74 thj: life of faith.
hatred of sin • P.s. xcvii. 10, ' Ye that love the Lord, hate evil.' Partly as it represents the great things Christ hath done for us: ' Christ hath loved me, and gave himself forme/ Now, shall I sin against this God that sent his Son to die for me? All this is to prevent the act, and break the force of sin.
3d. It improve! h all the means instituted by Christ for the weak- ening of sin and the abating the corruption of our natures. It is said, Eph. V. 26, 'He gave himself, that he might sanctify us by the wash- ing of water through the word, Christ did not only die to sanctify us, but to sanctify us in sucli a way that we might receive grace by the institiUions of the gospel, that the word and sacraments and prayer might stir us up to mortify sin. Faith maketh use of the word : Ps. cxix. 9, ' Wheiewith shall a young man cleanse his way ? By taking heed thereto according to thy word ; ' and ver. 11, ' Thy woixl have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.' By the word we learn wisdom and spiritual counsel ; that makes us discein the wiles of sin, that we may not he enticed nor enslaved by it: John xv. 3, ' Now ye are clean, through the word which I liave s])oken unto you.' It is the work of the Spirit and faith to apply the efficacy of Christ's blood for the cleansing of sinners ; but the word hath iis use, as a glass to discover sin, and as it quickens us by new arguments to work it out. He that daily makes use of the word of God, and doth attend with conscience u])on the ordinances, he hath some new consideration or other suggested to him to woi-k out sin. So for the saci-aments. For baptism, 'Ye are dead;' therefore ' mortify your members,' Col. iii. 2, compared with ver. 5. You that are ba})tized have engaged yourselves to be mollifying sin, and to employ the strength of Ciirist for the subduing of it. So for the Lord's Supper: 1 Cor. v. 7, 8, ■ Pui'geout therefore the old leaven, that ye niay be a new lump, as 3'e are unleavened: for even Christ our ])ass()ver is sacrificed for us. Thei'efore let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of siucerity and truth.' The remembering and ajiplying Christ's death is a means to weaken sin yet more and njore. The word a,nd sacra- ments are the means by which Christ applieth the virtue of his death. In the word we have the charter, the promise and grant of Christ and all his benefits, from (itod unto every one that will i-eceive him; but in the saci-aments there is a seal aimexed to this grant, whereby we ai'e coniiimed in this grant ; and by every new act we oblige our- selves to mortify sin more and more. And then (lastly) prayer ; for faith sets the soul a-praying that God would ci-eate in us ' a clean heait,' Ps. li. 10, and so makes good his promise of washing and cleansing us from all sin.
[2.] For vivificatioii. By nature we are dead in trespasses and sins : E[»li. ii. 1, 'You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.' Christ came to help us out of this estate, and purchase grace and life for us, and to work it in us: John x. 10, 'I am come that they might have life.' And therefore he is called 'the Prince of life,' Acts iii. 15, because lie is the principal cause of it ; and 'a quickening spirit. ' 1 Cor. xv. 45. A spirit from his better part, his godhead, and a quickening or life-making spirit, because of the effects of his power on the hearts of believers: for we can never live t<> God till we are
THf-; Lift: or faith. 75
quickened by him. And he i.s said to be our life : Col iii. 4, ' When Christ, who is our lite, shall appear,' <kc. He is our life, uot only iiieritorie, as lie hath purchased life for us ; but effective, as lie works it in us. There is not only an everlastini^ merit, but a constant influ- t'uce, for our life is a fruit of his: John xiv. 19, ' Because I live, ye ^i)all live also.' Then we beii^in to live to God, when by faith we are united to Christ : 1 John v. 11, ' God hath iriven to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.' It is in Christ, and we have it by virtue of our union with him. And then f;iith dotii continually derive vit;il influ- ences from Clirist for the supporting, and maintauiing, and strengthen- ing this sj)iritual life in us, as the branches have their sap and influence conveyed to them from the root . John xv, 5, ' He that abideth in me, and 1 in him. the same bringeth forth much fruit ; for without me ye can do nothing.' And as the members of the l)Otly have strength and sensation by their union to the head : E{ih. i. 22, 23, ' He is head over all tliiiijrs to the church, which is his bodv, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. Here then is the use of faith, to look up to Christ, and depend upon him for the constant supplies of spiritual strength, to enable to the operations of the spiritual life ' Phil. iv. 13, 'I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me.' But the influence of inith on the particular operations of the spiritual lite will be handled hereafter.