ftrength. This is the grace that must do the main fervice in fuch an hour, and hath the principal hand in fupporting the Christian under every burden. This is the grace that crowns our heads with victory in the day of battle, Eph. vi. 16. "Above all taking the fhield of "faith." It is true every grace is of ufe, and contributes affiftance: Suffering faints have been beholding to them all. But of this we may fay, as Solomon of the virtuous woman; "Though many graces have "done excellently, yet this excels them all." In this grace Paul was very eminent; it was the life he daily lived, Gal. ii. 20. Oh! it is a precious grace, 2 Pet. i. 1. So precicus, that Christ, who feldom admired any thing, yet wondered at this, Matth. viii. 10. A victorious grace it is that overcomes all difficulties, Mark ix. 23. By this fword it was that all thofe famous heroes Heb. xi. archieved all thofe glorious conquefts; and in every distress it may fay to the foul, as Chrift to the difciples, John xv. 5. "Without me ye can do no"thing." This is that fword that hath obtained fo many victories over the world, 1 John v. 4. And that trusty shield that hath quenched fo many deadly darts of temptation, which have been levelled at the very heart of a Chriftian in the day of battle. By it a Christian lives, when all outward, fenfible comforts die, Hab. ii. 4. It is the ground upon which the Christian fixes his foot, and never fails under him, 2 Cor. i. 24. The neceffity of it will more clearly appear, by confidering how many ways it relieves the foul in trouble, and difburdens the heart of all its finking loads and preffures: There are two things that fink a man's fpirit when under fufferings; viz. The greatness of the troubles, and the weakness of the foul to bear them; against both which faith relieves the foul, viz. by making a wea? foul frong, and heavy troubles light.

First, It makes a weak foul ftrong and able to bear; and this it doth divers ways.

By purging out of the foul thofe enfeebling and weakening diftempers; not only guilt in general, which is to the foul as a wound upon the bearing fhoulder, Rom. v. 1. The removal whereof enables the foul to bear any other burden, Ifa. xxxiii. 24. But it also removes fear, that tyrant paffion, that cuts the nerves of the foul. For as faith comes in, fo fear goes out: Look in what degree the fear of God is afcendant in the foul, proportionably the finful fear of the creature declines and vanisheth, Ifa. viii. 12, 13. This fear extinguishes that, as the fun-fhine puts out fire, "The righteous is bold as "a lion," Prov. xxviii. 1. The word 'aa fignifies a young lion in his hot blood, that knows no fuch thing as fear; And look, how much of the foul is empty of faith, fo much it is filled with fear: "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" Matth. viii. 26. Certainly, it is a rare advantage, to be freed from the common distraction, in times of common deftruction; and this advantage the foul hath by faith.

2. It strengthens the foul to bear afflictions and hardships; not

only by purging out its weakning diftempers, but by turning itfelf to Chrift, in whom all its ftrength lies; and that fuitably to the several exigencies of the foul in all its diftreffes. Doth darkness, like the fhadow of death, overfpread the earth, and all the lights of earthly comforts disappear? then faith fupports the heart by looking to the Lord, Micah vii. 7. And this look of faith exceedingly revives the heart, Pfalm xxxiv. 5. and enlightens the foul. Doth God pluck away all earthly props from under your feet, and leave you nothing visible to reft upon? in that exigence faith puts forth a suitable act, viz. Refling or staying upon God, Ifa. xxvi. 3. and by this the foul comes to be quieted and eftablished, Pfal. cxxv. 1. Do temptations ftrive to put off the foul from Chrift, and difcourage it from leaning upon the promife? Then it puts forth an act of refolution, Job xiii. 15. And fo breaks its way through that difcouragement; or hath the foul been long feeking God for deliverance out of trouble, and still there is filence in heaven, no anfwer comes; but inftead of an answer comes a temptation, to throw up the duty, and seek to deliver itfelf? Then faith puts forth another act upon Christ, suitable to this distress, viz. An act of waiting, Ifa. xlix. 23. which waiting is oppofed to that finful hafte which the foul is tempted to, Ifa. xxviii. 16. Or doth God at any time call the foul forth to fome difficult service, against which the flesh and carnal reafon dispute and plead? Now faith helps the foul, by putting forth an act of obedience; and that whilst carnal reafon ftands by diffatisfied, Gal. i. 16. And hence it is, that obedience carries the name of faith upon it to fhew its defcent, Rom xvi. 26. Faith encourages the foul to obey, not only by urging God's command, but by giving it God's warrant for its indemnity, Heb. xi. 24, 25, 26. Or doth a poor believer find himself overmatched by troubles and temptations, and his own inherent ftrength begin to fail under the burden? Then faith leads him to an omnipotent God, and fo fecures him from fainting under his trouble, Pfal. Ixi. 2. the Lord is everlafting ftrength. El Shaddai is a name of encouragement to a feeble soul, Ifa. xl. 29, 30, 31. And thus you see the first particular made good, viz. What a ftrengthening influence it hath upon a weak foul.

In

Secondly, In the next place let us fee how it lightens the Chriftian's burdens, as well as ftrengthens his back to bear.

And certainly, this grace of faith doth strangely alter the very nature of fufferings, taking away both the heaviness and horror of them; and this it doth divers ways:

1. By committing the bufinefs to Chrift, and leaving the matter with him; and fo quitting the foul of all these anxieties and perturbations, which are the very burden and weight of affliction, Pfal. xxxvii. 5. For certainly that which finks us in days of trouble, is rather from within, from our unruly, feditious, and clamorous thoughts, than from the troubles themselves with which we conflict: But by committing the matter to God, the foul is quickly brought to rest.

2. By discovering much present good in our troubles; the more good faith difcovers in a trouble, the more fupportable and eafy it makes it to the foul. Now faith brings in a comfortable report, that they are not only evils, as the troubles of the wicked are, Ezek. vii. 5. but have an allay and mixture of much good, Heb. xii. 10. Ifa. xxvii. 9.

3. By foreseeing the end and final removal of them, and that near at hand, 2 Cor. iv. 17. That which daunts and amazes men in times of trouble is, that they can fee no end of them. Hence the heart faints, and hands hang down through difcouragement: But now faith brings the joyful tidings of the end of troubles; and faith to the foul, "Why art thou caft down, O my foul? and why fo difquieted and "difcouraged within me as if thy fufferings were like the fuffer❝ings of the damned, endless and everlafting, whereas they are but ❝ for a moment; yet a little while, a very little while, and he that "fhall come, will come, and will not tarry," Heb. x. 37. Yet a little while, and then the days of thy mourning fhall be over.

4. By comparing our fufferings with the fufferings of others, which exceedingly diminisheth and thrinks them up; fometimes the believer compares his fufferings with Chrift's, and then he is afhamed that ever he thould complain and droop under them. Oh! faith he, what is that to that which the Lord Jefus fuffered for me? He fuffered in all his members, head, hands, fide, feet, from all bands, friends and enemies, in all his offices; yea, in his foul, as well as in his body: And indeed the fufferings of his foul were the very foul of his fufferings: Sometimes he compares them with the fufferings of others of the faints in former ages: When he reads in faith the hiftory of their perfecutions, he is fhamed out of his complaints, and faith, Am I better than my fathers? Sometimes he compares them with the fufferings of the damned: O what is this to everlafling ⚫ burnings! What is a prifon to hell? How light and eafy is it to fuffer for Chrift, in comparison of those fufferings which are from Christ? And thus the foul is quieted, and the terror of fufferings abated.

5. Faith entitles Chrift to the believer's fufferings, and puts them upon his fcore; and fo it exceedingly transforms and alters them: Ah! it is no fmall relief when a man can hold up the Bible, as that martyr did at the ftake, and say, This is that which hath brought

me hither:' Or as the Pfalmift; "For thy fake we are killed all "the day long" Or as the apofile, Col. i. 24. "I fill up that which ❝is behind of the fufferings of Chrift in my flesh."

6. Laftly, Faith engages the prefence of God, to be and abide with the foul in all its folitudes and fufferings: It lays hold upon the promifes made to that purpose, Pfalm xxiii. 2. Ifa. xliii. 2. Heb. xiii. 5. John xiv. 18. And whilft a poor foul enjoys this the very fenfe of troubles is fwallowed up.

And thus I have given fome brief hints how faith relieves and

ftrengthens the foul in a fuffering hour: The next thing is to direct you how to improve this excellent grace, that it may do you fuch fervice as this in a time of need: And, in order thereunto, I fhall give you thefe feven directions.

1. Attend diligently upon the miniftration of the gofpel, which is not only the procreant, but alfo the conferving caufe of faith, 1 Pet. 11. 2. The doctrine of faith is the food and nutriment of the grace of faith: There are its rules, its encouragements, its cordials; Thence faith takes and treasures up its michtams, to which it hath recourse in times of need: Every attribute, command, or promife that thines forth there, is a difh for faith to feed on; but all together are a royal feast, Pfalm lxiii. 5. Some fay the land of Judea is called "the land of "the living," in Pfalm xxvii. 13. in refpect of the ordinances of God which that people enjoyed. Certain it is, they are the great inftruments of quickening fouls at firft, and preferving that life it fo begat in them: But then be fure they have Chrift's ftamp upon them, and that they be miniftered by his own officers, and in his own way: And fo you may reasonably expect more fruits and influences from them than from all private gifts and helps in the world: "For the "Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Ja"cob," Palm lxxxvii. 2. And all private helps may fay, in compa rifon of Christ's public ordinances, as Gideon faid to the men of Ephraim, Judges viii, 2. What have we done in comparison of you?" 2. Improve well your facrament seasons, those harvest days of faith: This ordinance hath a direct and peculiar tendency to the improvement and ftrengthening of faith. It is a pledge fuperadded to the promife for faith's fake: Heavenly and fublime myfteries do therein ftoop down to your fenfes, that you may have the clearer apprehen- | fions of them; and the clearer the apprehenfions are, the ftronger the affent of faith muft needs be: By this feal alfo the proinife comes to be more ratified to us; and the firmer the promise appears to the foul, the more bold and adventrous faith is in cafting itlelf upon it: Oh! how many poor, doubting, trembling fouls have, in fuch a fea- 1 fon, gathered the full ripe fruits of affurance from the top-boughs of that ordinance !

3. Frequent actings of faith are rare and special means of improving it: "To him that hath," i. e. that improves and uses what he hath, fhall be given," Matth. xxv. 29. This was the way by which Paul thrived in faith and every other grace fo exceedingly, that he outgrew them that were in Chrift before him, 1 Cor. xv. 10, It is true, its beginning in the foul is not after the manner of other habits, either moral or natural: This is not of natural acquifition, but by divine infufion: But yet its improvement is in the fame manner, Oh then! if ever you would have a flourithing faith, rouze it up out of the dull habit, and live in the daily exercile of it.

4. Go to Jefus Chrift, who is the Author and finisher of faith, and cry to him, as Mark ix. 24. "Lord, increafe my faith" Yea, beg

the affiftance of others prayers in this behalf, as the apoftle did, 1 Theff. iii. 10. 2 Theff. i. 11. faith animates prayer, and prayer in

creaseth faith.

5. Improve times of affliction for the increafe of faith: For certainly, fanctified afflictions do notably exercife and increase this grace, 1 Pet. i. 7. In times of prosperity we know not what stock of faith we have: We live fo much upon things feen, that we cannot many times tell whether we have faith or no: But when difficult days come, then we must get out our whole fubfiftence and livelihood by faith, Hab. ii. 4. Yea, then we have many proofs and experiments of God's fidelity in the promifes, which is a choice help to faith, 2 Cor. i. 10.

6. Keep catalogues of all your remarkable experiences; treasure them up as food for your faith in time to come: Oh! it is a fingular encouragement and heartening to faith, when it can turn over the records of God's dealing with you in years paft, and fay as Jofhua, "Not one thing hath failed," Joshua xxiii. 14. When it can fay fo of promifes that have already had their accomplishments, then they will be apt to fay concerning thofe yet to be accomplished, as Elizabeth faid to Mary, Luke i. 45. "Bleffed is the foul that be"lieveth, for there fhall be a performance of those things which are "told it by the Lord."

Thefe experiments are the food of faith: Pfalm lxxiv. 14. "Thou "breakeft the heads of Leviathan in pieces, and gaveft him to be "meat to thy people inhabiting the wilderness," i. e. That famous experience of the power and love of God in their Red-fea deliverance, where he deftroyed that fea-monster Pharaoh, and his host, was meat to the faith of God's Ifrael in the wilderness afterwards. We often find Christ charging the people's unbelief on a bad memory, Matth. xvi. 8, 9. And hence it was that the Lord commanded the Ifraelites to keep journals of every day's occurrences, Numb. xiii. 1, 2. It is a thoufand pities fuch choice helps fhould be loft. Oh! if you could but remember, how the Lord hath appeared for you in former exigencies, and how often he hath fhamed you for your unbelief, it would exceedingly animate your faith, both in present and future diftreffes, Micah vi. 5.

7. Laftly, Beware of fenfe, which is the fupplanter of faith. O if you live upon things carthly, you put your faith out of its office: Things earthly have an enmity to faith. "This is the victory by

which we overcome the world, even our faith," 1 John v. 4. Overcoming denotes a conflict, and conflicts infer oppofitions. Oh you that live fo much by fight and fenfe on things vifible, what will you do when in David's, or Paul's cafe, Pfal. cxlii. 4. 2 Tim. iv. 16. when all outward encouragements and stays fhall utterly fail? What had Abraham done if he had not been able to believe against hope, i. e. fuch an hope as is founded in fenfe and reafon.

Reader, I advise and charge thee in the name of the Lord, and