Book II
The second object of faith, Jesus Christ. Of our being drawn to him by the Father, and our treating with him for an interest in his person and salva tion by him. That Christ as God-man in one person is the object of our
faith. That as a spiritual Messiah and Saviour he is propounded to our
faith. That not only Christ in his person, but in all that he hath done and suffered for our salvation, and now doth for us in heaven, is the object of our faith.
CHAPTER I.
That the mercies in God s nature are not the object of our faith, but as they are considered together with Christ. That God s mercies and Jesus Christ are accordingly propounded jointly to our faith.
THERE are two grand objects our faith doth act upon, God the Father and Jesus Christ; the Holy Spirit being the person who anoints us, generally teaching us all things. Our Saviour Christ therefore, John xvii. 3, having spoken of giving eternal life to them that believe, superadds, This is eternal
life, to know thee (the Father), the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent; thereby setting forth them two as the objects which our faith and knowledge are carried out unto for eternal life ; which eternal life is begun in this world by the knowledge of faith, and perfected by the know ledge of sight in the world to come.
That which in the Father our faith doth specially act upon, are the riches of his grace ; and free grace is indeed, and in reality, but the love of God in election, though uttered in absolute promises and declarations, yet ex pressed indefinitely as to persons. God indeed absolutely declareth in the promises and covenant of grace what his heart was and is unto an elect company, but conceals the persons (which promises I therefore term
indefinite), thereby ascertaining us that there are some of mankind he so loves resolvedly and unchangeably, whom he intends therein ; which pro mises shall infallibly take hold on them. And that covenant and those promises I call absolute, because they promise to give the very conditions required to salvation in that covenant.
The other object of our faith is Jesus Christ, both in his person and his
suffering, death, resurrection, intercession ; and likewise the benefits that are the fruits of all these. And our faith is to aim at the having fellow ship with him in all these, as the object of faith, as well as the free grace of God the Father. In all which benefits which our faith seeks from these two, I might quote many scriptures, wherein Christ and the free grace of the Father are still joined, and go hand in hand. I instance particularly
CHAP. I.J OF JUSTIFYING FAITH. 141
in justification for all the rest, in which there is both the grace of the Father and the righteousness of the Son, that concur both thereunto ; and
our faith is distinctly to exercise itself upon both these, for obtaining jus
tification. This conjunction you see in Rom. iii. 24, Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. You have
it also in Rom. v. 15, The grace of God, that is, of God the Father, and
the gift by grace (the gift of righteousness and justification thereby) which is by one man Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And
again he says at verse 17, They which receive abundance of grace, and
of the gift of righteousness, &c. a righteousness by which we are made
righteous, ver. 19. There is both the grace of God in the heart of the
Father, and there is the gift of righteousness by grace, which is by one man Jesus Christ, as by whose righteousness we are made righteous; and
these concur to our justification of life, as it is termed in verse 18. Now, there being these two grand objects of the faith of all believers for
the first benefit they are brought to seek at first, all converts under the
gospel are therefore brought to a distinct communion and fellowship
(through faith) both with the Father and also with the Son, to obtain both
grace and righteousness from both, and afterwards in the course of their
lives they enjoy a distinct fellowship with both Father and Son : 1 John
* These things I write to you, that you may have fellowship with us : and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ ; with these two objectively is our fellowship transacted. The Holy Ghost
i. 3,
is he who, 1 John ii. 20, is styled the anointing of us and our eyes, to
converse with these, and by whom we know all things; but our fellow
ship is objectively with the Father, and with his Son.
In the old covenant there were two grand utensils placed at the upper most end of the holy of holies (which the believing Jews had their eyes upon whilst they looked towards the holy temple), the ark and the mercy-
seat. The ark was the type of Christ s person; the mercyseat, as the
apostle denominates it, Heb. vii., was the type of God s grace joined with
Christ s person, as atoned and made propitious by Jesus Christ; for the word in the Hebrew signifies expiation, which alone was made by Christ, but imports therewith pardoning mercy through his expiation ; and so it
respected at once both the grace in God atoned, and also Christ; who is
therefore, Rom. iii. 25, styled the propitiation for our sins. And yet withal that propitiatory hath the name of mercy-seat given it by the
apostle himself, Heb. ix. 5, by which name our translators have therefore, in Exodus xxv. 17, rendered the Hebrew. Thus it was in the type; and
the thing signified thereby is that throne of grace whereat Christ officiates,
as the same apostle in substance styles it, Heb. iv. I cite it to shew that
these two, ark and mercy-seat, were immediately and inseparably conjoined
together, and the one set upon the other ; as if you should set two plain chests one on the top of the other immediately, and nothing between. The mercy-seat was uppermost on the top of the ark, as you read Exodus
xxv. 21 ; this being imported thereby, that all the grace in God s heart
flowing to us is through Christ, and as supported by Christ, and his mediation and expiation, so as it is God s grace and mercy as in Christ. And unto these two the eyes of the believing Jews were cast, and had their
expectation fixed for grace and mercy, as appears by the instance of that humbled publican Lord, be merciful to me a sinner whose coming to
the temple to worship, as it doth shew him to be a Jew or Jewish pro
selyte, so the word wherein Christ forms that his petition is Old Testament
OF THE OBJECT AND ACTS [BOOK II.
language, as of one who, looking towards the propitiatory or mercy-seat, prays to God to this effect, Lord, be mercifully propitious to me from thy mercy-seat; which in gospel language is from thy throne of grace. And furthermore observe, that these two were both of a like size and pro portion, as long, as broad, as deep, the one as the other (Exod. xxv. 10, 17 compared), to shew that however the essential grace and mercy in God s nature is essentially infinite, yet his dispensatory mercy and grace laid up for us, and intended towards us sinners of the sons of men, are of the same extent and commensuration with Christ, and his merits and
righteousness, &c., because all that grace which God hath intended to bestow upon us, for the matter, manner, or measure, is but commensur
able, and of like extent, with all that Christ purchased and procured, and
is no more nor no less. As also because that these two must never be separated; for God hath conjoined them thus closely and immediately one to the other, only God s grace is uppermost, and the fountain of us, and
Christ, and all; and the glory of it is the supreme end of all, Eph. i. 5, G. Some converts indeed more distinctly, and withal amply and abundantly, have their hearts run out sometimes to God the Father^ and pursue after the attainment of his love and grace, and have their hearts drawn and set more largely to treat with the Father, and his grace, and to seek the obtain
ing more frequently the manifestations of his grace, and have their hearts more intent upon what his work for their salvation in his heart is. They consider that it was he who first decreed Christ, and our salvation through him, and called Christ to die for us, and gave us to Christ, &c., and with a peremptory and unchangeable love ordained the salvation of some through faith and holiness ; and accordingly they desire to have the manifestations of his grace made forth upon their souls. But others have the Lord Jesus Christ in their eye, and treat with him through his death, redemption, and the works which he performed towards it, in a more large and abundant manner. But though his heart goes out thus more amply to Jesus Christ, and hath communion with him and his righteousness, yet he believeth also on God the Father, that ordained and sent his Son out of his grace, and believes on him as the pardoner of his sin. And, e contra, he that hath communion with God the Father in seeking his love, he doth it in Christ
impliedly, as through whose mediation he hath access unto the Father. But still the eyes of either may be more setly and wistly set, and fixed upon one of them, as on Christ, or the Father, more explicitly than on the other. It is what the apostle intimates, 1 John ii. 13 (I cite it to this very purpose, to shew that sometimes the heart of one Christian runs out more to the Father, and at other times more to the Son), I write unto you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning. Who
is that? Jesus Christ; chap. i. 1, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word of life : that is appa rently Jesus Christ, Then again, says he, I write unto you, little chil dren, because ye have known the Father. Here the spirits of the one run out at differing seasons, sometimes more to God, sometimes more to Jesus Christ. I will not stand to explain whom he means by fathers, and whom by babes, nor need I do it as to my purpose ; it is enough for the present that it is ascribed to the same sort of persons at different times, that when they were babes, they knew the Father ; when fathers, they knew Christ more intently. The reason of which different intentions of our spirits is, that our souls are narrow vessels, and use not to be intent on two so emi-
CHAP. I.] OF JUSTIFYING FAITH. 143
nent objects at once, which therefore take their turns in our hearts, that we
take in sometimes the one, and sometimes the other.
There must also be allowed a great variety of God s method herein. The
apostles, though living under Christ s ministry, yet their faith had acted a
long while on God, far more than unto Christ, of whom then they had but
the^Old Testament notions and conceptions, though they believed he was
he, the Messiah already come: John xiv. 1, Ye believe on God, believe
also on me. And so it is now with many Christians, who at first have
recourse to Old Testament promises, which speak of grace and mercy in God for pardon of sin, through a promised Messiah, and so treat with God
for their salvation ; and though they do it with an intermingled knowledge
of Christ, yet not so much applying themselves to him. And the reason
is, because it is God in whose name the arraignment for the guilt of all
our sins is in Scripture drawn. And therefore the nature of the thing, when we are convinced of sin, calls for it, and we apply ourselves to him, whose grace and mercy is to forgive us : and repentance being that grace, which in a special manner is called for towards God, Acts xx. 21, hence,
therefore (though with imperfect actings of faith, and hopes of mercy from
God), it is taken for granted, that it is in and through Christ, in whom God alone is merciful. Though, according unto John the Baptist s ministry
(who directed to believe on Christ, in the close and issue of it), we come
to Christ at last, yet at first we attend far more unto repentance towards
God; but God leaving us unto a failure of comfort from the evidences
thereof (as to our discerning them), the Father sets our hearts agoing unto
Jesus Christ amain, as sensible how much we had neglected him, and his
interest in our salvation ; and he sets us a-work to seek and look for justi
fication from him with might and main ; and then to come to God himself
again for mercy. But there are others who at first dash do believe and
fasten on Christ at the work of humiliation ; as the jailor (in Acts xvi. 31 , where his first conversion is recorded) comes to Paul trembling, being struck
with a sight of, and terror for sin, and cries out, What shall I do to be
saved ? The apostle puts him upon Jesus Christ at very first : Believe,
says he, on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved. The apostle took
the shortest course with him ; and thereupon his heart entertained the Lord
Jesus. But then read on the story at verse 34, and you will find that his
believing on Christ brought him to God ; for it is said, He rejoiced,
believing in God, with all his house : whereby was answerably fulfilled
that of 1 Pet. i. 21, Who by him, namely Christ, do believe in God, who raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory, that your faith arid
hope might be in God. And Rom. v., shewing the fruits of faith, how
that being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord
Jesus Christ, ver. 1. And going on to other effects of faith, the last fruit
he mentions is in ver. 11, Not only so, says he, but we also joy in God,
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
144 OF THE OBJECT AND ACTS [BOOK II.