The Soul's Conflict with Itself

But if experience should wholly fail, •ere is such a divine power in faith, as ¹[…] very little beam of it, having no other help then a naked promise, will uphold the soul; howsoever we must neglect no help, for God oft suspends his comfort, till we have searched all our helps. Though we see no light, yet we ought to search all crevices for light, and rejoice in the least beam of light, ²that we may see day by. It is the nature of true faith, to search and pry into every corner; and if after all nothing appears, then it casts it self upon God, as in the first conversion, when it had nothing to look upon, but the offer of free mercy. If at that time without former experience, we did trust God, Why not now, when we have forgotten our experience? the chief grounds of trusting God, are always the same, whether we feel, or feel not; nay, though for the present we feel the contrary, faith will never leave wrestling, till it hath gotten a blessing. When faith is driven to work alone, having nothing but God, and his bare ⟨p. 534⟩promise to rely upon, then God thinks it lies upon his credit to show himself as a God unto us. Gods power in creating light out of darkness, is never more exalted, then when a guilty soul is lifted up by God to look for mercy, even when he seems armed with justice, to execute vengeance upon him; then the ³soul is brought to a near conformity unto Christ, who 1. when he had the guilt of the sins of the whole world upon ⁴him. 2. When he was forsaken, and ⁵that after he had enjoyed the sweetest communion with his Father that ever creature could do. And not only so, but 3. felt the weight of Gods just displeasure against sin; and 4. was abased lower ⁶then ever any creature was, yet still he ⁷