liis penury of grace and duty. And this it doth two ways. First, By laying claim to the fulness of that grace which is in Christ as its own. Why art thou dejected, O my soul, saith the Christian's faith, for thy weak grace? There is enough in Chi'ist, all fulness dwells in him ; it pleased the Father it should be so, and that to pleasure thee in thy wants and weaknesses. It is a minis- terial fidness ; as the clouds carry rain, not for themselves, but the earth, so doth Christ his fulness of grace for thee. ' He is made of God to us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption,' I Cor. i. 30. When the rags of the Christian's own rigliteousness discourage and shaine him, faith hath a robe to put on, that covers all this uncomeliness ; Christ is mj' righteousness, saith faith, and 'in him we are complete,' Col. ii. 10. Faiih hath two hands, a Avorking hand, and a receiving hand ; and the receiving hand relieves the working hand, or else there woidd be a poor house kept in the Christian's bosom. We find Paul himself but in a starving condition, for all the comfort his own graces could with their earnings afford him ; he is a wretched man in his own account, if these be all he hath to live upon, Rom. vii. 24; yet, even then, when he sees nothing in his own cupboard, his faith puts forth its receiv- ing hand to Christ, and he is presently set at a rich feast, for which you find him giving thanks, ver. 25 : ' I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.' Secondly, Faith succours the Christian in the weakness and inactivity of his graces, by applying the promises for the saint's perseverance in grace. It brings great comfort to a sick man, tho'igh very weak at presf>nt, to hear his physician tell him, that though he is low aiul feeble, yet there is no fear he will die. The present weakness of grace is sad, but the fear of falling quite away far sadder. Now faith, and only faith, can be the messenger to bring this good news to the soul, that it shall persevere. Sense and reason are quite posed and dunced here. It seems impossible to them, that such a bruised reed should bear up against all the coiniter-blasts of hell, because they consider only what grace itself can do, and finding it so over-matched by the power and policy of Satan, think it but rational to give the victory to the stronger side. But faith, when it sees symptoms of death in the saint's grace, finds life in the promise, and comforts the soul with this, that the faithfid God will not suff'er his grace to see corruption ; he hath undertook the physicking of his saints, John xv. 2 : ' Eveiy branch in me that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.' When Hazael came to inquire of Elisha for his sick master whether he should live or die, the prophet sent him with this answer back unto the king his master, ' Thou mayest certainly recover ; how- beit the Lord hath shewed me that he shall surely die,' 2 Kings viii. 10. That is, he might certainly recover from his disease, but he should certainly die by the traitorous bloody hand of Hazael, his servant. Give me leave only to allude to this : when the Christian consults with his faith, and inquires of it, whether his weak grace will fail or hold out, die or live ; faith's answer is, ' Thy weak grace may certainly die and fall away, but the Lord hath shewed me it shall live and persevere ;" that is, in regard of its own weakness, and the nuita- bility of man's natin-c, the Christian's grace might certainly die and come to nothing ; but God hath shewn failh in the promise, that it shall certainly live, and recover out of its lowest weakness. What David said in regard of his house, that every Christian may say in regard of his grace. Though his grace be not so with God, so strong, so unchangeable in itself; 'j'et he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure ; for this is all my salva- tion and my desire,' 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. This salt of the covenant is it tliat shall keep, saith faith, thy weak grace from corruption. ' Why art thou cast down,' saith the psalmist, ' O my soul ! hope thou in (iiod, for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance and my God,' Psa. xlii. 11. The health of David's coiuitenance was not in his countenance, but in his God, and this makes his faith silence his fears, and so peremptorily resolve upon it, that there is a time coming (how near soever he now lies to the grave's mouth) when he shall yet praise him. The health and life of thy grace lie both of them, not in thj- grace, saith faith, but in God, who is thy God, therefore I shall j'ct live and praise him. I do iu)t wonder that the weak Christian is melancholy and sad, when he sees hii sickly face in any other glass than this.
Secondly, The Christian's grace may fail in tlie evidence of it. It may
438 ABOVE ALL, TAKING THE SHIELD OF FAITH.