293 / 772
Otie,
to
againfi the
affuranceofourel
aimsanfraered.
265
table
is
the
fayin g
of
Aulrine
to
this
purpofe.Tria(ingwit)font
qua
fie roboranr
confarmant cor meson,
vt
nulla mepenuria
meritorum,Çc. There
arc
three
things
(faith hee) which
fo
firengthen
and
confirme my
heart,
that
no
merits,
no confi-
deration ofmine
ovine
vileneffe,
no alit-nation
ofthc
hea-
uenly bleffednes,
can
deiea
me from
the
height oftny
hope
:
vpon
them
my foule
is
flirely
feticd.
Wilt
thou know what
they
are
?I
confider three
things
vpon
which
my hope
wholly
relieth, to
wit,
the loue
ofadoption,the
truth
ofthc
promife,
á
°gi
?anual.
the
abilitie
of
performance.
Let
now
my
foolifh
cogitati-
"P
*21'
on
murmur
as
much
as
it
wit
faying,but
Nwho
art thou,or
how
great
is
that
glorie
;
or
With
what
merits
doefr
thou hope
to
obtaine
it
?
And
I
will
boldlie
anfwere, I
know whom
I
haue belecued, and I
am affured,
becaufe
God
hath
adopted
Pee
in
great loue,
becaufe hee
is
true
in
his
promife,becaufe
bee
is
powerfull
in
performance, for
hee may doe
what
hee
will.
Thirdlie,
they
obiel
that
our faith
is
weake and feeble,
§.áecá.5.
and
by
reafon
thereof
the
faithfull
(as
appeareth
by continu-
weaknes
of
all experience)
are affaulted
with
doubting,
and grieuouflie
faith axd
cer-
íhaken
with
Satans
temptations,
fo
as
there
can
bee
no
filch
rain[
;emar
certaintie
offaith
as
we fpeake
of.
To
which
I
anfwere,
that
ft'
and
co
vveakenes
of
faith
is
not
oppofed
as
contrarie to certaintie,
g
but
to flrongnes and
full
perfwafion,
and thereforeweaknes
and certaintie
may well
Rand
together. Neither
do
we
ima-
gine
fuch
a
certaintie
of
faithwhich
is
neuer fhaken
with-
doubting,
nor
affaulted
with temptations;
nay
rather wee
teach
that
thofe whom
God
indueth with
moll
faith,he
molt
exercifeth
in
the
conflia
oftemptations,like
a
wife
captaine
who fetteth that
fouldier
which
is
bell
armed and
arm
geil,.
to
Beare
the
brunt
in
the forefront
ofthe
battell:& the
diuell
is moil readie
to
affault
thofe who
moll
refill
him,
and
molt
violently to lirike where
hee feeth
the fhield
offaith
held
vp'
to
defend
;.and
therfore
our Sauiour hath
taught
all
his
faith-
ful children
to
pray.leade
vs
not
into
temptation,but
deliucr
vs
from euili,
ßùt
withall
we affirme
that
though
this weake
faith
bee affaulted
with
Satans
temptations,
yet
isit
neuer
ouercome;though it
bee oppofed
with doubting,yet
it neuer
falle
th