There are three things in faith, that directly tend to make a man depart from iniquity.
1. It apprehendeth the truth of the being and great ness of God, and so it aweth the spirit of a man.
2. It apprehendeth the love of this God in Christ, and so it conquereth and overcometh the spirit of a man.
3. It apprehendeth the sweetness and blessedness of the nature of the godhead, and thence persuadeth the soul to desire here communion with him, that it may be holy, and the enjoyment of him when this world is ended, that it may be happy in and by him for ever.
There is a man sows his field with wheat, but as he sows, some is covered with great clods: now, that grows as well as the rest, though it runs not upright as yet; it grows, and yet is kept down. So do thy desires—when one shall remove the clod, the blade will soon point upward I know thy mind; that which keeps thee that thou canst not yet arrive to this, to desire to depart and to be with Christ, is because some strong douht or clod of unbelief as to thy eternal welfare lies hard upon thy desiring spirit. Now let but Jesus Christ remove this clod, and thy desires will quickly start up to be gone.
UPON THE SWALLOW.
This pretty bird, O how she flies and sings! But could she do so if she had not wings? Her wings bespeak my faith, her songs my peace. When I believe and sing, my doubtings cease.
TRUST.
Why, this is the case, thou art bound for heaven, but the way thither is dangerous. It is beset everywhere with evil angels, who would rob thee of thy soul. What now? Why, if thou wouldst go cheerfully on in thy dangerous journey, commit thy treasure, thy soul, to God to keep. And then thou mayest say with comfort, "Well, that care is over. For whatever I meet with in my way thither, my soul is safe enough; the thieves, if they meet me, cannot come at that; I know to whom I have committed my soul, and I am persuaded that he will keep that to my joy and everlasting comfort against the great day."
When a tyrant goes to dispossess a neighboring prince of what is lawfully his own, the men that he employeth at arms to overcome and get the land, fight for half-crowns and the like, and are content with the wages; but the tyrant is for the kingdom, nothing will serve him but the kingdom. This is the case: Men, when they persecute, are for the stuff; but the devil is for the soul, nor will any thing less than that satisfy him. Let him then that is a sufferer, commit the keeping of his soul to God, lest stuff and soul and all be lost at once.