Thus have we seen brieily there is another life than the life of nature ; that this is a most excellent life ; and that the root and spring of it is the Son of God. Now the way of conveyance of this life is ' by faith.' A fountain is not sufficient to send forth water abroad ; there must be pipes to convey it for use. So from the heart and liver there must be arteries and veins for the maintenance of life and conveyance of blood through all the bod}'. Christ is the heart and liver of all spiritual life ; but there must be a conveyance to bring it to us, and this is faith. But why is faith the grace to convey life to us ?
(1.) Because ire ore saved now out of ourselves hij another. Therefore that grace which brings ns to this great good must lead us out of ourselves. This faith doth, which is the hand of the soul, to lay hold of all the graces, excellencies, and high perfections of Christ.
(2.) Because faith gives all the glory to the party* on uhom it relies on and trusts, as Rom. iii. 26. Paul shews why works were excluded ; and such a righteousness was brought in, saith he, that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth ; and then he adds, ' Where is boasting then ? It is excluded. By what law ? Of works ? Nay, but by the law of faith.' If by love it had come, or humility, patience, or anything in us, some boasting might have been ; but this looks another way, laj'S hold upon another's riches. Faith acknowledgeth nothing to be at home ; therefore it goes to another to fetch it, which else it would not do.
(3.) Because ive must be brought hack again to God by a contrary way than that we ivere lost by ; for the same way we could never have recovered. The serpent, we know, shaked Eve's faith in believing the threatening. Whilst they kept the word and feared the commandment, they kept their life ; but, losing this awful respect, they lost communion with the fountain of love. So we fell by infidelity, and must return again by faith in the righteousness of another.
By this time we are come to the main thing intended, hoiv ire live by tha faith of the Son of God. We shall not haply reach the depth of so profound a mystery ; only I will endeavour to give you some few heads, w'herein faith principally exerciseth her powers and functions.
1. The life of faith is exercised in our effectual calling.
2. In the state of justification, whence comes reconciliation.
3. In a vigorous life, arising on the comfort of our justification.
4. In our sanctification ; in those supplies faith finds out to make up the imperfection thereof.
5. The life of faith in glorification.
6. We live by faith in all the several passages of this life, as we shall see when we come to them.
Thus we live continually by the faith of the Son of God, and so we must live till we come to heaven.
1. We lire the life of faith in our effectual calling. The Spirit works it, the Spirit is God's hand. This makes, that our eyes are bent upwards to * Cf. footnote Vol. III. p. 9.— G.
THE LIFE OF FAITH.
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see a better life, to see a calling, to live holily and. rigliteonsly in nil tilings, to see what a rich means is provided to reconcile God and man, to satisfy justice, and so to draw us in a new way and course of hfe, to rely on God, and look unto him in all our actions. Then the grace of union is given. God's Spirit works our hearts by this faith, to have first union, and then communion with God. Thus the soul being seasoned, and seeing the excellency and necessity of another new life, touches Christ, and begins to live the life of faith in efiectual calling ; for at first we are dead and unlovely creatures, estranged from grace and gracious actions, until, in this estate, Christ is discovered by the Spirit, and faith to unite us to him.
2. Secondly, We live the life of faith in justification. This is a hfe of sentence that the soul lives by, peace being spoken unto it by the pardon of sin ; for God by his Spirit doth report so much to the soul, giving us assurance that Christ our surety and peace-maker is raised up again. So Eph. ii. 5, it is said, ' Even w-hen we were dead in sins, he hath quickened ns together with Christ, and raised us together, and made us sit in heavenly places with him.' And why ? Because our Surety hath paid our debt. We say of a man condemned, he is a dead man till he have a pardon, which when he hath obtained, we turn our speech, and say, he lives. So in jus- tification : being united unto Christ, and believing our pardon, we are said to live. Our sins lie on him as our surety ; for then, as our husband in charge, he doth pay all our debts. Thus by virtue of our marriage to Christ, he discharges all our debts, and goeth aw-ay with them ; even as the scapegoat in the wilderness went quite away wdth all the sins and iniquities of the people, never to return again. Look we therefore to our sins, the curse and wrath due unto them, and all as laid on him. Look at whatso- ever is good in him, that is for us ; whatsoever is evil in us, look in him for it, to have it taken away, pardoned, and not imputed.