vingly, live much in the exercise of faith. As we have no
more good out of the covenant of God, than we have faith in it; so no
more good out of our own, than (in a due sense) we have faith in it.
There is as much need of faith, to improve this covenant, as there is of
faithfulness. We live no more in the sphere of a covenant, than we
believe. And we can make no living out of it but by believing. All our
earnings come in here also, more by our faith, than by our works. Let
not the heart of God be straitened, and His hand shortened by our
unbelief. Where Christ marvelled at the unbelief of a people, consider
what a marvel followed: Omnipotence was as one weak. "He could do no
mighty works among them." Works less than mighty will not reach our
deliverances or procure our mercies. The ancient worthies made more use
of their faith, than to be saved, and get to heaven by it. "By faith the
walls of Jericho fell down. By faith they subdued kingdoms, wrought
righteousness, (or exercised justice) stopped the mouths of lions. By
faith they quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword,
out of weakness they were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to
flight the armies of the aliens." We have Jerichos to reduce, and
kingdoms to subdue, under the sceptre and government of Jesus Christ: we
have justice to execute, and the mouths of lions to stop: we have a
violent fire to quench, a sharp edged sword to escape, Popish alien
armies to fight with; and we (comparatively to these mighty works) are
but weak. How then shall we out of our weakness become strong, strong
enough to carry us through these mighty works, strong enough to escape
these visible dangers? If we walk and work by sense, and not by faith?
And if we could get through all these works and dangers without faith,
we should work but like men, not at all like Christians, but like men in
a politic combination, not in a holy covenant. There's not a stroke of
covenant work (purely so called) can be done without faith. As fire is
to the chemist, so is faith to a covenant people. In that capacity, they
can do nothing for themselves without it; and they have, they can have,
no assurance that God will. Seeing then we are in covenant, we must go
to counsel by faith, and to war by faith; we must pull down by faith,
and build by faith; we must reform by faith, and settle our peace by
faith. Besides, to do a work so solemn and sacred, and then not to
believe and expect