There is another thing called conception, and that is, certain dispositions to a birth, that come not to full perfection. True, a child that is born and liveth, is a perfectly alive as he that liveth an hundred years: yet I say, there are conceptions that come not to a birth. Now, the faith that justifies, is a living faith: there is a certain kind of dead faith; this is a feigned, that an unfeigned faith; The life that I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God. Dost thou think a dead faith can make a living soul? Its against reason. A man cannot live by a dead thing, not by a dead faith. Now a dead faith there is. A faith that doth not work is a dead faith, Jam. 2.22. Seest thou how faith wrought with his works and by his works was faith made perfect for verse 26. As the body without the spirit is dead, (or without breath is dead) so faith without works is dead also. See how the Apostle compares it, as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. The Apostle makes not works the form of faith, as the soul is the form of the man: But as the body without the spirit is dead, so that faith, that worketh not, that hath no tokens of life, is dead; but then doth not the other word strike home? Faith wrought with his works. It seems here is, as the Papists say, fides informis, and works make it up as the [Greek or Hebrew] of it. But compare this with the other places of the Scripture and the difficulty will be cleared, for instance weigh that place. 2 Cor. 12.9. Where the Apostle prayed to God, that the messenger of Satan might be removed from him; and he said unto him, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. What? Does our weakness make Gods strength more perfect, to which nothing can be added? No, it is, My strength and the perfection of it, is made known in the weakness of the means that I made use of for the delivery of mans soul from death. So here the excellency and perfection of our faith is made known by works; when I see that it is not an idle, but a working faith, then I say it is made perfect by the work: When it is a dead faith, ⟨p. 119⟩that puts not a man on work, never believe, that will make a li•ing soul. In St. Judes Epistle, ver. 20. it hath another Epithet, viz. The most holy faith: not holy only, but most holy.
There is another thing called conception, and that is, certain dispositions to a birth, that come not to full perfection. True, a child that is born and liveth, is a perfectly alive as he that liveth an hundred years: yet I say, there are conceptions that come not to a birth. Now, the faith that justifies, is a living faith: there is a certain kind of dead faith; this is a feigned, that an unfegned faith; The life that I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God. Dost thou think a dead faith can make a living soul? Its against reason. A man cannot live by a dead thing, not by a dead faith. Now a dead faith there is. A faith that doth not work is a dead faith, Jam. 2.22. Seest thou how faith wrought with his works and by his works was faith made perfect for verse 26. As the body without the spirit is dead, (or without breath is dead) so faith without works is dead also. See how the Apostle compares it, as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. The Apostle makes not works the form of faith, as the soul is the form of the man: But as the body without the spirit is dead, so that faith, that worketh not, that hath no tokens of life, is dead; but then doth not the other word strike home? Faith wrought with his works. It seems here is, as the Papists say, fides informis, and works make it up as the 〈non-Latin alphabet〉 of it. But compare this with the other places of the Scripture and the difficulty will be cleared, for instance weigh that place. 2 Cor. 12.9. Where the Apostle pray'd to God, that the messenger of Satan might be removed from him; and he said unto him, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. What? Does our weakness make Gods strength more perfect, to which nothing can be added? No, it is, My strength and the perfection of it, is made known in the weakness of the means that I made use of for the delivery of mans soul from death. So here the excellency and perfection of our faith is made known by works; when I see that it is not an idle, but a working faith, then I say it is made perfect by the work: When it is a dead faith, ⟨p. 119⟩that puts not a man on work, never believe, that will make a li•ing soul. In St. Judes Epistle, ver. 20. it hath another Epithete, viz. The most holy faith: not holy only, but most holy.
