The want of this work of faith is the cause almost of all the evil in the world: and the acting of faith in this her work, in the lively and constant work of it, would produce fruits even to admiration. The reason why those threats of God did not work upon the people, to whom Ezekiel preached,1 God himself gives in the 12. chap. Son of man, they say ⟨p. 165⟩thou prophesiest of things a far off. And so for the mercies of God, and the things of eternal life, because the choice of them are things to come, the world with her present delights prevails against them. If you could see that glory of God in Christ, and those glorious treasures of mercies, that shall be communicated, and are now revealed, and those dreadful evils that are now threatened, and shall then be fulfilled; I say if you could see them with the same eyes that now is manifested you shall see them with hereafter, they would draw the hardest heart that is, and bring down the stoutest spirit that lives: If you had faith you would be able to see them so; and the reason is, because faith sees things as the word makes them known, it pitches upon the word in that way that it revealeth the mind of God: now the word speaks of mercies that are to come, as present things, and of evils that God intends to bring hereafter, as if God were now in the execution of them, as will appear in these ⟨p. 166⟩scriptures. Isa. 52. 9. 10. Break forth into joy, sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem: the Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations: thus the Prophet speaks of the deliverance of the Church from captivity, as a thing done already, which was not fulfilled many years after. And David, Psal. 57. 2. even then when he fled from Saul in the cave, he looks upon God as having performed all things for him: the word is, he hath perfected all things: and that is observable, that David uses the same expression of praising God here when he was in the cave, hiding himself to save his life, as he did when he triumphed over his enemies, Psal. 6. and Psal. 108. And 2 Chron. 20. from the 17. verse to the 22. as soon as Jehoshaphat had received the promise, he falls on praising the Lord, as if the mercy were already enjoyed: praise ye the Lord, for his mercy endures for ever. Christ saith of Abraham, John 8. 56.
The want of this worke of faith is the cause almost of all the evill in the world: and the acting of faith in this her worke, in the lively and constant worke of it, would produce fruites even to admiration. The reason why those threates of God did not worke upon the people, to whom Ezekiel preached,1 God himselfe gives in the 12. chap. Sonne of man, they say ⟨p. 165⟩thou prophesiest of things a farre off. And so for the mercies of God, and the things of eternall life, because the choyce of them are things to come, the world with her present delights prevailes against them. If you could see that glory of God in Christ, and those glorious treasures of mercies, that shall bee communicated, and are now revealed, and those dreadful evills that are now threatned, and shall then be fulfilled; I say if you could see them with the same eyes that now is manifested you shall see them with hereafter, they would draw the hardest heart that is, and bring downe the stoutest spirit that lives: If you had faith you would bee able to see them so; and the reason is, because faith sees things as the word makes them knowne, it pitches upon the word in that way that it revealeth the mind of God: now the word speakes of mercies that are to come, as present things, and of evills that God intends to bring herafter, as if God were now in the execution of them, as will appeare in these ⟨p. 166⟩scriptures. Isa. 52. 9. 10. Breake forth into joy, sing together yee waste places of Ierusalem, for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Ierusalem: the Lord hath made bare his holy arme in the eyes of all the nations: thus the Prophet speakes of the deliverance of the Church from captivity, as a thing done already, which was not fulfilled many yeares after. And David, Psal. 57. 2. even then when he fled from Saul in the cave, hee lookes upon God as having performed all things for him: the word is, he hath perfected all things: and that is observable, that David uses the same expression of praising God here when hee was in the cave, hiding himselfe to save his life, as hee did when hee triumphed over his enemies, Psal. 6. and Psal. 108. And 2 Chron. 20
- 1Ezek. 12. 27. 28.
