his hot blood, that knows no such thing as fear: And look, how much of the foul is empty of faith, so much it is filled with fear: "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" Matth. viii. 26. Certainly, it is a rare advantage, to be freed from the common distraction, in times of common deftruction; and this advantage the foul hath by faith.

2. It ftrengthens the foul to bear afflictions and hardships; not only by purging out its weakning diftempers, but by turning itself to Christ, in whom all its strength lies; and that fuitably to the feveral exigencies of the foul, in all its diftreffes. Doth darkness, like the fhadew of death, overspread the earth, and all the lights of earthly comforts disappear? then faith supports the heart, by looking to the Lord, Micah vii. 7. And this look of faith exceedingly revives the heart, Pfalm xxxiv. 5. and enlightens the foul. Doth God pluck away all earthly props from under your feet, and leave you nothing visible to reft upon? in that exigence faith puts forth a fuitable act, viz. Refting or staying upon God, Ifa. xxvi. 3. and by this the foul comes to be quieted and established, Pfalm cxxv. 1.

Do temptations ftrive to put off the foul from Chrift, and difcourage it from leaning upon the promise? Then it puts forth an act of [ resolution, Job xiii. 15. And fo breaks its way through that difcouragement; or hath the foul been long feeking God for deliverance out of trouble, and ftill there is filence in heaven, no answer comes; but instead of an answer comes a temptation, to throw up the duty, and feek to deliver itself? Then faith puts forth another act upon Chrift, fuitable to this distress, viz. An act of waiting, Ifa. xlix. 23. which waiting is opposed to that finful hafte which the foul is tempted to, Ifa. xxviii. 16. Or doth God at any time call the foul forth to fome difficult fervice, againft. which the flesh and carnal reafon dispute and plead? Now faith helps the foul, by putting forth an act of obedience; and that whilst carnal reafon ftands by diflatisfied, Gal. i. 16. And hence it is, that obedience carries the name of faith upon it, tó fhew its defcent, Kom. xvi. 26. Faith encourages the foul to obey, not only by urging God's command, but by giving it God's warrant for its indemnity, Heb. xi. 24, 25, 26. doth a poor believer find himself overmatched by troubles and temptations, and his own inherent ftrength begin to fail under the burden? Then faith leads him to an omnipotent God, and so secures him from fainting under his trouble, Pfalm lxi. 2. In the Lord is everlafting ftrength. El Shaddai, is a name of encouragement to a feeble foul, Ifa. xl. 29, 30, 31. And thus

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you fee the first particular made good, viz. What a ftrengill ning influence it hath upon a weak foul.

Secondly, In the next place, let us fee how it lightens the Chriftian's burdens, as well as Atrengthens his back to bear.

And certainly, this grace of faith doth strangely alter the very nature of fufferings, taking away both the heaviness and borror of them; and this it doth divers ways:

1. By committing the bufinefs to Chrift, and leaving the matter with him; and fo quitting the foul of all these anxieties and perturbations, which are the very burden and weight of af fiction, Pfalm xxxvii. 5. For certainly, that which finks us in days of trouble, is rather from within, from our unruly, fe ditious, and clamorous thoughts, than from the troubles themfelves with which we conflict: But by committing the matter to God, the foul is quickly brought to reft.

2. By difcovering much prefent good in our troubles; the more good faith difcovers in a trouble, the more fupportable and easy it makes it to the foul. Now faith brings in a com fortable report, that they are not only evils, as the troubles of the wicked are, Ezek. vii. 5. but have an allay and mixture of much good, Heb. xii. 10. Ifa. xxvii. 9.

3. By forefeeing the end and final removal of them, and that near at hand, 2 Cor. iv. 17. That which daunts and amazes men in times of trouble, is, that they can see no end of them. Hence the heart faints, and hands hang down through difcouragement: But now faith brings the joyful tid ings of the end of troubles; and faith to the foul, "Why art "thou caft down, O my foul? and why fo difquieted and dif "couraged within me ? as if thy fufferings were like the fuf"ferings of the damned, endless and everlasting, whereas they

are but for a moment; yet a little while, a very little while, " and he that fhall come, will come, and will not tarry," Heb. x. 37. Yet a little while, and then the days of thy mourning fhall be over.

4. By comparing our fufferings with the fufferings of others, which exceedingly diminisheth and fhrinks them up; fome times the believer compares his fufferings with Chrift's, and then he is afhamed that ever he should complain and droop under them. Oh ! faith he, what is that, to that which the Lord Jefus fuffered for me? He fuffered in all his members, head, hands, fide, feet, from all hands, friends and enemies, in all his offices; yea, in his foul, as well as in his body: And indeed the fufferings of his foul, were the very foul of his fufferings: Sometimes he compares them with the fuf

ferings of others of the faints in former ages: When he reads in faith the history of their perfecutions, he is shamed out of his complaints, and faith, Am I better than my fa ⚫thers?' Sometimes he compares them with the fufferings of the damned: Oh what is this to everlafting burnings! What is a prison to hell? How light and eafy is it to fuffer for Chrift, in comparison of those sufferings which are from • Chrift?' And thus the foul is quieted, and the terror of sufferings abated.

5. Faith entitles Chrift to the believer's fufferings, and puts them upon his fcore; and fo it exceedingly transforms and alters them: Ah! it is no fmall relief, when a man can hold up the Bible, as that martyr did at the stake, and fay, 'This is that which hath brought me hither? Or as the Pfalmift; "For thy fake we are killed all the day long :" Or as the apo ftle, Col. i. 24. "I fill up that which is behind of the fuffer "ings of Chrift in my flesh."

6. Laftly, Faith engages the prefence of God, to be and abide with the foul in all its folitudes and fufferings: It lays hold upon the promises made to that purpose, Pfalm xxiii. 2. Ifa. xliii. 2. Heb. xiii. 5. John xiv. 18. And whilft a poor foul enjoys this, the very fenfe of troubles is swallowed up.

And thus I have given fome brief hints, how faith relieves and strengthens the soul in a suffering hour: The next thing is to direct you how to improve this excellent grace, that it may do you fuch fervice as this in a time of need: And, in order thereunto, I fhall give you thefe feven directions.

1. Attend diligently upon the miniftration of the gospel, which is not only the procreant, but also the conferving caufe of faith, 1 Pet. ii. 2. The doctrine of faith, is the food and nutriment of the grace of faith: There are its rules, its encouragements, its cordials: Thence faith takes and treasures up its michtams, to which it hath recourfe in times of need: Every attribute, command, or promife, that fhines forth there, is a difh for faith to feed on; but all together are a royal feaft, Pfalm lxiii. 5. Some fay the land of Judea is called "the land of the living," in Pfalm xxvii. 13. in refpect of the ordinances of God, which that people enjoyed. Certain it is, they are the great inftruments of quickning fouls at first, and preserving that life it fo begat in them: But then be fure they have Chrift's stamp upon them, and that they be miniftred by his own officers, and in his own way: And fo you may reasonably expect more fruits and influences from them, VOL. VII.

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than from all private gifts and helps in the world: "For the "Lord loveth the gates of Zion, more than all the dwellings "of Jacob," Pfalm lxxxvii. 2. And all private helps may fay, in comparison of Chrift's public ordinances, as Gideon faid to the men of Ephraim, Judges viii. 2. "What have we "done in comparison of you?"

2. Improve well your facrament feasons, thofe harveft-days of faith: This ordinance hath a direct and peculiar tendency to the improvement and ftrengthening of faith. It is a pledge fuperadded to the promise for faith's fake: Heavenly and fu blime myfteries do therein floop down to your fenfes, that you may have the clearer apprehenfions of them; and the clearer the apprehenfions are, the ftronger the affent of faith muft needs be: By this feal alfo the promise comes to be more ratified to us; and the firmer the promise appears to the foul, the more bold and adventurous faith is in cafting itself upon it: Oh! how many poor doubting trembling fouls have in fuch a seafon gathered the full ripe fruits of affurance, from the top-boughs of that ordinance!

3. Frequent actings of faith, are rare and fpecial means of improving it: "To him that hath," (i. e.) that improves and ufes what he hath, "fhall be given," Matth xxv. 29. This was the way by which Paul thrived in faith, and every other grace fo exceedingly, that he outgrew them that were in Chrift before him, 1 Cor. xv. 10. It is true, its beginning in the foul, is not after the manner of other habits, either moral, or natural: This is not of natural acquifition, but by divine infufion: But yet its improvement is in the fame manner. Oh then! if ever you would have a flourishing faith, rouze it up out of the dull habit, and live in the daily exercise of it.

4. Go to Jefus Chrift, who is the Author and finisher of faith, and cry to him, as Mark ix. 24. "Lord, increase my "faith" Yea, beg the affiftance of others prayers in this be half, as the apoftle did, 1 Theff. iii. 10. 2 Theff. i. 11. faith animates prayer, and prayer increaseth faith.

5. Improve times of affliction for the increase of faith: For certainly, fanctified afflictions do notably exercise and increase this grace,. 1 Pet. i. 7. In times of profperity, we know not what ftock of faith we have: We live fo much upon things feen, that we cannot many times tell whether we have faith or no: But when difficult days eome, then we must whole fubfiftence and livelihood by faith, Hab. ii. 4. Yea, then we have many proofs and experiments of God's fidelity in the promifes, which is a choice help to faith, 2 Cor. i. 1o.

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6. Keep catalogues of all your remarkable experiences; treafure them up as food for your faith in time to come: Oh! it is a fingular encouragement and heartening to faith, when it can turn over the records of God's dealing with you in years past, and say as Joshua, "Not one thing hath failed," Joshua xxiii. 14. When it can fay fo of promifes, that have already had their accomplishments, then they will be apt to fay concerning thofe yet to be accomplished, as Elizabeth faid to Mary, Luke i. 45. "Bleffed is the foul that believeth, for there shall be "a performance of those things which are told it by the Lord." Thefe experiments are the food of faith: Pfalm lxxiv. 14. "Thou breakeft the heads of Leviathan in pieces, and gaveft "him to be meat to thy people inhabiting the wilderness," (i. e.) That famous experience of the power and love of God in their red-fea deliverance, where he deftroyed that fea-monfter Pharaoh, and his hoft, was meat to the faith of God's Ifrael in the wilderness afterwards. We often find Christ charging the peoples unbelief on a bad memory, Matth. xvi. 8, 9. And, hence it was, that the Lord commanded the Ifraelites to keep journals of every day's occurrences, Numb. xiii. 1, 2. It is a thousand pities fuch choice helps fhould be loft. Oh! if you could but remember, how the Lord hath appeared for you in former exigencies, and how often he hath fhamed you for your unbelief, it would exceedingly animate your faith, both in present, and future diftreffes, Micah vi. 5.

7. Laftly, Beware of sense, which is the supplanter of faith. O if you live upon things earthly, you put your faith out of its office: Things earthly have an enmity to faith. "This is the ་ victory by which we overcome the world, even our faith," 1 John v. 4. Overcoming denotes a conflict, and conflicts infer oppofitions. Oh you that live fo much by fight and fenfe on things vifible, what will you do when in David's, or Paul's cafe, Pfal. cxlii. 4. 2 Tim. iv. 16. when all outward encouragements and ftays fhall utterly fail? What had Abraham done, if he had not been able to believe against hope, i. e. fuch an hope as is founded in sense and reason.

Reader, I advise and charge thee in the name of the Lord, and as thou hopeft to live when vifible comforts die, that thou be diligent in the improvement and preparation of this excellent grace of faith: if it fail, thou faileft with it; and as thy faith is, fo art thou. Confult all the cloud of witneffes, and fee if thou canst find a man amongst them, that did not atchieve the victory by his faith. Had they not all been run down by the