love, and we are bound also to seek the welfare of our country ; but we are bound to love God more than our country, Therefore we ov/e fidelity to him first, and then to the place we live in, and we are to promote their welfare so far as is consistent with our fidelity to our supreme Lord. (2.) The other instance of her self-denial was her venturing her life rather than betraying those messengers of Joshua, that were the worshippers of the true God. It was an action that might have been of dangerous consequence to her ; but, to manifest her fidelity to God, she overlooks the threatenings and cruelty of her citizens, the promis- cuous events of war, and the burning of the city in wliich she and her parents lived ; and so in the effect, by her faith, she renounced all to serve the true God. It is not every act will manifest true faith, but acts of self-denying obedience, in which we do deny ourselves for God, check our natural love, and thwart our lusts and hazard any interests. When God calls us to it, can we part with our conveniences of life, all that is near and dear to us in the world, upon the proper and sole encouragement of faith ? This is a mighty evidence of faith.
5. I observe there was a mixture of infirmity in this act, an officious lie, which cannot be excused, though God in mercy pardoned it. This is not for our imitation, yet it is for our instruction ; and it shows us this, that faith in the beginning hath many weaknesses. Those that have faith do not altogether act out of faith, but there is somewhat of the flesh mingled with that of the spirit. But this is passed by out of God's indulgence ; he accepteth us notwithstanding our sins before faith, and notwithstanding our weaknesses in believing. Before faith she was a harlot ; in believing she makes a lie. God doth reward the good of our actions and pardon the evil of them, not to encourage us in sinning, but to raise our love to him who forgives us so great a debt, and receives us graciously, and pardons our manifold weaknesses.
But why is this the true believing ? The reasons are — [l.J From the nature of faith, which is such an apprehension of the love of God; and of the blessedness that he offers to us, as makes us
VeR. 31.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL' 39
willing to do whatever we can for him, and that in some eminent way of self-denial. Faith works both by love and hope, as it looks back- ward and forward. As it looks backward, the love of Christ is so great and condescending that it moves us to gratitude ; as it looks for- ward, the blessedness hoped for is so glorious that it draws off our liearts from all other things, and lessens our esteem of them, that this gratitude may more self-denyingly be expressed by parting with them, yea, by the loss of all that is near and dear to us, to show our fidelity to Christ. They are nothing in comparison of our love to Christ : Phil. iii. 8, ' I count all things but loss for the excellency of the know- ledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.' Here are the two considerations which faith works upon — what Christ hath done for us, and what he will yet do for us. And if we consider these two things, faith may well afford self-denying obedience, and forsake all easily for Christ's sake. This great love of Christ overcomes all our natural self-love to our interest and worldly comforts, that we may own Christ, and be faithful to him.