read ly lay hold on any good word of God. So much as there is in you of unbelief, there is fo much fenfeleffuefs in you, complain as long as you will of fin, and of hardness of heart.

Nor

2. Again where there is hardness of heart, there is fome degree of unyieldingnefs and stubbornnefs of heart. As you fee evidently in thefe Difciples. He mnt come to their way of informing them whether he was rifen or not, elfe nothing would fatis fie them. He fent them Meffengers which they knew were godly, and news that he was Rifen and come again, and yet they beleeved not: would Thomas unless that he night come and his finger in his fides, and feel the wounds that were put made there, John 20. 25. Stubbornness of heart, I fay, doth in fome fort remain in the Saints,and that is the reafon why they are fo backward to beleeve: because they cannot captivate their reafon and fenfe to the way which God revealed his love by.

Some other grounds there are which I thought to mention, but cannot, and therefore I will only fpeak one word by way of Application, and fo conclude; and that is this:

CHAP. VIII

Application. Take heed of Backwardneß to Ber Teeve.

APPLICATION.

Ake I beseech you ( you that are Be

I

Theevers) of Backwardness to beleeve the great love, and the great things of Jefus Chrift, by which you should be con forted. Take heed of being hard to be comforted under any difpenfation and dealing of God with you. My text will give you the reafon, you shall hear of it (if you be his).from the mouth of Jefus Chrift. Jefus Chrift will be angry, and what will you then do, if his wrath be kindled, yea but a little? The frowns of his face are death to you, worfe than the lofs of all things befides. Can you bear his displeasure ? as the Apostle faith in 1 Cor.10.22. Do we provoke the Lord to An-ger? Are we ftronger than he? Can we pray when he is angry? Or read when he is angry? Do you not go up and down as if you were in darkness, and the Sun fet in the midst of the day, (which is the meaning of that Prophet) when you want the favour of Jefus Chrift? What keeps you out of fin? Only this, or this mainly because you would not offend whom you love: or you would not lofe the love of hin, in whom you live. There is nocbing will make you lose his love, nothing will alter his countenance, or change his voyce more than to Lee you backward to beleeve. He comes to your Souls and says, I have done thus and thus for

you,

you, but I will do more: when you would be glad to have the old ftate continued, he faith he will do greater things than thefe for you: And you begin to think, these things cannot be, this is but the thoughts of my proud heart: and the thoughts of my devifing proud Spirit: It's true, thou haft a proud Spirit, but it's becaule thou doft not beleeve. And thou haft a proud heart, but it's because thou doft not beleeve, and yield up thy judgement to what he promiseth. Chriftians fhould be as greedy of drawing in comfort, as the earth is of drawing in the rain when it's chapt and dryed. As wicked men are prefumptuous, and catch at every thing that may give them hope in their finfulness: So a godly man ought (and it's his excellency) to catchať, and to lay hold on every thing that is fpoken to them, and every promife that is urtered. Confider thus much, If there fhould be any error in you, in being too forward to beleeve, it's an error on the right hand, and it's far better than backwardness. As it's a leffer evil to err through. zeal, than through neutrality and coldness; if I may call it by that name.

There is a great deal of prefumptuous Faith which imagins its felf to be meant in every offer of Grace; which takes every dealing of God to be in love: which takes the word out of Gods mouth (as I may exprefs it) whilft he is speaking, and ap. plyes it to its felf. As ill will doth make a man think himself to be meant in every word that is fpoken by another: So love in the hight makes a man to think that al the good that God fpeaks of,is fpoken to him. When thou therefore comeft to the Word of God, and heareft that God will do this and that for Beltevers; Do thou fay he will do it for nie. All this is for me. All this is for me. This tpiritual madness, is Wisdom. I call it madness, because it

is fo unto carnal reason, and the understanding of a man. They tell a ftory of a mad man firring in a Port, and when any Ship came in, he would fay, This is my riches and wealth, and must be laid in my treafury. Do thou fay fo of every promise of God, and thou fayft no more than is true, for all that God hath, is thine, and all that God speaks unto thee. What a toyle is it for the husband every day to be perfwading his Wife that he loves her, and to be wooing her as he did at firft! How fhall God bear this at your hands, when all his dealings fhall be mif understood by you? And unlefs he fpeak in the fame manner that he did, when he first made love to you, you will take no notice of what love he fhews to you? Do not commend thy felf for warinefs, when thou keepeft off from promife: It is hardness of heart and flothfulness, and that which will cloath thee with rags, as Solomon faith in another cafe. Put off now, and it may be thou mayft come, ere long, to be as it was with the Church, that thou mayft want thy beloved, and know not where to find him: thou mayft not hear that which God fpeaks. Oh may the Soul fay that God would speak this, and that which he fpake fo long before, which I regarded not, but let pafs by?

Comfort not thy felf in this, that thy Unbelief is not from ftubbornnefs, and therefore thou shalt be born withal: For there is no unbelief, but there is fome degree of Stubbornnefs: And if thou art not ftubborn as a Rebel, yet thou art as a Child, and God will whip it out of thee. When thou haft faid unto the Lord Depart from me; No, this is no furable to my condition: I had need rather of Corrafives, than Cordials: When thou haft fpoken this, behold the heavens are darkned, and the face of Jefus Chrift that is clouded, and thou fhalt hear

chiding,

chiding and he will upbraid thee, and reprove thee, and fet all thy fins in order before thee: It's an argument indeed that a man is called of God, whenas nothing fo much troubles him, as his unbelief: And when his unbelief doth not To much trouble him, becaufe of the goodnef's it keeps him from, as of that anger and difpleafure which it provokes in Chrift, as I told you the last time upon another occafion, Tell a godly man, this is that which Jefus Chrift will not like, and he will leave it, because his life lyes in the love of Jefus Christ. I tell you that this caution, and this warinefs, and this demurring, and this forbearing, and putting off: this ftrangnefs, and this fhynefs unro Jefus Chrift doth anger him: Thou fhalt hear him not only charge thee with thofe tins, for which thou fayeft thou art fo thy of him but he will charge thee with thy fhynefs, which is the caufe of thy

Unbelief:

He upbraided them, because of their Unbelief.

Whenever thou therefore findeft and feeleft but a ftirring of a temptation to keep thee from, or to hold thee to that Faith whereunto thou haft attained, I fay to keep thee from beleeving altogether, or from beleeving more, to keep thee to that mea fure: Now thou art doing the thing which Jefus Chrift cannot bear, and therefore Anfwer thy temptation thus; I have angred the Lord already, fhall I anger him more? I have provoked him: but being provoked by fin, there is a remedy through Grace: but Grace being flighted, what way, Oh what course, or what remedy can be taken? Prefs thy Soul upon this ground to be leeve, because that the wrath of God fhall abide upon thee, because of thy Unbelief, Joh. 3.36. Abide upon thee: that is,