Faith Defined, And Its Properties Described (part 2 of 2)

XXII. There is another species of fear and trembling, by which, nevertheless, the assurance of faith is so far from being impaired, that it is more firmly established. That is, when believers, considering the examples of the Divine vengeance against the impious as lessons given to them, are solicitously cautious not to provoke the wrath of God against themselves by the same crimes; or when, feeling their own misery, they learn to place all their dependence on the Lord, without whom they perceive themselves to be more inconstant and transient than the wind. For when the apostle, by a representation of the punishments which the Lord formerly inflicted on the Israelitish nation, alarms the fears of the Corinthians, lest they should involve themselves in the same calamities,¹⁵⁰⁹ he in no respect weakens their confidence, but shakes off the indolence of the flesh, by which faith is rather impaired than confirmed. Nor when, from the fall of the Jews, he takes an occasion to exhort him that standeth to beware lest he fall,¹⁵¹⁰ does he direct us to waver, as though we were uncertain of our stability; but only forbids all arrogance and presumptuous, overweening confidence in our own strength, that the Gentiles may not proudly insult over the expelled Jews, into whose place they have been received.¹⁵¹¹ In that passage, however, he not only addresses believers, but in his discourse also includes hypocrites, who gloried merely in external appearance. For he admonishes not men individually, but instituting a comparison between the Jews and the Gentiles, after having shown that the rejection of the former was a righteous punishment for their unbelief and ingratitude, he exhorts the latter not to lose, by pride and haughtiness, the grace of adoption recently transferred to them. But as, in the general rejection of the Jews, there remained some of them who fell not from the covenant of adoption, so among the Gentiles there might possibly arise some, who, destitute of true faith, would only be inflated with foolish and carnal confidence, and thus abuse the goodness of God to their own ruin. But though you should understand this to be spoken to the elect and believers, no inconvenience would result from it. For it is one thing to repress the temerity, which from remaining carnality sometimes discovers itself in the saints, that it may not produce vain confidence; and another to strike the conscience with fear, that it may not rely with full security on the mercy of God.

XXIII. Moreover, when he teaches us to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling,”¹⁵¹² he only requires us to accustom ourselves, with great self‐humiliation, to look up to the power of the Lord. For nothing arouses us to repose all confidence and assurance of mind on the Lord, so much as diffidence of ourselves, and anxiety arising from a consciousness of our own misery. In which sense, we must understand this declaration of the Psalmist, “I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy, and in thy fear will I worship.”¹⁵¹³ Whence he beautifully connects the confidence of faith, which relies on the mercy of God, with that religious fear by which we ought to be affected, whenever we come into the presence of the Divine Majesty, and from its splendour, discover our extreme impurity. Solomon also truly pronounces, “Happy is the man who feareth alway; but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.”¹⁵¹⁴ But he intends that fear which will render us more cautious, not such as would afflict and ruin us, such as, when the mind, confounded in itself, recovers itself in God; dejected in itself, finds consolation in him; and despairing of itself, revives with confidence in him. Wherefore nothing prevents believers from being distressed with fear, and at the same time enjoying the most serene consolation; as they now turn their eyes towards their own vanity, and now direct the attention of their mind to the truth of God. How can fear and faith, it will be asked, both reside in the same mind? Just as, on the contrary, insensibility and anxiety. For though the impious endeavour to acquire a habit of insensibility, that they may not be disquieted by the fear of God, the judgment of God follows them so closely, that they cannot attain the object of their desires. So nothing prevents God from training his people to humility, that in their valiant warfare they may restrain themselves within the bounds of modesty. And that this was the design of the apostle appears from the context, where, as the cause of fear and trembling, he assigns the good pleasure of God, by which he gives to his people both rightly to will, and strenuously to perform. In the same sense we should understand this prediction: “The children of Israel shall fear the Lord and his goodness;”¹⁵¹⁵ for not only piety produces a reverence of God, but also the sweetness of grace fills a man that is dejected in himself, with fear and admiration; causing him to depend upon God, and humbly submit himself to his power.

XXIV. Yet we give no encouragement to the very pestilent philosophy, begun to be broached by some semi‐Papists in the present day. For, being unable to defend that gross notion of faith as a doubtful opinion, which has been taught in the schools, they resort to another invention, and propose a confidence mixed with unbelief. They confess, that whenever we look to Christ, we find in him a sufficient ground of comfortable hope; but because we are always unworthy of all those blessings which are offered to us in Christ, they wish us to fluctuate and hesitate in the view of our own unworthiness. In short, they place the conscience in such a state between hope and fear, that it alternately inclines to both. They also connect hope and fear together, so that when the former rises, it depresses the latter, and when the latter lifts its head, the former falls. Thus Satan, finding that those open engines, which he heretofore employed to destroy the assurance of faith, are now no longer of any avail, secretly endeavours to undermine it. But what kind of confidence would that be, which should frequently give way to despair? If you consider Christ, (say they,) salvation is certain; if you return to yourself, condemnation is certain. Diffidence and good hope, therefore, must of necessity alternately prevail in your mind. As though we ought to consider Christ as standing apart from us, and not rather as dwelling within us. For we therefore expect salvation from him, not because he appears to us at a great distance, but because, having ingrafted us into his body, he makes us partakers not only of all his benefits, but also of himself. Wherefore I thus retort their own argument: If you consider yourself, condemnation is certain; but since Christ, with all his benefits, is communicated to you, so that all that he has becomes yours, and you become a member of him, and one with him,—his righteousness covers your sins; his salvation supersedes your condemnation; he interposes with his merit, that your unworthiness may not appear in the Divine presence. Indeed, the truth is, that we ought by no means to separate Christ from us, or ourselves from him; but, with all our might, firmly to retain that fellowship by which he has united us to himself. Thus the apostle teaches us: “The body (says he) is dead because of sin; but the spirit is life because of righteousness.”¹⁵¹⁶ According to this frivolous notion of these persons, he ought to have said, Christ indeed has life in himself; but you, being sinners, remain obnoxious to death and condemnation. But he speaks in a very different manner; for he states, that the condemnation which we demerit in ourselves is swallowed up by the salvation of Christ; and in confirmation of this, uses the same argument as I have adduced, that Christ is not without us, but dwells within us; and not only adheres to us by an indissoluble connection of fellowship, but by a certain wonderful communion coalesces daily more and more into one body with us, till he becomes altogether one with us. Nor do I deny, what I have lately said, that some interruptions of faith at times occur, as its imbecility is by the force of violence inclined to this or the other direction, Thus, in the thick gloom of temptations, its light is smothered; but, whatever befalls it, it never discontinues its efforts in seeking God.

XXV. Bernard reasons in a similar manner, when he professedly discusses this subject, in the Fifth Homily, on the Dedication of the Temple. “By the goodness of God, meditating sometimes on the soul, I think I discover in it, as it were, two opposite characters. If I view it as it is in itself and of itself, I cannot utter a greater truth concerning it, than that it is reduced to nothing. What need is there at present to enumerate all its miseries, how it is loaded with sins, enveloped in darkness, entangled with allurements, inflamed with inordinate desires, subject to the passions, filled with illusions, always prone to evil, inclined to every vice, and finally full of ignominy and confusion? Now, if even our righteousnesses, when viewed in the light of truth, be found to be ‘as filthy rags,’¹⁵¹⁷ what judgment will be formed of our acknowledged unrighteousness? ‘If the light that is in’ us ‘be darkness, how great is that darkness!’¹⁵¹⁸ What then? Man is undoubtedly become like vanity; man is reduced to nothing; man is nothing. Yet how is he entirely nothing, whom God magnifies? How is he nothing, on whom the heart of God is fixed? Brethren, let us revive again. Although we are nothing in our own hearts, perhaps there may be something for us latent in the heart of God. O Father of mercies, O Father of the miserable, how dost thou fix thine heart on us! For thine heart is where thy treasure is. But how are we thy treasure, if we are nothing? All nations are before thee as though they existed not; they must be considered as nothing. That is, before thee; not within thee; thus it is in the judgment of thy truth; but not thus in the affection of thy clemency. Thou callest things which are not, as though they were; and therefore they are not, because thou callest things which are not; yet they are, because thou callest them. For though they are not, with reference to themselves, yet with thee they are; according to this expression of Paul: ‘Not of works, but of him that calleth.’ ”¹⁵¹⁹ After this, Bernard says, that there is a wonderful connection between these two considerations. Things which are connected with each other, certainly do not reciprocally destroy each other; which he also more plainly declares in the following conclusion: “Now, if we diligently examine what we are in both considerations,—how in one view we are nothing, and in the other how we are magnified,—I conceive that our boasting appears to be restrained; but perhaps it is more increased, and indeed established, that we may glory not in ourselves, but in the Lord. If we reflect, if he has decreed to save us, we shall shortly be delivered; this is sufficient to recover us. But ascending to a loftier and more extensive prospect, let us seek the city of God, let us seek his temple, let us seek his palace, let us seek his spouse. I have not forgotten, but with fear and reverence I say, We are; but in the heart of God. We are; but by his condescending favour, not by our own merit.”

XXVI. Now, the fear of the Lord, which is universally ascribed to all the saints, and which is called sometimes “the beginning of wisdom,”¹⁵²⁰ sometimes “wisdom”¹⁵²¹ itself, although it be but one, proceeds from a twofold apprehension of him. For God requires the reverence of a Father and of a Master. Therefore he who truly desires to worship him, will study to pay him the obedience of a son and the submission of a servant. The Lord, by the prophet, distinguishes the obedience which is paid to him as a father, by the appellation of honour; and the service which he receives as a master, by that of fear. “A son (says he) honoureth his father, and a servant his master. If, then, I be a father, where is mine honour? And if I be a master, where is my fear?”¹⁵²² But notwithstanding his distinction between them, you see how he confounds them together. Let the fear of the Lord therefore with us be a reverence mingled with this honour and fear. Nor is it surprising, that the same mind cherishes both these affections; for he who considers what a Father God is to us, has ample reason, even though there were no hell, to dread his displeasure more than any death. But, such is the propensity of our nature to the licentiousness of transgression, that in order to restrain it by every possible method, we should at the same time indulge this reflection, that all iniquity is an abomination to the Lord, under whose power we live, and whose vengeance they will not escape, who provoke his wrath against them by the wickedness of their lives.

XXVII. Now, the assertion of John, that “there is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment,”¹⁵²³ is not at all repugnant to what we have advanced. For he speaks of the terror of unbelief, between which and the fear of believers there is a wide difference. For the impious fear not God from a dread of incurring his displeasure, if they could do it with impunity; but because they know him to be armed with vindictive power, they tremble with horror at hearing of his wrath. And thus also they fear his wrath, because they apprehend it to be impending over them, because they every moment expect it to fall on their heads. But the faithful, as we have observed, fear his displeasure more than punishment, and are not disturbed with the fear of punishment, as though it were impending over them, but are rendered more cautious that they may not incur it. Thus the apostle, when addressing believers, says, “Let no man deceive you with vain words; for, because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience [or unbelief.]”¹⁵²⁴ He threatens not its descending on them; but admonishes them to consider the wrath of the Lord prepared for the impious, on account of the crimes which he had enumerated, that they may avoid tempting it. It seldom happens, however, that the reprobate are aroused merely by simple threatenings; but, on the contrary, being already obdurate and insensible, when God thunders from heaven, if it be only in words, they rather harden themselves in rebellion; but when they feel the stroke of his hand, they are compelled to fear him, whether they will or not. This is commonly called a servile fear, in opposition to a filial fear, which is ingenuous and voluntary. Some persons curiously introduce an intermediate species of fear; because that servile and constrained affection sometimes subdues men’s minds, so that they voluntarily approach to the fear of God.

XXVIII. Now, in the Divine benevolence, which is affirmed to be the object of faith, we apprehend the possession of salvation and everlasting life to be obtained. For, if no good can be wanting when God is propitious, we have a sufficient certainty of salvation, when he himself assures us of his love. “O God, cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved,”¹⁵²⁵ says the Psalmist. Hence the Scriptures represent this as the sum of our salvation, that he has “abolished” all “enmity,”¹⁵²⁶ and received us into his favour. In which they imply, that since God is reconciled to us, there remains no danger, but that all things will prosper with us. Wherefore faith, having apprehended the love of God, has promises for the present life and the life to come, and a solid assurance of all blessings; but it is such an assurance as may be derived from the Divine word. For faith certainly promises itself neither longevity, nor honour, nor wealth, in the present state; since the Lord has not been pleased to appoint any of these things for us; but is contented with this assurance, that whatever we may want of the conveniences or necessaries of this life, yet God will never leave us. But its principal security consists in an expectation of the future life, which is placed beyond all doubt by the word of God. For whatever miseries and calamities may on earth await those who are the objects of the love of God, they cannot prevent the Divine benevolence from being a source of complete felicity. Therefore, when we meant to express the perfection of blessedness, we have mentioned the grace of God, as the fountain from which every species of blessings flows down to us. And we may generally observe in the Scriptures, that when they treat not only of eternal salvation, but of any blessing we enjoy, our attention is recalled to the love of God. For which reason David says, that “The loving‐kindness of God,” when experienced in a pious heart, “is better” and more desirable “than life” itself.¹⁵²⁷ Finally, if we have an abundance of all things to the extent of our desires, but are uncertain of the love or hatred of God, our prosperity will be cursed, and therefore miserable. But if the paternal countenance of God shine on us, even our miseries will be blessed, because they will be converted into aids of our salvation.¹⁵²⁸ Thus Paul, after an enumeration of all possible adversities, glories that they can never separate us from the love of God; and in his prayers, he always begins with the grace of God, from which all prosperity proceeds. David likewise opposes the Divine favour alone against all the terrors which disturb us: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, (says he,) I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.”¹⁵²⁹ And we always feel our minds wavering, unless, contented with the grace of God, they seek their peace in it, and are deeply impressed with the sentiment of the Psalmist: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”¹⁵³⁰

XXIX. We make the foundation of faith to be the gratuitous promise; for on that faith properly rests. For, although faith admits the veracity of God in all things, whether he command or prohibit, whether he promise or threaten; though it obediently receives his injunctions, carefully observes his prohibitions, and attends to his threatenings,—yet with the promise it properly begins, on that it stands, and in that it ends. For it seeks in God for life, which is found, not in precepts nor in denunciations of punishments, but in the promise of mercy, and in that only which is gratuitous; for a conditional promise, which sends us back to our own works, promises life to us only if we find it in ourselves. Therefore, if we wish our faith not to tremble and waver, we must support it with the promise of salvation, which is voluntarily and liberally offered us by the Lord, rather in consideration of our misery, than in respect of our worthiness. Wherefore the apostle denominates the gospel “the word of faith;”¹⁵³¹ a character which he denies both to the precepts and to the promises of the law; since there is nothing that can establish faith, but that liberal embassy by which God reconciles the world to himself. Hence also the same apostle frequently connects faith with the gospel; as when he states, that “the ministry of the gospel was committed to him for obedience to the faith;” that it is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;” that therein is the “righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith.”¹⁵³² Nor is this to be wondered at; for the gospel being “the ministry of reconciliation,”¹⁵³³ there is no other sufficient testimony of the Divine benevolence towards us, the knowledge of which is necessary to faith. When we assert, therefore, that faith rests on the gratuitous promise, we deny not that believers embrace and revere every part of the Divine word, but we point out the promise of mercy as the peculiar object of faith. Thus believers ought to acknowledge God as a judge and avenger of crimes; yet they fix their eyes peculiarly on his clemency; described for their contemplation as “gracious and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy; good to all, and diffusing his tender mercies over all his works.”¹⁵³⁴

XXX. Nor do I regard the clamours of Pighius, or any such snarlers, who censure this restriction, as though it divided faith, and comprehended only one branch of it. I grant that, as I have already said, the general object of faith (as they express themselves) is the veracity of God, whether he threaten, or give us a hope of his grace. Wherefore the apostle attributes this to faith, that Noah feared the destruction of the world while it was yet unseen.¹⁵³⁵ If the fear of impending punishment was the work of faith, threatenings ought not to be excluded from the definition of it. This indeed is true; but these cavillers unjustly charge us with denying that faith respects every part of the word of God. For we only intend to establish these two points; first, that it never stands firmly till it comes to the gratuitous promise; secondly, that we are reconciled to God only as it unites us to Christ. Both these points are worthy of observation. We are inquiring for a faith which may distinguish the sons of God from the reprobate, and believers from unbelievers. If any man believes the justice of the Divine commands and the truth of the Divine threatenings, must he therefore be called a believer? By no means. Therefore faith can have no stability, unless it be placed on the Divine mercy. Now, to what purpose do we argue concerning faith? Is it not that we may understand the way of salvation? But how is faith saving, but by ingrafting us into the body of Christ? There will be no absurdity, then, if, in the definition of it, we insist on its principal effect, and as a difference, add to the genus that character which separates believers from unbelievers. In a word, these malevolent men have nothing to carp at in this doctrine, without involving in the same reprehension with us, the apostle Paul, who particularly styles the gospel “the word of faith.”¹⁵³⁶

XXXI. Hence, again, we infer, what has been before stated, that the word is as necessary to faith, as the living root of the tree is to the fruit; because, according to David, none can trust in God but those who know his name.¹⁵³⁷ But this knowledge proceeds not from every man’s own imagination, but from the testimony which God himself gives of his own goodness. This the same Psalmist confirms in another place: “Thy salvation according to thy word.”¹⁵³⁸ Again: “Save me: I hoped in thy word.”¹⁵³⁹ Where we must observe the relation of faith to the word, and that salvation is the consequence of it. Yet we exclude not the Divine power, by a view of which, unless faith be supported, it will never ascribe to God the honour that is due to him. Paul seems to relate a trifling or uninteresting circumstance concerning Abraham, when he says, that he was persuaded that God, who had promised him the blessed seed, “was able also to perform.”¹⁵⁴⁰ In another place, respecting himself he says, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”¹⁵⁴¹ But if any one considers, how many doubts respecting the power of God frequently intrude themselves, he will fully acknowledge, that they who magnify it as it deserves, have made no small progress in faith. We shall all confess, that God is able to do whatever he pleases; but whilst the smallest temptation strikes us with consternation and terror, it is evident that we derogate from the Divine power, to which we prefer the menaces of Satan in opposition to the promises of God. This is the reason why Isaiah, when he would impress the hearts of the people with an assurance of salvation, discourses in so magnificent a manner concerning the infinite power of God. He frequently appears, after having begun to treat of the hope of pardon and reconciliation, to digress to another subject, and to wander through prolix and unnecessary circumlocutions, celebrating the wonders of the Divine government in the machine of heaven and earth, and the whole order of nature: yet there is nothing but what is applicable to the present subject; for, unless the omnipotence of God be presented to our eyes, our ears will not attend to his word, or not esteem it according to its worth. Moreover, the Scripture there speaks of his effectual power; for piety, as we have elsewhere seen, always makes a useful and practical application of the power of God; and particularly proposes to itself those of his works in which he has discovered himself as a father. Hence the frequent mention of redemption in the Scriptures, from which the Israelites might learn, that God, who had once been the author of salvation, would be its everlasting preserver. David also teaches us by his own example, that the private benefits which God has conferred on an individual, conduce to the confirmation of his faith for the future: even when he seems to have deserted us, we ought to extend our views further, so as to derive encouragement from his ancient benefits, as it is said in another psalm: “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works,” &c.¹⁵⁴² Again: “I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.”¹⁵⁴³ But since, without the word, all our conceptions of the power and works of God are unprofitable and transient, we have sufficient reason for asserting, that there can be no faith, without the illumination of Divine grace. But here a question might be raised—What must be thought of Sarah and Rebecca, both of whom, apparently impelled by the zeal of faith, transgressed the limits of the word? Sarah, when she ardently desired the promised son, gave her maid‐servant to her husband. That she sinned in many respects, is not to be denied; but I now refer to her error in being carried away by her zeal, and not restraining herself within the bounds of the Divine word. Yet it is certain, that this desire proceeded from faith. Rebecca, having been divinely assured of the election of her son Jacob, procures him the benediction by a sinful artifice; she deceives her husband, the witness and minister of the grace of God; she constrains her son to utter falsehoods; she corrupts the truth of God by various frauds and impostures; finally, by exposing his promise to ridicule, she does all in her power to destroy it. And yet this transaction, however criminal and reprehensible, was not unaccompanied with faith; because she had to overcome many obstacles, that she might aspire earnestly to that which, without any expectation of worldly advantage, was pregnant with great troubles and dangers. So we must not pronounce the holy patriarch Isaac to be entirely destitute of faith, because, after having been divinely apprized of the translation of the honour to his younger son, he nevertheless ceases not to be partial to Esau, his first‐born. These examples certainly teach that errors are frequently mixed with faith, yet that faith, when real, always retains the preëminence. For, as the particular error of Rebecca did not annul the effect of the benediction, so neither did it destroy the faith which generally predominated in her mind, and was the principle and cause of that action. Nevertheless, Rebecca, in this instance, has discovered how liable the human mind is to error, as soon as it allows itself the smallest license. But though our deficiency or imbecility obscures faith, yet it does not extinguish it: in the mean time it reminds us how solicitously we ought to attend to the declarations of God; and confirms what we have said, that faith decays unless it be supported by the word; as the minds of Sarah, Isaac, and Rebecca, would have been lost in their obliquities, if they had not, by the secret restraint of God, been kept in obedience to the word.

XXXII. Again: it is not without reason that we include all the promises in Christ;¹⁵⁴⁴ as the apostle in the knowledge of him includes the whole gospel; and in another place teaches, that “all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him amen.”¹⁵⁴⁵ The reason of this is plain. For, if God promises any thing, he gives a proof of his benevolence; so that there is no promise of his which is not a testimony of his love. Nor does it affect the argument, that the impious, when they are loaded with great and continual benefits from the Divine goodness, render themselves obnoxious to a heavier judgment. For since they neither think nor acknowledge that they receive those things from the hand of the Lord,—or if ever they acknowledge it, yet they never reflect within themselves on his goodness,—they cannot thereby be instructed concerning his mercy, any more than the brutes, who, according to the circumstances of their condition, receive the same effusion of his liberality, but never perceive it. Nor is it any more repugnant to our argument, that by generally rejecting the promises designed for them, they draw down on themselves severer vengeance. For although the efficacy of the promises is manifested only when they have obtained credit with us, yet their force and propriety are never extinguished by our unbelief or ingratitude. Therefore, when the Lord by his promises invites a man not only to receive, but also to meditate on the effects of his goodness, he at the same time gives him a declaration of his love. Whence we must return to this principle, that every promise is an attestation of the Divine love to us. But it is beyond all controversy, that no man is loved by God but in Christ;¹⁵⁴⁶ he is the “beloved Son,” in whom the love of the Father perpetually rests, and then from him diffuses itself to us; as Paul says, that we are “accepted in the beloved.”¹⁵⁴⁷ It must therefore be communicated to us by his mediation.¹⁵⁴⁸ Wherefore the apostle, in another place, calls him “our peace,”¹⁵⁴⁹ and elsewhere represents him as the bond by which God is united to us in his paternal love. It follows, that whenever any promise is presented to us, our eyes must be directed to him; and that Paul is correct in stating, that all the promises of God are confirmed and accomplished in him.¹⁵⁵⁰ This is opposed by some examples. For it is not credible that Naaman the Syrian, when he inquired of the prophet respecting the right method of worshipping God,¹⁵⁵¹ was instructed concerning the Mediator; yet his piety is commended. Cornelius,¹⁵⁵² a Gentile and Roman, could scarcely be acquainted with what was not universally or clearly known among the Jews; yet his benefactions and prayers were acceptable to God; and the sacrifices of Naaman received the approbation of the prophet, which neither of these persons could have obtained without faith. Similar was the case of the eunuch to whom Philip was conducted;¹⁵⁵³ who, unless he had been possessed of some faith, would never have incurred the labour and expense of a long and difficult journey, for the sake of worshipping at Jerusalem. Yet we see how, on being interrogated by Philip, he betrayed his ignorance of the Mediator. I confess, indeed, that their faith was in some measure implicit, not only with respect to the person of Christ, but with respect to the power and office assigned him by the Father. At the same time it is certain that they had imbibed principles which afforded them some notion of Christ, however slight; nor should this be thought strange; for the eunuch would not have hastened from a remote country to Jerusalem to adore an unknown God; nor did Cornelius spend so much time, after having once embraced the Jewish religion, without acquainting himself with the rudiments of sound doctrine. With regard to Naaman, it would have been extremely absurd for Elisha, who directed him concerning the minutest particulars, to have been silent on the most important subject. Although their knowledge of Christ, therefore, was obscure, yet to suppose that they had none is unreasonable; because they practised the sacrifices of the law, which must have been distinguished by their end, that is, Christ, from the illegitimate sacrifices of the heathen.

XXXIII. This simple and external demonstration of the Divine word ought, indeed, to be fully sufficient for the production of faith, if it were not obstructed by our blindness and perverseness. But such is our propensity to error, that our mind can never adhere to Divine truth; such is our dulness, that we can never discern the light of it. Therefore nothing is effected by the word, without the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Whence it appears, that faith is far superior to human intelligence. Nor is it enough for the mind to be illuminated by the Spirit of God, unless the heart also be strengthened and supported by his power. On this point, the schoolmen are altogether erroneous, who, in the discussion of faith, regard it as a simple assent of the understanding, entirely neglecting the confidence and assurance of the heart. Faith, therefore, is a singular gift of God in two respects; both as the mind is enlightened to understand the truth of God, and as the heart is established in it. For the Holy Spirit not only originates faith, but increases it by degrees, till he conducts us by it all the way to the heavenly kingdom. “That good thing,” says Paul, “which was committed unto thee, keep, by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.”¹⁵⁵⁴ If it be urged, that Paul declares the Spirit to be given to us “by the hearing of faith,”¹⁵⁵⁵ this objection is easily answered. If there were only one gift of the Spirit, it would be absurd to represent the Spirit as the effect of faith, of which he is the author and cause; but when the apostle is treating of the gifts with which God adorns his Church, to lead it, by advancements in faith, forwards to perfection, we need not wonder that he ascribes those gifts to faith, which prepares us for their reception. It is accounted by the world exceedingly paradoxical, when it is affirmed, that no one can believe in Christ, but he to whom it is given. But this is partly for want of considering the depth and sublimity of heavenly wisdom, and the extreme dulness of man in apprehending the mysteries of God, and partly from not regarding that firm and steadfast constancy of heart, which is the principal branch of faith.

XXXIV. But if, as Paul tells us, no one is acquainted with the will of a man but “the spirit of a man which is in him,”¹⁵⁵⁶ how could man be certain of the will of God? And if we are uncertain respecting the truth of God in those things which are the subjects of our present contemplation, how should we have a greater certainty of it, when the Lord promises such things as no eye sees and no heart conceives? Human sagacity is here so completely lost, that the first step to improvement, in the Divine school, is to forsake it. For, like an interposing veil,¹⁵⁵⁷ it prevents us from discovering the mysteries of God, which are revealed only to babes.¹⁵⁵⁸ “For flesh and blood hath not revealed,”¹⁵⁵⁹ and “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.”¹⁵⁶⁰ The aids of the Spirit therefore are necessary, or rather it is his influence alone that is efficacious here. “Who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?”¹⁵⁶¹ but “the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God;”¹⁵⁶² and through him, “we have the mind of Christ.”¹⁵⁶³ “No man can come to me (says he) except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him. Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God.” Therefore, as we can never come to Christ, unless we are drawn by the Spirit of God, so when we are drawn, we are raised both in mind and in heart above the reach of our own understanding. For illuminated by him, the soul receives, as it were, new eyes for the contemplation of heavenly mysteries, by the splendour of which it was before dazzled. And thus the human intellect, irradiated by the light of the Holy Spirit, then begins to relish those things which pertain to the kingdom of God, for which before it had not the smallest taste. Wherefore Christ’s two disciples receive no benefit from his excellent discourse to them on the mysteries of his kingdom,¹⁵⁶⁴ till he opens their understanding that they may understand the Scriptures. Thus, though the apostles were taught by his Divine mouth, yet the Spirit of Truth must be sent to them, to instil into their minds the doctrine which they had heard with their ears.¹⁵⁶⁵ The word of God is like the sun shining on all to whom it is preached; but without any benefit to the blind. But in this respect we are all blind by nature; therefore it cannot penetrate into our minds, unless the internal teacher, the Spirit, make way for it by his illumination.

XXXV. In a former part of this work, relating to the corruption of nature, we have shown more at large the inability of men to believe; therefore I shall not fatigue the reader by a repetition of the same things. Let it suffice that faith itself, which we possess not by nature, but which is given us by the Spirit, is called by Paul “the spirit of faith.”¹⁵⁶⁶ Therefore he prays “that God would fulfil,” in the Thessalonians, “all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power.”¹⁵⁶⁷ By calling faith “the work” of God, and “the good pleasure of his goodness,” he denies it to be the proper effect of human exertion; and not content with that, he adds that it is a specimen of the Divine power. When he says to the Corinthians, that faith stands “not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God,”¹⁵⁶⁸ he speaks indeed of external miracles; but because the reprobate have no eyes to behold them, he comprehends also the inward seal which he elsewhere mentions. And that he may more illustriously display his liberality in so eminent a gift, God deigns not to bestow it promiscuously on all, but by a singular privilege imparts it to whom he will. We have already cited testimonies to prove this point. Augustine, who is a faithful expositor of them, says, “It was in order to teach us that the act of believing is owing to the Divine gift, not to human merit, that our Saviour declared, ‘No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him;¹⁵⁶⁹ and except it were given unto him of my Father.’¹⁵⁷⁰ It is wonderful, that two persons hear; one despises, the other ascends. Let him who despises, impute it to himself; let him who ascends, not arrogate it to himself.” In another place he says, “Wherefore is it given to one, not to another? I am not ashamed to reply, This is a depth of the cross. From I know not what depth of the Divine judgments, which we cannot scrutinize, proceeds all our ability. That I can, I see; whence I can, I see not; unless that I see thus far, that it is of God. But why one, and not another? It is too much for me; it is an abyss, a depth of the cross. I can exclaim with admiration, but not demonstrate it in disputation.” The sum of the whole is this—that Christ, when he illuminates us with faith by the power of his Spirit, at the same time ingrafts us into his body, that we may become partakers of all his benefits.

XXXVI. It next remains, that what the mind has imbibed, be transfused into the heart. For the word of God is not received by faith, if it floats on the surface of the brain; but when it has taken deep root in the heart, so as to become an impregnable fortress to sustain and repel all the assaults of temptation. But if it be true that the right apprehension of the mind proceeds from the illumination of the Spirit, his energy is far more conspicuous in such a confirmation of the heart; the diffidence of the heart being greater than the blindness of the mind; and the furnishing of the heart with assurance being more difficult than the communication of knowledge to the understanding. Therefore the Spirit acts as a seal, to seal on our hearts those very promises, the certainty of which he has previously impressed on our minds, and serves as an earnest to confirm and establish them. “After that ye believed,” says the apostle, “ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance.”¹⁵⁷¹ Do you see how he shows that the hearts of believers are impressed by the Spirit, as by a seal? How, for this reason, he calls him “the Spirit of promise,” because he ratifies the gospel to us? So, to the Corinthians, he says, “He which hath anointed us, is God; who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.”¹⁵⁷² And in another place, where he speaks of the confidence and boldness of hope, he makes “the earnest of the Spirit”¹⁵⁷³ the foundation of it.

XXXVII. I have not forgotten what I have already observed, and the remembrance of which experience incessantly renews, that faith is agitated with various doubts; so that the minds of the pious are seldom at ease, or at best enjoy not a state of perpetual tranquillity. But whatever assaults they may sustain, they either emerge from the very gulf of temptation, or remain firm in their station. This assurance alone nourishes and supports faith, while we are satisfied of what is declared by the Psalmist, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.”¹⁵⁷⁴ This most delightful repose is celebrated also in another psalm: “I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me.”¹⁵⁷⁵ Not that David enjoyed a happy cheerfulness of soul perpetually flowing on in one even tenor; but having tasted the grace of God according to the proportion of his faith, he glories in intrepidly despising whatever could disquiet the peace of his mind. Therefore the Scripture, intending to exhort us to faith, commands us to “be quiet.” In Isaiah, “In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.”¹⁵⁷⁶ In the Psalms, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him.”¹⁵⁷⁷ With which corresponds the observation of the apostle to the Hebrews, “Ye have need of patience.”¹⁵⁷⁸

XXXVIII. Hence we may judge, how pernicious that dogma of the schoolmen is, that it is impossible to decide concerning the favour of God towards us, any otherwise than from moral conjecture, as every individual may deem himself not unworthy of it. If it must be determined by our works how the Lord is affected towards us, I admit we cannot attain this object even by a very slight conjecture; but as faith ought to correspond to the simple and gratuitous promise, there remains no room for doubting. For with what confidence, pray, shall we be armed, if we reason that God is propitious to us on this condition, provided the purity of our life deserve it? But having determined on a separate discussion of these points, I shall pursue them no further at present; especially since it is manifest that nothing is more opposite to faith than either conjecture or any thing else approaching to doubt. And they very mischievously pervert to this purpose the observation of the Preacher, which is frequently in their mouths: “No man knoweth whether he is worthy of hatred or of love.”¹⁵⁷⁹ For not to observe that this passage is falsely rendered in the Vulgate translation, yet the meaning of Solomon, in such expressions, must be clear even to children; it is, that if any one wishes, from the present state of things, to judge who are the objects of Divine love or hatred, he labours in vain, and distresses himself to no good purpose; since “there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not.”¹⁵⁸⁰ Whence it follows that God neither testifies his love to those whom he prospers with success, nor invariably discovers his hatred against those whom he plunges into affliction. And this observation is designed to reprove the vanity of the human understanding; since it is so extremely stupid respecting things most necessary to be known. He had just before said, “That which befalleth the sons of men, befalleth beasts; as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preëminence above a beast.”¹⁵⁸¹ If any one would infer from this, that the opinion which we hold of the immortality of the soul rests upon mere conjecture, would he not be deservedly deemed insane? Are those persons, then, in a state of sanity, who conclude that there is no certainty of the favour of God, because it cannot be attained from the carnal contemplation of present things?

XXXIX. But they plead that it is rash presumption in men to arrogate to themselves an undoubted knowledge of the Divine will. This, indeed, I would concede to them, if we pretended to subject the incomprehensible counsel of God to the slenderness of our understanding. But when we simply assert with Paul, that “we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God,”¹⁵⁸² what opposition can they make to us, without at the same time insulting the Spirit of God? But if it be a horrible sacrilege to accuse the revelation which proceeds from him either of falsehood, or of uncertainty, or of ambiguity, wherein do we err in affirming its certainty? But they exclaim, that we betray great temerity, in thus presuming to boast of the Spirit of Christ. Who could believe the stupidity of men desirous of being esteemed teachers of the world, to be so extreme as to stumble in this shameful manner at the first elements of religion? It would certainly be incredible to me, if it were not proved by the writings which they have published. Paul pronounces them alone to be the sons of God, who are led by his Spirit:¹⁵⁸³ these men will have those who are the sons of God to be led by their own spirit, but to be destitute of the Spirit of God. He teaches, that we call God our Father at the suggestion of the Spirit, who “beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:”¹⁵⁸⁴ these men, though they forbid not all invocation of God, yet deprive us of the Spirit, by whose influence alone he can be rightly invoked. He denies them to be the servants of Christ, who are not led by the Spirit of Christ:¹⁵⁸⁵ these men invent a sort of Christianity, to which the Spirit of Christ is not necessary. He admits no hope of a happy resurrection, unless we experience the Spirit dwelling in us:¹⁵⁸⁶ these men fabricate a hope unattended by such experience. But perhaps they will answer, that they deny not the necessity of our being endued with the Spirit; but that it is the part of modesty and humility not to acknowledge our possession of him. What, then, is the meaning of the apostle in this exhortation to the Corinthians—“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves; know ye not yourselves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”¹⁵⁸⁷ But says John, “We know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”¹⁵⁸⁸ And do we not call in question the promises of Christ, when we wish to be accounted the servants of God without the possession of his Spirit, whom he has announced that he will pour out upon all his people?¹⁵⁸⁹ Do we not injure the Holy Spirit, if we separate faith from him, which is his peculiar work? These being the first rudiments of piety, it is a proof of most miserable blindness, that Christians are censured as arrogant for presuming to glory in the presence of the Holy Spirit, without which glorying Christianity itself cannot exist. But they exemplify the truth of Christ’s assertion, “The world knoweth not the Spirit of truth; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”¹⁵⁹⁰

XL. Not satisfied with one attempt to destroy the stability of faith, they assail it again from another quarter; by arguing, that although we may form a judgment concerning the favour of God from the present state of our righteousness, yet the knowledge of final perseverance remains in suspense. Truly we are left in possession of an admirable confidence of salvation, if we can only conclude from mere conjecture that we are in the favour of God at the present instant, but are utterly ignorant what may be our fate to‐morrow. The apostle expresses a very different opinion: “I am persuaded (says he) that neither life, nor death, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”¹⁵⁹¹ They attempt to evade the force of this, by a frivolous pretence that the apostle had it from a particular revelation; but they are too closely pressed to avail themselves of this evasion. For he is there treating of the benefits resulting from faith to all believers in common, not of any which were peculiar to his own experience. But the same apostle, they say, in another place, excites fear in us, by the mention of our imbecility and inconstancy. “Let him (says he) that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.”¹⁵⁹² It is true; but not a fear by which we may be thrown into consternation, but from which we may learn to “humble ourselves,” as Peter expresses it, “under the mighty hand of God.” Besides, how preposterous is it to limit to a moment of time the assurance of faith, whose nature it is to go beyond the bounds of the present life, and reach forward to a future immortality! Since believers, then, ascribe it to the grace of God that they are illuminated by his Spirit, and enjoy through faith a contemplation of the heavenly life, such a glorying is so remote from arrogance, that, if any one be ashamed to confess it, he rather betrays extreme ingratitude by a criminal suppression of the Divine goodness, than gives an evidence of modesty or humility.

XLI. Because we thought that the nature of faith could not be better or more clearly expressed than by the substance of the promise, which is the proper foundation on which it rests, and the removal of which would occasion its fall or annihilation,—it is from the promise, therefore, that we have taken our definition, which, nevertheless, is not at all at variance with that definition, or rather description, of the apostle, which he accommodates to his argument; where he says, that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”¹⁵⁹³ For by ὑποστασις, which is the word he uses, and which is rendered substance, he intends a prop, as it were, on which the pious mind rests and reclines; as though he had said, that faith is a certain and secure possession of those things which are promised to us by God. Unless any one would rather understand ὑποστασις of confidence, to which I shall not object, though I adopt that idea which is the more generally received. Again: to signify that even till the last day, when the books shall be opened, these objects are too sublime to be perceived by our senses, seen with our eyes, or handled with our hands; and that, in the mean time, they are enjoyed by us only as we exceed the capacity of our own understanding, extend our views beyond all terrestrial things, and even rise above ourselves; he has added, that this security of possession relates to things which are the objects of hope, and therefore invisible. For “hope that is seen (as Paul observes) is not hope; for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?”¹⁵⁹⁴ But when he calls it an evidence, or proof, or (as Augustine has frequently rendered it) a conviction of things not seen, (for the Greek word is ἐλεγχος,) it is just as though he had called it the evidence of things not apparent, the vision of things not seen, the perspicuity of things obscure, the presence of things absent, the demonstration of things concealed. For the mysteries of God, of which description are the things that pertain to our salvation, cannot be discerned in themselves, and in their own nature; we only discover them in his word, of whose veracity we ought to be so firmly persuaded, as to consider all that he speaks as though it were already performed and accomplished. But how can the mind elevate itself to receive such a taste of the Divine goodness, without being all inflamed with mutual love to God? For the plenitude of happiness, which God has reserved for them who fear him, cannot be truly known, but it must at the same time excite a vehement affection. And those whom it has once affected, it draws and elevates towards itself. Therefore we need not wonder if a perverse and malicious heart never feel this affection, which conducts us to heaven itself, and introduces us to the most secret treasures of God and the most sacred recesses of his kingdom, which must not be profaned by the entrance of an impure heart. For what the schoolmen¹⁵⁹⁵ advance concerning the priority of charity to faith and hope, is a mere reverie of a distempered imagination, since it is faith alone which first produces charity in us. How much more accurately Bernard speaks! “I believe,” says he, “that the testimony of conscience, which Paul calls the rejoicing of the pious, consists in three things. For it is necessary to believe, first of all, that you cannot have remission of sins but through the mercy of God; secondly, that you cannot have any good work, unless he bestow this also; lastly, that you cannot by any works merit eternal life, unless that also be freely given.”¹⁵⁹⁶ Just after he adds, “that these things are not sufficient, but are a beginning of faith; because in believing that sins can only be forgiven by God, we ought at the same time to consider that they are forgiven us, till we are also persuaded, by the testimony of the Holy Spirit, that salvation is laid up for us; because God forgives sins; he also bestows merits; he likewise confers rewards; it is not possible to remain in this beginning.” But these and other things must be treated in the proper places; it may suffice, at present, to ascertain wherein faith itself consists.

XLII. Now, wherever this living faith shall be found, it must necessarily be attended with the hope of eternal salvation as its inseparable concomitant, or rather must originate and produce it; since the want of this hope would prove us to be utterly destitute of faith, however eloquently and beautifully we might discourse concerning it. For if faith be, as has been stated, a certain persuasion of the truth of God, that it can neither lie, nor deceive us, nor be frustrated,—they who have felt this assurance, likewise expect a period to arrive when God will accomplish his promises, which, according to their persuasion, cannot but be true; so that, in short, hope is no other than an expectation of those things which faith has believed to be truly promised by God. Thus faith believes the veracity of God, hope expects the manifestation of it in due time; faith believes him to be our Father, hope expects him always to act towards us in this character; faith believes that eternal life is given to us, hope expects it one day to be revealed; faith is the foundation on which hope rests, hope nourishes and sustains faith. For as no man can have any expectations from God, but he who has first believed his promises, so also the imbecility of our faith must be sustained and cherished by patient hope and expectation, lest it grow weary and faint. For which reason, Paul rightly places our salvation in hope.¹⁵⁹⁷ For hope, while it is silently expecting the Lord, restrains faith, that it may not be too precipitate; it confirms faith, that it may not waver in the Divine promises, or begin to doubt of the truth of them; it refreshes it, that it may not grow weary; it extends it to the farthest goal, that it may not fail in the midst of the course, or even at the entrance of it. Finally, hope, by continually renewing and restoring faith, causes it frequently to persevere with more vigour than hope itself. But in how many cases the assistance of hope is necessary to the establishment of faith, will better appear, if we consider how many species of temptations assail and harass those who have embraced the word of God. First, the Lord, by deferring the execution of his promises, frequently keeps our minds in suspense longer than we wish; here it is the office of hope to obey the injunction of the prophet—“though it tarry, wait for it.”¹⁵⁹⁸ Sometimes he not only suffers us to languish, but openly manifests his indignation: in this case it is much more necessary to have the assistance of hope, that, according to the language of another prophet, we may “wait upon the Lord that hideth his face from Jacob.”¹⁵⁹⁹ Scoffers also arise, as Peter says, and inquire, “Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”¹⁶⁰⁰ And the flesh and the world whisper the same things into our ears. Here faith must be supported by the patience of hope, and kept fixed on the contemplation of eternity, that it may consider “a thousand years as one day.”¹⁶⁰¹

XLIII. On account of this union and affinity, the Scripture sometimes uses the words faith and hope without any distinction. For when Peter says that we “are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed,”¹⁶⁰² he attributes to faith, what was more applicable to hope; and not without reason, since we have already shown, that hope is no other than the nourishment and strength of faith. Sometimes they are joined together, as in a passage of the same Epistle—“that your faith and hope might be in God.”¹⁶⁰³ But Paul, in the Epistle to the Philippians,¹⁶⁰⁴ deduces expectation from hope; because in patient hope we suspend our desires till the arrival of God’s appointed time. All which may be better understood from the tenth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews,¹⁶⁰⁵ which I have already cited. In another place, Paul, though with some impropriety of expression, conveys the very same idea in these words: “We, through the Spirit, wait for the hope of righteousness by faith;”¹⁶⁰⁶ because, having embraced the testimony of the gospel concerning his gratuitous love, we wait till God openly manifests what is now concealed under hope. Now, it is easy to see the absurdity of Peter Lombard, in laying a twofold foundation of hope; the grace of God, and the merit of works. Hope can have no other object than faith; and the only object of faith, we have very clearly stated to be the mercy of God; to which both its eyes, if I may be allowed the expression, ought to be directed. But it may be proper to hear what kind of a reason he advances. If, says he, you venture to hope for any thing without merits, it must not be called hope, but presumption. Who is there that will not justly detest such teachers, who pronounce a confidence in the veracity of God to be temerity and presumption? For whereas it is the will of the Lord that we should expect every thing from his goodness, they assert that it is presumption to depend and rely upon it. Such a master is worthy of such disciples as he has found in the schools of wranglers! But, as for us, since we see that sinners are enjoined by the oracles of God to entertain a hope of salvation, let us joyfully presume so far on his veracity as to reject all confidence in our own works, to depend solely on his mercy, and venture to cherish a hope of happiness. He who said, “According to your faith be it unto you,”¹⁶⁰⁷ will not deceive us.