by the fcoffes of men on the other fide, if he did fully beleeve this principle? it is impoffible he thould: as Efay 5112, who art thou that feareft man that fhall die, and forgetteft the Lord thy Maker? As $1.32,13. if he should fay, It is impoffible that men should shrinke fo at the face of man, if they did not forget the Lord their Maker. Hence it is, (although you doe not obferve from whence it comes) yet hence doe come all thofe fruits of Atheifme in the lives of men; all that unthankfulneffe, that men can take bleffings at Gods hands, and never give him thankes; nay rather, they render evill for good: hence it is, that men truft in meanes,more than in God: hence it is,that men are fo unholy when they come into his prefence; they are not ftrucke with feare and reverence of his Majeftie, when they come before him: hence alfo comes that carelefneffe in the lives of men that feare not his Word,but walke on in a careleffe and remiffe manner: and hence alfo is that hafting after honours & profits,with the neglect of better things; they all arife from hence, even the weakeneffe of the affent to thefe maine principles: for there is a double kind of Atheisme in the heart; there is a direct thought of Atheisme, when a man doubts of the truth of these principles, and knowes hee doth fo, fecondly,when a man doubts,and knowes not that he doubts.

But you will fay, If it be of fo much moment, then what is the way to strengthen our faith in them?

Queft.

It is exceeding profitable, to fearch and exa- Anfw.

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mine

1 Meanes.

To confirme

our faith in

thefe principles. Search and

@xamine them to the full.

on;

mine these truths to the full; not to give over pondering of them,till your hearts be eftablished in the prefent truth, It is good to doe with your felves,as Eliah did in the cafe of Baal; Why halt you betweene two Religions? Come to that disjunctiIf Baal be god, follow him; Solfay to you in this cafe, examine it to the full; If these principles be not true,walke according to your libertie and lufts, take no paines, but live as your nature would have you: but if they be true, then walke fo, as if thou didst throughly beleeve them foto be: the beleefe of them, is that which will carry us through all loffes and flanders, through good report and ill report; if thou didst throughly be leeve them, they would make thec doe any thing for God: I fay,it is very profitable to come to this disjunction, and it ftrengthens our faith much; and this being laid,then draw the conclufion from it, That we thus here muft live,and that it is here beft for us to doe fo.

To pray to God,to ftrengthen our faith in these common principles, to fay as the Difciples did, LORD encrease our faith: you fee that Christ did it,when Peters faith failed him; hee prayed, that it might be ftrengthened: And when you have found any weakeneffe, or doubting, you must remember, that faith, in thefe principles, is the gift of God. There is indeed a common faith,which others may have, and thou mayeft have; but the ftrong faith arifeth from the Spirit, God difpenfeth it where he pleaseth: this infufed faith is not gotten by strength of argument, or perfpicuitie

off

of the understanding; it is not brought in by cuftome, but God doth worke it: it is not all the antecedent preparation that will do it,but God must firft worke it; and then you are able to beleeve thefe principles of faith and able to beleeve them to purpose.

3 Meanes. Acquaint thy Word more and more. Rem.10.

felfe with the

When thou haft fuch a habit lying in thy foule, the more thou readeft the Word,and acquainteft thy felfe with it, day by day, the more ftrong doth thy faith grow, Rom. 10. Faith comes by hearing,and hearing by the word of God; that is, it is a meanes by which God workes it,both in the beginning and encrease of it. Therefore take that exhortation,which is in Coloß.3. 16. Let the word coloff.3.16. dwell in you plenteously,&c. that is,let it not come opened, as a stranger, looking to it now and then, (as it is the fashion of most men) but let it be familiar with you; let it dwell with you,and let it dwell with you plentifully: that is, reade not a Chapter or two,but all the Word; be not content to know one part of it, but know it thorowout. Laftly, let it be in wifdome: A man may reade much,and underftand little,because he knowes not the meaning of it; a child may be able to fay much by heart, and yet not have it in wifdome: therefore let the Word dwell plentifully in you, in all wifdome.

It is profitable to converfe with faithfull men. As it is faid of Barnabas, He was a man full of faith; therefore it is faid, he converted many: It is not in vaine, that phrafe of the Scripture, Hee was a man full of faith, and therefore many were

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added

4 Meanes. Converse with 11.24 faithfull men. Acts

added to the Lord; For you fhall finde it by experience, when you converfe with worldly men; they will be readie,on every occafion,to attribute the event of things to naturall caufes, but the godly they afcribe it to Go D. Now good words ftrengthen our faith, but the evill words of naturall men they corrupt good manners. And not onely the words of the godly worke fo, but the very manner of the deliverie of it is emphaticall, for they doe beleeve it themfelves. Now if a man deliver an Hiftory that he beleeves,he wil deliver it in fuch a manner, that he will make others beleeve it alfo: 48.14. 1. They fo fpake, that a great multitude of the Lewes beleeved, that is, in fuch a manner,that many were turned to the faith. Iunius profeffeth in his life, That the very first thing that turned him from his Atheisme, was the talking with a countrey-man of his, not farre from Flarence, and his manner of expreffing himselfe: The next was the majeftie of the Scripture, which he obferved in John 1. but the other was the beginning of it.

So it will still be true,that walking with godly men, will encrease our faith; but with worldly men, it will weaken it. Therefore ufe all thefe meanes to ftrengthen thefe principles in you, for they will have many excellent effects in your lives. As;

When a man beleeves this throughly, he will take the judgement of the Scripture against his Owne fancie,and the opinions of men (with which we are still ready to be mif-led;) fo that when the

Scripture

Scripture faith of riches, that they are nothing, whereas before thou thoughteft them to be a ffrong Tower,now you will think them to be but á ftaffe of Reed: So of finfull lufts, which are fo pleafing to us, the Scripture faith of them, that they fight against the foule, though they are sweet for the prefent, yet they are fowre in the later end; fo that thou takeft the judgement of the Scripture against thine owne reafon. So for the prayfe of men,fee what the Scripture faith, He is prayfeworthy whom God prayfeth; and therefore thou judgeft vaine-glory to be but a bubble: I fay, if you could beleeve this throughly, you would fet the judgement of the Scripture against your owne reafons,and the opinions of men.

2

in prayer.

Befides this, it will breed notable fervencie in prayer, when a man knoweth that there are fuch To be fervent promifes, it will make him never give over,it will make him watch and pray continually, with all perfeverance; though many times hee prayeth; and hath no answer, as the Woman of Canaan, yea, though he hath fometimes a contrarie anfwer and effect to what he asketh; yet when he hath layd hold on the promifes, he will not let goe, he will never give over: he knowes, Hee, who hath promised, is faithfull, therefore he is not like a wave of the Sea, toffed up and downe with every inde.

But it is not onely a ground of all this, but it brings forth this effect alfo, it doth exceedingly ftrengthen our faith in matters of juftification: for it is certaine, that the fame faith whereby we

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beleevel

3

It ftrengtheneth faith in matters of ju ftification.