The life of faith in three parts, the first is a sermon on Heb.…

For 1. It is evident that the same Gospel which saith, He that believeth shall be saved; doth say, He that believeth not shall be damned. Therefore the same faith believeth both, 2. It is plain that the same formal object of faith, which is Gods Veracity, will bring a man to believe one as well as the other, if he equally know it to be a divine revelation: He that believeth that All that God saith is true: and then believeth that God saith that All true Believers shall be saved; must needs believe that this Promise is true. And he that understandeth that Christ saith, Unbelievers shall be damned; cannot but find also that he saith, True Believers shall be saved. And if he believe the one, because it is the word of Christ; he doth sure believe the other, because it is the word of Christ. 3. Yea it is in many respects harder to believe Gods threatenings, than his promises; partly because sinners are more unwilling that they should be true; and they have more enmity to the threatening, than to the promise; and partly because they commonly feign God to be such as they would have him be, Psal. 50. Thou ⟨p. 304⟩thoughtest I was such a one as thy self, &c. And partly because Gods Goodness being known to be his very essence, and all men being apt to judge of Goodness, by the measure of their own interest, it is far more obvious and facile to mans understanding, to conclude that some are saved, than that some are damned; and that the penitent believers are saved, than that the impenitent unbelievers are damned: We hear daily how easily almost all men are brought to believe that God is merciful; and how hard it is to persuade them of his damning Justice and severity. Therefore he that can do the harder, is not unlike to do the easier.

For 1. It is evident that the same Gospel which saith, He that believeth shall be saved; doth say, He that believeth not shall be damned. Therefore the same faith believeth both, 2. It is plain that the same formal object of faith, which is Gods Veracity, will bring a man to believe one as well as the other, if he equally know it to be a divine revelation: He that believeth that All that God saith is true: and then believeth that God saith that All true Believers shall be saved; must needs believe that this Promise is true. And he that understandeth that Christ saith, Ʋnbelievers shall be damned; cannot but find also that he saith, True Believers shall be saved. And if he believe the one, because it is the word of Christ; he doth sure believe the other, because it is the word of Christ. 3. Yea it is in many respects harder to believe Gods threatnings, than his promises; partly because sinners are more unwilling that they should be true; and they have more enmity to the threatning, than to the promise; and partly because they commonly feign God to be such as they would have him be,