CXLV expository sermons upon the whole 17th chapter of the Gospel according to St.…

Thirdly, In this act of faith, there is contained resting, relying, or fiducial reposing of the soul upon Christ. You heard the [Greek or Hebrew], did enforce this,¹ so that the soul before it believeth is to be conceived as a stone falling downwards, which cannot stay till it meet with its centre, and then it inclineth no further. In the Old Testament it's called, trusting in the Lord, which in other synonymous expressions is sometimes called staying and leaning, and so is a metaphor taken from those, who have some great and heavy burden upon their back, and thereby are crushed to the ground, unless they have something to rest upon. Thus it is with the afflicted penitent, he crieth out, I find such a load of sins, that my back would break, and heart would break, yea every thing would fail within me, had not I Christ to throw my self upon: hence Christ is called the Foundation stone, because all the building is established upon that. Now that which in the Old Testament is called trusting in God, in the New is called believing. Illyricus thinketh this is the reason of the different expression, because the God of Israel was known to the Jews, therefore there was required only a fiducial adhesion unto him; but in the New Testament, Christ as Mediator was not known, therefore another word is used, viz. to believe, which comprehends both an assenting knowledge, and also a fiducial application: So then by this act of believing, the soul which was ready to sink under it's burden, doth lean upon Christ, and as a drowning man doth catch hold on the next branch to save him, so doth a humbled sinner finding himself even falling into hell, catch hold on Christ, and therefore it's called laying hold on him·

Thirdly, In this act of faith, there is contained resting, relying, or fiducial reposing of the soul upon Christ. You heard the 〈non-Latin alphabet〉, did enforce this,¹ so that the soul before it believeth is to be conceived as a stone falling downwards, which cannot stay till it meet with its center, and then it enclineth no further. In the Old Testament it's called, trusting in the Lord, which in other synonymous expressions is sometimes called staying and leaning, and so is a metaphor taken from those, who have some great and heavy burden upon their back, and thereby are crushed to the ground, unless they have something to rest upon. Thus it is with the afflicted penitent, he cryeth out, I finde such a load of sins, that my back would break, and heart would break, yea every thing would fail within me, had not I Christ to throw my self upon: hence Christ is called the Foundation stone, because all the building is established upon that. Now that which in the Old Testament is called trusting in God, in the New is called believing. Illyricus thinketh this is the reason of the different expression, because the God of Israel was known to the Jews, therefore there was required only a fiducial adhesion unto him; but in the New Testament, Christ as Mediator was not known, therefore another word is used, viz. to believe, which comprehends both an assenting knowledge, and also a fiducial application: So then by this act of beleeving, the soul which was ready to sink under it's burden, doth lean upon Christ, and as a drowning man doth catch hold on the next branch to save him, so doth a humbled sinner finding himself even falling into hell, catch hold on Christ, and therefore it's called laying hold on him·