The truly blessed man

2. Hence all the media by which we come to obtain any favour from him, are his free gift. He hath prescribed them, as an order in which we are to come by his benefits: yet, not only the benefits themselves, but also all the grace and help whereby we are enabled so to wait upon him for them is from him. He gives Repentance, as well as Remission, Acts 5.31. He helps us to pray, as well as pardoneth us on prayer, Rom. 8.26. So that his Grace doth equally appear in the one as in the other. So that though he hath made promises to such conditions, yet he must give them, or we can never work them in our selves.

3 That Faith in Christ is the great medium by which we apprehend Gods forgiveness. We cannot me it i•, all that we have to do, is to receive it, which is only by an hand of Faith. Hence Justification, to which pardon belongs is in the Gospel restrained to believing, Rom. 5.1. But this hath been already insisted on.

4. That our faith must be acted on Christ for our apprehension of this pardon. I here dispute not, ⟨p. 291⟩whether the habit of Faith doth not put us in a safe state? We are here only considering the order of the Economy of the Divine dispensation to us. As to Gods dealing with Infants, it is dark to us: We can readily conceive them Subjects as well capable of the Sanctification of the Spirit, as of natural corruption: though how they should exert acts of faith and repentance, is beyond our conjecture. But as to others, we know that the habits of Grace are infused for action: and to believe in Christ for life is an act of the Soul, proceeding from such a principle, and not merely the principle it self, though it presumes a power put into us, else we could not take hold on Christ. Now it is actual believing to which the Gospel promise is made,