So when you are clear and vigorous in the Life of faith, and can abhor all temptations to unbelief, and the beams of sacred Verity in the Scriptures have showed you that it is the undoubted word of God, and you have quietly bottomed your soul on Christ, and built your hopes upon his promises, and can with a cheerful contempt let go the world for the accomplishment of your hopes; remember yet that there is a secret root of unbelief remaining in you, and that this odious sin is but imperfectly mortified in the best: and that its more then possible that you may see the day when the tempter will assault you with questionings of the word of God, and trouble you with the injections of blasphemous thoughts, and doubts, whether it be true or not! and that you that have thought of God, of Christ, of Heaven, of the Immortal state of souls, with joy, and satisfied confidence, may be in the dark about them, affrighted with ugly suggestions of the enemy, and may think of them all with troublesome distracting doubts, and be forced to cry with the Disciples, Luke 17.5. Lord increase ⟨p. 315⟩our faith: And as he Mark 9.24. Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. Yea worse then so: some upright souls have been so amazed and distracted by the Tempter, and their distempered hearts, as to think they do not believe at all, nor yet are able sincerely to say, Lord, help thou my unbelief.] When yet at that time, their Fears and their abstaining from iniquity show, that they Believe the Threatenings, and therefore indeed believe the word. Now if we did but throughly know our selves, when faith is in its exercise and strength, and consider whither the secret seeds of remaining unbelief may bring us, being fore-warned, we should be fore-armed, and should fortify our faith the better, and be provided against these sad assaults: And if the malignant spirit be suffered to storm this fortress of the soul, we should more manfully resist: and we should not be overwhelmed with horror as soon as any hideous and blasphemous temptations do assault us; (when Christ himself was not exempted from the most blasphemous temptation, even the worshipping of the Devil instead of God: though in him there was no sinful disposition to entertain it, Mat. 4.9.10. John 14.30.)
So when you are clear and vigorous in the Life of faith, and can abhor all temptations to unbelief, and the beams of sacred Verity in the Scriptures have shewed you that it is the undoubted word of God, and you have quietly bottomed your soul on Christ, and built your hopes upon his promises, and can with a cheerfull contempt let go the world for the accomplishment of your hopes; remember yet that there is a secret root of unbelief remaining in you, and that this odious sin is but imperfectly mortified in the best: and that its more then possible that you may see the day when the tempter will assault you with questionings of the word of God, and trouble you with the injections of blasphemous thoughts, and doubts, whether it be true or not! and that you that have thought of God, of Christ, of Heaven, of the Immortal state of souls, with joy, and satisfied confidence, may be in the dark about them, affrighted with ugly suggestions of the enemy, and may think of them all with troublesome distracting doubts, and be forced to cry with the Disciples, Luke 17.5. Lord increase ⟨p. 315⟩our faith: And as he Mark 9.24. Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. Yea worse then so: some upright souls have been so amazed and distracted by the Tempter, and their distempered hearts, as to think they do not believe at all, nor yet are able sincerely to say, Lord, help thou my unbelief.] When yet at that time, their Fears and their abstaining from iniquity shew, that they Believe the Threatnings, and therefore indeed believe the word. Now if we did but throughly know our selves, when faith is in its exercise and strength, and consider whither the secret seeds of remaining unbelief may bring us, being fore-warned, we should be fore-armed, and should fortifie our faith the better, and be provided against these sad assaults: And if the malignant spirit be suffered to storm this fortress of the soul, we should more manfully resist: and we should not be overwelmed with horror as soon as any hideous and blasphemous temptations do assault us; (when Christ himself was not exempted from the most blasphemous temptation, even the worshipping of the Devil instead of God: though in him there was no sinfull disposition to entertain it, Mat. 4.9.10. John 14.30.)
