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SERMON II.

THE SPIRITUAL ACTINGS OF FAITH THROUGH NATURAL IMPOSSIBILITIES.

"And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb."-Rom. iv. 19.

THE words, as ye heard the last day, are spoken concerning Abraham; and they hold forth three great truths unto

us.

The first is this: That when God intends to fulfil his promise, by giving any special blessing to the children of Abraham, he does first put the sentence of death upon the blessing, and upon all the means that do lead unto it. Abraham's body is dead, and Sarah's womb is dead, when God had promised him a great seed.

The second is this: When God is thus pleased to put the sentence of death upon a blessing, or the means that do lead thereto; then, and then especially, it is the duty and commendation of all the children of Abraham to believe in God, and not to stand poring upon the means, and the deadness thereof. "He considered not his own body being dead, nor the deadness of Sarah's womb."

The third is this: That no difficulty can stand before faith; true, saving, justifying faith, carries the soul through all difficulties, discouragements, and natural impossibilities, to Jesus Christ. Thus it was here with Abraham; he being not weak in faith, he had an eye unto Jesus Christ.

I have done with the first, and my desire is now at this time to despatch the second.

When God is pleased thus to put the sentence of death upon a blessing, or the means that do lead unto it; it is the duty of the children of Abraham then to trust in God, not to stand poring upon or considering of the means, and the deadness thereof.

Thus it was here with Abraham. God made Abraham a promise that his seed should be like the sand, and like the stars, for multitude: but Abraham's body is dead, and his wife's body is dead; notwithstanding, Abraham considered

not the deadness of the means. And in all this he is held forth for our example, as you heard the last day. As he did therefore, so must we do.

The doctrine is somewhat large; I shall break it asunder into three parts, and endeavour to clear up these three propositions unto you, for the proof of the whole.

First, That a mere rational considering of the means, and the deadness thereof, is a great and a special enemy to the work of believing.

Secondly, That when all means fail, it is the duty and commendation of the children of Abraham then to believe. Thirdly, That so to do is exceeding pleasing to God, and most acceptable.

First, That a mere rational considering of the means, the straitness or scantiness, narrowness or deadness of the means, is a great and a special enemy to the work of believing.

Abraham being not weak in faith, considered not his own body being dead. If he had considered, he might have been hindered in his faith.

Ye read of Zacharias, that good man, father of John the Baptist, that when the angel brought him tidings of a child, in way of his special mercy, he would not believe it. And in the ist of Luke, and the 30th verse, ye read how he was punished for it: "Behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words." But what hindered him, what kept him off from this work of believing? You shall find at the 18th verse; too much attendance unto, and considering of the means, and the deadness thereof. Zacharias said unto the angel, “Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years." He looked too much upon, and considered; he stood poring too much upon the means; and this was the enemy unto his faith. You know, beloved, that the Scripture hath laid a flat opposition between faith and sense. We live by faith, says the apostle, and not by sight or by sense. The reasons drawn from sense are sense; and when a man does live by reasons drawn from sense, and bears up his mind therewithal, he does live by sense. If you live by faith do not live by sense; you if you do live by sense you do not live by faith. They are

as two buckets, the life of faith and the life of sense; when one goes up the other goes down: the higher faith riseth the lower sense and reason; and the higher sense and reason the lower faith. That is true of the schools, reason going before faith, weakens and diminisheth it; but reason following upon faith, increases and strengthens it. Besides, you know Paul says, "Not many wise," &c. Why not many wise called? Those that are wise, they consider the things of God, and of the gospel, in a mere rational way; and therefore not many wise are called: it hinders them from the work of believing. Luther says well, If you would believe, says he, you must crucify that question, why? God will not have us so full of wherefores. And if you would believe, you must go blindfold into God's command. Abraham subscribes to a blank, when the Lord called him out of his own country.

Besides, you know the great field that faith hath to work in; the large and vast orb and sphere that it hath to move in.

Faith can go into the Old Testament, and run as high as Adam, and come back again to the soul, and and tell the soul; I have seen a man whom God hath pardoned that damned all the world; and why may he not pardon thee? Faith can run up to heaven, and come home again to the soul; and say, I have seen the glory there; be of good comfort, there is enough in heaven to pay for all. Faith can ruu unto God's all-sufficiency, to God's omnipotency, and having viewed that well, it returns to the soul home again, and says, Be quiet, there is enough in God alone: and faith having placed and seated itself upon this high tower and mountain, God's omnipotency and all-sufficiency, it hath a great prospect, it can look over all the world, and look into another world too. But now reason, it gets upon some little mole hill of creature ability, and if it can see over two or three hedges, it is well. And therefore, oh, what a pain is it to faith to be tied to reason. I suppose you will all say, that if a man were able to go a journey of two or three hundred miles a foot, he were a very good footman; yet if you will tie him to carry a child of four or five years old with him, you will say, it would be a great luggage to him; and the man would say, pray let this child be left at home; for though he may run along in my hand half a mile, or go a mile with me, yet, notwithstanding, I must carry him the rest of the

way and when I come at any great water, or to go over any hill, I must take him upon my back; and that will be a great burden to me. And thus it is between faith and reason. Reason at the best is but a child to faith. Faith can foot it over mountains and difficulties, and wade through afflictions, though they be very wide: but when reason comes to any affliction, to wade through that, and to go over some great difficulties; then it cries out and says, Oh, faith, good faith, go back again; good faith, go back again. No, says faith, but I will take thee upon my back, reason. And so faith is fain to do indeed: take reason upon its back; but oh, what a luggage is reason to faith; oh, what a burden ist reason to faith. Faith never works better, than when it works most alone. The mere rational considering of the means, and the deadness thereof, is a great and special enemy to the work of believing. That is the first.

The second proposition is this, That when all means fail, and seem to lie dead before us; then it is the duty and commendation of all the children of Abraham to believe that is, to believe the thing may be, and so to rest and rely on God in Christ. Thus it was here with Abraham.

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And hath not the Lord commanded by the apostle, saying, "Let them that suffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their souls to the hand of God, as into the hand of a faithful Creator," 1 Pet. iv. 19. When ye are scrupled about your election or reprobation, you look upon God as a potter that hath power over the clay, to make it either a vessel of honour or dishonour: but when you are to believe, then you are not to look upon God as a potter, that works out of clay or out of materials; but as a Creator, that works out of nothing, yea, as a faithful Creator, that will be sure to work out of nothing, whom you shall be sure of. Thus then you are to look upon him. You know the place in Hab. iii. 17: "Although the fig-tree som, neither shall fruit be in the vine; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation: the Lord God is my strength," &c. Thus Habakkuk believed. Beloved, we are so to believe, as the promise runs. God's promise is the rule of our faith;

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look how that speaks, so may we believe. The promise and faith is the buckle and clasp fit for one another. Now the Lord does not only promise to help the children of Abraham, but he promises to help when all means fail: "When the poor and needy seek for water, and there is none," Isa. xli. 17. I pray look into Jer. iii. 8, "Behold, (says the Lord,) I will bring them from the north country, (his people scattered here into the land of the north,) and gather them from the coasts of the earth; and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child, and her that travaileth with child together; a great company shall return hither." The Lord promises to bring them back to their own country from the land of the north.

Aye, but may some say, I am a poor blind man, and I shall never find the way home again.

Says he, "I will gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind."

Oh, but I am a poor lame man, and I shall never be able to go so far,

"And with them (says he) the blind and the lame."

Oh, but I am a woman with child, surely I shall never be able to return to my own country.

Yes, says he," the woman with child."

Aye, but I am a woman like to be in travail about that time, surely I shall be left behind; I shall never return to my own country.

Mark, "the woman with child, and her that travaileth with child, and a company shall return." God does not only promise help, but he promises to help the children of Abraham when all means fail.

And if you look into the New Testament, you will find that several promises which are given out in the Old Testament, upon special and extraordinary occasions, assuring help beyond means, are brought down into the New Testament for us to apply there. When the devil came to tempt our Lord and Saviour to turn stones into bread, says our Saviour,"Man lives not by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God," Matt. iv. 4. Now if you look into Deut. viii. 3, you will find that those words were spoken upon an extraordinary occasion; help beyond means: "He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger,

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