we must remove from him all imperfection, and attribute to him all excellency.

3. To give ourselves wholly up to Christ in heart and desire, to become disciples of his doctrine with choice (besides conviction), being in the presence of God but as idiots, that is, without any principles of our own to hinder the truth of God; but sucking in greedily all that God hath taught us, believing it infinitely, and loving to believe it. For this is an act of love reflected upon faith, or an act of faith leaning upon love.

4. To believe all God's promises, and that whatsoever is promised in Scripture shall on God's part be as surely performed, as if we had it in possession. This act makes us to rely upon God with the same confidence as we did on our parents, when we were children, when we made no doubt, but whatsoever we needed, we should have it, if it were in their power.

5. To believe also the conditions of the promise, or that part of the revelation which concerns our duty. Many are apt to believe the article of remission of sins, but they believe it without the condition of repentance, or the fruits of holy life: and that is to believe the article otherwise than God intended it. For the covenant of the gospel is the great object of faith, aud that supposes our duty to answer his grace; that God will be our God, so long as we are his people. The other is not faith but flattery.

6. To profess publicly the doctrine of Jesus Christ, openly owning whatsoever he hath revealed and commanded, not being ashamed of the word of God, or of any practices enjoined by it: and this, without complying with any man's interest; not regarding favour, nor being moved with good words, not fearing disgrace, or loss, or inconvenience, or death it

self.

7. To pray without doubting, without weariness, without faintness, entertaining no jealousies or suspi

cions of God, but being confident of God's hearing us, and of his returns to us, whatsoever the manner or the instance be, that if we do our duty, it will be gracious and merciful.

These acts of faith are in several degrees in the servants of Jesus; some have it but as a grain of mustard-seed, some grow up to a plant, some have the fulness of faith: but the least faith that is, must be a persuasion so strong, as to make us undertake the doing of all that duty, which Christ built upon the foundation of believing. But we shall best discern the truth of our faith by these following signs. St. Hierome reckons three.

Signs of true Faith.

1. An earnest and vehement prayer: for it is impossible we should heartily believe the things of God and the glories of the Gospel, and not most importunately desire them. For every thing is desired according to our belief of its excellency and possibility.

2. To do nothing for vain glory, but wholly for the interests of religion, and these articles we believe; valuing not at all the rumours of men, but the praise of God, to whom by faith we have given up all our intellectual faculties.

3. To be content with God for our Judge, for our Patron, for our Lord, for our Friend, desiring God to be all in all to us, as we are in our understanding and affections wholly his.

Add to these,

4. To be a stranger upon earth in our affections, and to have all our thoughts and principal desires fixed upon the matters of faith, the things of heaven. God hath made us heirs of his kingdom, and co-heirs with Jesus: if we believed this, we would think and affect and study accordingly. But he that rejoices in gain, and his heart dwells in the world, and is espoused

to a fair estate, and transported with a light momentary joy, and is afflicted with losses, and amazed with temporal persecutions, and esteems disgrace or poverty in a good cause to be intolerable, this man either hath no inheritance in heaven or believes none; and believes not that he is adopted to be the son of God, the heir of eternal glory.

5. St. James's sign is the best: "Shew me thy faith by thy works." Faith makes the merchant diligent and venturous, and that makes him rich. It is told us by Christ "He that forgives shall be forgiven:" if we believe this, it is certain we shall forgive our enemies; for none of us all but need and desire to be forgiven. No man can possibly despise or refuse to desire such excellent glories, as are revealed to them that are servants of Christ, and yet we do nothing that is commanded us as a condition to obtain them. No man could work a day's labour without faith: but because he believes he shall have his wages at the day's or week's end, he does his duty. But he only believes, who does that thing, which other men in the like cases do, when they do believe. He that believes money gotten with danger is better than poverty with safety, will venture for it in unknown lands or seas; and so will he that believes it better to get heaven with labour, than to go to hell with pleasure.

6. He that believes, does not make haste, but waits patiently till the times of refreshment come, and dares trust God for the morrow, and is no more solicitous for the next year, than he is for that which is past: and it is certain, that man wants faith, who relies more upon his own industry than upon God's providence, when his own industry fails him. If you dare trust to God, when the case to human reason seems impossible, and trust to God then also out of choice, not because you have nothing else to trust to, but because he is the only support of a just confidence, then you give a good testimony of your faith.

7. True faith is confident, and will venture all the world upon the strength of its persuasion. Will you lay your life on it, your estate, your reputation, that the doctrine of Jesus Christ is true in every article? Then you have true faith. But he that fears men more than God, believes men more than he believes in God.

8. Faith, if it be true, living and justifying, cannot be separated from a good life: it works miracles, makes a drunkard become sober, a lascivious person become chaste, a covetous man become liberal; "it overcomes the world, it works righteousness," and makes us diligently to do, and cheerfully to suffer whatsoever God hath placed in our way to heaven.

The Means and Instruments to obtain Faith, are

1. An humble, willing, and docile mind, or desire to be instructed in the way of God: for persuasion enters like a sun-beam, gently, and without violence; and open but the window, and draw the curtain, and the Sun of righteousness will enlighten your dark

ness.

2. Remove all prejudice and love to every thing which may be contradicted by faith. "How can ye believe (said Christ) that receive praise one of another?" An unchaste man cannot easily be brought to believe, that without purity he shall never see God. He that loves riches can hardly believe the doctrine of poverty and renunciation of the world: and alms and martyrdom, and the doctrine of the Cross is folly to him, that loves his ease and pleasures. He that hath within him any principle contrary to the doctrines of faith, cannot easily become a disciple.

3. Prayer, which is instrumental to every thing, hath a particular promise in this thing. "He that lacks wisdom let him ask it of God:" and, "If you give good things to your children, how much more

shall your Heavenly Father give his Spirit to them that ask him?"

4. The consideration of the Divine omnipotence and infinite wisdom, and our own ignorance, are great instruments of curing all doubting, and silencing the murmurs of infidelity.

5. Avoid all curiosity of enquiry into particulars and circumstances and mysteries: for true faith is full of ingenuity and hearty simplicity, free from suspicion, wise and confident, trusting upon generals, without watching and prying into unnecessary or undiscernible particulars. No man carries his bed into his field, to watch how his corn grows, but believes upon the general order of providence and nature; and at harvest finds himself not deceived.

6. In time of temptation be not busy to dispute, but rely upon the conclusion, and throw yourself upon God, and contend not with him but in prayer, and in the presence and with the help of a prudent untempted guide and be sure to esteem all changes of belief which offer themselves in the time of your greatest weakness (contrary to the persuasions of your best understanding) to be temptations, and reject them accordingly.

7. It is a prudent course, that in our health and best advantages we lay up particular arguments and instruments of persuasion and confidence, to be brought forth and used in the great day of expence ; and that especially in such things, in which we use to be most tempted, and in which we are least confident, and which are most necessary, and which commonly the devil uses to assault us withal in the days of our visitation.

8. The wisdom of the Church of God is very remarkable in appointing Festivals or Holy-days, whose solemnity and offices have no other special business but to record the article of the day; such as TrinitySunday, Ascension, Easter, Christmas-day: and to