424 FAITH TRIUMPHANT.
a being to things. It is a strange power that faith hath. Faith is the eye of the sanctified soul'; it is the light of the soul.
In the dark, though things have a colour and a' lustre in them, yet till light come to make them clear, they are all as if they were not, they are not seen ; but when the light discovers them, then those things that were impossible to be seen and had in them colour and lustre, they come to be actually seen. So it is with faith ; there is the happiness of a Christian ; there is glory and grace. Reason, it seeth not this. Here is a night of all these things, if there be not light in the eye of faith. Now, when there comes the promise of God as a light discovering them, and the eye of faith to see all this, then here is an evidence of the things, a clear sight of them, which without faith are as excellent things in the night, that no eye can see. Faith is a further light, a light beyond all, a supernatural heavenly light and sight. It sees beyond all other eyes, beyond the eye of the body, or beyond the other eye of the soul, which is reason.
Now this work of faith is called sight; among other respects 'for this, that sight is the most capacious and comprehending sense. It apprehends its object quickly ; and sight it works upon the affections. So faith hath a quick eye- sight ; it pierceth through the dark things of the world ; it pierceth through contraries. Ood's children, though they see their estate ofttimes contrary to the promise, as if God did not regard them, yet they break through that. You know God's manner of working is in contrary estates. WTien we die, faith sees life ; when we most apprehend our sins, faith sees the forgiveness of sins ; when we are in the greatest mystery, faith hath so quick a sight that it sees happiness and glory through all. It sees afar off, notwithstanding the interposing of anything contrary by flesh and blood.
Faith is sometimes called taste, and by the name of other senses ; but especially by the name of sight. As in sight there is both the light out- ward and a light in the eye, and the application of the light in the eye to the object, so in faith there is a light in the things revealed, a promise and discovery of it by the light of the gospel, and an inward light in the soul answerable to the inward light in the eye. For a dead eye sees nothing, and a quick living eye sees nothing without the light of the air. So there is a double revelation, by the word and by the Spirit. The Spirit works an eye of faith in the soul, and then it discovers to it the things of God.
' They saw them afar off.'
God created a new eye in the soul, a new sight which they had not by nature ; for even as the natural eye cannot see things that are invisible, so the natural man cannot see the things of God, which are seen not by a natural, but by a supernatural eye. ' Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath entered into the heart of man to conceive, what God hath prepared for his children,' 1 Cor. ii. 10, 11. The eye therefore that must see things afar off, it must be a supernatural eye ; and the light that must discover them must be the light of God's truth. For reason cannot see the resur- rection of the body, and the life to come, and such glorious things as the word of God reveals to us.
Quest. If you ask why this sight of faith is so necessary, this supernatural sight ;—
Am. I answer, nothing can be done in religion without the supernatural eye of the soul, nothing at all ; for a man may see heavenly things with a natural eye and be never a whit the better. A man may see the joys of heaven ; he may hear much of heaven and happiness and forgiveness, and
FAITH TRIUMPHANT.
425
think, Oh, these are good things ; but yet notwithstanding he doth not see these things with a supernatural eye ; he doth not see these things to be holy and gracious, and to be fit for him ; he wisheth them with conditions, but not with the altering of his disposition. As a man may see an earthly thing with a heavenly eye, because he sees God in it, and there is some- what of God in it to lead him to see him, so a man may see heavenly things with a carnal eye, as Balaam wished ' to die the death of the righteous,' Num. xxiii. 10. A carnal man may be ravished with heavenly things ; but he must look upon them as things suitable, or else all is to no purpose.
Quest. How doth faith see this ? How comes faith to have this strength ?
Ans. Because faith sees things in the power of God. It sees things in the truth of God. He is Jehovah ; he gives being to things. Therefore, as God Almighty gives being to things in^their time, when they are not, so faith in his promises sees that these things will be. " It sees things in the truth of God, in the promise of God. There it hath these eyes to see afar off. Itself is wrought by the mighty power of God in the soul, for it is a mighty power for the soul to neglect the things it sees, to neglect riches, and honours, and pleasures, and to stand admiring of things that it sees not. For a man to rule his course of Hfe upon reasons which the world sees not, because there is a happiness to come and a God that he believes in, &c., it is a mighty power that plants such a grace in the heart. Faith is wrought by the mighty power of God. As itself is wrought by the power of God, so it lays hold upon the power of God, that the promises shall be performed. In all the promises it sees and lays hold on the mighty power and truth of God, and therefore it hath such an eye.