Heaven upon earth in the serene tranquillity and calm composure, in the sweet peace…

9. Where he says▪ That I may be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ; He supposeth justice to be pursuing him, and that nothing he can do for himself, will divert justice its pursuit, nor secure him against it; That he is a lost and gone man i• himself; he rests not on the discovery of his lost estate, but seeks to be found in him, not having his own rig•ousness, which is by the Law, but the righteousness whi• is by faith in him: This is the ground that gives peace with God, and should quiet the Conscience: but whe• the sinner hath taken this way, if the Conscience be not yet quieted and calmed, there is something further necessary, as first, the actual renewing of that application to Christ, to get not so much a new pardon, as a new extract of that pardon; which he received in ⟨p. 362⟩his first fleeing to Christ, that by this renewed application of faith to the blood of sprinkling, he may also quiet the Conscience, so that when the man is fled to Christ, and at peace with God, if he have not peace in his Conscience, he is to cast a renewed look to the promise, and to act faith of new on Christs blood, to hold it forth as it were unto, and to lay it before his Conscience, taking with his sin, yet holding still by it, that he is fled to Christ, and on that ground, making use of the promise, for the renewed pardon of sin through his blood; in this respect, faith is called, (Eph. 6. 16.) A shield; Take unto you (sayeth the Apostle) the shield of faith, whereby ye may quench all the fiery darts of the devil; when the challenge is cast in on the Conscience, it (as it were) burns the Believer, even as a fiery, or poisoned dart thrown into a mans body, burns and inflames it; But faith goes to the fountain of Christs blood▪ to the covenant and promises, and draws out of these wells of salvation bucketfuls (as it were) to quench it; or when a challenge comes in backed with temptation, it makes use of the promise, and blood of Christ to answer it; and so faith is as a shield or targe to keep the dart, and beat it back; it makes the Believer say, I cannot satisfy for this sin;