ite of the whole blood, as well as they; by education, of the strictest sect of all, a Pharisee;' by custom and practice, a persecutor' of the church, under that very name; because the law he had been bred under, was endangered by that new way: and in his course of life altogether unblamable,' in regard of legal obedience and observations: and lastly, in his opinions touching them, he counted them 'gainful' things, and rested upon them for his salvation, till the Lord opened his eyes, to see the light of the glorious Gospel of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The arguments from the matter are, first, from the substance of which circumcision was the shadow. "We are the circumcision who worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus," &c. ver. 3. They boast in the flesh, they have a concision; but we are the circumcision, because we have the fruit and truth of circumcision, the spiritual worship of God, which is opposite to external ceremonies, John iv. 23.-Secondly, from the plenitude and all-sufficiency of Christ, which stands not in need of any legal accession to piece it out; and this the apostle shews by his own practice and experience. "What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ;" because they were things that kept him from Christ before. And he repeats the same words confidently again, that he might not be thought to have spoken them unadvisedly, or in heat; "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things:"-as a merchant in a tempest is contented to suffer the loss of all his goods to redeem his life; or rather as a man will be content to part with all his own beggarly furniture for a jewel of great value, Mat. xiii. 44. Only here we are to note, that the apostle did not suffer the loss of them quoad substantiam,' in regard of the substance of the duties, but quoad qualitatem et officium justificandi,' in regard of that dependence, and expectation of happiness, which he had from them before. Neither did he only suffer the loss of them (as a man may do of things, which are excellent in themselves and use, as a merchant throws his wares out of the ship, when yet he dearly loves them, and delights in them) but he shews what estimation he had of them, "I count them dung, that I may win Christ;" I count them then filthy carrion: so the word signifies; σxýbaλa quasi xvolbaλa, garbage and filth that is thrown out to dogs, things which dogs (such as he describes these false teachers to be) may delight in; but the spirit of God in a sincere heart, cannot relish nor savor, in comparison of Christ. "And may be found in him," when I shall appear before the face of God,—or 'may find in him' all that I lose for him;that is, a most plentiful recompense for any legal commodities which I part from for his sake; "not having mine own righteousness," &c. Here the apostle distinguisheth of a two-fold righteousness; legal, which is a man's own, beeause a man must come by it by working himself, Rom. x. 5; and evangelical, which is not a man's own, but," the righteousness of God,' a freely given to us by grace through Christ: "That I may know him," &c. That I may have the experience of his grace and mercy, in justifying me freely by faith, through the virtue of his sufferings and resurrection. Here then we have these two things set down; First, the preciousness; Secondly, the nature of saving faith. The preciousness is in the whole scope of the place; for the words are a comparative speech, where faith is preferred before all legal and moral performances. The nature is opened by the act of it, knowledge; and the object, the virtue of Christ's resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings. Touching the former of these two, the scope of the apostle in this place, is to shew that faith is the most precious and excellent gift of God to a Christian man. So it is expressly called by St. Peter, a precious faith .' For understanding of which point, we must note, that faith may be considered in a double respect: either as it is a quality inherent in the soul, or as an instrument whereby the soul apprehendeth some other thing. Now, in the same thing, there is much difference between itself as a quality, and as an instrument. Heat, as a quality, can only produce the like quality again; but as an instrument of the sun, it can produce life and sense, things of more excellency than the quality itself. Faith, as a quality, is no better than other graces of the Spirit; but as an instrument, so it hath This preciousness of faith is seen chiefly in two respects : First, in regard of the objects; and Secondly, in regard of the offices of it. First, Faith hath the most precious and excellent object of any other, Christ and his truth, and promises. "Herein," saith the apostle, "God commended his love, in that when we were sinners, Christ died"." This was the sovereign and most excellent love-token, and testification of divine favour that ever was sent from Heaven to men. "God so loved the world;" so superlatively, so beyond all measure or apprehension," that he gave his Son "." There is such a compass of all dimensions in God's love, manifested through Christ; such a height, and length, and breadth, and depth, as makes it exceed all knowledge. It is exceeding and unsearchable riches. In one word, that which faith looks upon in Christ, is the price, the purchase, and the promises which we have by him: The price, which made satisfaction unto God; the purchase, which procured salvation for us; and the promises, which comfort and secure us in the certainty of both; and all these are precious things. The blood of Christ, 'precious blood b. The promises of Christ, precious promises '.' And the purchase of Christ, 'a very exceeding and abundant weight of glory.' But it may be objected, Have not other graces the same object as well as faith? Do we not love Christ, and fear him, and hope in him, and desire him, as well as believe in him? True indeed; but herein is the excellency of faith, that it is the first grace which looks towards Christ'. Now the Scripture useth to commend things by their order and precedency: as the women are commended for coming first to the sepulchre. The messenger which brings the first tidings of good things, is ever most welcome: the servant who is nearest his master's person, is esteemed the best man in that order: so faith, being the first grace that brings tidings of salvation, the nearest grace to Christ's e Heb. x. 38. Eph. ii. 7, & iii. 8. d Rom. v. 8. h 1 Pet. i. 18. e John iii. 16. 1 Ἡ πρώτη πρὸς σωτηρίαν νεῦσις. Clem. Αlex. Strom. 1. 2. f Ephes. iii. 18, 19. k 2 Cor. iv. 17. person, is therefore the most excellent in regard of the object. Secondly, Faith is the most precious grace, in regard of the offices of it. Though, in its inherent and habitual qualification, it be no more noble than other graces, yet, in the offices which it executeth, it is far more excellent than any. Two pieces of parchment and wax are, in themselves, of little or no difference in value; but in their offices, which they bear as instruments and patents, one may as far exceed the other, as a man's life exceeds his lands: for one may be a pardon of life, the other a lease of a cottage. One man in a city may, in his personal estate, be much inferior to another; yet as an officer in the city, he may have a great precedence and distance above him. Compare a piece of gold with a seal of silver or brass, and it may have far more worth in itself; yet the seal hath an office or relative power to ratify covenants of far more worth than the piece of gold: so it is between faith and other graces. Consider faith in its inherent properties, so it is not more noble than the rest; but consider it as an instrument, by God appointed for the most noble offices, so it is the most superlative and excellent grace. These offices which are to it peculiar, I take it, are principally these three. The first to unite to Christ, and give possession of him. The apostle prays for the Ephesians, "that Christ may dwell in their hearts by faith "." Wealth in the mine doth no good at all, till it be severed and appropriated to persons and uses. Water in the fountain is of no service unto me, till it be conveyed thence to mine own cistern. The light of the sun brings no comfort to him, who hath no eyes to enjoy it. So though Christ be a mine, full of excellent and unsearchable riches, a fountain full of comforts and refreshments,-a sun of righteousness,—a captain and prince of life and salvation; yet till he is made ours, till there be some bond and communion between him and us, we remain as poor and miserable, as if this fountain had never been opened, nor this mine discovered. ..Now this union to, and communion with, Christ,-is, on our part, the work of faith, which is, as it were, the m Ephes. iii. 17. spiritual joint and ligament, by which Christ and a Christian are coupled. In one place we are said to live by Christ. "Because I live," saith he, "ye shall live also," John xiv. In another, by faith: "The just shall live by faith," Heb. x. 38. How by both? By Christ, as the fountain; by faith, as the pipe conveying water to us from the fountain : by Christ, as the foundation; by faith, as the cement knitting us to the foundation: by Christ, as the treasure; by faith, as the clue which directs: as the key which opens, and lets us in to that treasure. This the apostle explains in the former place, where he shews by what means faith makes us live; namely, by giving us an entrance and approach to Christ: for he opposeth faith to drawing back,' ver. 19, 30; noting that the proper work of faith is to carry us unto Christ, as our Saviour himself expoundeth, " Believing in him by coming unto him "." Therefore the apostle puts both together, "Not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I live, I live by the faith of the Son of God"." Faith is compared to eating and drinking,' John vi. And we know there is no sense requires such an intimate and secret union to its object, as that of tasting, no sense that is the instrument of so near a union as that. So then, as the motion of the mouth in eating, is not, in the nature of a motion, any whit more excellent than the motion of the eye or foot, or of itself in speaking; yet in the instrumental office of life and nourishment, it is far more necessary;-so though faith in the substance of it, as it is an inherent quality, hath no singular excellency above other graces; yet as it is an instrument of conveying Christ our spiritual bread unto our souls, and so of assimilating and incorporating us into him, which no other grace can do, no more than the motion of the eye or foot can nourish the body; so it is the most precious and useful of all others.-It may be objected, Do not other graces join a man unto Christ, as well as faith? Union is the proper effect of love; therefore we are one with Christ, as well by loving him, as by believing in him. To this I answer, That love makes only a moral union in affections, but faith makes a mystical union, a more close |