If thou beleeveft not at all, thou art, and fhalt continue under Condemnation (but that is not the fubject that I am now fpeaking to.) But although thou doft beleeve, yet if thou art not nimble, and active, and ready in beleeving: his wrath lafts longer, and his difpleature holds longer, and his ftrangnefs longer, than for any other fin. What will Jefus Chrift say, Can ye live without me? Have I been 10 kind to you, that now you have no need of me? This is the iniquity from whence it comes, even thy Unbelief: and fo he will rip up all thy heart, that thou fhalt be as one that knows not which way to turn thee: Take heed of the fin of Unbelief: And although thou haft Faith, and fhalt not come under Condemnation, yet for thy want of readiness of Faith, and for want of aptnefs to beleeve, thou fhalt provoke him to fuch indignation, that thou shalt have never good day, whilft thou art in that way, and courfe.

CHAP. IX.

A Fourth Sin, of which Unbelief is the Iffie, Viz. Difordered joy. This binders Faith; 1. By the Excess of it: 2. By the Sweetneß of it. The Fourth Reafon of the Dottrine, Viz. Because the Effects of Unbelief are fo 1 bad.

10 Li

FO Ourthly, and Laftly, the ground of this Unbelief 18 Joy. In Luke 24 41. They yet Beleeared not for Joy Beleeve they did, because they joyed: for joy arifeth from being made partakers of fome known good. But they beleeved not fully, buc doubtingly. It was probable to them, that Chrift might be rifen, and in that they rejoyced, because that they defired: But this Joy did hinder their Faith.

They Beleeved not for Joy.

All Affections do hinder Judgement. Anger that puts a vail before the eyes of a man, that he cannot fee things as they are. The Difciples being grieved because of Chrifts going away from them, did not mind what he fpake to them concerning his coming again. And as Anger and Grief, fo alfo Joy doch hinder the judgment, Pfal. 126. 1. When the Lord turned again our Captivity, fay they, we were as them that dreamed: that is, they thought it was but a meer fantafie, and imagination, and no true change or alteration of their Condition. Now joy hinders Faith, when

Firft, It is an Exceß. Unspeakable Joy and Faith, cannot well ftand together. They may be in the fame fubject, but not in the fame act. In Heaven you know there is a great deal of Joy; In thy prefence is fulneß of joy, Pfal. 16. 11. and there we live by fight. It's the defire of many Chriftians that they may have ravishment and joy, and it's defirable in many refpects, for it's a heaven upon earth, and they are great ftrength unto the Soul: they deaden a man unro temptations, and unto the world. But as Joy and Ravishment are in that reipect defirable, fo in this refpect they are not fo defirable, but that Saints may well be contented without them, because they hinder beleeving, which is the great Work men are in the world for: Joy is a priviledge, but the life of Faith is our duty. As God will not ipare his people from chaftifement, and corrections here, because it's the only time he hath to correct them, whereas he hath eternity to punith his enemies. So God will not abate his People of the life of Faith, because it's that whereby he only hath glory while we are in this world. And as Joy doth hinder us in the Exceß of it, and in its high degrees,

Secondly, So it alfo hinders the life of Faith by the Sweetues of it. The Soul is fo taken with the fweetness of the goodness of the thing it felf, that it cannot look off from it. It is fo drunk with the fweetness of the thing it felf, that it cannot look af ter any act which becomes this life of Faith. As in John 6. the People were fon uch adicted unto the Loaves which Chrift gave unto thofe that followed his Preaching, that they minded not the Word that was fpoken to chen: So it falls out that the goodnefs even of fpiritual things, doth hinder the Saints

L 2

from

६

from obferving the light whereby they are revealed and the grounds and reafons that are given for them that they may beleeve them perfectly. You fhall find that the fweetnefs of the things by joy, doth make the Soul fearful leaft it fhould be miferable afterwards. It carries a check with it left it fhould fail, and leave a man in greater uncomfortablnefs, and fadn is, then he was in before. Many that are taken up with the thoughts of their Riches and Plenty,are thereby made cover ous and fparing, left that they should come to want afterwards. And this was the cafe of the Difciples, That their thoughts returned, and faid, What if this fhould not be as we think? Suppofe he should not be rifen: or he, whom you fee, fhould not be the Lord, Luke 24.15. And because of this, they did begin to reafon the matter with themselves, and they beleeved not. And that fhall iuffice for one of the Reasons. Therefore the Lord is fo angry with the Unbelief of Beleevers, because it proceedeth from an evil frame of heart. It's not evil for a man to joy in God, but it's evil for a man to be hindered by any thing, by his joy, from beleeving in Jefus Chrift.

I fhall add a Fourth REASON; and that is this:

REASON, IV.

The Effects of this Unbelief are a juft ground, why Christ should be thus offended with it. God in judging of fins, looks as well to what evil they breed, and bring forth, as what is in the prefent act. He looks,

First, To what a corruption inclines unto,as well as what degrees are put forth at prefent. Sin is eternally

eternally punished in Hell, because it makes a man eternally willing to fin. And this feems to be the reafon why Jefus Chrift reproved the Disciples here for Unbelief: for it did hinder them from he ing fuch Meffengers and Preachers of his glory as they should be. How fhould they teach others who beleeved not? How unfit were they to endure what they should meet withal, till they were comforted in what he had done for them, in breaking afunder the bonds of Death? The truth is, There is no fin that makes such a spoyl in the heart of a regenerate man: nothing caufeth fuch a loofnefs, and diffolutnefs of heart, as this Unbelief doth. It befools a man, and befots the understanding. Ob Fools, faith Chrift in Luke 24. 25. Because Unbelief puts a man to the knowledge of Heavenly things by Reafon, by which they cannot be difcerned. Unbelief doth fpoyl the memory, and there. fore (in Heb. 2. 1.) the Apostle tells them of their Unbelief under this Metaphor, of letting things flip from them. His meaning is, Take heed left there be in any of you an heart of Unbelief: But he expreffeth himself thus, Take heed left the things thus delivered to you, flip from you. It makes the affections dull and heavy. Slow of heart to beleeve, Luke 24.25. as our Lord expreffeth it here. And if you look into Pfal.63. David thought in his unbelief, That it was not better to Worship God, but to fatisfie himself in all his lufts and fins. And fo much shall fuffice for the Explication of the Point.

CHAP.