I se .$>ClM.lenpal. Chap 5.Se&. 2 " ----- - . . hand cf du mofl High; He ~hecks hirnfelffor doubting of Gods mercies bccaufe of hjs former mercies, and he recovers htm[clf by brmgmg to mmdc ~he former dealings of God with him. Now in thts workoffatlh what abundance of 1\rengtb~doth it bring in fr0111 fermer (llCrt:ies,fonJrer promft'J,f(.,YIIJCY dca/zn,!!_S _? Q this ITIUfl: needs W~:lflderfu}Jy J1rcngthcn the heart to any fuffermg whatfocver. . , + Faith carrycs the foul on htgh, above fenfe, above reafon, above the W<;lrld 1 wben faith is working, Oh how ts the foul ratfed above the fears and favours of men 1 E.uf,b .13-' 39 Jcare not (faid !gnatius a little before his fuffering) for tmy thingvijible or invijible, j. that 1mayg(t Chrijl ; Let fire, the croJJer. the lettmg out of beajls, .breal,.ing ofmy bontsj tearing of my members, thegr~11~mg of my whole body, l!nd the tormems efthe devils come upon me, fo that I maygee Chrift. Faith puts an holy magnanimity-upon the foul, to flight and to overlook Wtth an holy contempt, wh,atfoever the world proffers or threatens: Fallh ratfcs the foul to converfe "'!tth htgh and glorious things, with"toe deep and eter~al counfels of God, with th.e glorious myileries of the Gofpel, with communton Wtth God and JefusfChrill:, wtth the great things of heaven and eteroaf life. Men, before faith comes into their foules, have.poor low fpirits, bulied abont mean and contemptible things, and therefore every offer of the world prevailes with· them, and every httle danger of fuffepng (cares them; but when failh comes, th~r~ is another manner of lj:>irit in a man, a princely fpirit (as Luther calls it). that dares tQ adventure lolfe of life for ,the name of Chritt. When Valens the Emperour fent his officers to Bafii to turne him _from tlrefaith, . they fidl: offered him great preferment'· But Bafi(r.cje{ted them .with fcon1; Offer thrfe thing~ (fayes he) ro children; then they threatned him mofl: gncvoufly ; nay threatm (fatd Bafil) your purple-gallanu, tba~ Heb. 11 43 , 3 <. live themftlves to their plca(ures. What great fpirits did faith put into thofe worthyes·· who through faith fubdued Kingdomes, jfoppcd the mouthes of Lyons,--. qnenched th; 'IJiolcnce ofthe fire, of wealz.J?erc made jlrong_, &c. Ccrta,inlyfai~h is:as glorious a grace now as ever tt was, and tf tt be put forth~ tt wtll enable the foul to do great things; the ratling of the fo;ml above reafon and fenf~, JS as great a thtng as any ofthefe. The faith R.ozn. 4 . 1 g, of .Abrahamwas mofl: glorious, for which he is fl:iled thefather of the faithful, and yet the chief thing for which he was commended, is, that he believed agamjl hope. When the foul is in fome l1:rait, it looks up for fome help, and fenfe fay~s, it cannot be; reafon .fuyes, it will not be; wicked men fay, it jhall not be; y.ea, it may be God in the.waycs ofhts provtdencc feems to go fo cro.fie,as tf he would not have" to be; yet ifFaithhave a word for it, it fayes, it Jhall be: Yea when God.feems to be angry, when the-re appears nothing to fenfe and reafoh but wrath, yet even then f~<ith hath hold on Go<\9 heart, that his hand cannot 1\rike. ,_ . 5, Faith give~ the foul an interell: in God,in Chrifl:,ln all thofe glorious things in the Gofpel, and in the things of eternal life: faith is an appropriating, an applying, an uniting grace; It is a blelfed thing to have the fight of God;there i~ much power in it, butto fee Cod in h1s glory,~<s, my God;;o fee all the Majefty,greatmjfe andgoodnejJeofGod; M thrfe things that my foul hath an infe.r,eft in; to fee -how the eternal aotmfels ofGod wrought for me to maks me happy; to fee Chrijl inwhomallfulne[s dwels, in whom the zrcafures.ofall Gods riches are, and all thefe ar~ mi1Je _;- to (ee Cbrijl comingfrom the F_ather['r me,,to be my Redeemer; Oh what a blelfed powerful thing is this! What is all the world nqw to fuch a foul? where is all the bravery of it, or the malice and oppofi>ion of it ? The lolfc of outward things, liberty or )i(e are great evils to thofe who have no interefl: in better, but to fuch as have il)tereil in higher thi~gs, there is n~ great matter tlwugh they lofe all thefe. • 10 •• 6. Faith fets all God~ ~ttributes on work for the good and relief ofabeliever; . I~is one thing to have interefl: in God ~nd C.hrifl:,and another thing to have God and Ghr.ifi working for us. I will not deny but God and Chrill: are worki~g ll:ill , yet whe11 faith lyesil:ill and is not active, althougl) we do not lofc our intereils in ·God, yetwe·cafinot expect fuch fenfible manifeila!ionsof Gods workings for u~.We hav~ a notable e;xpre.f. fion of Gods ll:irring up his fl:rength.an~ ,wifd_ome fp~ thofe J.Vhof~--~earrs are rjgj!t ~virh •Cbron. 16.9• him. The eyes ofthe Lor(i r1mnno and fro :hr•ugho¥50fE_arth ep.fiJOJ!'/Jimfelfj/r'ongftr thofe whofe heart is perfecr towards htmAlthough we be1n the._da.r~,and; know n0t hO)V to order'our ll:cps;yetther~ is an infi!'ite wifdome w<?_~~ingfor us; a\;!lqugh we have but a lie••l. 3• s. little firength, yet if we havefaith to fet Gods fl:rengt;h on work,we Jludl 1 (as the_Church of Philadelp/?i~t) k§ep Gods word~ and rot drny IJis lW<~~. - Thus f!lUCli. for the denyAI of naptral [elf,
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