The rest of faith

Now give mee leave to argue with my owne soule and others, in the behalfe of God.

Me-thinkes I heare the Lord say, You that distrust me come forth and produce your reasons; Am I not God, and for ever God, is there, or can there ever be any above me? I say I am infinite, Almighty, and eternall; disprove me if you can, but if you gre•••••• me this, sayes God, then you can pretend no cause

to distrust me in poynt of power; Nay, sayes God, I am not onely powerfull, but I am also faithfull; I affirme it, that I am God and cannot lye, and I call your owne hearts to be my wi••∣nesses, I challenge you to produce one tittle of all my Word, my Covenant, and my promises, that I have made to you, and you have trusted in me to make good wherein I have failed and de∣ceived your trust, if you can produce none, but that your owne hearts are the witnesses within you of my faithfulnesse, then sure I am, those very witnesses will upbraide your unbelie••e, and make as black as Hel all those black and hard thoughts you have of mee; you will choose a faithfull man to trust, that very choyce will condemn you in distrusting me that am the faithfull God, if I have my witnesse in your hearth that I am faithfull, why doe you distrust mee, you must bee false to your owne bosomes, when you have thoughts that I should bee false to you.

But it may be you will argue that you are sinfull mortals, so that you feare my Justice, and my Majesty, that you dare non draw neare to me or rest upon me, for feare I should consume you; why then come and argue with my free grace, my eternal and unchangable love, my Christ crucified, and therein my ju∣stice satisfied, and a perfect righteousnesse freely given to all that believe in me through him, the pourings forth of my holy spirit, and those mantions prepared in Heaven from all eternity for all that shall thus believe on my Nature through Christ: I tell you poore doubting trembling soules, it is my chiefe delight as God to glorifie my free grace in the salvation of sinners, and to shew forth the riches of my eternall and unchangable love to poore soules lost in themselves, doe not feare to draw neare to me to call me Father, and to trust in my free grace, for you can∣not please me better; if your hearts say you are unworthy to be beloved, yet heare what I say, I love purely from my selfe, and I save onely of my grace, so that your unworthinesse may heighten my grace, but it cannot hinder your salvation that be∣lieve in my grace; argue not that against your selves which I will never aggrevate against you, beleeve in my grace, I will never charge you with your own•• 〈◊〉〈◊〉, for I have laid them upon Christ, and he hath 〈…〉〈…〉 my Justice fully for them all,

I tell you so, and he is your righteousnesse made so of me, that now you are righteous before me in him to all eternity. If I that can onely charge you will acquit you, why doe you feare; if I acknowledge my selfe satisfied for all your sinnes in Christ, why do•• you so injure my justice and my grace, to thinke I will e∣ver charge them upon you againe; nay me-thinkes Christ speake to our soules in this, as hee did to Thomas, put your hands into my wounds, be no longer faithlesse, but faithfull; by this hand of faith in my wounds, you may feele my Fathers justice satisfied, he loved me so dearly that he would never have wounded me up∣on any consideration whatsoever, but to save you: Oh sayes God, distrust not my saving grace, & Christ he sayes, Oh distrust not my bleeding wounds, for your salvation is the end of both these, and the eternall salvation of your soules lyes in believing this; Gods grace, sayes Christ, is so full, and the redemption of my blood so compleate, that no sinne or sinnes, without unbeliefe in these can damne you: Now why will you dye O house of Israel, sayes God; here is my free grace and the blood of my Son for your lives; believe, and you have eternall life; nay I have pro∣mised my spirit to them that aske it, a••ke me and trust me, see if I deny.

For your own sakes, sayes Christ, I beseech you believe in God through me, your salvation doth not advantage my Father, for hee is in himselfe that perfection to which there can be no ad∣dition; it is for your sakes that I tooke flesh and dyed; me∣thinkes you should believe this love.

And now for your owne sakes, I beseech you cast your eternall soules upon the eternall love and free grace of God in his redemp∣tion through my blood; stronger arguments of love cannot be given: but if refused, they will be the stronger aggravations a∣gainst your unbeliefe. Nay, sayes Christ, there is mansions above prepared for them that love the Lord, and believe in him; God loves you so dearly, that he will have you for ever with himselfe: Oh let there never more be a hard thought of this love of God, and this God of love; trust him, love him, admire him, rejoyce in him, and speake good of his Name the longest day of your lives. His free grace, sayes Christ, hath plucked you our of the power of the Prince of darknesse, and made you heirs of glory:

Oh glory in this inheritance, be you filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory in believing; Nothing can hurt you but unbe∣liefe: Oh begge heartily, and watch carefully against those wounds of Satan: Nothing but unbeliefe can shake our soules in the rest and joyes of them through this shaking World, there∣fore such as love and seeke establishment must take this way to at∣taine it, for it will be found in nothing else but by beleeving in the Lord your God, and so shall you be established.

To winde up all, let this faith live in our bosomes in all Gods wayes to us, and our walkings with God in the World; it hath pleased God to make our beings in those latter dayes, in which the Scripture tels us shal be perillous times, and that because of this, men shall be lovers of themselves more then lovers of God. We see that Scripture fulfilled in our daye•• most exactly; why, what shal wee doe now for establishment in these perillous times: why believe in the Lord your God, so shall you be established. Search his word, and what ever Scripture you finde which administe•••• comfort, believe in him, he wil make that good as wel as this, let not this be our reliefe, that a little time may settle the worlds shakings, and give us a more fixed being here: but let this be our rest, to live in God himselfe, let him be our all here then, though the whole world be not only shaken, but overturned al∣so, yet we shal have rest in him on these troubled Seas, and ful∣nesse of glory when we come into that safe harbour of Heaven; to live believing on him wil make us all the wildernesse along, ••••••∣dy in our way and worke; we shal doe Gods worke in the world faithfully, and live by faith in himselfe above the World; though Devils & men rage, yet such soules as live by faith in God wil be fixed, so that they as David, will in their soules sing and give praise: If the earth tremble, yet this soule is established, because it liven upon that rocke which is higher then it selfe, yea as high as hea∣ven, even God himselfe. Oh then, wee cannot complaine of God when as we complaine of shakings, but of our selves; for if we live in God through Christ by faith, we shal finde he will establish our hearts above the feares of Devils, World, or ••e: Though thousands encamp against me (sayes David) and 〈…〉〈…〉 sands make warre with me, yet will I not be affraid, for my 〈…〉〈…〉 in thee. Thou art my shield, my buckler, my defence, 〈…〉〈…〉

all, and therefore was his soule so full of joy, rest, and holy confi∣dence, because he knew whom he had trusted, so shall all sucle as trust in God be established upon his fulnesse: such soules will by faith be able to bring the whole Nations of the earth before God, and to see them as the drop of a bucket, and the small dust of the ballance, when as they contend with God, and here∣in keeping close to God, he knowes nothing can hurt him, hee can with God goe through fire and water, and believe that God will bring him safely out of all: Base feare can finde no corner to creepe into, when as by faith the soule is imbosomed in God, and bathed in the blood of Christ: This is not only the couns••ll of King Jehoshaphat, but of our King Jesus, to believe in the Lord our God for establishment. This I will end withall: Believe in the Lord your God through Jesus Christ, so shall your hearts be esta∣blished, though in a shaking World even for this life and to eternity.

FINIS.