Precious faith considered in its nature, working, and growth

First, Unless a man know that God is, he cannot believe; how can he rest on the testimony of him, whom he knows not, to have a being? This proposition, Deus est, is according to Aquinas, the preamble of faith: Nay, in the Apostle, it is the first fundamental faith, He that cometh to God, must believe that he is, Heb. 11.6. But you will ⟨p. 31⟩say, What need supernatural light for this? Nature and Reason make this known; and indeed they do so, but so weakly, as not to raise up any one faculty in fallen man unto God his Creator. Never did natural light so show a God, as to raise up his love out of this vain world, nor as to raise up his faith out of creature-confidences unto God. Wherefore this first principle must be seen by a supernatural light, which is indeed a middle kind of light, between the light of glory above, and the light of nature below: It sees the invisible one, not as the blessed Saints see him in the heavenly vision, nor as the mere Naturalists see him by the glimmerings of reason, but in a middle way of gracious illumination. This our Saviour calls eternal life, Joh. 17.3. heaven dawns in it, and nature is illustrated by it.

First, Unless a man know that God is, he cannot believe; how can he rest on the testimony of him, whom he knows not, to have a being? This proposition, Deus est, is according to Aquinas, the preamble of faith: Nay, in the Apostle, it is the first fundamental faith, He that cometh to God, must believe that he is, Heb. 11.6. But you will ⟨p. 31⟩say, What need supernatural light for this? Nature and Reason make this known; and indeed they do so, but so weakly, as not to raise up any one faculty in fallen man unto God his Creator. Never did natural light so shew a God, as to raise up his love out of this vain world, nor as to raise up his faith out of creature-confidences unto God. Wherefore this first principle must be seen by a supernatural light, which is indeed a middle kind of light, between the light of glory above, and the light of nature below: It sees the invisible one, not as the blessed Saints see him in the heavenly vision, nor as the meer Naturalists see him by the glimmerings of reason, but in a middle way of gracious illumination. This our Saviour calls eternal life,