It is the desire of God's children that they may die in faith and die in Christ, as they have lived in faith and lived in Christ. Faith is a blessed grace. By it we live, by it we stand, by it we conquer and resist, by it we endure, by it we die, by it we do all those worthy matters we do, in spite of the devil and his kingdom. This is that excellent grace of faith by which we live and by which we die.
* These all died in faith.'
For they lived as they died, and died as they lived. It is a usual general rule, as men live, so they die. He that lives by faith, dies by faith. He that lives profanely, dies profanely. If we suffer the devil to lead us and abuse us all the time of our life, we must think God in just judgment will give us up, that he shall delude us and abuse us at the hour of death. Carnal confidence disposeth men to think they shall step out of their filthy blasphemous course of Hfe, out of their sinful cursed condition, to leap to heaven presently. It is no such matter. Alas ! * heaven it must be entered into on earth. There must be a fitting and preparing time on earth for heaven. We must look to die as we live. There is but one example of a man that died by faith that did not live by faith ; that is, the good thief; and yet that little time of life we see how fruitful it was. But the rule is, all that will die in faith must live in faith ; and usually men are affected and dis- posed, and their speeches and carriage are on their death-bed as they were when they lived, God in just judgment giving them up to that course.
Many wish that they may live in popery, and enjoy the liberty of that carnal religion, but they would not die by that religion. They live by that religion, and die by ours. When they have had the sweetness and liberty that is given them there to sin, and then open all in confession and be clean, and then sin again ; and such easy courses they have that betrays thousands of souls to damnation. Now this is their course : when conscience is awakened, they fly to salvation by Christ, if they understand any thing at all, or else they die desperate, if they look to be saved by that religion as they live by it. If ,we look to die by faith, we must live by it.
' These all died in faith, not having received the promises.'
For God promised them Canaan, and they died many hundred years before. Their posterity came into Canaan. He promised them Christ, and they died long before Christ came. He promised them heaven, and they entered not into heaven till death. So they received not the promises, that is, they received not the things promised ; for else they received the promise, but not that that was promised. They received not the type, Canaan, nor the things typified, — Christ and heaven. This is * Another example of Sibbea'a peculiar use of ' alas.' — G.
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added as a commendation of their faith, that though they received not the things that they looked for, yet notwithstanding they had such a strong faith" that they continued to live by faith and died in faith. The promises here are taken for the blessed things promised.
This should teach us this lesson, that God's promises are not empty shells ; they are real things. And then, whatsoever God promisoth it is not barely propounded to the soul, but in a promise. It is wrapped up in a promise. He gives us not empty promises nor naked things ; but he gives us promises of things which we must exercise our faith in, in depend- ing upon him for the performance of them till we be put in possession. For here all the blessings they looked for is wrapped up in the name pro- mises. ' They received not the promises.' The meaning is, they received not Canaan ; they received not Christ in the flesh, nor life everlasting. Now the believing soul, it looks upon all the good things that it looks for from God, not nakedly, but as they are involved and wrapped and lapped* up in promises. It must have a word for it ; it looks to God's word. For the soul looks not now immediately, as it shall do in heaven. It looks not to God and to Christ directly ; but it looks to Christ, and heaven, and happiness, as it is in a promise. II dares not expect any thing of God but by a promise. Alas ! the guilty soul, how dares it look God in the face but by a promise, except he have engaged himself by promise ? And he hath engaged himself by promise that he will do it. He hath pawned his faithfulness that he will do it. And then the soul looks to the pro- mise ; and in that it looks to Christ and grace, and heaven and happiness, and all good things.
A presumptuous idle person, that knows not what God is, that he is a ' consuming fire,' he rusheth into God's presence. Faith dares not go to God, but first it pleads his word to him ; it pleads his promise to him ; it looks on God by a promise. The very phrase enforceth this upon us that we should make great account of the promises, because we have all good wrapped in them. The promises are the swaddling clouts.f Christ and heaven is wrapped in them. And when we have a promise, let us think we are rich indeed ; for God will perform his pro- mise. From the promise then the soul goes to the nature of God. Then he thinks of his justice : his justice ties him to perform it. It thinks of his mercy and truth, ' faithful is he that hath promised,' Heb. x. 23. Then it thinks of that great name Jehovah, that gives being to the world, gives being to all things, nay, and that will turn all things that are now to nothing ; as when they were nothing he gave them being at the first. That Jehovah hath made these promises of life everlasting, of necessary grace to bring us thither. He hath made a promise of perseverance and of comfort under the cross and afHiction ; a promise of provision and the like. That great God Jehovah, that gave being to all, is faithful : he hath bound himself; he hath laid bis faithfulness to pawn, that he will make all good that is here promised. The soul, after it sees the promise, it riseth up and looks to God. * They received not thelpromises,' that is, the things promised. So much I desire to observe from the phrase.