1. The increase and establishment of our faith. There is no- thing to us of greater concernment, nor is it otherwise to be done but by the word of the gospel. Thereby is faith first ingenerated ; and thereby alone it is nourished, strengthened, and increased. It is the seed, it is the food, it is the life of faith, Wherein, then, con- sists the dexterity and ability of using the doctrine of the gospel
592 AN EXPOSITION OF THE _ [cmap. v.
unto the strengthening and preserving of our faith, which is required of us? It may be reduced unto these three heads:— .
(1.) The clearing and due application of its proper object unto it. Christ is the peculiar, immediate, and proper object of faith, and through him do we believe in God, 1 Pet. i. Now he is every way as such, in his person, offices, work, righteousness, revealed, declared, and proposed unto us, in the doctrine and promises of the gospel. Herein, therefore, consists our skill in the word of righteousness, in having in a readiness, and duly applying by faith, the doctrine and promises concerning Christ and his mediation. These are the nour- ishment of faith, whereby it grows and gets strength by the genuine and proper exercise of it, 2 Cor. iii. 18. And where this skill is wanting, where persons are not able out of their own stores to pre- sent their faith daily with suitable objects, as tendered in the doc~ trine and promises of the gospel, it will decay, and all the fruits of it will wither.
(2.) This skill in the word of righteousness is exercised in the pre- servation of faith, by a resistance unto the temptations that rise up against it. The great way of preserving faith in the assaults of Satan, is to have in a readiness some suitable and seasonable word out of the gospel whereby it may be assisted and excited. Then will faith be able to hold up its shield, whereby the fiery darts of Satan will be quenched. So dealt our Lord Jesus Christ himself in his temptation. No sooner did Satan make any assault upon him, but immediately he repelled his weapons, and secured his faith, by a suitable word out of the Scripture, all whose stores lay open to him, who was of “quick understanding in the fear of the Lorp.” He, therefore, who is skilful in the gospel will have in a readiness, and be able dexterously to manage, seasonable precepts, promises, warnings, instructions, and to oppose them unto all the suggestions of Satan, unto the preservation and security of his faith. Others will be at a loss, and not know what to do when temptations do befall them, yea, they are commonly bewildered in their own dark- ness and by their own reasonings, until they are taken in the snares of the evil one. There is a peculiar antidote in the Scripture against the poison of every temptation or suggestion of Satan. If we have them in a readiness, and are skilful in the application of them, it will be our safety or our healing.
(3.) Hereby alone is faith secured against “the cunning crafts of men that lie in wait to deceive.” It is known how variously and continually faith is assaulted by the crafts, violences, and so- phisms of seducers; as, for instance, by those who “ have erred con- cerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is past already,” And what is the issue of it? “They overthrow the faith of some,” as 2 Tim. ii. 18. The like may be said of all other important doc-
VER, 12-14.] EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 593
trines of evangelical truth. And we see what havoc hath been made among professors by this means; how not only the faith of some, but of multitudes in our days, hath been overthrown hereby. And the reason is, because they have not been skilful in.the word of righteousness, nor have known how to draw out from that magazine of sacred truths that which was necessary for the defence of their faith. The Scripture was the “ tower of David, built for an armoury, wherein there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.” There are weapons prepared in abundance for the defence of faith, if we are but ready and dexterous in their management.
It may be spoken with a confidence which the truth will warrant, that the reasons why so many do fall from the faith of the gospel unto Popery, Quakerism, or the like, may be reduced unto these two heads:—[1.] The satisfaction of some special lust, perverse humour or inclination; and, [2.] Want of skill in the word of right- eousness, as it is such: all other pretences are but shades and cover- ings of these two reasons of apostasy.
And so there are two sorts of persons that fall from the faith:—
[1.] Such as principally seduce themselves by their own lusts and several interests. “Avépwro: xarepdapyévor viv vodv, cdbxsuor wep) ray wiorw, 2 Tim, ii. 8; 1 Tim. vi. 5;—men of corrupt minds, that refuse and reject the truth for the love of their lusts and sins. And,—
[2.] Such as are deceived and seduced; and they are éxanos, not perversely evil, Rom. xvi, 18, but unstable, because unskilful in the word.
There are two ways whereby, or two cases wherein, we have need to secure our faith against the oppositions of men, and both of them depend on our skilfulness in the word :—