264, Satanspower to 2-empt andChrift's love to, 1 He doth not fay, But I have prayed for thee, that thy Prayer faile not, or that thy Patience fail not, or that thy Love fail not ; but I have prayed that thy Faithfail not. So that Satans great deign in all his temptations is upon the faith of the Saints, that he may make their faith to fade them. For the further clearing, and opening of there words, andof this Truth; I ihall labour to thew you. Firft, What it is for to fail in our faith : and howfar the Saints may fail in theirfaith in time of temptation. Secondly, What anevil thing it isfar the Saints to Pik ,7n theirfaith in time oftemptation. Thirdly, That Satan, great deign in all his temptations, is upon ourfaith. Fourthly, How Satan labours to weaken our faith in the timeoftemptation : whatfiroky hegives unto seerfaith, and how wePall be able to bareoffthofe blows in the time oftemptation that fo ourfaithfail not ? If ye aske me, What it isfor tofail in faithhere ? The word in the Original fignifies, an Eciipfe, as the E- clipfe of the Sun, or ofthe Moon: and the words may be fo tranflated, But I have prayed for thee, that tbyfaith be no'1,' Eclipfed. But according to the ordinary acception of that word Eclipfe, Peters faith did fail,for it was much Eclipfed. The word fignifies alfo, a total 41'0, fuch as ludas made, who of a Difciple became an Enemy, a Traitour ; and in Read of beleeving, fell to defpair ; and fo Peters faith did not &Ile. A mans faith is laid to faile, Either when it fals fhort ofwhat it bath been, or what it fliould be; and in both theft refpeEts Peters faith did fail : It fell fhort of what it had been, it fell fhort of what it fhould be. But there is a Two fold failing in faith : One in regard of the A&ingand Exercifeoffaith and another in regard of the graceoffaith it felf. In regard of the A&ing, Working, and Exercife offaith, Pekes faith did fail ; but in regard ofthe grace it felt*, fo it failed not. The Lutherans, they fay and contend much for it, That a regenerate mans faith may
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