The sound believer, or, A treatise of evangelical conversion discovering the work of Christs…The sound beleever, or, A treatise of evangelicall conversion discovering the work of Christs…

such only feel their need of Christ, are glad at the offer of Christ, and therefore such only can and will receive Christ, and come unto Christ by faith: and truly if we had but hearts, the consideration of this might be ground of great comfort & confidence unto all Gods people, whose souls come unto Jesus Christ; for that which was in Thomas, John 21. is in all men naturally, if we could see Christ with our eyes, and feel him with our hands, and embrace him (as Mary did) with our arms, if we could hear himself speak, we could then believe; as they said, if he will come from the Cross, so we say, if he will come down from heaven thus unto us, we will then believe; if we want this we fear we may be at last deceived, because we want sense, and ⟨p. 176⟩cannot come to close with our eyes and hands the objects of our faith; but oh consider this point, we are made partakers of Christs life,¹ and salvation by him, only yet certainly by faith. Now this faith is not by seeing him with our eyes, coming near to him with our bodies, but coming to him with our souls; the soul is the seat of faith. Now this you may do though you never thus saw him, whom though you see not, yet believing you rejoice: ²this coming of the soul to Christ, doth make a firmer union between thee and Christ, then if thou wert bodily present with him in heaven. For many touched and crowded him, that never were truly united to him, or received virtue from him. If our souls were in the third heaven with Christ,³ who of us would then doubt of our portion in him? I tell you if your souls go out of sin and self, unto Christ Jesus, and there rest, this makes you nearer to him, then if your souls were under his wing in the highest heavens. The poor Sea-man when he is near dangerous shores, when he cannot go down to the depth of the Sea to fasten his ship, yet if he can cast his anchor twenty or forty fathom deep, and if that holds, this quiets him in the sorest storms; when we are tossed and cannot come to Christ with our bodily presence, yet if our souls can come, if our ⟨p. 177⟩