Precious faith considered in its nature, working, and growth

but it is far otherwise with the believer, who serves God not in the oldness of the letter, but in the newness of the spirit, who hath a Law within answering to the Law without, and a spirit within prompting the same in the heart, which the spirit in the command doth outwardly dictate. Prayer is but the breathing of the new-creature, holy desires its pulse, holiness its element, obedience its common walk, alms but the opening of its hands, contemplation but the lifting up of its eyes, all natural and easy, because from inward principles of life and grace: My yoke is easy, is durus sermo, an hard saying to every man but to the believer, who does all sweetly and ⟨p. 188⟩[…] ⟨p. 189⟩[…] ⟨p. 190⟩in the easiness of the new-creature. Moreover, to give another instance, work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure, saith the Apostle, Phil. 2.12, 13. what strange language is here? work, and yet God worketh all, and all of his mere pleasure; how can these things be? if God work all, there seems to be no place left for virtue or vice, rewards or punishments, because man can do nothing of himself. O what sweats have Learned brains been thrown into, whilst they have laboured to tune free-grace and free-will into harmony? what craggy thorny Volumes of mere speculation have they put forth de concordiâ liberi arbitrii & gratiae? and after all is done, the believer understands it best of any man; his life of faith is a plain practical solution thereof, for he acts and moves, but under the first Agent and Mover; he works, but under the Master-workman; he is free, but under the free-making spirit; he spreads his sails, and withal looks up for the holy gales; he labours and sows precious seed, and at the same time waits for the spiritual dews and sun-beams; he hath graces in him, but lays all under that spirit that created them, that that spirit may touch upon his charity and draw out his soul in alms, and touch upon his devotion, and pour out his soul in prayer, and touch upon every grace, and make the spices thereof flow out; still he ⟨p. 191⟩