3. There is affiance. Faith doth rest upon him ; besides choice, there must be a recumbency : Isa. xxvi. 3, ' Thou wilt keep him in per- fect peace whose mind is stayed on thee ; because he trusteth in thee.' That is a special work of faith. Now, what do we rest upon him for ? For grace here — all kinds of grace, justification, sanctification : Acts v. 31, ' Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins.' For privileges, qualifications, duties, Christ is all to us. And then for glory hereafter: 1 Tim. i. 16, we are said to 'believe on him to life everlasting.' There is the end which faith aimeth at, or the main blessing which it seeketh, and upon the hopes of which the life which it begetteth is carried on : 1 Peter i. 9, ' Receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls.' Those that fly to Christ by faith do eye this as the prime benefit to be had by him, by which temptations of sense are defeated.
Secondly, How and why we are said to live by it. Distinct graces have their distinct offices ; in scripture speech we are said to live by faith, but to work by love ; there must be life before operation. Now we are said to live by faith —
1. Because it is the grace that doth unite us to Christ. Other
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graces make us like Christ, but this maketh us one with Christ prin- cipally and primarily. For the understanding of this reason, you must know that the author and fountain of the spiritual life is Christ. He is called ' the Prince of life,' Acts iii. 15. Christ liveth in a be- liever, and a believer liveth in Ciirist ; he is in us by his Spirit. Before we can have anything from Christ, we must first have Christ himself : 1 John V. 12, ' He that hatli the Son hath life.' Now we have Christ when we are strictly united to him, as members to the head, from whence they receive sense and motion: Col. ii. 19, 'And not holding the head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourish- ment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God ;' as the root to the branches from whence they receive sap and influence : John xv. 5, ' I am the vine, ye are the branches : he tliat abideth in me, and 1 in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit ; for without me ye can do nothing.' Christ is the principle of life and motion, as united to us by the Spirit on his part. But what is the bond on our parts but faith ? Eph. iii. 17, ' That Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith.' Jesus Christ doth make his first entry into, and dwelleth in believers by his Spirit: 1 John iv. 13, ' Hereby we know that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.' Whereby he uniteth them to himself, and quickeneth them, and worketh the grace of faith in them ; as bees first make their cells, and then dwell in them ; and when faith is so wrought, v/e do thereby lay hold upon Christ, and receive daily supplies from him, and make use of him as a fountain of life and grace upon all occasions. This uniteth us to him, and keepeth him with us, and us with him, so that he never withdraweth that influence which is necessary to the being and life of grace. The habit of faith in our heart is the pledge of his pre- sence, and as it is exercised daily, it draweth from him strength and comfort, to support us in all conditions, and to excite and enable us in every duty.
2. Because all other graces are marshalled and ranked under the conduct of faith. As the stai-s in their order fought against Sisera, so all graces are brought up in their order and season. There are several divine qualities that have their office and use in the spiritual life ; but all are regulated and quickened by faith ; and therefore the whole honour is devolved upon this grace: 2 Peter i. 5-7, 'Add to faith, virtue ; to virtue, knowledge ; and to knowledge, temperance ; and to temperance, patience ; and to patience, godliness ; and to godliness, brotherly-kindness ; and to brotherly-kindness, charity.' Saving faith, which taketh hold of Christ for pardon and strength, and daily flieth to him for both, that is the root which must be cherished, increased, and kept in exercise by all that would thrive in any other grace, and be fit for any duty. That is the first stone in the spiritual building, to which all the rest are added. Without ftiith virtue would languish, our command over our passions be weak, and the back of patience quite broken, and our care of the knowledge of divine things very small. It is faith acting upon Christ and heaven, and the hopes of a better life, that sets all the wheels at work in the soul , temperance, in moderating sensual delights ; patience, in bearing the miseries of the present life : Heb. xi. 2, ' By faith the elders obtained a good rc-