The third great end is, to deter and frighten people from sin, and to make them cast out with it, and consent to put their neck under all his yoke. God kindleth some sparks of hell in men's bosoms by the discovery of their sin, as a ready mean to make them henceforth stand in awe, knowing "how bitter a thing it is to depart from the Lord," Jer. ii. 19. So we find rest offered to the weary, upon condition they will take on Christ's yoke; Matth. xi. 29. "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls." And God offereth to own men as their God and Father, upon condition they will allow no peaceable abode to Belial, 2 Cor. vi. 14, 15, 17, 18. "What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.'

The fourth great end is, to work up men to a patient and thankful submission to all the Master's pleasure. This is a singular piece of work, Ezek. xvi. 63. "Then shalt thou remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame, when I am pacified towards thee, for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord." The sight of a man's own vileness and deservings maketh him silent, and

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to lay his hand on his mouth whatsoever God doth unto him? Ps. xxxix. 9. "I was dumb,. and opened not my mouth, because thou didst it." Ezra ix. 13. "God hath punished us less than our iniquities. Micah vii. 9. "I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned." The man careth not what God doth to him, or how he deal with him, if he save him from the deserved wrath to come: also any mercy is a large mercy to him who hath seen such a sight of himself; he is "less than the least of mercies," Gen. xxxii. 10.; "any crumb falling from the Master's table is welcome," Mat. xv. 27, he thinks it rich "mercy that he is not consumed," Lam. iii. 22. This is the thing that marvellously maketh God's poor crossed people so silent under, and satisfied with their lot; nay, they think he deserveth hell who openeth his mouth at any thing God doth to him, since he hath pardoned his transgressions.

So then, for satisfying the objection, I say, if the Lord hath driven thee out of thyself, and commended Christ to thy heart above all things, and made thee resolve, in his strength, to wage war with every known transgression, and thou art in some measure as a weaned child, acquiescing in what he doth unto thee, desiring to lay thy hand on thy mouth thankfully; then thy convictions of sin and misery, and whatsoever thou dost plead as a preparatory work, is sufficient, and thou art to debate no more concerning it. Only be advised so to study new discoveries of the sense of thy lost condition every day, be

cause of thy old and new sins; and also to see fresh help in Christ, who is a priest for ever to make intercession; and to have the work of sanctification and patience with thankfulness renewed and quickened often: for somewhat of that work which abaseth thee, exalteth Christ, and conformeth to his will, must convey thee throughout all thy lifetime in this world.

CHAP. III.

SECT. 1. Of Faith.

We come now to speak of some more clear and sure marks, by which men may take up their gracious state and interest in Christ. The first thing whereby men may know it, is, their closing with Christ in the gospel, wherein he is held forth. This is believing, or faith, which is the condition of the covenant; Rom. iv. 16." It is of faith," &c. Acts xvi. 31. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Now, although in propriety of speech, it is hard to prove an interest by faith, it being our very interest in him; yet the heart's closing with Christ Jesus is so discernible in itself, that we may well place it amongst the marks of a gracious state and if a man can make out this, that he believeth on and in Christ Jesus, he thereby doth prove a very true interest in him. Many are frightened at this as a mark, upon one of these three grounds ordinarily.

(1.) Some conceive faith to be a difficult mysterious thing, hardly attainable. To these, I say, do not mistake; faith is not so difficult as many do apprehend it to be. I grant true faith in the meanest degree is the gift of God, and above the

power of flesh and blood; for God must "draw men to Christ," John vi. 44. "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him." Philip. 1. 29. "Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ to believe on him." Yet it were a reflection upon Christ, and all he hath done, to say it were a matter of insuperable difficulty; as is clear, Rom. x. 6-11." The righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, say not in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven? that is, to bring Christ down from above; or, who shall descend into the deep? that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead. But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith which we preach. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved; for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." It were according to that scripture, as much upon the matter as to say, Christ came not from heaven, is not risen from the dead or ascended victorious to heaven. I say, he hath made the way to heaven most easy; and faith, which is the condition required on our part, more easy than men do imagine. For the better understanding of this, consider that justifying faith is not to believe that I am elected, or to believe that God loveth me, or Christ died for me, or the like: these things are indeed very difficult, and almost impossible at the first hand to be attained by those

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who are serious; whilst natural Atheists and luded hypocrites find no difficulty in asserting all those things I say, true justifying faith is not any of the foresaid things; neither is it simply the believing of any sentence that is written, or that can be thought upon. I grant, he that believeth on Christ Jesus believeth what God hath said concerning man's sinful miserable condition by nature, and he believeth that to be true, that "there is life in the Son, who was slain, and is risen again from the dead," &c.: but none of these, nor the believing of many such truths, do speak out justifying faith, or that believing on the Son of God spoken of in scripture; for then it were simply an act of the understanding: but true justifying faith, which we now seek after, as a good mark of an interest in Christ, is chiefly and principally an act or work of the heart and will; having presupposed sundry things about truth in the understanding, with the heart it is believed unto righteousness, Rom. x. 10. And although it seem, ver. 9. of that chapter, that a man is saved upon condition that he believes this truth, "God raised Christ from the dead," yet we must understand another thing there, and ver. 10. than the believing the truth of that proposition: for beside that all devils have that faith,. whereby they believe that God raised Christ from the dead, so the scripture hath clearly resolved justifying faith into a receiving of Christ; John i. 12. "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." The receiv-ing of Christ is there explained to be the believ-