2. Again, as I said, faith being a mystery in regard of such a world of opposition between the heart of man and Christ, Satan helping the unbe- lieving heart, here must needs be a strife and conflict irith J'aitli. There- fore those men that never had conflict with their own unbelieving heart, tliat never had conflict with Satan's temptations, they never had faith ; for it is a mystery to have faith. It is with opposition and conflict. No grace hath the like conflict and opposition from Satan ; for Satan aims, in all sins, to shake our faith and afliance in God's love. As God aims at the strengthening of faith above all, so the devil hates it above all, and in all temptations whatsoever he aims to shake our faith at the last. Therefore there must needs be opposition to ourselves and our own doubting nature, and to Satan's temptations, and to the course of things, that sometimes are clean opposite to a man. For a sinner to believe the forgiveness of sins ; for a miserable man to believe glory in the world to come ; for a dying man to believe life eternal ; for a man tumbled into the grave to believe that he shall rise from the dead : if there be no conflict with these things, so oppo- site to faith, there is no faith.
3. Then again, in the third place, it is the spring of all obedience. The apostle calls it the obedience of faith, Eom. i. 5. All preaching is for the obedience of faith. Obedience of faith brings obedience of life and con- versation. Examine thyself, therefore, by the course of thy obedience, by that that comes from faith. See what it works in thy soul, in thy hfe and conversation. And here I might be very large ; for where faith is,
(1.) First of all, after it hath been a means to justify, to lay hold upon the all-sufficient righteousness of Christ, to stand between God and us, to clothe and cover our souls, then it pacifiet/i the conscience. ' Being justi- fied by faith, we have peace with God, through Jesus Christ our Lord,' Rom. v. 1. Faith hath a quieting power. It quiets the soul, because it propounds to the soul a sufficient satisfaction in God-man. It propounds to the soul Christ sealed by God the Father. Having done all that is necessary to salvation, it sets down the soul : for he was God, and there- fore able ; and man, and therefore willing to save. Faith sets Christ as wooing us first ; in his ministers inviting us, alluring us, commanding us, removing objections from our unworthiness. ' Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden,' Mat. xi. 28 ; and objections from our want of any goodness : ' Come and buy without money,' Isa. Iv. 1, the all-suffi- ciency of Christ. Hereupon faith comes to quiet the soul, in the sweet coui'se that Christ takes to bring the soul to him, being so able and will-
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ing, ftnd shewing his willingness by all means that may procure love, that the soul may rest without doubtiug. Sailh the soul, Surely Christ intends well to me, being so able, ' God in the ilcsh,' and setting up an ordinance, a ministry, whereby ho invites me, and allures me, and commands mo ; and then also I have examples before me, of wicked men that have been converted : hereupon the soul comes to be at rest. Faith hath a quieting power.
(2.) And thou again, there is presently an alteratinn of the course: Jor- dan goes backv.ard ; there is a turning of a man w-holly ; for faith is a turning of the soul clean another way. It turns the soul from the world to God and Christ, from the present evil world to a better world. We see as soon as Zaccheus believed, his thoughts were altered, his esteem of the things of this life was altered ; ' half my goods I give to the poor,' Luke xix. 8. We see in the Acts of the Apostles, as soon as they believed, they burned their books. Acts xix. 19. As soon as a man believes in Christ, down goes the esteem of the world, and all worldly things whatso- ever, because he sees a higher excellency in Christ. The poor jailer, when he had misused the apostles, as soon as ho believed, we see how he neglects all, and makes a feast for them presently.
(3.) As soon as faith enters into the soul, there is a mean and base esteem of all things, and a high esteem of Christ. ' All is dung, in compa- rison of Christ,' Philip, iii. 8. There is a change of the soul, and an esteem that goes before that change. We work as we esteem. As soon as we believe, we esteem Christ, and the things of a better life, above all other things ; and thereupon goes the whole soul, and the bent of it, that way, though with some conflict. We see in the epistles of St Paul, before those men believed in Christ, the Ephesians, the Colossians, the Romans, &c., what wicked people they were before, and how they were changed, as soon as they believed ; then thej' were saints.