Now, there is a threefold act of faith, which the Spirit of God works in the soul, whereby he more especially closes with Christ, and is espoused unto Him, made one with him in a marriage-covenant.
1. An act of choice or election.
In the act or work of believing, the soul is, by the Spirit of God, made solemnly and deliberately to choose Christ as his only Head and Husband, his Lord and Saviour, being thus offered to him in the gospel. Choice or election, as the schoolmen tell us, is an act of the will, whereby it pitches upon some one thing, and prefers that before all others in order to such or such an end. Accordingly we may conceive of this act of faith we are speaking of: it lies thus; the will is by the Spirit of God sweetly and powerfully determined upon Christ, preferring Him for a Head and Husband, a Lord and Saviour before all others. It singles Him out, as it were, from all others, whether persons or things, in heaven and earth, and embraces Him as the best Husband, the best Saviour, the best Lord. There are others which make love to him and tender themselves to his embraces, as sin, self, the law, the world, with its enticements; but he passes by all, yea, rejects all with loathing and indignation, and pitches upon Christ as infinitely best, saying to Him, “I will have none in heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth that I desire in comparison of thee.” This the scripture calls sometimes “a laying hold upon Christ,” Prov. 3: 18, sometimes a receiving or embracing of Christ, John 1: 12. It is true, in the work of faith, Christ is, and must be received into the understanding, but he is most properly said to be received into our will and affection: Christ in the gospel is revealed and offered to the soul with all his riches, fulness and perfections; He is tendered to him as a full, a mighty, and uttermost Saviour, as one who has not only an infinite fulness and sufficiency in Him to redeem and save, but also an infinite suitableness and amiableness in Him to endear and delight the soul; and accordingly the soul accepts and embraces Him, he cleaves to Him, and fastens upon Him, resolving to have none but Him alone. His language of Him now is, There is none like Christ, no head like this Head, no husband like this Husband, no saviour like this Saviour for my soul: this is the Head, the Husband, the Saviour that I need, and that indeed my soul desires. No love like His love, no beauty like His beauty, no blood like His blood, no righteousness like His righteousness, no fulness like His fulness; He, therefore and He alone shall be my Head, my Husband, my Saviour and my all for ever. Sweet Jesus, says ye, dost Thou tender Thyself for a Head and Husband to me, and art Thou willing to be embraced by me? Lo, then I do with my whole soul accept of Thee, and that for all times, and in all conditions with all Thine holiness as well as Thy love, with all Thy inconveniences as well as Thy privileges; to suffer for Thee as well as to reign with Thee; and this the soul does upon the deepest counsel, and most mature deliberation; and accordingly he abides by his choice for ever.
2. An act of trust or dependence.
As in the work of faith the soul is, by the Spirit of God, made to choose Christ; so also to trust and depend upon Him for all grace, righteousness, an salvation. Now it builds upon Christ, anchors upon Christ, rests and relies upon Christ for all life and peace, for all grace on earth, and glory in heaven. He lays the whole weight and stress of his salvation upon Him: he commits all to Him, ventures all upon Him, expects all from Him. This the scripture calls sometimes a trusting in Christ, Eph. 1: 12. sometimes a leaning upon Christ, Cant. 8: 5. sometimes a hoping in Christ, 1 Cor. 15: 19. And in this respect Christ is called our hope, 1 Tim. 1: 1. our hope, that is, the object of our hope and trust, as to life and salvation. The soul has no hope in himself, no hope in the creature, no hope in the law or first covenant, no hope in any thing in heaven or earth on this side Christ. He looks here and there, to this and that, but he can find no solid ground of hope, no foundation to build or rest upon for life and salvation; but then he turns his eye upon Christ, and there he sees abundant ground of hope; he beholds Him upon the cross, and there is hope; he beholds Him upon the throne, and there is hope; he looks upon Him dying, and there is hope; he looks upon Him rising and ascending, sitting at the Father’s right hand making intercession for us, and there is hope; he looks upon the infinite virtue of His blood, the infinite efficacy of His Spirit, the infinite fulness of His grace, the infinite dimensions of His love, the infinite freeness and faithfulness of His promise; and in these he sees infinite ground of hope and trust, and accordingly he rolls and ventures all upon Him. Here I’ll build, says he, here I’ll rest, here I’ll hang and depend, here I’ll live; yea, and if die I must, here I’ll die. His language to Christ now is like that of the psalmist to God in another case; “Now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee,” Psa. 39: 17. This is to cast anchor within the vail, Heb. 9: 6. And indeed it is with poor souls many times as with persons at sea; the storm arises, the waves lift up themselves, which beating upon them, they are ready to sink every moment, and their very soul is melted because of heaviness; but anon they cast anchor, and are at rest: so poor souls are under storms of sin, guilt, and wrath, perishing in their own apprehension every moment; but anon they drop an anchor of hope upon Christ, and do rest upon Him. Or it is with them in this case as it was with the dove, when she was first sent out of the ark, she found no resting-place abroad for the sole of her foot; but at length returned to the ark, and there found rest. Gen. 8: 8, 9. So the poor guilty soul finds no rest any where but in Christ. His language in this act of faith is such as this: I am a poor, lost, sinful distressed creature, and there is but one door I can expect relief from, and that is Christ, and at this door I’ll lie and wait; I know He is able to help me, for He can save to the uttermost: and surely He hath compassion, great compassion, towards poor sinners; He is a merciful High Priest. He says concerning Him, as they sometimes did concerning the king of Israel, Behold, we have heard that the king of Israel is a merciful king, peradventure he will save us. Yea, He has bid me look to Him and be saved; and He invites all them that are weary and heavy laden to come to Him, and promises them rest. Why then should I not rest, and rely upon Him? It is true I am a mighty sinner, but He is a more mighty Saviour. Have I sinned to the utmost? He has satisfied to the utmost. What shall I say? True I am death, but Christ is life; I am darkness; but Christ is light; I am sin, but Christ is holiness; I am guilt, but Christ is righteousness; I am emptiness and nothingness, but Christ is fulness and sufficiency; I have broken the law, but Christ has fulfilled the law; and His life is infinitely able to swallow up my death; His light, my darkness; His holiness, my sin; His righteousness, my guilt; His fulness, my emptiness: on Him, therefore, I’ll lean, and live, and hope. It is true I am utterly unworthy of any life, any grace, any favour; but Christ does all for sinners freely; He loves freely, He pardons freely, He saves freely; how vile, therefore, and unworthy soever I am, yet I will rest and depend upon Him; who knows but He may cast an eye of love upon me? This is that act of faith which is held forth; “Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength,” Isa. 14: 24. I have neither strength nor righteousness of my own, but I have all righteousness and strength in Christ; all righteousness for pardon and justification, and all strength for holiness and sanctification. This is that the apostle calls a rejoicing in Christ Jesus, having no confidence in the flesh, Phil. 3: 3.
To draw towards a conclusion of this head. Which way soever the soul looks on this side Christ, he meets with nothing but discouragement. If he looks to himself, there he sees nothing but sin and guilt, blackness and deformity; in his heart he sees a fountain of sin, an abyss of sin, a ver hell of sin and wickedness; in his life he finds innumerable evils, sins of crimson dye and scarlet tincture staring him in the face. Yea, his very duties are not without sin; even in these there is abundance of pride, formality, unbelief, and the like; his very “righteousness are as filthy rags,” Isa. 64: 6. If he looks unto the law, there he reads his doom and condemnation in every line thereof; there he finds himself under the curse; there he sees nothing but fear, and “blackness, and darkness, and tempests,” Heb. 12: 18. If he looks to justice, that he finds as a flaming sword keeping him from the tree of life, from all happiness; that appears with an angry frowning countenance, demanding satisfaction, as being infinitely wronged. But now in the midst of all these discouragements, the poor soul at length gets a sight of Christ, in whom he sees encouragement after all. He discovers land in a storm, as it were, and finds in Him a foundation to rest his weary spirit upon; in Him he sees that which can atone with God, satisfy justice, answer all the demands of the law, fully deliver him from sin and guilt, and make him both holy and happy for ever; and accordingly he rests and rolls himself upon Him, resolving that if he dies, he will die thus leaning upon this Beloved.
3. An act of resignation or subjection.
As in the work of faith the soul thus chooses Christ and depends upon Him, so also he is by the Spirit of God made cordially and unreservedly to resign up himself unto Him, to be ruled, governed, and disposed of by Him in His own way. The soul now puts himself out of his own power and possession, he passes himself away from himself, and he gives up himself into the power and possession of Jesus Christ, to be ruled, governed, and saved by Him as He sees good. Which is properly that act of faith which we call resignation, and this the scripture often mentions; “One shall say, I am the Lord’s,” Isa. 45: 5. that is, he shall give or resign up himself to the Lord to be for ever His, and at His disposal. So, “They gave themselves unto the Lord,” 2 Cor. 8: 5. And Eph. 5: 24. the church is said to be subject to Christ. The case seems to be this — There having many treaties passed in order to a match between Christ and the soul, the soul at length, through the help of the divine Spirit, is made freely to consent to take Christ for His only Head and Husband, and to be subject to Him in all things, to be perfectly and eternally at His disposal. His language now to Christ, is like that of Ahab to Benhadad, “Behold, I am thine, and all that I have is thine,” 1 Kings 20: 4. Lord Jesus, says the soul, I have been my own, and have lived too much at mine own will, and to my own ends and interests; but now I desire to be thine, and to live in Thy will, and to Thine ends; take possession of me, save me, rule me, lead me, dispose of me as Thou pleasest; do all Thy pleasure in me, pull down and set up what Thou wilt, I’ll be, and do, and suffer what Thou wilt have me to be, and suffer. And this is properly that act of faith which we call resignation, and is indeed the evidence of the truth of the two former; for you must know that though faith’s first aspect be to Christ as a Saviour, yet it comes to eye him as a Lord and King also. As faith fully rests upon the satisfaction of Christ, so it freely bows to the sceptre of Christ; yea, when faith cannot challenge Christ as a Saviour yet it will own Christ as a Lord. You know how Laban spake to Abraham’s servant upon the sight of the ear-rings and bracelets which he had given his sister Rebekah, and upon his hearing a relation from her of his discourse with her, “Come in, thou blessed of the Lord, why standest thou without?” I have room for thee, Gen. 24: 31. In like manner does the soul speak to Christ, upon the sight of that worth which is in Him, and that need which he has of Him; Come in, thou blessed of the Lord, come in, thou blessed of the Lord, why standest thou without? I have room for Thee in my understanding, and in my will and affections; and I would have Thee possess all, and command all. In a word, the soul freely gives up himself to Christ’s holy and spiritual government. Thou art a holy Christ, says he, He who is to reign, and I resign up myself to Thee. I will have no Lord but Thee; take the whole throne to Thyself within me. I know Thy yoke is an easy yoke, and I desire to bear it; Thy sceptre is a righteous sceptre, and I desire to bow to it; Thy kingdom is a kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, and I heartily desire to come under the power of it. I would be sanctified as well as justified; I desire Thy Spirit to subdue my corruptions for me, and to make me holy, as well as Thy blood to wash away my guilt for me, and ingratiate me with Thyself. And this is an opening of the gates, and lifting of the everlasting doors, to let Christ the King of glory in, Psa. 24: 7. Thus by these three, which indeed are the great uniting acts of faith, the Spirit of God enables the soul to close with Christ in a marriage covenant, and relation.