First, Of Faith, which depends on the Certainty of God's Revelation; that was either the general Promise in Paradise, Gen. 3. 15. God had said, The Seed of the Woman shall break the Serpents Head. Now upon this Promise Job is as confident of a Redeemer, as if he had seen him with his bodily Eyes. Thus Abraham is said to have seen Christ's Day, John 8. 56. And, Heb. 11. 13. These all died in Faith, not having received the Promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them. Or his Faith was built upon some particular Revelation; Heb. 1. 1. God, who at sundry times, and by divers manners, spake unto the Fathers by the Prophets. They had a sufficient Discovery of the Redeemer to be a Ground of Faith. Certain it is, the Eyes of Believers were then upon him. We are told, that Christ was the Lamb slain from the Foundation of the World, Rev. 13. 8. He is set forth in Prophecies and Types. Now Faith is the ⟨p. 220⟩Evidence of Things not seen; not seen by Sense, but clearly seen in the Promise. He was the Joy of all Ages, even of those that lived before he came in the Flesh. The same is true after the Coming of Christ, as well as before; for we believe in him whom we have not seen, 1 Pet. 1. 3. We should as heartily love him, and rejoice in him, as if we had conversed with him bodily. Only we have an Advantage, History is not so dark as Prophecy; and it is more easy to believe what is past, where we have the Suffrage and Experience of so many Ages to confirm us, than to expect what is to come, where we have only God's bare Word to support us. The Mystery is now more clearly revealed to us, than before the Exhibition of our Saviour. Therefore according to our Advantage, so should the Increase of our Faith be. We should be able to say, 2 Tim. 1. 12. I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him. We should rest upon Christ with more confidence.
First, Of Faith, which depends on the Certainty of God's Revelation; that was either the general Promise in Paradise, Gen. 3. 15. God had said, The Seed of the Woman shall break the Serpents Head. Now upon this Promise Iob is as confident of a Redeemer, as if he had seen him with his bodily Eyes. Thus Abraham is said to have seen Christ's Day, Iohn 8. 56. And, Heb. 11. 13. These all died in Faith, not having received the Promises, but having seen them afar off, and were perswaded of them, and embraced them. Or his Faith was built upon some particular Revelation; Heb. 1. 1. God, who at sundry times, and by divers manners, spake unto the Fathers by the Prophets. They had a sufficient Discovery of the Redeemer to be a Ground of Faith. Certain it is, the Eyes of Believers were then upon him. We are told, that Christ was the Lamb slain from the Foundation of the World, Rev. 13. 8. He is set forth in Prophecies and Types. Now Faith is the ⟨p. 220⟩Evidence of Things not seen; not seen by Sense, but clearly seen in the Promise. He was the Joy of all Ages, even of those that lived before he came in the Flesh. The same is true after the Coming of Christ, as well as before; for we believe in him whom we have not seen, 1 Pet. 1. 3. We should as heartily love him, and rejoyce in him, as if we had conversed with him bodily. Only we have an Advantage, History is not so dark as Prophecy; and it is more easy to believe what is past, where we have the Suffrage and Experience of so many Ages to confirm us, than to expect what is to come, where we have only God's bare Word to support us. The Mystery is now more clearly revealed to us, than before the Exhibition of our Saviour. Therefore according to our Advantage, so should the Increase of our Faith be. We should be able to say, 2 Tim. 1. 12. I know whom I have believed, and I am perswaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him. We should rest upon Christ with more confidence.
