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For persuasion also, we acknowledge, that partly by the corruption of nature, and partly by his assaults, by the grace of God it is such, as the same is oftentimes assailed & shaken. Yet faileth not▪ nor falleth unto the ground, but standeth invincible against all his attempts & invasions whatsoever. And finally, for that faith whereby we rest for our salvation upon Christ Jesus, we glory not in our own strength but we say every one for himself, whi•h him in the Gospel, ⟨p. 112⟩we believe, Lord help thou our unbelief. For if faith be as it is in deed a repose, settling, placing and putting of our trust and confidence for salvation in Christ whom the father hath sealed: Then we doubt not to prove against Satan, and all his instruments of inside little that we do believe: and that the weakness of our faith with we willingly acknowledge, and that remnant of unbelief which yet hangeth upon us, is so far off from dismaying us; that it is both a warning and motive unto us of great force to stir us up, and to set us a work by all good means to establish and to increase our faith wherein we find the good hand of the Lord not to be wanting unto us: and his ears not to be shut up against our prayers; in which we always say with the Apostles of Christ, Lord increase our faith. If it shall be objected, that because we have not the same sense and feeling of faith which some times we had as Satan himself could not then deny; therefore we have now no faith, but have utterly lost the same: we may answer, the argument followeth not: for even in many diseases of the body it is so with them that have them, that they seam little better then dead corpses, and yet there is life in them, which hidden for a time after is recovered and raised ⟨p. 113⟩up again; so it is many times with the children of God, that being overborne and distressed with extremity of affliction and temptation, they seem for the time both to themselves and others, to have lost the life and light which once they enjoyed: Yet, so it is, that when the tempest is overblown and the gracious countenance of the Lord again beginneth to shine upon them, the faith which was as it were hid for the time, taketh life, and showeth forth it self, & plainly proveth that as the trees when they bud in the spring time and bring fourth their fruit, ware not dead in the winter as they seemed to be: