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Ephefianr,Chap.6.
VER,IO,11
faith,
this
is
a
falfe fenrence.
If
he
'fay
to me,Thine
failerh in
the grace,
I
it
is
falfly
fpoken to
a
true beleever,
to
make his
grace
extint
when
the worke
faileth
:
for we
might
afwell
fay
a
man
is
dead
when
hee
fleepeth. And for
his
threatning that
it
(hall
faile,we muft remember,
that
hell
gates
(hall
not
prevaile. He bath prayed,
&c.
Eightly,
the
devill
he
will from
fenfe
and reafon weaken our be-
leefe
:
Thus
he kept Sarah in unbeleefe,
Gen.
IS.
12.
She laughed
becaufe the
thing
fpoken was againft reafon.
For anfwere whereof, we
muff
know, They
are bleffed
that
be-
leeve and fee
not,
John
ao.
29.
that
we walke by
faith, not
by fight.
Againe,
Heb. r
1.
r.
Faith
is
the
evidence
of
things
not
feene:
we
mull therefore
(hake
hands with
this
following
fenfe and reafon,
if
we
will
make way
to
beleefe.
Laftly,
the
devill will mufter many troubles
againft us, and
thus
la-
bour to fluke our faith;
Luke
22. 31. He
winnowed
Peters
faith,
by
bringing him into jeopardy
of
his life.
So when many belecve,
hee
ftirres
the
tongues
of
naughty
onesto
whip
them;
if
God
give leave,
he
croffith them
in
their
fubftance, and
otherwife:
not hat
he
playeth
fo (mall games
as
to
blot their
name, or careth for their money; but
he
lhooteth at this, to
unfettle them
in
the way
of
faith, which they
have
enrred. But
we
mull refill
thee, by getting knowledge,
that Chrift
will
not
let our fmoaking wieke
be put
out;
that
there things
(hall
worke
to
our
good,
Rom.
8.
28. I, but
we fecle
the contrarie, they worke
fo
up-
on us.
Anfw.
He
that
beateth
a
torch,
feemeth
to
put out
the light for
a
feafon, yet it maketh it burne more clearely: the
(baking
of
trees
ma-
keth them roote deeper. Secondly, by learning the
meanes
of
hol-
ding our faith
:
which follow. Thefe
are his
more violent
praéìifes;
wrefting
of our
faith from
us
:
now
his more fubtill, Heights
are;
.his
ma-
king
us to
prefume
on
outwardhelps, and
withdrawing
our
hearts
by
them.
Thus, 2Chran.
16.7.
he
did prevaile againft
Afa: for when
he leech
us
hold the rocke where
we are fafe
from him, he
will
fee
before
us
other things,
futable
to
our
corrupt
natures;
knowing, that
fo
much
as
we
come
to leane on chele, fo much we
come to
leave
our
G
O
D.
Thus
he
holdeth out
our
Lady,
Saint Peter, and Paul,
in
the Romi(h
Church;
and
by
the creature,
withdraweth
the hearts
of
the
people
from their
Creator.
In
which
and
other
like
praâifes,
the
devill
is
like
a
Fowler that hath
calls
fo like
the naturali
notes, that birds
come
un-
to
them
:
fo
thefe
fpeake
our mother tongue,
and
have
a
note
fo liking
to
the
reafon and
fenfe
of
us,
that
we
cannot
heare it,
but we
are
rea-
dy to
flee
unto
ir.
But
we
muff
prevent
this
mi
f
hiefe
by
Chriflian
cau-
tion
:
the divelsexchange
will
prove
robbery,
we fhall
changea
rock
for
a
fplitted reede,
which
will
hurt
us in
the
end. He
that
leaveth
his
God, forfaketh
his
mercy,
Jonah
2.8.
They that
waite
upon lying
va-
nities, forfaketheir
owne mercy. Againe,
Ier.
17.
5.
Curled
is
hee
that
maketh
flefh
his
arme, trotting
in
any
outward thing. Secondly,
we
muff
know, that theft
things cannot do ought for us, further then
th