The Life ofFaith. 145 Heaven, will make the mind familiar there : And familiarity will atria and encourage faith : For it will much acquaint us with thole resfons and inducem>nts of faith, which a few firange and diftant thoughts will never reach to. As he that converfeth much with a learned, wife, or godly man, will ea- filter beltevi that he is learned, wife, or godly, than he that is a_granger to him, and only now and then Teeth him afar off: So he that thinke:h to frequently of God and Heaven, till his mind hash conrrat`t_d a humble acquaintance and familiarity, muff needsbelieve the truth of all that excellency which be- forehe coubtcd of. For doubting is the effe& of ignorance : And he that knowetb moft sere, believetb belt, Falfhood and evil cannot bear the light ; but the more you tbinkof them, and know them, the more they are deteded and afhamed : But truth and goodnefi love the light ; and the better you are acquainted with them, the more will' your belief and love be increafed. Dires. Io. Live not in Ikeguilt of wilful fin: For that wilt many wales binder your belief. 1. It will breed fear and horreur inyour minds, and make you wiffi that it were not true, that there is a day of Judge- ment, and a Hell for the ungodly, and loch a God, luch a Chrift, and locha life to come, as the Golpel doth deteribe And when you take it for your intereft to be an unbeliever, you will hearken with delire to all that the D:viland Iiifidels can fay : And you will the more eafily make your (elves be- lieve that the Golpel is not true, by howmuch the more you delire that it fhouldnot be true. 2. And you will forfeit the grace which thouldhelp you to believe ; both by your wilful/ fin, and by your unwillingnefs to believe : For who canexpes that aria fhouldgive his grace to them, who wiltully de- fpifc him, and abufe it : Or that he thould make men believe, who had rather not believe ? Indeed he maypcfbly do both thefe, but thefe arc not the way, nor is it a thing whichwe . can expeQ. 3. And this guilt, and fear, and unrrilingnefs to- gether, will all keep down your thoughts from Heaven ; to that feldottt thinking of it, will increatc your unbelief: and U they
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