erties of the (λɛyxoç) demonstration here intended; it will not reprove and silence the objections and sophisms of unbelief against them; it will not influence our souls to a patient continuance in well doing. Now faith is not the evidence and demonstration of these things to all, which the scripture alone is, but only to believers. They have this evidence of them in themselves; for,

(1.) Faith is that gracious power of the mind, whereby it firmly assents to divine revelations, upon the sole authority of God the revealer, as the first essential truth, and fountain of all truth.

(2.) It is by faith that all objections against them, their being and reality, are answered and refuted; which is required to (ελɛyxos) a convincing demonstration. Many such there are, over all which faith is victorious, Ephes. vi, 16. All the temptations of Satan, especially such as are called his "fiery darts," consist in objections against invisible things; either as to their being, or as to our interest in them. All the actings of unbelief in us are to the same purpose; to reprove and silence them is the work of faith alone; and it is such a work as without which we cannot maintain our spiritual life, neither its power within or its fruitful and consistent profession without.

(3.) Faith brings into the soul an experience of their power and efficacy, whereby it is cast into the mould of them, or made conformable to them, Rom. vi, 17; Ephes. iv, 21-23. This gives an assurance to the mind, though not of the same nature, yet more excellent than that of any scientific demonstration.

§8. Obs. Faith, in its being thus the "evidence of things not seen," is the great means of preserving believers in a constant, patient profession of the gospel against all opposition, and under the fiercest persecu

tions; which is in a peculiar manner what the apostle aims at to demonstrate: for,

(1.) It plainly discovers that the worst of what we can undergo in this world for the profession of the gospel, bears no proportion to the excellency and glory of those invisible things, in which, as Christians, we are interested.

(2.) It brings in such a present sense of their goodness, power, and efficacy, that not only relieves and refresheth the soul under áll its sufferings, but makes it joyful in them and victorious over them.

(3.) It gives an assurance hereby of the greatness and glory of the eternal reward, which is the greatest encouragement to constancy in believing, 1 Pet. iv, 12, 13.

§9. Obs. It is faith alone, that takes believers out of this world whilst they are in it, that exalts them above it whilst they are under its rage; that enables them to live upon things future and invisible, giving such a real subsistence to their power, and victorious evidence of their reality and truth, in themselves, as secures them from fainting under all oppositions, temptations, and persecutions whatever.

VERSE 2.

For by it the elders obtained a good report.

$1. Connexion of the words. $2. The elders, who. $3. The testimony given them. §4. Obtained by faith. §5. Observations.

§1. THE efficacy of this faith the apostle now proceeds to prove by the signal and illustrious effects it hath had in those of old who were the subjects of it. "For by it the elders," &c. The conjunctive particle (yup) for, introduces a proof, by way of instance, of what was before asserted; as if the apostle had said,

"The nature and efficacy of faith is such as I have described; for by it the elders," &c. This they could no way have done, but by that faith whereof these are the properties. Note, instances, or examples, are the most powerful confirmations of practical truths.

§2. Who these (@peobulɛpoi) elders were, is put beyond all dispute by the ensuing discourse. All true believers from the foundation of the world, or the giving of the first promise, to the end of the dispensation of the Old Testament, are intended; for in all sorts of them he giveth particular instances, from Abel to those who suffered the last persecution that the Jewish church underwent for religion, ver. 36-38. What befell them afterwards was judgment and punishment for sin, not persecution for religion: all these, by one general name, he calleth "the elders." Thus was it constantly with all believers, from the beginning of the world called the elders, as having lived before us in ancient times.

§3. (Euapluрnonoav) testimony was given to them in the scripture; to many of them in particular, and to the rest in the general rules of it. It is the Holy Spirit in the scripture, who gives them that good testimony, and to whom the apostle appeals for the proof of his assertion. From the world things were otherwise with them, none so defamed, so reproached, so reviled as they. If they had received such a good report in the world, their example would not have been of use to the apostle's design; for he applies it to them who were made a "gazing-stock, both by reproaches and afflictions," chap. x, 33, 34; as it had been with many of them who yet obtained this testimony. "They had trials of cruel mockings," &c. ver. 36, 37. Note, They who have a good testimony from God, shall never want reproaches from the world.

§4. What was so testified of them by the Holy Ghost is, that they pleased God, or were accepted with him, and constituted righteous, ver. 4—6, &c. (ɛv œuly) by it, their faith; through their believing they "obtained this report." Many great and excellent things, some heroic actions, some deep sufferings, are ascribed to them; but their obtaining this testimony is assigned to faith alone; for those were fruits of their faith, and their acceptance with God depended thereon.

§5. Hence we may observe,

1. It is faith alone, which from the beginning of the world, (or from the giving of the first promise) was the means and way of obtaining acceptance with God. There hath been great variety as to the revealed objects of this faith, but the faith itself is of the same nature and kind in all from first to last; and all the promises of God, as branches of the first promise, are in general the formal object of it; that is, Christ in them, without faith in whom none have found acceptance with God.

2. The faith of true believers, from the beginning of the world, was fixed on things future, hoped for, and invisible; that is, eternal life and glory in an especial manner: that was the faith whereby they "obtained a good report," as the apostle here testifies. So vain is the imagination of them who affirm, that all the promises under the Old Testament respected only things temporal; so making the whole church to have been Sadducees: the contrary is here expressly affirmed.

3. That faith whereby men please God, acts itself in a fixed contemplation of things future and invisible, from whence it derives encouragement and strength to abide firm in their profession, and endure to the end, against all oppositions. To which we may add,

4. That however men may be despised, vilified, and

reproached in the world, yet if they are true believers, they are accepted with God, and he will give them a good report.

VERSE 3.

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

§1. Connexion and design. §2. Faith, when spoken of as the instrumental cause, includes its object. Is superior, and sometimes contrary, to the boasted principles of reason; and give a clear understanding of facts in their true causes. §3, 4. The making of the worlds, how an object of faith. $5. Observations.

$1. THE apostle now enters on the confirmation and exemplification of his proposition by instances; first, from an especial object of faith, and then proceeds to the actings of it in believers. In this first instance of the power and efficacy of faith, the apostle hath respect to the second clause of his general description of it, the evidence of things not seen; for although this world, and the things contained in it, are visible, and are here said to be seen, yet the original framing and making of them hath a principal place among things not seen. And to prove that faith hath a respect to unseen things, as unseen, he gives an instance in that which was so long past as the creation of the world; all his other instances declare its efficacy in the prospect of unseen things that are future.

§2. "By faith we understand." Where faith is spoken of as the instrumental cause of any thing, it always includes its object as the principal cause of the same things. So where it is said, that we are "justified by faith," it includes Christ and his righteousness as the principal cause of our justification; faith being only the instrument whereby we apprehend it: and here, where it is said, that "by faith" we understand 16

VOL. IV.