come For because he could swear by no Greater he swore by Himself That by Two Immutable Things in which it was impossible that God should Lie we might have a strong Consolation who have fled for Refuge to lay hold on the Hope set before us Heb. 6. 15 16 17 18. Sixthly Neither is it for want of great Examples of God's Mercy that have come to Jesus Christ of which we Read most plentifully in the Word Therefore it must be concluded It is for want of that which follows First It is for want of the Knowledge of Christ Thou knowest but little of the Grace and Kindness that is in the Heart of Christ Thou knowest but little of the Vertue and Merit of his Blood Thou knowest but little of the Willingness that is in his Heart to save thee And this is the reason of the Fear that ariseth in thy Heart and that causeth thee to doubt that Christ will not receive thee Unbelief is the Daughter of Ignorance Therefore Christ saith O Fools and slow of Heart to Believe Luk. 24. 25. Slowness of Heart to believe flows from thy Foolishness in the Things of Christ This is evident to all that are acquainted with themselves and that are seeking after Jesus Christ The more Ignorance the more Unbelief the more Knowledge of Christ the more Faith They that know thy Name will put their Trust in thee Psal. 9. 10. He therefore that began to come to Christ but the other day and hath yet but little Knowledge of him he fears that Christ will not receive him But he that hath been longer acquainted with him he is Strong and hath over-come the Wicked One 1 Joh. 2. VVhen Joseph's Brethren came into Egypt to buy Corn it is said Joseph knew his Brethren but his Brethren knew not him What follows Why great Mistrust of Heart about their speeding well specially if Joseph did but answer them Roughly calling them Spies and questioning their Truth and the like And observe it So long as their Ignorance about their Brother remained with them whatsoever Joseph did still they put the worst Sense upon it For instance Joseph upon a time bids the Steward of his House bring them Home to Dine with him to Dine even in Joseph's House And how is this resented by them Why they were afraid And the men were afraid because they were brought into their Brother Joseph's House And they said He seeketh occasion against us and will fall upon us and take us for Bond-men and our Asses Gen. 42. Chap. 43. What! Afraid to go to Joseph's House He was their Brother He intended to Feast them to Feast them and Feast with them Ah! but they were ignorant That he was their Brother And so long as their Ignorance lasted so long their Fear terrifyed them Just thus it is with the Sinner that but of late is coming to Jesus Christ He is ignorant of the Love and Pity that is in Christ to Coming-Sinners Therefore he doubts therefore he fears therefore his Heart mis-gives him Coming-Sinner Christ inviteth thee to Dine and Sup with him He inviteth thee to a Banquet of Wine yea to come into his Wine-Cellar and his Banner over thee shall be Love Revel 3. 20. Song 2. Chap. 5. But I doubt it sayes the Sinner But 't is answer'd He calls thee invites thee to his Banquet to his Flaggons Apples to his Wine and to the Juyce of his Pomgranate O I fear I doubt I mistrust I tremble in Expectation of the contrary Come out of the Man thou Dastardly Ignorance Be not afraid Sinner only Believe He that cometh to Christ he will in no wise cast out Let the Coming Sinner therefore seek after more of the good Knowledge of Jesus Christ Press after it Seek it as Silver and dig for it as for hid Knowledge This will embolden thee This will make thee wax Stronger and Stronger I know whom I have Believed I know him said Paul And what follows Why And I am perswaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that Day 2 Tim. What had Paul committed to Jesus Christ The Answer is He had committed to him his Soul But why did he Commit his Soul to him Why because he knew him He knew him to be Faithful to be Kind He knew he would not fail him nor forsake him And therefore he laid his Soul down at his Feet and committed it to him to keep against that Day But Secondly Thy Fears that Christ will not receive thee may be also a Consequent of thy earnest and strong Desires after thy Salvation by him For this I observe That strong Desires to have are attended with strong Fears of missing What a Man most sets his Heart upon and what his Desires are most after he oft-times most fears he shall not obtain So the Man the Ruler of the Synagogue had a great desire that his Daughter should live and that Desire was attended with Fear that she should not Wherefore Christ saith unto him Be not afraid Mark 5. 36. Suppose a Young Man should have his Heart much set upon a Virgin to have her to Wife If ever he Fears he shall not Obtain it is when he begins to love now thinks he some body will step in betwixt my Love and the Object of it either they will find Fault with my Person my Estate my Conditions or somthing Now thoughts begin to work she doth not like me or something And thus it is with the Soul at first Coming to Jesus Christ thou lovest him and thy love produceth Jealousy and that Jealousy oft-times beget Fears Now thou fearest the Sins of thy Youth the Sins of thine old Age the Sins of thy Calling the Sins of thy Christian Duties the Sins of thy Heart or somthing thou thinkest somthing or other will alienate the Heart and Affections of Jesus Christ from thee thou thinkest he sees somthing in thee for the sake of which he will refuse thy Soul But be content a little more Knowledge of him will make thee take better heart thy earnest desires shall not be attended with such burning Fears Thou shalt hereafter say This is mine Infirmity Psal. 77. Thou art Sick of Love a very sweet Disease and yet every Disease has some weakness attending of it yet I wish this Distemper if it be lawful to call it so was more Epidemical Dye of this Disease I would gladly do 't is better than Life it self though it be attended with Fears But thou cryest I cannot obtain Well be not too hasty in making Conclusions If Jesus Christ had not put his Finger in at the Hole of the Lock thy Bowels would not have been troubled for him Song 5. Mark how the Prophet hath it They shall walk after the Lord he shall Roar like a Lyon When he shall Roar the Children shall Tremble from the East They shall Tremble like a Bird out of Egypt and as a Dove out of the Land of Assyria
Hos. 11. 10 11. When God Roars as oft-times the Coming Soul hears him Roar what Man that is coming can do otherwise than Tremble Amos 3. 8. But Trembling he comes He sprang in and came Trembling and fell down before Paul and Silas Act. 16. Should you ask him that we mentioned but now How long is it since you began to fear you should miss of this Damosel you Love so The Answer would be Ever since I began to Love her But did you not fear it before No nor should I fear it now but that I vehemently Love her Come Sinner let us apply it How long is it since thou begannest to Fear that Jesus Christ will not Receive thee Thy Answer is Ever since I began to desire that he would save my Soul I began to Fear when I began to Come And the more my Heart burns in Desires after him the more I feel my Heart fear I shall not be Saved by him See now Did not I tell thee That thy Fears were but the Consequence of strong Desires Well fear not Coming-Sinner Thousands of Coming-Souls are in thy Condition and yet they will also get safe into Christ's Bosom Say sayes Christ to them that are of a fearful Heart Be strong fear not Your God will come and Save you Isa. 35. 4. Chap. 63 1. Thirdly Thy Fear that Christ will not Receive thee May arise from a Sense of thine own Unworthyness Thou seest what a poor sorry wretched worthless Creature thou art And seeing this thou fearest Christ will not Receive thee Alas say'st thou I am the Vilest of all Men a Town-Sinner a Ring-leading Sinner I am not only a Sinner my self but have made others two-fold worse the Children of Hell also Besides Now I am under some Awakenings and Stirrings of Mind after Salvation even now I find my heart Rebellious Carnal Hard Treacherous Desperate prone to Unbelief to Despair It forgetteth the Word it wandreth it runneth to the Ends of the Earth There is not I am perswaded one in all the World that hath such a desperate wicked Heart as mine is My Soul is careless to do Good but none more earnest to do that which is Evil Can such an one as I am Live in Glory Can an Holy a Just and Righteous God once think with Honour to his Name of Saving such a Vile Creature as I am I fear it Will he shew Wonders to such a dead Dog as I am I doubt it I am cast out to the loathing of my Person yea I loath my self I stink in mine own Nostrils How can I then be accepted by an Holy and Sin-abhorring God Psal. 38. 5 6 7. Ezek. 16. Chap. 20. 42 43 44. Saved I would be and Who is there that would not were they in my Condition Indeed I wonder at the Madness and Folly of others when I see them so Merry in their Chains while I see them Leap and Skip so carelesly about the Mouth of Hell Bold Sinner How darest thou tempt God by Laughing at the Breach of his Holy Law But Alas They are not so bad one way but I am worse another I wish my Self were any Body but my Self And yet here again I know not what to wish When I see such as I believe are coming to Jesus Christ O I bless them But am confounded in my self to see how unlike as I think I am to every good Man in the World They can Hear Read Pray Remember Repent be Humble and Do every thing better than so Vile a Wretch as I. I Vile Wretch am good for nothing but to burn in Hell-Fire and when I think of that I am confounded too Thus the Sense of Unworthyness creates and heightens Fears in the Hearts of them that are coming to Jesus Christ But indeed it should not For who needs the Physitian but the Sick Or who did Christ come into the World to Save but the Chief of Sinners Mar. 1. 17. 1 Tim. 1. 15. Wherefore the more thou feest thy Sins the faster fly thou to Jesus Christ. And let the Sense of thy own Unworthyness prevail with thee yet to go faster As it is with the Man that carrieth his broken Arm in a Sling to the Bone-setter still as he thinks of his broken Arm and as he feels the Pain and Anguish he hastens his Pace to the Man And if Satan meets thee and asketh Whether goest thou Tell him Thou art Maimed and art going to the Lord Jesus If he objects thine own Unworthiness Tell him That even as the Sick seeketh the Physitian and as he that hath broken Bones seeks him that can Set them So thou art going to Jesus Christ for Cure and Healing for thy Sin-sick-Soul But it oft times happeneth to the Coming-Soul as it happeneth to him that flies for his Life He despairs of Escaping and therefore delivers up himself into the Hand of the Purfuer But up up Sinner be of good chear Christ came to Save the Unworthy Ones Be not Faithless but Believe Come away Man the Lord Jesus calls thee saying And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out Fourthly Thy Fear that Christ will not Receive thee may arise from a Sense of the exceeding Mercy of being Saved Sometime Salvation is in the Eyes of him that desires it so great so huge so wonderful a thing that the very Thoughts of the Excellency of it ingenders Unbelief about obtaining it in the Heart of those that unfeignedly desire it Seemeth it to you said David a Light thing to be a King's Son-in-Law 1 Sam. 18. 23. So the Thoughts of the Greatness and Glory of the Thing propounded as Heaven Eternal Life Eternal Glory to be with God and Christ and Angels These are great Things Things too Good saith the Soul that is little in his own Eyes Things too Rich saith the Soul that is truly poor in Spirit for me Besides the Holy Ghost hath a way to greaten Heavenly things to the understanding of the coming sinner yea and at the same time to greaten too the sin and unworthiness of that sinner Now the Soul staggeringly wonders saying What! to be made like Angels like Christ To live in Eternal bliss joy and felicity This is for Angels and for them that can walk like Angels If a Prince a Duke or Earl should send by the Hand of his Servant to some poor sorry beggarly scrub to take her for his Master to wife and the Servant should come and say My Lord and Master such an one hath sent me to thee to take thee to him to wife he is rich beautiful and of excellent qualities he is Loving Meek Humble Well-spoken c. What now would this poor sorry beggarly Creature think what would she say or how would she frame an answer When King David sent to Abigail upon this account and though she was a rich woman yet she said Behold Let thine hand maid be a Servant to wash the feet of the Servants of my Lord. 1 Sam.
25. 40 41. She was confounded she could not well tell what to say the offer was so great beyond what could in reason be expected But suppose this great person should Second his Sute and send to this Sorry Creature again What would she say now Would she not say you Mock me But what if he affirms that he is in good earnest and that his Lord must have her to wife yea suppose he should prevail upon her to Credit his Message and to address her self for her Journey Yet behold every thought of her pedigree confounds her also her sense of want of beauty makes her ashamed and if she doth but think of being imbraced the unbelief that is mixed with that thought whirls her into tremblings And now she calls her self fool for believing the Messenger and thinks not to go If she thinks of being bold she Blushes and the least thought that she shall be rejected when she comes at him makes her look as if she would give up the Ghost And is it a wonder then to see a Soul that is drowned with the sense of glory and a sense of its own nothingness to be confounded in it self and to fear that the glory apprehended is too great too good and too rich for such an one That thing Heaven and Eternal Glory is so great and I that would have it so small so sorry a Creature that the thoughts of obtaining confounds me Thus I say doth the greatness of the things desired quite dash and overthrow the mind of the desirer O it is too bigg it is too big It is too great a mercy But coming sinner let me reason with thee Thou say'st it is too bigg too great Well will things that are less satisfie thy Soul will a less thing than Heaven than Glory and Eternal life answer thy desires No nothing less yet I fear they are too big and too good for me ever to obtain Well as big and as good as they are God giveth them to such as thou They are not too big for God to give No not too big to give freely be content let God give like Himself he is that Eternal God and he giveth like himself When Kings give they do not use to give as poor men do Hence it is said that Nabal made a feast in his house Like the feast of a King And again All these things did Araunah as a King give unto David 1 Sam. 25. 2 Sam. 24. Now God is a great King let him give like a King Nay let him give like himself and do thou receive like thy self He hath all and thou hast nothing God told his people of old that he would save them in truth and in righteousness and that they should return to and injoy the Land which before for their sins had spued them out and then adds under a supposition of their counting the mercy too good or too big If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days should it also be Marvellous in mine eyes saith the Lord of hosts Zech. 8. 6. As who should say they are now in Captivity and little in their own eyes therefore they think the mercy of returning to Canaan is a mercy too marvellously big for them to injoy but if it be so in their eyes it is not so in mine I will do for them like God if they will but receive my bounty like sinners Coming sinner God can give his heavenly Canaan and the glory of it unto thee yea none ever had them but as a gift a free gift He hath given us his Son how shall he not then with him also freely give us all things Rom 8. It was not the worthiness of Abraham or Moses or David or Peter or Paul But the mercy of God that made them inheritors of Heaven If God thinks thee worthy judge not thy self unworthy but take it and be thankfull And it is a good signe he intends to give thee if he hath drawn out thy heart to ask O Lord thou hast heard the desire of the humble thou wilt prepare their heart thou wilt encline thine car Psal. 10. 17. When God is said to encline his ear it implies an intention to bestow the mercy desired Take it therefore thy Wisdom will be to receive not sticking at thine own unworthiness It is said He raiseth up the poor out of the dust and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill to set them among Princes and to make them inherit the thrown of glory Again He raiseth up the poor out of the dust and lifteth some needy Out of the dunghill that he may set him with Princes even with the Princes of his people 1 Sam. 2. 8. Psal. 113. 7 8. You see also when God made a Wedding for his Son he called not the great nor the rich nor the mighty but the poor the maimed the halt and the blind Mat. 22. Luk. 14. Fifthly Thy fears that Christ will not receive thee may arise from the hideous Roarings of the Devil who pursues thee He that hears him Roar must be a mighty Christian if he can at that time deliver himself from fear He is called a Roaring Lyon and then to alude to that in Isaiah if one look into them they have darkness and sorrow and the Light is darkned in their very Heaven 1 Pet. 5. 8. Isa. 5. 30. There are two things among many that Satan useth to Roar Out after them that are coming to Jesus Christ. 1. That they are not Elected Or 2. That they have sinned the sin against the Holy Ghost To both these I answer briefly First Touching election out of which thou fearest thou art excluded Why coming sinner even the Text it self affordeth thee help against this doubt and that by a double argument First That coming to Christ is by vertue of the gift promise and drawing of the Father but thou art a coming therefore God hath given thee promised thee and is drawing thee to Jesus Christ. Coming sinner hold to this and when Satan beginneth to Roar again Answer but I feel my heart moving after Jesus Christ but that would not be if I were not given by promise and drawing to Christ by the power of the Father Secondly Jesus Christ hath promised that him that cometh to Him he will in no wise cast out And if he hath said it will he not make it good I mean even thy Salvation for as I have said already Not to cast out is to receive and admit to the benefit of Salvation if then the Father hath given thee as is manifest by thy coming and if Christ will receive thee thou coming Soul as 't is plain he will because he hath said he will in no wise cast thee out Then be confident and let those conclusions that as naturally flow from the Text as light from the Sun or water from the fountain stay thee If Satan therefore objecteth but thou art not elected Answer But I am coming Satan
of Gods people I will say that Temptations come to do us good and I will say also that there is a difference betwixt growing worse and worse and thy seeing more clearly how bad thou art There is a man of an ill-favoured countenance who hath too high a conceit of his beauty and wanting the benefit of a glass he still stands in his own conceit at last a Limner is sent unto him who draweth his ill-favoured face to the life now looking thereon he begins to be convinc't that he is not half so handsome as he thought he was Coming sinner thy Temptations are these painters they have drawn out thy ill-favoured heart to the life and have set it before thine eyes and now thou seest how ill favoured thou art Hezekiah was a good man yet when he lay sick for ought I know he had some what too good an opinion of his heart and for ought I know also the Lord might upon his recovery leave him to a Temptation that he might better know All that was in his heart Compare Isa. 38. 1 2 3. with 2 Chron. 32. 31. Alas we are sinfull out of measure but see it not to the full untill an hour of Temptation comes But when it comes it doth as the Painter doth it draweth out our heart to the life Yet the sight of what we are should not keep us from coming to Jesus Christ. There are two ways by which God lets a man into a sight of the Naughtyness of his heart One is by the light of the Word and spirit of God and the other is by the Temptations of the Devil But by the first we see our naughtiness one way and by the second another By the Light of the Word and Spirit of God thou hast a sight of thy naughtyness as by the light of the Sun thou hast a sight of the spots and defilements that are in thy house or raiment Which light gives thee to see a necessity of cleansing but maketh not the blemishes to spread more abominably But when Satan comes when he tempts he puts life and rage into our sins and turnes them as it were into so many devils within us Now like prisoners they attempt to brake through the prison of our body they will attempt to get out at our eyes mouths ears any ways To the Scandal of the Gospel and Reproach of Religion to the darkning of our evidences and damning of our souls But I shall say as I said before this hath oft times been the Lot of Gods people And No Temptation hath over-taken thee but such as is common to man and God is faithfull who will not suffer thee to be tempted above what thou art able 1 Cor. 10. 13. See the Book of Job the Book of Psalms and that of the Lamentations And remember further that Christ himself was tempted to blaspheme to worship the devil and to Murder himself Mat 4. Luk. 4. Temptations worse then which thou canst hardly be over-taken with But he was sinless That is true And he is thy Saviour and that is as true Yea it is as true also that by his being tempted he became the Conqueror of the tempter and a succourer of those that are tempted Col. 2. 14 15. Heb. 2. 17. chap. 4. 15 16. Quest. But what should be the reason that some that are coming to Christ should be so Lamentably cast down and buffetted with Temptations Answ. It may be for several causes First Some that are coming to Christ cannot be perswaded untill the Temptation comes that they are so vile as the Scripture saith they are True they see so much of their wretchedness as to drive them to Christ but there is an over and above of wickedness which they see not Peter little thought that he had had Cursing and Swearing and Lying and an inclination in his heart to deny his Master before the Temptation came But when that indeed came upon him then he found it there to his sorrow Joh. 13. 36 37 38. Mark 14. 36 37 38 39 40 68 69 70 71 72. Secondly Some that are coming to Jesus Christ are too much affected with their own graces and too little taken with Christs person wherefore God to take them off from doteing upon their own Jewels and that they might look more to the person undertaking and merits of his Son plunges them into the ditch by Temptations And this I take to be the meaning of Job If I wash me said he with snow-water and make my self never so clean yet wilt thou plung me in the ditch and mine own clothes shall abhor me Job 9. 30 31. Job had been before a little too much Tampering with his own graces and setting his excellencies a little too high as these Texts make manifest Job 33. 8 9 10 11 12. chap. 34. 5 6 7 8 9. chap. 35. 2 3. chap. 38. 1 2. chap. 40. 1 2 3 4. chap. 42. 3 4 5 6. But by that the Temptation was ended you find him better taught Yea God doth oft-times even for this thing as it were take our graces from us and so leave us almost quite to our selves and to the tempter that we may learn not to love the Picture more than the person of his Son See how he dealt with them in the Sixteenth of Ezek and the Second of Hosea Thirdly Perhaps thou hast been given too much to Judge thy brother to condemn thy brother because a poor tempted man And God to bring down the pride of thy heart letteth the tempter loose upon thee that thou also mayest feel thy self weak For pride goeth before destruction and an haughty spirit before a fall Pro. 16. 18. Fourthly It may be thou hast dealt a little too roughly with those that God hath this way wounded not considering thy self lest thou also be tempted and therefore God hath suffered it to come unto thee Gal. 6. 1. Fifthly It may be thou wast given to slumber and sleep and therefore these Temptations were sent to awaken thee You know that Peters Temptation came upon him after his sleeping then instead of watching and praying then he denyed and denyed and denyed his Master Mat. 26. Sixthly It may be thou hast presumed too far and stood too much in thine own strength and therefore is a time of Temptation come upon thee This was also one cause why it came upon Peter Though all men forsake thee yet will not I. Ah! that 's the way to be tempted indeed Joh. 13. 36 37 38. Seventhly It may be God intends to make thee wise to speak a word in season to others that are afflicted and therefore he suffereth thee to be Tempted Christ was tempted that he might be able to succour them that are tempted Heb. 2. 18. Eighthly It may be Satan hath dared God to suffer him to tempt thee promising that if he will but let him do it thou wilt curse him to his face Thus he obtained leave against Job wherefore take heed tempted soul lest
is with one that can pity pray for pardon yea multiply pardons It is with one that can have Compassion upon us when we are out of the way with one that hath an heart to fetch us again when we are gone astray with one that can pardon without upbraiding Blessed be God that life is in Christ For Now 't is sure to all the seed But Fourthly This Doctrine of coming to Jesus Christ for life informs us of the evil of Unbelief that wicked thing that is the only or chief hindrance to the coming sinner Doth the Text say 〈◊〉 Doth it say And him that cometh I will in no wise cast out Then what an evil is that that keepeth sinners from coming to Jesus Christ And that evil is unbelief For by faith we come by Unbelief we keep away Therefore It is said to be that by which a Soul is said to depart from God because it was that which at first caused the world to go off from him and that also that keeps them from him to this day And it doth it the more easily because it doth it with a wile This sin may be called The White Devil for it often-times in its Mischievous doings in the Soul shews as if it was an Angel of Light Yea it Acteth like a Counsellor of Heaven Therefore a little to discourse of this evil disease First It is that sin above all others that hath some shew of reason in its attempts For it keeps the Soul from Christ by pretending its present unfitness and unpreparedness as want of more sense of sin want of more repentance want of more humility want of a more broken heart Secondly It is the sin that most Suiteth with the Conscience the Conscience of the coming sinner tells him that he hath nothing good that he stands inditable for Ten Thousand Tallents that he is a very ignorant blind and hard-hearted sinner unworthy to be once taken notice of by Jesus Christ And will you says Unbelief in such a case as you now are presume to come to Jesus Christ Thirdly It is the sin that most Suiteth with our Sense of feeling The coming sinner feels the workings of sin of all manner of sin and wretchedness in his flesh He also feels the Wrath and Judgement of God due to sin and oft-times staggers under it Now sayes unbelief you may see you have no grace for that which works in you is corruption You may also perceive that God doth not love you because the Sense of his Wrath abides upon you Therefore how can you bear the face to come to Jesus Christ Fourthly It is the sin above all others that most Suiteth with the Wisdom of our flesh the Wisdom of our flesh thinks it prudence to question a while to stand back a while to hearken to both sides a while and not to be rash sudden or unadvised in too bold a presuming upon Jesus Christ And this Wisdom Unbelief falls in with Fifthly It is that sin above all other that continually is whispering the Soul in the ear with mistrusts of the faithfulness of God in keeping promise to them that come to Jesus Christ for life It also suggesteth mistrust about Christs willingness to receive it and save it And no sin can do this so Artificiently as Unbelief Sixthly It is also that sin which is always at hand to enter an Objection against this or that Promise that by the Spirit of God is brought to our heart to comfort us and if the poor coming sinner is not aware of it it will by some evasion slite trick or cavil quickly wrest from him the Promise again and he shall have but little benefit of it Seventhly It is that above all other sins that weakens our Prayers our faith our love our diligence our hope and expectations It even taketh the heart away from God in duty Eightly Lastly This sin as I have said even now it appeareth in the Soul with so many sweet pretences to safety and security that it is as if it were Counsel sent from Heaven Biding the Soul be wise wary considerate well advised and to take heed of too rash a venture upon Believing Besure first that God loves you take hold of no promise untill you are forced by God unto it neither be you sure of your Salvation doubt it still though the testimony of the Lord has been often confirmed in you live not by faith but by sense and when you can neither see nor feel then fear and mistrust then doubt and question all This is the Devilish counsel of Unbelief which is so covered over with specious pretences that the wisest Christian can hardly shake off these reasonings But to be brief Let me here give thee Christian Reader a more particular description of the qualities of Unbelief by opposing Faith unto it in these Twenty five particulars First Faith believeth the word of God but Unbelief questioneth the certainly of the same Psal. 106. 24. Secondly Faith believeth the word because it is true but Unbelief doubteth thereof because it is true 1 Tim. 4. 3. Joh. 8. 45. Thirdly Faith sees more in a promise of God to help than in all other things to hinder But Unbelief notwithstanding Gods promise saith How can these things be Rom. 4. 19 20 21. 2 King 7. 2. Joh. 3. 4 12. Fourthly Fourthly Faith will make thee see love in the heart of Christ when with his mouth he giveth reproofs But Unbelief will imagine wrath in his heart when with his mouth and word he saith he loves us Mat. 15. 22 23 24 25 26 27 28. Numb 13. 2. chap. 14. 3. Fifthly Faith will help the Soul to wait though God deferres to give but Unbelief will take snuff and throw up all if God make any tarrying Psal. 25. 5. Isa. 8. 17. 2 King 6. 33. Psal. 106. 13 14. Sixthly Faith will give comfort in the midst of fears but Unbelief causeth fears in the midst of comfort 2 Chro. 20. 20 21. Mat. 8. 26. Luk. 24. 36 37. Seventhly Faith will suck sweetness out of Gods rod but Unbelief can find no comfort in his greatest mercies Psal. 23. 4. Numb 21. 5. Eighthly Faith maketh great burdens light but Unbelief maketh light ones intollerably heavy 2 Cor. 4. 13 14 15 16 17 18. Mal. 1. 2 13. Ninethly Faith helpeth us up when we are down but Unbelief throws us down when we are up Mich. 7. 8 9 10. Heb. 4. 11. Tenthly Faith bringeth us near to God when we are far from him but Unbelief puts us far from God when we are near to him Heb. 10 22. Chap. 3. 12 13. Eleventhly Where Faith reigns it declareth Men to be the Friends of God but where Unbelief reigns it declareth them to be his Enemies Jam. 5. 23. Heb. 3. 18. Rev. 21. 8. Twelfthly Faith putteth a Man under Grace but Unbelief holdeth him under Wrath Rom. 3. 24 25 26. Chap. 4 16. Ephes. 2. 8. Joh. 3. 36. 1 Joh. 5. 10. Heb. 3. 17. Mark 16.