A30609:173
The saints treasury being sundry sermons preached in London /
The saints treasury being sundry sermons preached in London / by the late reverend and painful minister of the gospel, Jeremiah Burroughs.The saints treasury being sundry sermons preached in London / by the late reverend and painfull minister of the gospel, Jeremiah Burroughes.
London: printed by T.C. for John Wright, 1654
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
By this how may we discover the vanity of the faith of the greatest number of people in the world, who have nothing but mere emptiness in them, their very faith is only a notion, and no marvel then if all things they believe be but notions, they can do nothing with their faith. You say you hope and believe and trust in Gods mercy, but what can you do with your faith? what real substantial work of faith is upon your hearts? when faith comes, there comes the mighty power of God and his wonderful glory into the soul, that creates (as it were) and gives substantial being to the most high and glorious objects in the world: therefore know, that faith is not a dead slight empty thing in the soul, but it hath a mighty operation upon the hearts of men and women: and certainly that faith that must save a soul must have high and glorious operations in the soul.
By this how may we discover the vanity of the faith of the greatest number of people in the world, who have nothing but meer emptinesse in them, their very faith is only a notion, and no marvell then if all things they believe be but notions, they can doe nothing with their faith. You say you hope and believe and trust in Gods mercy, but what can you doe with your faith? what reall substantiall work of faith is upon your hearts? when faith comes, there comes the mighty power of God and his wonderfull glory into the soul, that creats (as it were) and gives substantiall being to the most high and glorious objects in the world: therefore know, that faith is not a dead slight empty thing in the soul, but it hath a mighty operation upon the hearts of men and women: and certainly that faith that must save a soul must have high and glorious operations in the soul.
Again if faith gives a substantial being to things hoped for, then we must learn to strengthen and exercise our faith in the things we hope for: which of us do not hope for great and glorious things (as I gave you a hint of them?) Now let faith be exercised and strengthened in these things; if all those blessed things we spake of were present to the soul, O how would our hearts be above the creature, how should we look upon all things here below as dung, filth, dross, how would our thoughts be raised in the admiration of spiritual and heavenly things, how would our spirits be taken up in wondering at the glory of God that appears in these things, how