Precious faith considered in its nature, working, and growth

Omitting the rest, I shall fix my Discourse upon this, and that upon a double account.

First, This precious faith virtually includes the rest. In Faith in the first notion, there is only the Gospel or object standing alone by it self, but in this faith the act and the object are in sweet conjunction; the soul is Gospelized, and the Gospel, which outwardly runs in the letter, is inwardly glorified in the believers heart. In dogmatical faith there is an assent to the truths of God, and so there is in precious faith, but in a more eminent manner; the first embracing the Gospel only in its naked truth, and history is but a dead and a cold notion, but the second embracing the same in its goodness and spiritual mystery, carries life and warmth in it: temporary ⟨p. 3⟩faith hath some joys in the things of God, but precious faith hath the same in a more excellent way; the former is but a flash and away, a flower without a root, the Gospel is not radicated in him, but lies as it were upon the surface of his heart: Jesus Christ is not entirely received by him, but by parcels only; hence a little storm of persecution blows off all the blossoms of his joy, but the latter is a thing of a higher excellency and permanency. In the true believer the Gospel is intimately rooted, and Christ impartially received, even cross and all: Hence such an one can joy in tribulations, and under afflictions wait for consolations. Miraculous faith can work wonders, and so can precious too: the first works wonders in the body of nature, by a touch upon Almighty power, and the second works wonders in the souls of men, by a touch upon Almighty grace. A grain of this can remove spiritual mountains, mountains of guiltiness off from the Conscience, mountains of hardness off from the Will, and mountains of earthiness off from the Affections: outward miracles in the Churches infancy followed believers for a while, Mark 16.17. but inward miracles are ever found in them; and no wonder, for the exceeding greatness of Gods power is unto them that believe, Eph. 1.19