Sermon 4

Hebrews 11:6. He that comes to God, must believe that God is, etc.

There is one reason more remains, and that is from the testimony of the Church; doubtless, it is an argument of great strength; that so many generations since Christ's time, and before, have, from hand to hand, delivered it to us, and that so many holy men, as the Martyrs were, and, as the Fathers were, when they lived, that these all gave testimony to this Scripture in all ages.

But yet we will add something to it, because the Papists have abused this, and say, they would have the truth of the Scriptures to depend upon the authority of the Church, and not so much upon the testimony it has received from all ages and generations; they would have it to be such a testimony as the present Church gives of it; because, say they, that can err in nothing; therefore not in this: and therefore they say, This is the Bible, and the very Dictate of the Pope, in cathedra, with his Council (some say,) makes it so, and you must receive it for Scripture, upon this ground, without any further inquiry. But, with us, who do not receive that conclusion, that the Church cannot err; it is out of question, that the Scripture does not depend on the authority of the Church.

But yet we will give you this reason against it. Ask that Church, that Synod of men, what is that which makes the Church to believe that the Scripture is the Word of God? Surely, they will give the same answer, that we shall deliver to you; that it could be nothing else, but the Scripture itself, which therefore must needs be of greater authority than the Church itself, for the declaration of themselves, and the Scriptures manifestation of this argument, be of more force than the authority of the Church, as the cause has much more strength, than the effect. Again, the Church has no authority to judge of the Scripture, till it be known to be the Church, which cannot be but by the Scripture. Moreover, the Scripture has a testimony more ancient, than the authority of the Church, and therefore cannot receive its authority from any; the Scripture being the first truth, it cannot be proved by any other; it is the confession of their own Writers, that Theologia non est argumentativa; Theology is not argumentative, to prove its own principles, but only our deductions out of it: as also, they say, we cannot prove the Scriptures, probando, sed solvendo, by answering, and resolving objections made against it. In all other things, you see, it is so; as the Standard, that being the rule of all, cannot be known but by itself; the sun that shows light to all things else, cannot be known by any other light but its own: so the Scripture, that is the ground of all other truths, cannot be known, but by the evidence of those truths, that it carries in itself.

We have only this word to be added more concerning the Scriptures. You shall observe this difference between the Writings of the Scripture, that were written by holy men inspired by the Holy Ghost, and all men's Writings in the world. In men's Writings, you shall see that men are praised and extolled, something spoken of their wisdom, and of their courage, and what acts they have done; there is no story of any man, but you shall find something of his praise in it: but you shall find the quite contrary in the Book of God, there is nothing given to men, but all to God himself; as Moses, David, Paul, and all the Worthies in the Scripture, you shall find nothing given to them: But of David, it is said, that he walked wisely, because the LORD was with him, it was not his own strength; so, when they had any victory, it was not through their own courage, or stratagems, that they used, but the LORD did give their enemies into their hands. And Paul, that was the means of converting so many thousands, he ascribes nothing to himself, but it was the grace of God, that was with him. So, Samson was strong, but yet he had his strength from God; and therefore this is an argument, that the Scriptures were written by holy men inspired by the Holy Ghost.

Seeing we have such just ground to believe, that there is a God, that made Heaven and Earth, and that this word, which testifies of him, is indeed the word of God. This use we are to make of it, that it might not be in vain to us; it should teach us to confirm this first principle, and make it sure; seeing all the rest are built upon it, therefore we have reason to weigh it, that we may give full consent to it, and not a weak one.

Object. But, you will say, this is a principle, that needs not to be thus urged, or made question of; therefore, what need so many reasons to prove it?

Answ. Even the strongest among us have still need to increase our faith in this point; and therefore we have cause to attend to it, and that for these two reasons:

Because these principles, though they be so common, yet there is a great difference in the belief of the Saints, and that, with which common men believe them; the difference is in these four things: both of them do believe, and they speak as they think, yet you shall find this difference:

A regenerate man has a further and a deeper insight into these truths, he gives a more thorough and a stronger assent to them; but another man gives a more slight and superficial assent; that faith, with which they believe them, is a faith that wants depth of earth; therefore, if any strong temptation comes upon them, as fear of being put to death, etc. they are soon shaken off, and do often fall away, when they are put to it; they shrink away in time of persecution: for their faith wants depth of earth, that is, the assent, they give to the Scripture, is but a superficial assent, it does not take deep root in their soul, and therefore it withers in time of temptation, they do not so ponder them, as others do; and therefore they are not so grounded in these first principles, as others are; though they have some hold, [illegible] yet not so great a hold, as the godly have: so as they are not so firmly established, so grounded in the present truth, they are not so rooted, as the Saints are.

That which breeds this assent in them is but a common gift of the Holy Ghost; but that with which the Saints believe them is a special grace infused, wrought by the Holy Ghost. Now, that which has a weaker cause must needs have a weaker effect; that which is wrought by a common gift cannot be so strong an assent as that which is wrought by an infused habit of the Holy Ghost; therefore the faith of the Saints is stronger than the faith of the wicked.

The Saints, the regenerate men, build their hope, comfort, and happiness upon the truth of these principles — as that there is a GOD that rules heaven and earth, and that the Scriptures are his Word, and whatever is in them is truth — they build all upon these. Therefore, if any doubts arise, they can never be at rest until faith has resolved them and worked them out. With another man it is not so; he takes these things upon trust, and believes them as others do, but he does not much trouble himself about them; and therefore, if any doubts come against them, he suffers them to lie there, and goes on in a careless manner. But with the Saints it is not so; they building their hope upon them, do therefore resolve to suffer anything for God, they will be content to lose all for him, if occasion requires, and therefore they are upon sure ground; but the others, they do but receive upon trust, and therefore they do not cleave to him in that manner that the Saints do.

Regenerate men have a lively and experimental knowledge that there is a GOD, and that the Scriptures are his Word, from the communion that they have had with this God, and from the experience they have had of the truths delivered in the Scripture. They know very well, and that experimentally, what difference there was between what they were once and what they are now; what it is to envy the Saints, and what it is to have an affection of love to them. They know the time when they slighted sin, when they made no reckoning of it; they know again the bitterness and sorrow of sin, when the commandment came and showed it to them in its colors. They know a time when they judged perversely of the ways of God, when they had a bad opinion of them, and how now they are changed. Besides, they know how that once they did admire and magnify worldly excellence and preferment; but since they were enlightened, their opinion is otherwise; I say, they know all this experimentally. Take the whole work of regeneration, they know it in themselves; and so for God himself, as he is described in the Scriptures, such have they found him to themselves. Now where a man does know things thus experimentally, it is another kind of knowledge than that which is by hearsay: so that though there is a belief in them both, yet there is a great difference between them.

We must labor to confirm our faith in these principles, because they are of exceeding great moment and consequence in the lives of men. Though they seem to be remote, yet they are of more moment than any other; as of a house, you see a fair top, but yet the foundation is of more moment, and that cannot be seen; the streams are seen, but the wellhead cannot. So all the actions of the lives of men are built upon these principles, and as they are more strongly or weakly believed, so have they more or less influence into the hearts and lives of men. Take a man that believes fully that there is a GOD, and that the Scriptures are his Word: this breeds an irresistible resolution to serve and please him, notwithstanding all oppositions he meets with. Take the greatest things that tend to daunt men — take a man that is to die: if he considers that there is a God with whom he is to live forever, what is death then? No more than the stones flying about Stephen's ears when he beheld the heavens opened. So when men speak against him and slander him; when they scoff and revile him and trample upon him; yet, if God be with him, he can boldly say, I care not for man's day, nor for the speaking against of sinners; he is not moved at all with them; they pass away as a vapor that moves him not. So when he sees the current of the times running against him, yet when he sees that there is an Almighty GOD that takes notice of him, he is able to stand against and despise them all, and is not stirred a hair's breadth out of the way for it — they are as waters beating against a rock. Consider the Martyrs that died in the fire; if you had stood by, you would have said, Surely that man has a strong faith, that can go out of this life and suffer such a kind of death. But why does he do it? Because he believes that there is a GOD that is a rewarder of them that seek him (Hebrews 11:6). So every regenerate man, whatever he does, he does it with the same faith that they did; only here is the difference: the Martyrs spent all at once, and these do it but drop by drop. As when a man forbears all present joys, which this life consists in, it is, as it were, a dying by piecemeal, a dying drop by drop, as Paul said, I die daily. If one of us were to suffer as the Martyrs did, what is it that would establish our souls? It is the belief of these principles that enables the Saints to do all this. You live by your faith in these principles, though you observe it not; for this is a thing that is to be noted for this purpose, that the opinions of men, their imaginations and thoughts, all proceed from such notions as lie more overlying in their hearts, but their actions proceed from the strong settled notions and principles that are riveted in their inward heart. Therefore, observe the lives of men; such as their principles in them are, such are their actions. For as it is true on the one side, where men believe, there they come to God; so it is true on the other side, if men are not grounded in these first principles, if they do not believe, they do not come to him; but go on unevenly in their ways and forsake their profession.

Now, from where comes this uneven walking, this exorbitance of the wheels, but from the weakness of the main spring, that sets all in motion? Because these are the first springs, that set all the rest on work. For, could a man be carried away by the praise of men, by the voice and breath of man, on the one side; or could he be discouraged by the scoffs of men on the other side, if he did fully believe this principle? It is impossible he should, as (Isaiah 52). As if he should say, It is impossible that men should shrink so, at the face of man, if they did not forget the Lord their Maker. Hence it is, (although you do not observe from where it comes) yet from here do come all those fruits of Atheism in the lives of men; all that unthankfulness, that men can take blessings at God's hands, and never give him thanks, in fact rather, they render evil for good; hence it is, that men trust in means more than in God; hence it is, that men are so unholy when they come into his presence, they are not struck with fear and reverence of his Majesty, when they come before him; hence also comes that carelessness in the lives of men that fear not his Word, but walk on in a careless and remiss manner; and hence also is that hasting after honors and profits, with the neglect of better things; they all arise from here, even the weakness of the assent to these main principles: for there is a double kind of Atheism in the heart; there is a direct thought of Atheism, when a man doubts of the truth of these principles, and knows he does so. Secondly, when a man doubts, and knows not that he doubts.

Object. But, you will say, If it be of so much moment, then what is the way to strengthen our faith in them?

Answer. It is exceeding profitable to search and examine these truths to the full, not to give over pondering of them, till your hearts be established in the present truth. It is good to do with yourselves, as Elijah did in the case of Baal, Why halt you between two religions, come to that disjunction, If Baal be god, follow him? So I say to you in this case; examine it to the full, if these principles be not true, walk according to your liberty and lusts, take no pains, but live as your nature would have you; but if they be true, then walk so, as if you did thoroughly believe them so to be; the belief of them is that which will carry us through all losses and slanders, through good report and ill report; if you did thoroughly believe them, they would make you do anything for God; I say, it is very profitable to come to this disjunction, and it strengthens our faith much; and this being laid, then draw the conclusion from it, that we thus here must live, and that it is here best for us to do so.

To pray to God to strengthen our faith in these common principles, to say as the Disciples did, LORD increase our faith: you see that Christ did it, when Peter's faith failed him, he prayed that it might be strengthened; and when you have found any weakness or doubting, you must remember that faith, in these principles, is the gift of God. There is indeed a common faith, which others may have, and you may have, but the strong faith arises from the Spirit, God dispenses it where he pleases; this infused faith is not gotten by strength of argument, or perspicuity of the understanding; it is not brought in by custom, but God does work it; it is not all the antecedent preparation that will do it, but God must first work it, and then you are able to believe these principles of faith, and able to believe them to the purpose.

When you have such a habit lying in your soul, the more you read the Word, and acquaint yourself with it, day by day, the more strongly does your faith grow, (Romans 10) Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, that is, it is a means, by which God works it, both in the beginning and increase of it. Therefore take that exhortation, which is in (Colossians 3:16) Let the Word dwell in you plentifully, etc. that is, let it not come as a stranger, looking to it now and then, (as it is the fashion of most men) but let it be familiar with you, let it dwell with you, and let it dwell with you plentifully; that is, read not a chapter or two, but all the Word; be not content to know one part of it, but know it throughout. Lastly, let it be in wisdom; a man may read much, and understand little, because he knows not the meaning of it; a child may be able to say much by heart, and yet not have it in wisdom: therefore let the Word dwell plentifully in you, in all wisdom.

It is profitable to converse with faithful men: As it is said of Barnabas, he was a man full of faith; therefore it is said, he converted many: It is not in vain, that phrase of the Scripture; he was a man full of faith, and therefore many were added to the Lord. And you shall find it by experience, when you converse with worldly men; they will be ready, on every occasion, to attribute the event of things to natural causes, but the godly, they ascribe it to God. Now good words strengthen our faith, but the evil words of natural men, they corrupt good manners. And not only the words of the godly work so, but the very manner of the delivery of it, is emphatic, for they do believe it themselves: now if a man deliver a history that he believes, he will deliver it in such a manner, that he will make others believe it also: (Acts 14:1) They so spoke, that a great multitude of the Jews believed; that is, in such a manner, that many were turned to the faith. Junius professes in his life, that the very first thing that turned him from his Atheism, was the talking with a countryman of his not far from Florence, and his manner of expressing himself. The next was the majesty of the Scripture, which he observed in (John 1), but the other was the beginning of it.

So it will still be true, that walking with godly men will increase our faith, but with worldly men, it will weaken it. Therefore use all these means to strengthen these principles in you; for they will have many excellent effects in your lives. As;

When a man believes this thoroughly, he will take the judgment of the Scripture against his own fancy, and the opinions of men (with which we are still ready to be misled); so that when the Scripture says of riches, that they are nothing, whereas before you thought them to be a strong tower, now you think them to be but a staff of reed; so of sinful lusts, that are so pleasant to us, the Scripture says of them, that they fight against the soul, though they are sweet for the present, yet they are sour in the latter end; so that you take the judgment of the Scripture against your own reason. So for the praise of men, see what the Scripture says; he is praiseworthy whom God praises; so you judge vainglory to be but a bubble; I say, if you could believe this thoroughly, you would set the judgment of the Scripture against your own reasons, and the opinions of men.

Besides this, it will breed a notable fervency in prayer, when a man knows that there are such promises, it will make him never give over, it will make him watch and pray continually with all perseverance, though many times he prays, and has no answer, as the woman of Canaan, indeed, though he has sometimes a contrary answer and effect to what he asks; yet when he has laid hold on the promises, he will not let go, he will never give over; he knows, He, who has promised, is faithful; therefore he is not like a wave of the sea, tossed up and down with every wind.

But it is not only a ground of all this, but it brings forth the effect: it does exceedingly strengthen our faith in matters of justification; for it is certain, that the same faith, whereby we believe, and apply the promises of salvation, through Christ, it is the same faith whereby we believe the Scripture, and that there is a God, that made both Heaven and Earth. There is no difference in the faith; indeed, that justifying faith, by which you are saved, it arises from the belief of these principles; as it was the same eye, whereby the Israelites did see the mountains and trees, and other objects, and by which they saw the brazen Serpent; no man believes justification by Christ, but his faith is mainly grounded upon this Word of God; for whereas in Scripture we find that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, and that he is a Lamb slain, for forgiveness of sins; that he is offered to every creature, that a man must thirst after him, and then take up his Cross and follow him. Now come to a believer going out of the world, and ask him what hope he has to be saved, and what ground for it? He will be ready to say, I know that Christ is come into the world, and that he is offered, and I know that I am one of them that have a part in him; I know that I have fulfilled the conditions, as that I should not continue willingly in any known sin, that I should love the Lord Jesus, and desire to serve him above all; I know that I have fulfilled these conditions. I say, if the ground on which our faith is built be the Word, then it is built on a sure rock, and the gates of hell, Satan, and all his temptations shall not prevail against it, but against a strong fancy it may.

Therefore let us labor to strengthen our faith in these principles, that there is a God that made Heaven and Earth; and that the Scripture is his Word, whereby his mind is revealed to us, that so you may know what his will is, and what to expect of him, upon all occasions.

There is one thing which remains in this point, which we added in the third place; that, that God which we worship is this God: for either it is that God, whom we worship, or else there is no true God in the world; we are to propose it negatively, to take away all other false religions: for, if there was ever a God revealed in the world, he was the God of the Jews, and if he was the God of the Jews, then of the Christians, and if of the Christians, then surely of the Protestants, and not the Papists; (for they do in most points add to the garment of Christ, and the Protestants do but cut off what they have added before) and if of the Protestants, then surely of those that do make conscience of their ways, that do not live loosely, but do labor to please him in all things.