Second. Again, thatfaith may set up a regimentt in the soul, consider now that this is the grace that iiij'nseth rigour and strength into all our graces; all are nothing without faith. Faith must fetch from Christ strength for patience and contentation. There is no other grace but hath his vigour from faith, as faith from the Spirit of God. Therefore pour water upon the root, water the root of all other graces, cherish faith. Oh, this con- sideration that all springeth and have their life and vigour from faith, and that now the government of the church, by the Spirit of God under covenant of grace, is to fetch all out of ourselves ! We must have a super- natural eye, and a supernatural hand to reach to heaven and fetch treasure out of Christ, and spiritual virtue to draw out of Christ and his promises, and have all. Every time, every thing, every word, every action whatsoever, is out of ourselves, and cometh from a principle that is in Christ. And therefore, considering the excellency and necessity of grace, labour for it,
* Tliat is, = bold, or without (false, cowardiy) shame. — G. t That is ' government.'— G.
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. IV, VEE. 11. 457
and lot it be more and more planted in us, that according to our apprehen- sion of the excellency and necessity of it,- and misery without it, we may earnestly endeavour after it.
VEKSE 14.
Knoicing that he which raised vp the Lord Jesiis shall raise up tis also by Jesus, and shall be present'- willi i/oti.
The apostle, in the former words, as we heard at large, sets down the afflicted and comfortable condition of God's people ; and because our nature is very uuQt as to do good, so to suft'er evil, therefore he opens a further spring of comfort to the end of the chapter.
Among others, as you heard the last day, this in the 13th verse is one. * We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believe, and therefore I have spoken.' Here is a double comfort in whatsoever we suffer. ' We have a spirit of faith,' which is a spirit of strength wrought by the power of God itself, and laying hold likewise upon divine power.
And another ground of comfort is, ' We have the same spirit of faith,' and fiiith stirs up not only to believe, — the proper act of it, — but it stirs up speaking both to God in prayer and of God in praises, and for God in times of opposition. These things were more enlarged. I pass on now, only I add this, that before we speak we must believe. Mark the method, ' I believe, therefore I speak.' A man cannot speak to God in prayer, in praises, or speak of God aright, but he must believe wdiat he speaks. You know it is monstrous that there should be a birth without conception, that a man should speak of that he doth not know, or speak of that he doth not believe. And we must labour to know and believe things in their own light by the Spirit. We must have a spirit of faith before we speak of spiritual things. This is a careless neglect that sometimes people will speak of good things, but they will speak of them in an human spirit, others in a diabolical spirit, by way of scoffing or blaspheming, as some never speak of God but they blaspheme and swear, nor ever speak of religion but with scorn, as if not grave enough for them ; or if they speak sadly, they speak of holy things with human spirits, not truly believing, as their hearts tell them, what they speak. Now the tongue must be the true messenger of the heart. The heart must indite, and the tongue write. And therefore we must endeavour by all means to have a spirit of faith, and labour with these false hearts of ours to believe, and then to speak. Our hearts else will give the tongue the lie. Thou speakest these things, but thou dost not believe them. And indeed a man may see by the manner of men's speaking of holy things that they believe not what they speak. As he said, ' If thou didst believe these things, wouldst thou speak so of them?' (cc). So if a man did believe divine things, would he speak so irreverently, so slightly of them as they do ? And therefore we must labour to believe what we speak. If we speak to God or others of the state of grace, or the like, we must first have the, Spirit of God ; we must know the meaning of God, to speak of holy things in God's meanings. W^ere it not a bold part for a man to speak of another man's meaning, and never know his meaning ? God discovers his meaning in the Scripture, and if we do not know his meaning ; if we speak of certainty of salvation and of such matters, and of great spiritual things, and of knowing them by the Spirit of God, by his owu * Qu. 'present us ' ? — Ed.
458 COMMENTARY ON
Spirit ; we spofik of the love of God, and care and providence of God, and know not by his Spirit that he is this to us. Indeed, it is presumption for us to speak anything of God, unless God discover it at iirst ; to speak anything of our own condition in an intimate manner, as if wo were so and so, when the Spirit of God doth not truly dictate so much to our souls. We see spiritual things with spiritual light, and we must speak of spiritual things with help of the Spirit, and must judge of spiritual things by the discovery of the Spirit, or else we had better say nothing all* than speak presumptuously. ' We believe, and then we speak.'