VERSE 38.
THe second pillar, for sustaining them in afflictions; is Faith. Where, 1. The excellency of Faith.
2. The application of it, Verse 39.
The excellency is,
1. Set downe, then illustrated.
Beemunatho. Every man must live by his owne faith: he cannot live by the faith of another. In the Sept. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, by my faith, that is by faith in me: which is all one.
Here we see, whereby a Christian lives: not by the ayre, as Camelions doe; not by love, as we use to say: not simply by his meat and drinke: by that indeed through Gods blessing the body liveth:* 1.1 but the soule lives by faith, Gal. 2.20. and they that want faith are dead, even while they live, as Saint Paul speaketh of the wid∣dow. A just, holy, and righteous man lives by faith. I know whom I have believed. Wee know what joy is laid up for us in heaven: therefore we beare patiently all the afflictions of this present life.
We doe not only live by faith at our first conversion, and justi∣fication, as Saint Paul disputeth in his Epistle to the Romans, but all the dayes of our life we live by faith. Therefore let us entreat the Lord to encrease our faith, that in all calamities we may live by it in this world, and live without it in his kingdome in the world to come.
This is illustrated by the contrary: but if any withdraw himselfe, my soule shall have no pleasure in him. So the Seventy have it. The Hebrew in words is much different from it: yet in sence they are all one. Gnuphlah: hee makes himselfe a tower, whose heart is not upright in him. He trusts to himselfe, not to God, that is, he with∣draweth himselfe from the Lord: and if his heart bee not upright in him, then God hath no pleasure in him. But wee need not busie our selves in the reconciling of these places: for Saint Paul doth not of purpose alleadge it as the Prophets testimony; but only useth the words of the Scripture in them to commend faith to them.