I come now to the second part of the description - ' And the evidence of things not seen.' In which you have -
1. The act - it is the evidence.
2. The object - of things not seem.
[1.] The act, which belongs chiefly to the understanding. as the other doth to the will. By the first act, faith is the hand of the soul to lay hold of eternal life; by this act, faith is the eye of the soul to look towards it, and represent it to us.
[2.] The object - 'Things not seen:' it is of a larger extent than the former. All matters of faith are not future, and the objects of hope, 'things not seen,' is a term more capacious and comprehensive than 'things hoped for.' We believe past and present things as well as future, but we cannot be said to hope for them; as the creation of the world, the deluge, the deliverance of the church out of Egypt and Babylon; Christ's incarnation and passion, his glorious ascension, the effusion of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles; all these things are past, and cannot be called things hoped for; but are here in a more comprehensive expression said to be 'things not seen.' Many present things we believe, as God's providence, the intercession of Christ, the influences of his grace upon the hearts of believers, pardoning mercy; these, because they could not be comprehended in the former 'things hoped for,' are delivered to us in this latter expression, 'things not seen.'
My business mainly is to discourse of the object, 'Things not seen.' But in
my way, -
First, Concerning the act. Faith is said to be elegchos, 'the evidence.' The
word is by some rendered the argument of things not seen; by others the
demonstration; by us the evidence, and that not altogether unfitly. For though
the original word hath a special emphasis, which I shall open by and by; yet
this word 'evidence' is of great significancy. Evidence is most proper to
objects of sight, and notes clear, distinct, and full apprehension of objects
present; therefore the testimony of eye-witnesses in matters of fact, we call
it the evidence; and hence it is translated to signify the clear sight of the
mind; the clear and satisfactory apprehension is called an evidence, when the
object is represented so as the desire of knowledge is fully satisfied
concerning the truth and worth of it; for this end doth faith serve in the
soul, to give us a satisfactory knowledge of truths delivered in the word. T
his doth somewhat clear the text.
But we must a little examine the original word: elegchos is a term of art, and
implies a conviction by way of argument and dis-putation. Aristotle saith, it
is sullogismos tès antifaseoos, a con-vincing argument or dispute, which
infers conclusions contradictory to those which we held before. And in this
sense it is said in scrip-ture: John xvi. 8, 'The Spirit elegxei shall
convince,' or reprove; so that elegchos is a confutation of an opinion which
men were possessed of before. So it is used Titus i. 9, where, speaking of the
office of a minister, elegcheintous antilegontas, to convince gain-sayers, that
is, confute their cavils and prejudices against the truth. Again, the
philosopher describes this conviction to be such an arguing by which we prove
to mè dunaton alloos echein agg' houtoos hoos hèmeis legomen -
the thing is impossible to be otherwise than we represent.
Therefore this was a fit and chosen word by the apostle, to show it was a clear
or infallible demonstration of etern al verities delivered in scripture, that
the man to whom it is made cannot think otherwise than as it is represented to
him. Out of all which we may gather that there is in conviction -
1. A representation of clear grounds.
2. These drawn forth in argument and discourse.
3. A confutation of prejudices.
4. A sweet constraint of the mind to assent and subscribe to the truths
delivered. All these are in faith -
[1.] A clearness and perspicuity of light.
[2.] A seriousness of arguing and dispute.
[3.] Confuting of prejudices.
[4.] A sweet consent, or rational enforcement of the mind, a com-pulsion of the
soul by reasons, an answerable assent to the truth of religion as certain and
worthy; as I shall declare in this following discourse.
I shall wind up all in this doctrine,
Doct. That true faith is an evidence or convincing light concerning eternal
verities. Or take it thus : - It is a grace that representeth the things of
religion with such clearness and perspicuity of argument, that a believer is
compelled to subscribe to the truth and worth of them; as a man yieldeth, when
he seeth clear evidence to the contrary.
There are in faith four things : -
1. A clear light and apprehension. As soon as God converteth the soul, he puts light into it. In the old world you know the first thing that God made was light; so in the new creation, when he comes to convert sinners he infuseth light, brings in a stock and frame of knowledge into the soul ; therefore it is said, Heb. viii. 10, 'I will put my laws into their minds, and write them in their hearts' - the first and great privilege of the covenant. There is a double allusion. 'I will put my law into their minds;' that alludes to the ark, as the tables were kept in the ark; 'I will write it upon their hearts;' as the law was written upon the tables, so God writes it upon their hearts; so doth God do at first conversion; and therefore wherever there is faith, there must be light. It is true, this change is not so sensible; light enters, like a sunbeam, gently and without violence; God opens the window, and draws the curtain. This is a most neces-sary act. Yet there is a sensible difference afterwards: Eph. v. 8, 'Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord.' The devil carrieth on his kingdom by blindness and darkness, and Christ governs by light. The devil keeps men in bondage and captivity by blinding their eyes, by casting a veil of prejudices before their eyes: 2 Cor. iv. 4, 'The God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.' And God recovers them out of this captivity by opening their eyes: Acts xxvi. 18, 'To open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God.' There cannot be any act of a rational soul about an object without knowledge or light. And therefore when God would draw our consent to his covenant, he begins with the understanding, and the light of the glorious gospel shines in upon us. That which is unknown is neither believed, nor hoped for, nor desired, nor laboured after. When Christ saith to the blind man, John ix. 35, 36, 'Dost thou believe in the Son of God?' he answered, 'Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?' Certainly that which we believe we must have a thorough sight of. I say, a man must understand things before he will close with them, and receive them. And therefore the first thing that God doth is to give us a mind to know him: 1 John v. 20, 'And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding that we may know him that is true:' and the new creature is created in knowledge, Col. iii. 10, that so it may be able to act with reason and judgment towards objects proper for it: for, according as things are known, so they powerfully draw and attract the heart. The understanding is the great wheel of the soul, and guide of the whole man; therefore there must be something done to satisfy that; grace will begin there, and there the Lord sets up the light of faith. As sense is the light of beasts, and reason the light of men, so faith is the light of christians. And as there is a distinct light, so there is much argument a nd dis-course. God lays up principles, 'and faith lays them out; it is a prudent steward and dispenser of the knowledge which God hath treasured up in the heart; therefore when unbelief makes opposition, and when the heart is careless, then faith fetcheth the law out of the ark, and pleadeth and argueth with the soul. As upon the approach of an enemy against a country they draw out their forces; so doth faith bring forth the force of the soul, use reason and discourse, amid draw conclusions out of the principles of the word, that it may beat its enemy. Reason is the great enemy of faith; and when it is sancti-fied it is the great servant of faith; by discourse and disputing it doth convince the soul: Rom. vi. 11, 'Reckoning yourselves,' or reason yourselves by argument, 'that you are dead to sin, and alive to God;' Rom. viii. 18, 'I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us;' that is, I reason thus. And it is said of Abraham, Heb. xi. 19, 'He accounted that God was able to raise him;' he reasoned the case thus within himself, There is nothing impossible to God. This is the great advantage of a believer when he can draw out particular discourses and arguments, and fortify himself by such conclusions as are opposite to his particular distrust and trouble, when he can reason from his happiness to come, his interest in Christ. By this means faith doth set on either the promise or the threatening; as suppose, if the heart be backward, and loath to come to the work of mortification. If it be given to carnal pleasure, faith comes and reasons thus, Rom. viii. 13, 'If you live after the flesh, you shall die,' but you do live after the flesh, therefore you shall die; but if you through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live - if you will take pains in the exercise of religion, though severe for the present, yet it shall be sweet for the time to come, you shall live. That is the reason why the word is full of syllogisms and discourses; they are but copies of what faith doth in the heart.
2. Faith is a convictive light, that findeth us corrupt and ill-principled, and full of prejudices against the doctrine of the gospel; and it is the work of faith to root out of the soul those carnal prejudices, carnal counsels, carnal reasonings, and carnal excuses which rise up, and exclude and shut out that doctrine which the gospel offereth to us.
[1.] Against the truth of the gospel. The heart of man is naturally full of malice and atheism. Man is not white paper, he is prepossessed with thoughts 'that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God in Christ Jesus,' 2 Cor. x. 6. The truths of religion are opposite to corrupt desires, and these desires have leavened the soul with carnal prejudices, and this begets jealousies and suspicious reluctations. Now it is the work of faith to captivate and subdue those thoughts, to batter down those prejudices that lift up themselves against the knowledge of God and obedience of Christ. And therefore one great work of the Spirit is, to reprove and convince the world not only of sin, but of righteous-ness and judgment, John xvi. 8; the Spirit doth it as the author, and faith as the instrument. We are leavened with these evil maxims, that sin is not so dangerous as it is represented to be; that holiness is not so necessary; that the doctrines of Christ are but fables; and therefore the apo stle saith, 2 Peter i. 16. 'We have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ;' implying that there is such a thought in the heart of man. Man hath a great many sottish conceits of all these timings, but especially of the gospel; for conscience will sooner yield to moral truths than truths evangelical, and the doctrine which concerns the happiness of another world. We are by nature sooner convinced of sin than of righteousness, our thoughts being more presagious of evil than of good, because of the guilt; conscience seeing nothing but sin, can infer nothing but punishment; but we had need be convinced of all three, sin, righteousness, and judgment. It is not-able that theme is no figure so common in scripture as a prolepsis, or anticipation of objections. Divine doctrine findeth us full of prejudices, and there is an aversion, or bearing off in the intellective faculty, as well as a dissent. Now faith never leaveth till it bringeth in other principles.
[2.] Great prejudices there are against the worth of the gospel: I Cor. ii. 14, 'The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.' If we be convinced that there are such things as the scripture sets forth, we are not convinced of their worth, when we do acknowledge their being; we think it a folly to be troubled about things that are to come; that a man may be saved without so much ado; and why should he venture himself upon the displeasure of the world, and the consequences of it on things that will fall out we know not when? These conceits we are leavened with: but faith is a convincing light that will disprove those corrupt and carnal principles we drink in.
3. It is an overpowering and certain conviction, that is, such as dispossesseth us of our corrupt principles and grounds, and argueth us into a contrary opinion and contrary belief. Men may have some knowledge of the gospel, and yet not have faith; they may have some smitings of heart, and disapprove of the principles wherewith they are led, and practices wherein they walk, and yet have not faith, but only a loose and wavering opinion of the things of God. Then is the soul convinced, when it is rationally, and above all cavil and contradiction, constrained to consent to the truth and worth of the things propounded in the covenant; when there is a subduing and silencing of all those carnal principles and reasonings which were wont to prevail against the truth. What the apostle saith of the great truth of the gospel, the grand article of the christian faith, Christ's dying for sinners, is true of the whole frame : 1 Tim. i. 15, 'This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, t hat Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.' These things are propounded by faith, so as to beget a firm assent to them as true, and a consent to embrace and pursue them as good. In these two expressions, 'faithful and worthy of all acceptation,' the apostle showeth what faith aims at; it represents the whole frame of religion as true; and it representeth religion as worthy of all acceptation, and then the sanctified will doth embrace it. So that the first part of the conviction of faith is a subscription to the truth. The conviction of faith bringeth the soul to a certain assent, how contrary soever it seem to sense or reason; though it seeth nothing in sense, yet it seeth a clear certainty in the word. For though there can no reason be given of the things believed, yet faith seeth reason enough why we should believe them, and so close with them upon the authority of God speaking in the word. Faith, as the substance of things hoped for, resteth upon the power of God: but as it is the evidence of things not seen, so it resteth upon the truth of God. By this firm assent the soul doth so close with truth, that it can never be divorced: 1 Thes. i. 5, 'Ye received the word with much assurance, and with much affliction,' ver. 6. Though it be contrary to inward dispositions, and though it expose to outward troubles, yet they had much assurance and evidence within themselves. Alas! men may talk of Christ and heaven, and have some cold opinions about things to come; they may deliver this to others, but still their evil scent remaineth with them, and their evil principles taint their hearts, and sway their practices all this while; 'and they do not know the grace of God in truth,' Col. i. 6, and have not any sense of that they seem to know. No, a natural man cannot be brought to look upon the things of religion as every way certain, and above all contradiction, and to say with the apostle: Phil. i, 9, 'That their love abounds yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment.' As cooks may dress meat for the master of the family, and his friends and children, but themselves taste not of it; so carnal men may learn things in a disciplinary way; they may know the literal meaning and sense of the promises, but are not convinced of the truth, and of the spiritual real worth of them; that is, they have not a thorough sound persuasion and solid apprehension of the sinfulness of sin, of the beauty of holiness, of the excellency of Christ, of the preciousness of the covenant, of the rich treasures of grace; Haec audiunt quasi somniantes. Carnal men hear them as if they were in a dream; they look upon and entertain these things as fancies, or dreams of golden mountains, or showers of pearl falling out of the clouds in a night dream.
4. It is a practical conviction. He that believeth is so convinced of the truth and worth of these things, that he is resolved to pursue after them, to make preparation for his eternal condition. Answerable to the discovery of good and evil in the understanding, there is a prosecution or an aversation in the will; for the will necessarily follows the ultimate resolution of the judgment. Now many men have a partial conviction, but they are not thoroughly possessed of the truth and worth of heavenly things; there is a simple approbation, but not a comparative approbation, so as to draw off the heart from other things, and ultimately to incline and bend the heart to look after them; that is, by a simple approbation they may apprehend that it is good to be in covenant with God, but they do not like the terms. But now the last and practical conviction is, when it draweth the soul to an actual choice, when it begets not only a simple approbation, but a practical decree, when the soul saith, 'It is good for me to draw nigh to God,' Ps. lxxiii. 28; when, all things considered, a man is convinced that he ought to look after heaven upon God's terms. It is one thing to desire a commodity simply, another thing to accept of it at such a rate and price. Many men like pardon of sin, and eternal life, and come and cheapen the great things of the gospel, but they do not go through with the bargain. This is the conviction of faith when it makes us sell all to buy the pearl of great price, and sways the whole man to pursue and look after those things God lath propounded. Thus faith brings the soul to a consent; it convinceth not only of the truth, but the worth of religion, and proposeth it as fit for choice. This is the end of all knowledge and understanding: Ps. cxi. 10, 'A good understanding have all they that keep his commandments.' Those that know God aright, they love him also; they know him as they are known of him. Now God knows us to love us, and to choose us, and to assume us to himself in Christ; so we know him, when we love him, and choose him for our portion. There cannot be a greater despite done to God, than to know God and choose the world; saith Christ, John xv. 24, 'You have both seen, and hated both me and my Father.' This is a hatred of God, when we have known God and yet turned aside to the world. Faith draweth altogether unto choice; doth not merely fill the head, but enters into the heart; it is a prudent and full consent. And that is the reason why faith is not only opposed to ignorance but to folly: Luke xxiv. 25, 'O fools, and slow of heart to believe,' &c, for there may be folly where there is not ignorance. Every wicked man in Solomon's sense is a fool. Then do we believe matters of salvation indeed, when we consent to them as good and worthy to be embraced: Rom. vii. 16, 'I consent to the law, that it is good.' They see the ways of God are best and most satisfactory, then the practical judgment is gained. Use. To put us upon examination and trial, whether we have such a faith or no, as is an evidence or convincing light; you may try it by the parts of it. There is the assent of faith and the consent of faith; a clear light and firm assent, and a free consent to the worth of the things of God.
1. There is a clearness and perspicuity in the light of faith, which doth not only exclude the grossly ignorant, but those that have no saving knowledge. All wicked men, though never so knowing, and never so learned, and never so well accomplished with the furniture of gifts, they are under the power of darkness. There is 'a form of knowledge,' Rom. ii. 20, as well as 'a form of godliness;' there is but a model of truth in their brains, a naked speculation; they may be able to discourse of the things of God, yet they cannot be said to have the life of God. A wild plant and a garden plant have the same name and common nature, yet differ much in their operations and virtues; so do common know-ledge and the light of faith. There are two differences.
[1.] The light of faith is full of efficacy, the other not. Common water and strong water are alike in colour, but much differ in their efficacy, virtue and taste; so the common knowledge of men, though for the object it may reach as far as the light of faith, a carnal man may know all that a believer knows, yet there is not such an efficacy. This light doth not discharge its office to encourage to confidence, to quicken to obedience, to fill the heart with gladness; this light never enters upon the affections - 'Wisdom entereth not upon his heart,' Prov. ii. 10. Though they have knowledge, yet they are 'barren and unfruitful in the knowledge of Christ,' 2 Peter i. 8. It is light, but it doth little good, it is idle and ineffectual, it doth not ascend to the affections or practice.
[2.] The light of faith is full of practical discourses, always reasoning and improving the truth. The devil diverteth wicked men; though they have eyes, yet there are no holy arguings. The heathens are described to have 'a vain mind, and a dark heart,' Eph. iv. 17, 18. The apostle means they are full of vain principles, dark in their understand-ings, corrupt in their inferences. Their heart was blind which should have directed them in the ordering their conversations. A wicked man doth not discourse of things in the time and season of them. The mind of a christian is stirred up by faith to holy reasonings: This will be your portion, and the fruit of such doings. It is said of Mary, Luke ii. 19, 'She kept these sayings, and pondered them in her heart;' she traversed them in her mind by reason and discourse.
2. We may know whether faith be an evidence by the firmness of our consent. Most flatter themselves in this, they think they do not doubt of the principles of religion, but surely close with the truth of the word, yet this evidence is wanting; for if men were more convinced, there would be a greater conformity in their practices to the rules of religion. Our consent is very weak; how does it appear? Partly, because sense is more believed than the word. We build more upon assurances of our own devising, than upon that which God hath given us. Our Saviour impersonates all our thoughts in that speech, Luke xvi. 31, 'If one went unto them from the dead, they will not repent;' we think the prophets have not spoken so feelingly and mournfully, as one from the dead would, if they should come from the flames. When we will indent with God, as the Jews, Mat. xxvii. 40, 'If he be the Son of God, let him come down from the cross, and we will believe in him;' or, as the devil himself, who proposed such terms to Christ, Mat. iv. 3, 'If thou be the Son of God, command these stones to be made bread.' Partly, because temporal things do work far more with us than spiritual; we fear temporal death more than spiritual, and will lose spiritual con-tentments for fleshly. And partly, because we are not affected with the things of religion as we would be, if they were before our eyes; if we had with Stephen a sight of heaven, or if we could behold Christ in his glory, or coming in his majesty, these things would make us more careful. But we may know whether the light of the gospel doth shine into our minds with such a convincing overpowering light; and our hearts are possessed of the truth and worth of what God propounds in his covenant, by three effects of faith; the mind, the heart, and the life will be altered.
[1.] The judgment will be altered. Thou wilt have other apprehen-sions of God, Christ, and eternity; heaven and hell will seem to you other things than they did. Before they were looked upon but as fancies, and as things talked of in jest; but now they will be apprehended as high and important realities, about which the soul is deeply concerned: Eph. i. 18, 'The eyes of your understandings being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.' When our natural blindness is removed, there is another manner of discerning things, and a sounder, belief of them than before; then a man was in darkness, now he sees by another light, now he hath eyes indeed. As they say in nature, nom dantur purae tenebrae, there is no such thing as pure darkness; so it is true in moral things also. In a state of nature there is not pure dark-ness; there are some glimmerings of an everlasting state, and some super-ficial apprehe nsions more or less in men according to the advantages of their education. But now their eyes are opened; they have another judgment about these things; they are clearly discerned, so as to shake and move the heart, and pierce the soul to the quick.
[2.] The heart will be altered. When faith gives us a sight of things, the heart is warmed with love to things so seen; 'Being persuaded, they embraced,' Heb. xi. 13. Affection follows persuasion. When we are soundly persuaded, then the heart embraceth, closeth with them, and entertaineth them with the tenderest welcome of our souls; whereas before we talked of heaven and hell in jest, now we mind them in downright earnestness. The light and knowledge of heaven and hell that we had by education, tradition, customary talking, reading and hearing, it never pierceth the soul to the quick, never warmeth the affections; but when we have this evidence concerning things to come and things unseen, then the heart is affected.
[3.] The life will be altered. Art thou taken off from earthly things and worldly vanities, and seriously set a-work to make provision for eternity? I tell you, the most visible and sensible effect of a sound conviction is a diligent pursuit, when a man is set a-work by the notions he hath of God, Christ, and eternity; 1 Cor. ix. 26, 'Therefore I so run, not as uncertainly: I so fight, not as one that beats the air.' Oh then, there is running, striving, fighting. The man is certainly persuaded of things to come, and he will be taken off from those trifles and childish toys which did engross the former part of his life; and then all thy thoughts, and serious cares, and fears will be diverted into another channel, and taken up about those better things which thou art convinced of by faith. Faith hath light in it, such a light as finds us corrupted, but dispossesseth us of those evil affections, and sways our practice. Therefore, are your judgments, your hearts, and your lives altered? by this you may know whether you have been acquainted with this work of faith namely, as it is 'an evidence of things not seen.'
Hebrews
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