then he is at rest, and he may say, Return unto thy rest, O my soul, as David did; which is done by Faith. And to clear this a little, Three or Four things there are that do ordinarily cause disquietude, or discouragement. First, The darkness that is in the Understanding; for when a man is in the dark, especially if he be alone, he is very apt to be scared, and to be disquieted. Secondly, Inordinate, and unruly Affections, and Passions, especially that of Fear, whereby the soul is benighted. Thirdly, Guilt of Conscience: Though there be much water that doth beat upon the Ship at Sea, yet it sinketh not; but when there is a leak, a hole in the Ship, then the Ship sinketh, and the water doth become its grave: So, though there be many troubles that beat upon a man, yet his heart doth not sink; but when there is a leak in his Conscience, when there is a hole there, when a man hath a guilty Conscience, then he sinketh, and his heart fails him. And Fourthly, The apprehension of Gods Greatness, with our distance from him. Now Faith cures all this; for in opposition to the first, of Darkness, Faith brings Light into the soul, and shows a man his Way, and his Warrant for what he doth. Secondly, It doth pare, and take off those inordinate, and unruly affections, and passions that are in the soul; and therefore in Psalm 37. at ver. 1. and 7. you shall find that fretting and trusting are set in opposition: Fret not thy self because of the evil Doer, verse 3. but trust in the Lord. And again verse 7. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him; fret not thy self because of him who prospereth in his way. Thirdly, It doth heal the Conscience, and purify that, therefore saith the Apostle, Let us draw near with assurance of Faith, having our Consciences sprinkled, &c. Heb. 10. Fourthly, It doth also bring the soul near to God; the great work of faith is to bring God and the soul together. So you have it in Eph. 3.12. In whom we have boldness, and access with confidence, by the faith of him: Faith gives a man access unto God, and brings him near unto God. But a man may come near unto God, & yet he may fear, and tremble, as the Jews d•d at Mount Sinai; true, but saith the Apostle, By this Faith we have boldness, and access. The word is, [Greek or Hebrew], a freedom of speech;
then he is at rest, and he may say, Return unto thy rest, O my soul, as David did; which is done by Faith. And to cleer this a little, Three or Four things there are that do ordinarily cause disquietude, or discouragement. First, The darkness that is in the Understanding; for when a man is in the dark, especially if he be alone, he is very apt to be skared, and to be disquieted. Secondly, Inordinate, and unruly Affections, and Passions, especially that of Fear, whereby the soul is benighted. Thirdly, Guilt of Conscience: Though there be much water that doth beat upon the Ship at Sea, yet it sinketh not; but when there is a leak, a hole in the Ship, then the Ship sinketh, and the water doth become its grave: So, though there be many troubles that beat upon a man, yet his heart doth not sink; but when there is a leak in his Conscience, when there is a hole there, when a man hath a guilty Conscience, then he sinketh, and his heart fails him. And Fourthly, The apprehension of Gods Greatness, with our distance from him. Now Faith cures all this; for in opposition to the first, of Darkness, Faith brings Light into the soul, and shews a man his Way, and his Warrant for what he doth. Secondly, It doth pare, and take off those inordinate, and unruly affections, and passions that are in the soul; and therefore in Psalm 37. at ver. 1. and 7. you shal find that fretting and trusting are set in opposition: Fret not thy self because of the evil Doer, verse 3. but trust in the Lord. And again verse 7. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him; fret not thy self because of him who prospereth in his way. Thirdly, It doth heal the Conscience, and purifie that, therefore saith the Apostle, Let us draw neer with assurance of Faith, having our Consciences sprinkled, &c. Heb. 10. Fourthly, It doth also bring the soul neer to God; the great work of faith is to bring God and the soul together. So you have it in Eph. 3.12. In whom we have boldness, and access with confidence, by the faith of him: Faith gives a man access unto God, and brings him neer unto God. But a man may come neer unto God, & yet he may fear, and tremble, as the Jews d•d at Mount Sinai; true, but saith the Apostle, By this Faith we have boldness, and access. The word is, 〈non-Latin alphabet〉, a freedom of speech;
