A supplement to the several discourses upon various divine subjects

5. How should we act faith on God in Christ before, and under such a condition of punishment? As we can never love God too much, because he is the highest good, so we can never trust God too much, because he is one of immutable truth; when we are in straits, it is not for want of faithfulness in God, but for want of Faith in us, that we are many times not preserved. We distrust God, and this is the cause we fall into many distresses, which otherwise would not come upon us, or be quickly removed from us. Did we grasp the promises closely, and plead them earnestly, we should often find the deliverance we desire. We pray, but we pray not in Faith, we cry for deliverance, but not with confidence, we plead Gods power but forget his promise. Many temporal promises are not performed to us, not for want of truth in God, but for want of faith in us. Particular fiduciary acts will draw out the riches of a promise, for want of which we remain poor in the midst of abundance. Some think that the promise made to Josiah of his dying in peace, which phrase is usually meant in Scripture of a peaceable death upon the bed, was not performed, because Josiah was out of the way against the precept of God, and therefore could not act faith requisite to the fulfilling of that promise, ⟨p. 85⟩for faith is much damped in its actings under present contracted guilt.^† This Faith in promises for outward preservation, is not an absolute, infallible assurance that God will bestow such outward things (because the promises themselves are not absolute) but it is rather an indefinite act of recumbency, and submission, referring it to his good pleasure towards us. But it is certain we are very much defective in acting Faith upon promises for temporal mercies, because it is an Epidemical distemper in us to trust God with our Souls rather than with our bodies, and outward concerns.

5. How should we act faith on God in Christ before, and under such a condition of punishment? As we can never love God too much, because he is the highest good, so we can never trust God too much, because he is one of immutable truth; when we are in straits, it is not for want of faithfulness in God, but for want of Faith in us, that we are many times not preserved. We distrust God, and this is the cause we fall into many distresses, which otherwise would not come upon us, or be quickly removed from us. Did we grasp the promises closely, and plead them earnestly, we should often find the deliverance we desire. We pray, but we pray not in Faith, we cry for deliverance, but not with confidence, we plead Gods power but forget his promise. Many temporal promises are not perform'd to us, not for want of truth in God, but for want of faith in us. Particular fiduciary acts will draw out the riches of a promise, for want of which we remain poor in the midst of abundance. Some think that the promise made to Josiah of his dying in peace, which phrase is usually meant in Scripture of a peacable death upon the bed, was not performed, because Josiah was out of the way against the precept of God, and therefore could not act faith requisite to the fulfilling of that promise,