And therefore you say you have no faith. Your desires shew you have. You can reflect, and know you desire, mourn, hunger, and thirst, and would have grace. Now are the promises made to this desire ? ' Blessed are they that hunger and thirst, blessed are they that mourn, blessed are the poor in spirit,' Mat. v. G, seq.
Then again, ther-e is a combat in them. They that have the main act of faith, they have strife between flesh and Spirit, between unbelief and faith. None will say but he striveth against unbelief, and endeavours against it. That very strife is an argument that there is a spirit of faith, an act of faith ; and they may know that act of faith, if they will consider seriously. The very strife is a greater argument of comfort that they have faith, than the confidence of many camal men that they have faith. For their confidence is a false argument ; and then the others doubting, and striving against doubts and remainders of infidelity, is an argument of their having faith.
Again, they that have the least degree of faith, they look up to God, they never forsake God, they will die at his feet, and they will cast themselves down before his footstool, before his mercy ; let him deal with me as he will, they resolve of that. And where this is, it argueth a spiritual act of faith. So that in some cases a man may have an act of faith, and yet not know it. And in some cases there may be a confidence of the presence of faith, when yet they have it not.
How shall I know false confidence ? It is a largo point, and I will name but two or three things.
(1.) False confidence is groundless, voluntarily taken up of themselves without the Scriptures, because they wish well to themselves ; and out of self-love they think they have anything they want. If they go to the grounds of Scripture, they would rather despair, because there be many blasphemous, loose lives secure of goodness. Faith aflirms he is not worthy to live that believeth not. If they did believe, they would believe their own damnation. They should believe there is nothing between them
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nnd hell, but a little uncertain life : for they live in the curse of God, and live in sin, damned by Scripture. And therefore their faith is not only a barren faith, but a presumptuous faith, and groundless.
(2.) And again, you may know false confidence, because as it is ground- less, so it is careless in the use of r/ood means. A confident spirit, out of self-love, uill persuade itself all is -well, and yet be bold in the use of means. And so it is fearless till trouble comes ; and when trouble comes, then ihcj sink. He is confident, before trouble of conscience or outward troubles seize upon him ; but when any trouble comes, then they see all "was but a spirit of presumption and carnal confidence ; then they see there was never sound peace between God and them, never sound union between Christ and them. For it is the nature of false confidence to be confident before, and to sink into despair in times of trouble.
(3.) And again, false confidence, as it is groundless in the use of means, and spiritless in danger, .so it is fruitless. It brings not forth fruit of faith, it is barren. And therefore let people that be careless of the cxei'cise of love and other graces in their conversation boast of faith what they will, it is but a confidence ; they think they believe when they do not believe.
(4.) In the next place, faith is an exercising r/race icheresoever it is. ' I believe, therefore I speak,' It is a working grace wheresoever it is. He shews his faith by obedience and practice, so that the truth of faith is an active and working grace. And therein it difi'ers from the confidence spoken of before. It works in heaven, it works with God, it layeth hold upon him, wrestles with him for a blessing, and overcometh him ; it works on earth, and overcomes all on the right hand and left, all temptations of prosperity, presenting better things than the world can ; it overcometh all temptations on the left hand, all fears and threatenings, and presents to the soul worse dangers than anything here. What can be threatened comparable to hell ? and what can be promised comparable to a good conscience and heaven hereafter ? It works stronger than hell and temp- tations. And it must needs be so, because it is a grace of union that knits us to Christ. It is the fountain of life. We cannot touch Christ without life, virtue comes from him upon every touch ; his grace, his union, and being. So it draweth virtue from Christ. The spirit of faith is a spirit of power, a spirit of vigour. Faith infuseth vigour into the whole soul, silencing all objections that the heart can make ; answers all temptations that the devil can make ; triumphs over all that can be presented to it, and draweth it from God. It is powerful with God himself. I will not enter into commonplaces of faith, but only as it comes in my way shew that where belief is it will work, and the particular work of it is to ' speak.'