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10. The more fruitful a Chriftian is in his graces and exercises of them, the ftronger is his faith. You know that the extenfion of the branches arifeth from the intention of the fap; if the branches grow bg, and yeild more fruit, it is because the root is more fuil and filled. Faith is (well ftiled) the radi cal grace; though the habits of other graces grow not out of it, yet the meatures and exerciles do exceedingly depend upon it: And, according to the latitude of faith is the latitude of other graces; as the dayes receive fhortneffe or length from the Sunne. A weak faith is attended but with a weak love, and a weak patience, and a weak hope, and a weak joy. But if the faith becomes ftrong, now it is fpring with our graces,they revive and hoot out themselves, here will be much love, and much labour of love, and ftrong hope, and the better heart and life.

11. The more able a perfonis to live upon Chrift, or Gods promises in the times of desertions and contrarieties, the faith is certainly the greater. The more ufe any can make of God or Chrift at all, his faith is greater; for the more that any foule beleevcs, the more is his faith enabled thereby.

But then this is yet more ftrength, even against hope, to believe in hope, to look up for that God that hides himself; to ven ture on an angry God, one who feemes to fout out our prayers, one that speaks bitter things unto us, like Levi, not to ob ferve our own children,but to keep the Word and Covenant of God, Deut.33.9.3

12. The more able the foul is to wait on God; to pray and wait, the stronger is the Faith. A waiting faith meets with more difficulties, and contrarieties, and is upheld by the strength of a meer promise. That man not only hath faith, buc lives by faith, if he can wait Gods time, &c.

13. When you can glorifie many promiles at once by beleeving; yea, when every promile can be trufted on upon gracious termes, the more fully you can glorifie them by crufting for pardon of great finnes, fubduing of ftrong corruptions, deliverance out of great diftreffes, the ftrorge is your faith. -The leffe difficulty you conceive in God to perform his Word. when you can come for great matters, with great confidence,

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leffe doubts, exceptions, feare, the leffe power difcouragements have. If you can beleeve against sense, reafon, Though he kill me, yet will I trust in him. Thefe are difcoveries of faith in ftrength.

SECT. IV.

"He fecond part of the fecond general point at the instan... ces of weak faith in truth. Here are two things which I will touch.

One is, fome demonftrations that faith is weak.

Another is, fome directions of truth with that weak

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Concerning the firft, obferve these things.

Signes of a 1. The more that doubtings ftagger the heart, its is a fign weak faith. that the faith is weak. As the more fmoak goes up with the fire, it is an argument that the fire is little, or as the more a perfón halts and reels in his motion, it discovers the impotency of his ftrength and joynts. You reade in Rom.4.20. That fag gering at the promife by unbelief, is opposed to a strong faith: obferve that word (taggering) It is fuch a temper of the foul, wherein it doth fuddenly and eafily change its thoughts; and acts: As a man who is ftaggering, his. foot checks (as it were) it felf, and alters its pace and place, fo when a mans heart is giving on, and then falling off, may I take? may I not? I will lay hold, I will not; God will be good to me, he will not; I fhall have mercy, yet I fhall not; this is ftaggering.

The foul lets go its hold, doubtings prevaile against actual beleeving; the beleeving foul fees ftrong arguments to draw it to faften on Chrift, and on mercy, and then it is putting forth the hand; but then unbelief thralls forth contrary arguments of fufpicion, and feares, fo that the foul is in doubts; may I indeed by hold, but will the Lord be merciful to me? Why diddeft thou doubt, O thou of little faith, faid Christ to Peter & and this ftands with reafon for the stronger that quality

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is which is contrary to faith, the weaker is that faith which is contrary to that quality, as the ftronger fickness is, the weaker health is, &c.

2. The more easily a man can fufpe&t Gods favour and Cbrifts love; this is a fign that faith is weak. See Pfalme 77.7,8,9 and then .ic. They fay of love, that the more pure love hath least feare. 1 John 4. 18 and multitude of jealoufies is an argument of mixture in the affections. So it is of faith, the more ftedfaftly it can hold up the immutability of Gods love and kindneffe, and his ancient grants of favour, the stronger is the faith But the more apt it is to question the loving kindnese which hath been ever of old; now it is the weaker, Luke 24. 21. We bad trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Ifrael, and befides all this to day is the third day.

There be two things which a weak faith is very apt to challenge.

One in God for kindnesse.

Another in its own eftate for foundnesse. As Gideon faid in another cafe, If the Lord be with us, why is all this evil befallen w? fo where the faith is weak, the foul is often in fuit with God; yea, but if God were my God; had I an intereft in Chrift, were my eftate good, could it be with me thus, could it be thus within me, thus without me, thus upon me?

&c.

3. The more quick and baftening that the foul is for anfwer and fatisfactions, the more impatient of Gods delayings, this is a figne that it is now weak in faith. For did it throughly beleeve, it would not make hafte, were it perfwaded fully of Gods goodnee, which makes the promife of his wisdom, which will take the fittest time for the grant, it would now quietly wait and expect: But an over-haftening, when the foul will fcarce allow any time 'twixt the petition and the fpeeding of it, but I must prelently have it, or elfe God is not my God, or elfe my ftate is bad, Ifay; hafty eagerneffe to be answered, and quick conclufions from Gods filence, do fhew much weakneffe of faith in the foul; There is an importunity which may come from faith, and this is a holy preffing of a promife, yet with fubmiffion and patience; And there is an baftineffe which comes

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from feare: As if God would not alwayes be in a good mind towards us, as if the present teftimonies must be the only ar guments of his love and intentions.

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Thele two things will ufually meet in a man whofe faith is weak.

One is, he will be hafty to be answered.

Another is, he will be faint if delayed.

4. The more inclining the heart is to the life of fenfe the weaker is the faith: like Thomas, unleffe be feeth the print of the nails, &c. he will not beleeve, John 20. 25. So unleffe Chriftians have promifes budding, they will hardly beleeve that there is fruit growing on them; unleffe I feele the fenfible favour of God, I will not beleeve that he loves me; unleffe I reade my pardon, I will not beleeve mercy; unleffe I difcerne fenfible meanes, I will not beleeve helps; unleffe I feele fin flaine in me, I will not beleeve that God will fubdue it; All these in promiles affect not, and fupport not the heart. It is a figne of a weak childe, that muft ftill be carried in the armes. When a mans perfwafions cannot be wrought by the naked word of promife, without fome fenfible pledges and pawne, he is very weak. When he is puzling his heart in an endleffe maze of diforder, viz. he would have the things of the promise, and then beleeve the fidelity of the promife, this argues weakness. The abstractions of things from fenfe, when God gathers up all a mans estate, or any particular good, only into his promife, into his own hand, and faith, now canft thou beleeve that I will be good unto thee? I promise thee to be thus and thus; wilt thou now truftme, wilt thou adventure thy foule now upon my word of pardon and mercy, upon my word of grace and help? fo to do would evidence much strength.

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Now you may obferve a manifeft difference 'twixt strong: and weak faith; If ftrong faith feeth its eftate in the promises it hath enough, it goes away rejoycing; if weak faith hath not fome of the eftate in its own hand, as well as in Gods hand, it is troubled and afraid.

5. The more hardly a believer comes to be per/waded and affa. red of Gods undertakings in Covenant, his faith is weak. When one word of God is not enough, but God muft fay it once and twice, and yet againe more clearly: As Gideon would have one

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figne,,

figne, the fleece must be wet, and the earth dry; and then another figne, the fleece must be dry, and dew lie upon all the earth, Judges 6. 37,39. This fhewed weakneffe in his faith; fo doth it in a Chriftian, when not one or two promises, and scarce all of them, with all the arguments in God and in Chrift, can perfwade him that God will be merciful to him, or that Chrift belongs to him.

6. The more ease the foule is to let go that affurance, the weaker is faith in it; when a foul is like a weak hand clafping a staff,and the ftaffe is easily wrifted out; fo the foul lets go- that promife, which did revive it, and that Chrift, which feemed to embrace it, this argues weakneffe; as in Peter, when he beleeved that it was Christ on the fea, upon Chrifts Word he ventures out, but when the waves met him, he begins to fink, his faith was weak, why didft thou doubt, thon of little faith, faid Chrift to him? Though Chrifts Word drew him out of the ship, yet it did not hold him up all alone; And the Difciples, We trafted it had been he who should have redeemed Ifrael. So when a temptation comes upon a foul, and the foul is ready to be led by it, to credit it against Gods promise, and Gods teftimony in the confcience, this aptneffe to let go our hold argues much feare, and much feare argues weak! faith.

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7. The more apt the foul is to infift on personal and inherent qualities and abilities, as media fiducia, meanes of perfwafion, this thews that the faith is weak: when fomething in us makes ùs the more confident, as when it is unapt to beleeve, unJeffe it can difcerne fuch an inherent ftrength of graces, to mourne, and to pray, or to keep down finne, or keep off tempration.

Object. It is true, thefe abilities are teftimonies, but yet they are not Media.

Sol. They are evidences of a folid faith, but they are not meanes or causes of beleeving. The means or caufes are Gods promifes, which ought (alone) to be our foundations and en couragements. Now when a perfon is unapt to beleeve that God will do thefe things for him unleffe these things be done, this is weakneffe. Good things, when they are done,they are matters of thankfulneffe, and when they are promifed, they

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