[2.] Your hearts are so loose and changeable, you are afraid to bind yourselves to God. The truth is, this consent implieth a delivery over of yourselves to Christ, to seek happiness in the way that he hath ap- pointed ; it is the first egress of the soul towards the execution of the duty of a christian, our entry into the practice of the holy life, and an entry withal into a resolved war with the devil, the world, and the flesh, who will resist us herein ; and you must consider difficulties so as to fortify your resolution : Mat. xvi. 24, ' If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.' He will surprise no man : Mat. xx. 22, 'Are ye able to drink of the cup that I drink of ? and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with ? ' And not to consider is to discourage your consent.
Object. You will say you cannot do it by your own strength, and you are uncertain of God's assistance.
Ans. Do not foretell the event, but charge yourselves with your duty. It is your duty to engage your hearts to God, though you cannot lay wagers upon your own strength. You must resolve, but continually depend upon Christ for the performing of your resolutions. He will maintain you in your way to heaven : 2 Tim. i. 12, 'For I know in whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.' In a sense of your own insufiiciency and deceitfulness of heart, you must still rely upon his grace and spirit, who hath made many promises to support and to keep you by his power, through faith unto salvation.
3. For affiance in the great promise of the gospel, or offer of pardon and life by Christ. There seemeth to be an impossibility to sense and reason from first to last. If the difficulties of salvation were snrfi-
186 SERMON UPON ROMANS IV. 18-21.
ciently understood, we should see, from the beginning to the end, from the first step to its last period in everlasting glory, it is the mere grace and power of God that carrieth it on, in despite of men and devils ; and therefore it is said, Eph. i. 19, ' And what is the exceeding great- ness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power ? ' As for instance, the reconciling of a guilty soul to God : Eph. ii. 3, * Among whom also we had our conversation in time past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath even as others.' The changing of a naughty and obstinate heart : Jer. xvii. 9, ' The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked : who can know it ? ' And the giving us an holy nature and life : Job xiv. 4, ' Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ? not one.' Or to quicken us that were dead in trespasses and sins : Eph. ii. 1, ' You also hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.' To strengthen a feeble and weak creature : 2 Cor. iii. 5, ' Not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God.' That things meet with so much opposition by the way : Eph. vi. 12, ' For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against princi- palities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.' What can maintain us in the midst of so many temptations ? We at length die and rot in the grave as others do ; now the raising of our bodies after it is eaten by worms and turned to dust is a thing incredible, and to flesh and blood wholly impossible ; it is wholly within the reach of God's power. Now since we have ground to hope for all this from the word of God, even to pardon our many sins : Isa. Iv. 7, ' Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon ; ' to change this sinful nature, that we may become an holy people to God : Titus iii. 5, ' Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he sriveth us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost ; ' to over- come our obstinacy, perverseness in evil, fickleness in good ; to main- tain grace in the midst of temptations : Jude 24, ' To him that is able to keep you from falling ; ' and finally to raise us up out of the grave, we must not consider and plead the difficulties to damp faith, but to quicken it, going on with our duty, and wait for his salvation.
III. ' He staggered not at the promise through unbelief.'' Strong faith is so satisfied with God's promise, that it leaveth no place for con- siderable doubtings ; as Abraham here admitted no doubts or ques- tionings touching the promise of God, but, without disputing or argu- ing to the contrary, depended fully upon the Lord, being persuaded he could do what he had promised. There are two reasons hereof — the immutability of his nature : Heb. vi. 18, ' That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have strong- consolation ; ' and his tenderness of his word : Ps. cxxxviii. 2, ' For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.' Both these 'breed this assured persuasion of God's faithfulness and steadfastness, and make his promise the great prop and support of faith. Now this staggering or not staggering at the promise, and so the weakness and strength of our faith, may refer to three acts or parts of faith —