must be

self to him, not only to be justified, but also fanctified, and governed by his will and pleasure, proving what is that good, and acceptable, and perfeet wil of

God, Rom. 12. 2. To know XI. To this knowledge must be joined affent, ledge which is the second act of faith, whereby a person re

ceives and acknowledges' as truths, those things added alfent.

which he knows, receiving the testimony of God, and thus setting to his seal, that God is true, John 3: 33: This assent is principally founded on the infallible veracity of God, who testifies of himself'and of his son, 1 John 5. 9, 10; On which teslimony, 'revealet in Scripture, and helding forth all around the rays of its divinity, the believer relies with no less safety, than if he had been actually present at the revelation of these things. For, when the soul enlightened by the spirit, discerns those divine truths, and in them

a certain excellent theoprépy, or beauty worthy of 13.4**. God, and, a most wie and inseparable connection of *. the whole, it cannot but affent to a truth, that forces

itself upon him with so many arguments, and as
securely admit what it thus knows, for certain, as
if it had seen it with its own eyes, or handled it with
its own hands, or had been taken up into the third
heavens, and heard it immediately from Gols own
mouth. Whatever the luft of the flesh may murmur,
whatever vain fophifts may quibble and object, tho?
perhaps the soul may not be able to answer, or solve
all objections, yet it persists in the acknowledgement
of this truth, which it saw too clearly, and heard tog
certainly, as it were from the mouth of God, ever to
fuffer itself to be drawn away from it by any sophisti-
cal reasonings whatever: For, I have not followed,
says the believing soul, cunningly devised fables, when
I believed the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Chrift,
but in the Spirit was eye witness of his majesty, and
heard bis voice from heaven, 2 Pet. 1, 16, 18. And
thus faith; is accompanied with 'v052015, substance, and
Aeyxos
, evidence, Heb. 11. l, and wamposopía, full persua.

hon

fon or assurance, Rom. 4. 21. It will not be unprofitable to consider a little the meaning of these words.

XII. The Apoftie speaks more than once of Faith has Tappopopía pleropbory or full assurance; as, Col. 2. 2, ance, Fanpopapíxe' ovvesiws, the full assurance of understanding i Heb. 6. 11. rampocopice mas tamidos, the full assurance of hope, Heb. 10. 22, Pampa popice Tissus full ofurance of faith. According to its etymology the word plerophory, denotes a carrying with full fail : a metaphor, as it fhould seem, taken from lips, when all their faits are filled with a prosperous gale. So that here-it fignifies the vehement inclination of the foul, driven forward by the Holy Spirity towards an assent to the truth it is made fenfible of. Hesychius, that most excellent master of the Greek language, explains it by Bipaíonntą, firmness. And in that'- fense, wimpa pogico Frisaws» plerophory of faith, is nothing but sepémua sñcâs. KpoFox pisowse the stedfaftness of faiths in Christ, as the Apostle varies those phrases, Coh : 2.2; 5; and merancopopganévce zpágselce, are things moft surely or firmly believed, Luke 1. 1. So firm therefore muft the bes lievers affent be to divine truth...

XIII. The term prosapuso bypoftafis substance, is also and subvery emphatical, which the Apostle makes use of, stance. when he speaks of faith. Heb. II. I. Nor, have the Latios any word, that can fully express all its force and fignificancy: Tit, rabsmous bypostasis denotes the existence, or, as one of the ancients has said, the extantia, the standing up of a thing ; in which sense philosophers. fay, that a thing that really is, has án izásaois, that is, a real existence, and is not the fiction of our own mind. And, indeed, faith makes the thing hoped for, tho' not actually existing, to have, notwithstanding, an existence in the believer's mind, who fo firmly affents to the promises of God, as if the thing promised was already present with him. Chryfoftom had this in his mind, when he thủs ex

plained

plained this paffage : ή ανάτασης και παραγέγονεν, εδέ έσιν το
υποφάσει, αλλ' η ελπίς υφίσησεν αυτήν και ημετέρα ψυχή, the refur-
rection does not yet exist in itself, but bopë (let us say
faith) presents it to, and makes it extant in our soul.
A Greek fcholiaft, cited by Bezá, has most happily
expreted the fame thing: Επειδή γαρ τα έν ελπίσιν ανυπόσκαλα
έσιν, ως τέως μή παρόλα, η πίσις εσιά της αυτών και υπότασης γίνεται
ειναι αυτοί Και παρεϊναι τρόπον τινα παρασκιτάζεσα, δια τα πιστεύειν έννοι),
as things boped for, are not yet extant, as not being
present, faith becomes a kind of substance and effence of
ibem, making them, in some measure, extant, and present
with us, in that it believes them to be in adly. Twóscous

also signifies a base or foundation, in which fenfe
D. Diodorus Siculus, quoted by Gomerus, has said, tørósíceois

Tô rápy, that is, the foundation of the Sepulcbreai And *** Calvin's interpretation looks this way, faith, fais he, is

bypostasis, that is, a prop or pofletion, on which we fix DMX
feet, 3dly, It also denotes subsistence, or conftantys
without yielding ito any affauks of the enemyno Thus
Plutarch in Demetrius, dados doiskeve, tão cratimasyonda
Pavyáron, none of the enemy standing their ground, but all
giving way, And Polybius, in his discription of How
ratius Cocles, they feared, éx stw.in, deve gate, is com exóremu
avrši, not so much bis ftrength, as his firmnessi ajd reson

lution, not to give way. And indeed, there is forne? 1944thing in faith, that can, with intrepidity, fustain all

the assaults of temptations, and not fuffer it to be
moved from an affent to a truth once known. Now
if we join all this together, we may affert, that faith
is so firm an aflent

to divine truth, as cto fer things
future before us, as if they were present, and that it
is a prop to the soul, on which it fixas its foot, with

qut yielding to any assault whatever, o 2200ra), And evi.

XIV, Nor ought it to be omitted, that the Apoftle dence. calls faith 4776053 # Baewouww the evidence of things nos

seen, But progos denotes two things. , A certain
demonstration. Aristotle, Rbetoric. c. 14, fays, herocis
διές», ο μεν μη δυνατός άλλως έχει, άλλ' έτως ως ημείς λέγομεν ; de-
monstration is ubat cannot pahibly be otberreife, but

muf

hood pola

muft necessarily be as we afirm. 2dly, Convi&tion of foul arising from such a demonstration of the truth: as Aristophanes in Pluto, cég tréytas fa! Bww dyvacar werà sáre, you cannot convince me of that. There is therefore in faith, if it be insyxos (an elenchus] a demonstration, a certain conviction of soul, arising from that clear and infallible demonstration. But this demonstration of truth rests on the testimony of God, who cannot deceive from which faith argues thus ; whatever God, who is truth itself, reveals, cannot but be most true, and worthy of all acceptárion, tho' pera haps I may not be able to see it with my eyes, or fully conceiver it in my mind. Spesielt inis

XV. All this tends co instruct us, that the affent, No false which is in faith, has a most certain assurance, which

sible in mo cercanicy of any mathematical demonftration can divine exceed. Wherefore, they speak very incautiously, iaith. who maintain, there may be falsehood in divina faith, since the proper object of faith is the testimony of God, which is necessarily true and more Certain than any demonftration. Nor can any places of scripture be brought, in which any thing, that is not true; can be man's belief. yyrir veis

XVI. But we are here to remove another difficulty: Believers if faith is such a certain and firm aflent, are thofe fometimes then deftitute of true faith, who sometimes waver staggered even with respect to fundamental truths? I answer,

most cervft. 1 We describe faith, considered in the idea, as tain truth. that christian vireue or grace, the perfection of which we all ought to aspire after : and not as it Sometimes fubfifts in the subject. 2dly. There may atximes ebe waverings, staggerings, and even inclinations to unbelief, in the beft of believers, uspecially when they are under fome violent tempo -25.4 eation, as is evident from the waverings of Asaph, Jeremiab, and others about the providence of God: but these are certain defects of faith, arising from the weakness of the Aesh. 3dly. Faith presently wrestles wich those temptations, it never allents to those injections of the devil, or the evil desires of

the

as to the

the carnal mind, nor is ever at rest, till having
entered the sanctuary of God, it is confirmed by the
teaching spirit of faith, in the contemplation and
acknowledgment of those truths, about which it was
Itaggered. There at length, and no where else, it

finds reft for the fole of its feet. 0
Love fol- 1. XVII. That which follows this affent is the love
lows on

of the truth, thus known and acknowledged and allent. this is the third act of faith, of which the apostle

fpeaks 2 Thess. 2, 10. For, fince there is a clear
manifestation of the glory of God, in saying truths,
not only as he is true in his teftimony, but also as
his wisdom, holiness, justice, power and other
perfections: Thiņe forth therein, it is not poflible,
but the believing foul, viewing these amiable per

fections of the deity in those truths, should break
wouts into a flame of love to exult in then, and

glorify Godi i Hence the believer is said to give glary to God; Roni. 4. 120, and to love his praise (glory) John 12. 43. Above all, the soul is delighted with the fundamental truth concerning Christo Loves it as an inestimable treasure, and as a pearl of great price: it is precious to believersol Pet. 2017 year Brost precious. It is indeed true, that love, Iftrjętly speaking, is distinguished from faith a yet che acts of :both virtues, or graces, are so interwoven with one another, that we can neither explain nor: exercise faith without some acts of love interfering : such as is also that of which we now treat: This also is the observation of: fome of the greatest divines before me. As, not to mention others, at present, Ghar mierus, Panftrat. I. 3. lib. 12. 2014. No. 16. Wen delin, I beol. lib. 2. c. 24, od I hes. 8. And both of them cite Augustine in their favour, who asking, what is it to believe in God? answers, It is hy believing to love. See also le Blanc, a divine of Sedan in Tbes. de fidei justificantis natura, &c. Sect. 95. But if any will call this love, according to the glofs of the

schools,

M