The Life of Faith. fares of theworld.Faith hath in this warf rc,the turd} and mot} onovrable guide,the ablcfi Captain, and the moll¡powerful ex- ample in all the world.Andit hath withChrift an unerringRule, which'furnithethhimwith armour for every ufe. Yea it bath through him a promife of Victory before it be a'tained ; fo that in the beginning of the fight, it knows the end, Ron:. t6. 20. John t 6. 33 It goeth to Chrifi for that Spirit which is our llreng;h, Ephef. 6. i o. Co1. 2. 7. And by that it mortitieth the delires pftie flclh : and when the&th.is mortified,the world is conquered : for it is loved only as it is the provition of the fm. 5. Moreover, Faith loth obferve Godsparticul,r Provi- dence, who ditiributeth his talents to every manas he plea- fcth, and difpofcth of their effaces and comforts : fo that the Race is not to thefwift, nor theVit'.lory to the firing, nor Riches to men of srnderfianding, Ecelef. 9. r t. Thcr.fore it convinceth us, that our lives, and all being in Ws band, it is our wifdom tomake it our chiefcft care to ufe alffo as is =mofi pleafrrguntohim,2 Cor.5 8 It forefeeth alfothe day ofJudgment, and teacheth us to ufe our profperity and wealth, as we delire to hear of it in the day ofour accounts. Faith is a provident and a vigilant grace; and ufcth to ask when we have any thing inmay pofheflìon, which way I make the bell advantage of it for my foul ? which way will be moti comfortable to me inmy latl review ? how thall I with that I had tiled my time, mywealth, my power, when time is at an end, and all thcfc tranfitory things arc vanilhed ? 6. And Faith doth fo abfolutely devote and fubje l the foul to God, that it will fuller us to do nothing (fo far as it pre- vaileth) but what is for him, and by his content, It telleth us that we are not our own, but hii ; and that we have nothing but what we havereceived: and that we mutt be juif in giving God his own : and therefore it fiat asketh, which way may I heft Cave and honour God with all that he bath given me ? Not only with try fubffance, and the ftrfffraies of mine increafe, but with aD, r Cor. 10. 3 r. When Love anddevotion hath de- trued up our felves entirely toGod, it keepsnothing back,but deliverceh him an things with our felves; even as Chrifi with bimfelfdothgisveusalthings, Rom. 8.32. And Faith doth fo :much 1
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