3. It is a great pa it of the glory which God expecteth from us, to believe in him as the only Holy One of Israel, and the sanctifier of his people, viz., that he will sanctify our natures, and enable us to the practice of that holine.'^s which he requireth of us : Lev. xx. 8, ' I am the God that sanctifieth you ; ' and Isa. xliii. 15, ' I am the Lord, your holy one ; ' aud Hab. i. 12, ' Art not thou from everlasting, 0 Lord, my God, my holy one ? ' He is not only our merciful one, to pardon us ; but our holy one, to sanctify us ; and he taketli it to be a principal part of his honour aud gloiy to be so.
4. It is needful to exercise faith upon this privilege of sanctification, that we may not be discouraged, and grow cold and negligent, when we find the difficulties of obedience. There is none that hath had to do with God and his own heart, but he finds strong 0})positions, little prevailing against his lusts, and the work of God is often interrupted. Now if there were not piomi.ses to bear him up, he would throw off all as impossible, and be discouraged, that he should never bring his heart to any good purpose in the things of God. And therefore God hath undertaken in his jsromises, as sin is filthy, to cleanse and purge it out : Ezek. xxxvi. 25-28, ' Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and 3'e shall be clean ; from all your filthiuess and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will 1 put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and 1 will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my Sjtirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judg- ments and do them.' And as there is strength in it, so he hath pro- mised, Micah vii. 19, ' He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us, he will subdue our iniquities.' A christian may encourage himself in his God ; he will help him. Our own strength is too weak to govern our hearts, to conquer our lusts, to defeat temptations ; but God will do it for us : aud therefore we should not give over all as a de- sperate case, but clieer up our hearts in the sense of God's love and help ; tliough we can never liope to overcome sin in our own strength, yet God will do it for us.
My next business is to show how faith doth concur, or what influ- ence it hath upon sanctification. I shall first speak of sanctification in the general, and then of the parts of it — mortification and vivification.
THE LIFE OF FAITH, 69
1. What influence it hath upon sanetification in the general. I shall show you that in two distinctions. Sanetification may be con- sidered as to its beginning, or as to its increase and progress.
[1.] As to the beginning of sanetification, what influence hath faith upon the first work ? Certainly there is need of faith ; for the first work falls under a promise : Heb. viii. 10, ' This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord ; I will put my laws into their minds, and write them in their hearts.' There are promises of grace, and promises to grace, that where he hath given grace he will give more — absolute and conditional promises. Now faith and the promises are correlatives. Now all the business is to know what use we can make of these absolute promises of grace: the conditional promises they point out wliat we must do ; but as to the absolute promises what shall we do thei-e ?
(1.) These absolute promises show the power of God to all those that take hold of his covenant, and his willingness to make use of his power for their good ; for God will use his power this way, so that we may come to him, and plead as the leper did, ' Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean,' Mat. viii. 2. God can do it, and therefore there is some comfort ; and we have no reason to despair, as if the work were impossible. So that what difficulties do arise, they should drive us to God to put these promises in suit. Though we do not know how it will succeed with us ; though we have such sinful hearts, that we do not know which way they should be subdued, and our headstrong corrup- tions mortified ; yet the Almighty, who hath promised it, is able to do it for us, as that place showeth, Mark x. 27, 'With God all things are possible.' God can change our crooked perverse hearts, and make them willing in the day of his power, Ps. ex. 3.
(2.) These absolute promises encourage us to come to God, and set his power a-work by prayer ; as Ephraim, Jer. xxxi. 18, ' Turn thou me, and I shall be turned ; for thou art the Lord my God.' Though Ephraim had a stubborn and rebellious heart, like a bullock unaccus- tomed to the yoke, yet he was encouraged to go to God because he was the Lord his God. These absolute promises may be pleaded in prayer.