Knows their Capacity and Extent, hath Pofitively enjoyn'd us to receive those Holy Scriptures, as His Own Infallible Word, and Stedfaftly to Believe them, because they are fo; and, That whofoever Refuseth to Believe, refufeth at his utmost Peril, even at the Peril of Everlasting Destruction.

When Natural Reafon hath exerted its proper Power, in concurrence with God's Spirit, and anfwer'd its neceffary Obligation of Embracing, and Depending on the Credibility of Scriptures, and by consequence the Truth of Every thing therein deliver'd; its Whole Office, with relation to Pure Affent, is Accomplished. If we fall Short of This, we do too Little; if we attempt More, we run beyond our Juft Length. For it would not be Duty, but Presumption, to fcruple any Particular Truth, becaufe 'tis in its Nature Intricate and Abftrufe, or to measure God's Infinite Knowledge, by the narrow Scantling of our Own. His Teftimony is an Abundant reason of our Dependence; and a Firm dependence upon That Teftimony is, not only Needful, but also

highly Commendable on our Part. The Belief of Myfteries is the more Excellent, and Acceptable unto God, for this very reafon, That although they do lie too deep for our Understandings to fathom, and we cannot fully Comprehend them; yet we do humbly, and Freely, and Readily, Check and Restrain our own moft Towering Conceptions, and fubmit them to the Infallible Spirit of God, * Cafting down Imaginations, † and every high thing that exalteth it felf against the knowledge of God, and bringing into Captivity every thought to the Obedience of

Chrift.

Whilft we Affent to any thing, which we plainly fee the Nature and Reasons of, when it is Related; we do not Affent to it, out of Regard to the Teftimony of him who Relates it, but fhould be under the fame conviction, if we had no good Opinion of his Veracity. When we Affent unto fuch Particulars only, in the Scripture, as we can form Full notions

of, and do carry their own Reafons fo plainly along with them, that we should Depend upon the Truth of them, from our own Reasonings concerning them, though they had not been Established upon the foundation of Divine Teftimony, we do not pay much Honour to God, by Affenting to them. But when the Scripture proposeth to us certain Doctrines, which, though they imply no Contradiction, and therefore are not Impossible, nor by Confequence Incredible, are yet fo Difficult and Mysterious, that they are unaccountable by Us, and we can by no means raise Adequate conceptions of them;" if we do firmly Believe fuch Truths as Thefe, for This reafon alone, that they are Deliver'd in the Word of God, we do then testify a profound Sense of Honour for God, fubmitting our Beloved Reason it self to His Teftimony, and Relying Intirely upon Him, as the Author of Truth, out of pure Duty and Deference to Him, in Cafes which we are abfolutely Unable to refolve our felves.

But after all, neither the Neceffity, nor the Excellency of any Single Duty

does

does Imply, that it is of it felf Sufficient unto Salvation. If we do not intirely Affent to the Truth Revealed, we fhall be found Incxcufable, in the great and terrible day of the Lord; and when we have fulfilled this Fundamental Duty, and do ftedfastly Believe the Truth, if we do not, in all refpects, Obey the Truth, we fhall be found Unfaithful and Inexcufable ftill. Though Faith Begins in the Understanding, it must not Finally "Terminate there, but bring down its Influences to the Will and Affections, and cannot be Imagined to have its perfect work in us, that we may be perfect and intire, till we become Holy in all manner of converfation. And therefore thofe places of Scripture which afcribe our Salvation unto Faith, are to be understood of that Perfect and efficacious* Faith, which is Productive of a Holy Life: For, as the body without the Spirit is Dead; † so faith without works is dead also, and cannot be a Proper and Sure foundation of Chriftian Hope; which is

* Πίσις δι' ἀγάπης ΕΝΕΡΓΟΥΜΕΝΗ, Gal. v. 6.

James ii. 26.

2. The Second Grace to be confider'd, and which confists in a Juft and Joyful Expectation of That Happiness, which God hath promised in the Holy Scripture. As the Object of our Faith is Supernatural Truth; fo the Object of our Hope is Supernatural Good. The one is a firm Dependence upon the Certainty of God's Being, and of Things revealed; the Other, a firm Expectation of Seeing him as he is, and of enjoying all the Bleffings he hath Promifed. The One is our Duty; the Other our Encouragement and Inducement to it. And This alfo becomes a Duty, Confequentially, and upon Suppofition of our Discharging the Ôther. For, as we are ftedfaftly to Believe, that God hath determin'd to Beftow the Bleffings, which are Tender'd to us in the Scripture; fo are we affuredly to Expect thofe Bleffings, which He hath Determin'd to Beftow.

And as thofe Bleffings are Different in their Greatnefs and Perfection; there is a fuitable Difference in them, as they are the Objects of our Hope. The Blifsful Enjoyment of God, in a Future State,